IllustrationCHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON, DUE TO POSSIBLE ENGINE FAILURE. *SLC
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.
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: 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
Equipment complaints
6 reportsDURING INSTALLATION OF A/C UNIT O-RING WAS PUNCTURED CAUSING LEAKAGE, REPLACEMENT UNIT IS NOISY. YH
THE SUMMER OF 97 THE AIR CONDITIONER HAD TO HAVE AN O-RING REPLACED AND IT HAD TO BE RECHARGED FOR IT TO COOL PROPERLY. ON JULY 7, 1998 THE SAME THING HAPPENED AGAIN(SAME TYPE OF REPAIR)
WHILE THE FRONT LEFT TIRE WAS BEING CHANGED THE JACK COLLAPSED. THE DEALERSHIP IS AWARE OF THE PROLBEM. DEALER STATED TO CONSUMER THAT THIS PROBLEM NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE AND THAT THE JACK WILL BE SENT TO THE MANUFACTURER FOR REPLACEMENT. *AK
AIR CONDITIONER COIL FAILED
AIR CONDITIONER FAILED.
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
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.