IllustrationCONSUMER WAS LOCKED IN DRIVER SEAT BECAUSE SEAT BELT WOULD NOT UNLATCH. CONSUMER HAD TO CUT HERSELF OUT. NOTIFIED DEALER, REPAIRS WERE COVERED UNDER EXTENDED WARRANTY.*AK
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
Seat Belts complaints
6 reportsIN A PANIC STOP, REAR RESTRAINT UNLATCHED , TOSSING THE CHILD IN A CSS FORWARD, RESULTING IN MINOR INJURIES. MANUFACTURER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED.*AK *ML
ABS: WHEN APPLIED, BRAKE PEDAL WENT TO FLOOR, VEHICLE REARENDED ANOTHER VEHICLE, AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. DEALER REPLACED ROTORS/PADS. ALSO, SHOULDER/LAP BELTS DID NOT HOLD OCCUPANTS. PLEASE PROVIDE VIN. *AK
UPON IMPACT, DURING FRONTAL CRASH, HIT TELEPHONE POLE, 2:00 ON FRONT BUMPER, DRIVER'S SHOULDER HARNESS FAILED TO RETRACT ENOUGH, CAUSING HIM TO HIT STEERING WHEEL. *AK
WHILE DRIVING EXPERIENCED SUDDENLY CV JOINT FAILURE WHEN IT BROKE IN STEERING COLUMN, CAUSING LOSS OF STEERING CONTROL, HIT TELEPHONE POLE; ALSO, UPON IMPACT DUAL AIRBAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY, 2:00 ON FRONT BUMPER, DRIVER'S SEAT SHOULDER HARNESS FAILED TO RETRACT ENOUGH. *AK
SEAT BELT BUCKLE DESIGNED TOO CLOSE TO THE FLOOR, CAUSING OCCUPANTS TO TURN SIDEWAYS TO LATCH SEAT BELT
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.