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1996 Mazda Protege

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 1996 Mazda Protege do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 66.

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How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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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: 5 of 70 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.

  • Air Bags. Review the 24 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Service Brakes, Hydraulic. Review the 9 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Power Train. Review the 8 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

24 crash reports1 fire reports17 injury reports

Engine And Engine Cooling complaints

4 reports
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Mileage unknown · May 4, 2005
Engine And Engine Cooling

MY 1996 MAZDA PROTEGE LX (1.5 LITER ENGINE) SUFFERS FROM SUCH EXTREME ENGINE VIBRATION THAT THE CAR HAS RECENTLY BECOME PRACTICALLY UNDRIVEABLE DESPITE ITS LOW MILEAGE OF 83,000K AND A GOOD MAINTENANCE HISTORY. THE CAR SHAKES SEVERELY WHEN STARTING, JERKS SEVERELY WHEN SHIFTING GEARS AND IS SURGING ALMOST UNCONTROLLABLY AT VARIO…

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MY 1996 MAZDA PROTEGE LX (1.5 LITER ENGINE) SUFFERS FROM SUCH EXTREME ENGINE VIBRATION THAT THE CAR HAS RECENTLY BECOME PRACTICALLY UNDRIVEABLE DESPITE ITS LOW MILEAGE OF 83,000K AND A GOOD MAINTENANCE HISTORY. THE CAR SHAKES SEVERELY WHEN STARTING, JERKS SEVERELY WHEN SHIFTING GEARS AND IS SURGING ALMOST UNCONTROLLABLY AT VARIOUS TIMES. IT IS UNSAFE AND I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT ALL ENGINE MOUNTS MUST BE REPLACED AT THIS TIME. IN LOOKING AT THE VECHICLE HISTORY, THERE HAS BEEN MANUFACTURER SERVICE BULLETINS ABOUT EXCESSIVE ENGINE VIBRATION. I BELIEVE THIS TO BE A SIGNIFICANT MANUFACTURER DEFECT THAT CAUSES UNSAFE CONDITIONS AND UNDUE BURDEN AND EXPENSE TO CONSUMERS. THE ESTIMATE FUTURE EXPENSE TO ME IS CLOSE TO $1,000.00.

NHTSA ODI #10119894

Mileage unknown · Jul 10, 2000
Engine And Engine CoolingEquipmentService Brakes, Hydraulic

CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON, DUE TO POSSIBLE ENGINE FAILURE. *SLC

NHTSA ODI #784736

Mileage unknown · Oct 27, 1997
Engine And Engine Cooling

EMISSION PART FAILED.

NHTSA ODI #604349

Mileage unknown · May 14, 1996
Engine And Engine CoolingSeat BeltsVisibility

SEAT BELT BUCKLE DESIGNED TOO CLOSE TO THE FLOOR, CAUSING OCCUPANTS TO TURN SIDEWAYS TO LATCH SEAT BELT

NHTSA ODI #504436

Official recalls

1

15V674000 · 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

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.