IllustrationDRIVER'S SIDE AND PASSAGER'S SIDE SHOULDER BELTS DON'T RETRACT AND KEEP GETTING JAMMED ON BOTH SIDES. *AK
1993 Mazda Protege
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 1993 Mazda Protege do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 66.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Protege years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
Limited mileage data: 2 of 44 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Seat Belts. Review the 23 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Service Brakes, Hydraulic. Review the 5 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 4 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
1 crash reports2 fire reports3 injury reports
Seat Belts complaints
23 reportsSHOULDER BELT WON'T WORK DUE TO THE RETRACTOR PART OF THE SEAT BELT, WHICH MAKE'S THE CONSUMER MOVE FORWARD AND BACKWARD, FAILED. CONSUMER STATES THIS IS A SAFETY DEFECT. *AK
OWNER RECEIVED A RECALL SAFETY NOTICE FROM MAZDA NORTH AMERICAN OPERATIONS, WHICH READS IN RELEVANT PART: ' [T]HE PASSIVE SHOULDER BELT BUCKLE STAYS AT THE REARMOST POSITION EVEN IF THE DOOR IS OPENED.' OWNER EXPERIENCED THE PROBLEM BUT WAS SURPRISED TO FIND THAT THE BELT NOT ONLY STAYED IN THE REARMOST POSITION, BUT THAT IT DI…
Read full complaint
OWNER RECEIVED A RECALL SAFETY NOTICE FROM MAZDA NORTH AMERICAN OPERATIONS, WHICH READS IN RELEVANT PART: ' [T]HE PASSIVE SHOULDER BELT BUCKLE STAYS AT THE REARMOST POSITION EVEN IF THE DOOR IS OPENED.' OWNER EXPERIENCED THE PROBLEM BUT WAS SURPRISED TO FIND THAT THE BELT NOT ONLY STAYED IN THE REARMOST POSITION, BUT THAT IT DID SO WITH GREAT FORCE, PINNING THE OWNER IN THE VEHICLE AND CAUSING MINOR ABRASION TO OWNER'S NECK. OWNER THEN TOOK VEHICLE IN TO DEALER FOR RECALL REPAIR. DEALER CLAIMED THE PROBLEM WAS UNRELATED TO THE RECALL NOTICE AND REFUSED TO REPAIR THE VEHICLE. OWNER STRONGLY STATED THAT THE PROBLEM EXPERIENCED WAS EXACTLY THE PROBLEM THAT WAS THE SUBJECT OF THE RECALL. WHEN DEALER REFUSED TO REPAIR, OWNER CONTACTED MAZDA CEO RICHARD BEATTIE AND VARIOUS OTHER PERSONNEL AT MAZDA MOTORS BUT COULD RECEIVE NO SATISFACTION. LEGAL ACTION IS PENDING. OWNER BELIEVES THAT THE STARTLING AND SUDDEN NATURE OF THIS EVENT COULD RESULT IN EITHER DRIVERS OR PASSENGERS BEING TRAPPED IN A VEHICLE ON FIRE OR IMMERSED IN WATER OR IN SOME OTHER EMERGENCY, BEFORE THEY FIGURED OUT HOW TO EITHER SLIP OUT OF THE TAUT BELT OR RELEASE IT WITH THE MANUAL RELEASE. OWNER ALSO BELIEVES THAT MAZDA IS AWARE OF THE SEVERE NATURE OF THIS PROBLEM BUT IS ATTEMPTING TO CONCEAL IT AND IS ATTEMPTING TO AVOID MAKING NEEDED SAFETY REPAIRS.
SEAT BELT LIGHT COMES ON AND CHIMES PERIODICALLY WHILE SEAT BELT ENGAGED. OFTEN SEAT BELT LOCK IN PLACE AND I AM UNABLE TO MOVE.
WHEN SEAT BELT IS ENGAGED ON THE DRIVER'S OR PASSENGER'S SIDES THE WARNING CHIME GOES OFF. THE DEALER IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. DEALER NOT WILLING TO CORRECT AT THEIR EXPENSE STATED TO CONSUMER THAT THE PROBLEM WAS NOT SAFETY RELATED. *AK
WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY VEHICLE WAS IN FRONT END ACCIDENT, PASSIVE RESTRAINTS FAILED.PLEASE DESRIBE DETAILS. *AK
DRIVER SIDE SHOULDER BELT IS LOCKED INTO PLACE, WILL NOT MOVE, EA94-039 ACTIVE. *AK
THE DRIVERS SIDE AUTOMATIC RETRACTING SEATBELTS WILL MOVE FORWARD UNEXPECTEDLY WHILE DRIVING. PLEASE DESCRIBE. *AK
DRIVER'S SIDE AUTOMATIC SEAT BELT FAILURE, SHOULDER BELT HAS STOPPED RETRACTING. *AK
SEAT BELT INDICATOR LIGHT COMES ON WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE, DRIVER'S SIDE MOTORIZED SHOULDER BELT HAD TO BE REPLACED. TT
Official recalls
115V674000 · Electrical System:ignition:switch
Oct 19, 2015
Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain model year 1989-1998 MPV, 1990-1995 323, 1990-1998 Protege, 1992-1993 MX-3, 1993-1995 929, 1993-1997 MX-6, and 1993-1998 626 vehicles. In the affected vehicles, grease applied to the contact points inside the ignition switch may become conductive and overheat.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: If the ignition switch overheats there would be an increased risk of a fire.
Remedy: Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the ignition switch, free of charge. The recall began on December 17, 2015. Owners may contact Mazda Customer Experience Center at 1-800-222-5500, option#6. Mazda's number for this recall is 8715J.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
3EA94039 · Auto Restraint System Fail
Opened Nov 30, 1994 · Closed Nov 26, 1997
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Seat Belts
There is no summary currently available
PE94059 · Auto Restraint System Fail
Opened Jul 28, 1994 · Closed Nov 30, 1994
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Seat Belts
There is no summary currently available
PE94029 · Cruise Control Malfunction
Opened Mar 24, 1994 · Closed Jul 28, 1994
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Equipment
There is no summary currently available