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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

Vehicle Speed Control complaints

4 reports
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30,000 miles · Mar 4, 2010
Vehicle Speed Control

I HAVE HAD A PROBLEM WITH MY VEHICLE - THE MAZDA PROTG MENTIONED UNDER "SUBJECT" OF THIS E-MAIL - ACCELERATING WITHOUT THE GAS PEDAL BEING TOUCHED ON AT LEAST THREE OCCASIONS SINCE I PURCHASED IT NEW IN THE FALL OF 1996. THE VEHICLE ALSO EXHIBITED INTENSE RUMBLING WHEN IN DRIVE AND WAITING AT IDLE AT A STOP SIGN OR TRAFFIC LIGHT…

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I HAVE HAD A PROBLEM WITH MY VEHICLE - THE MAZDA PROTG MENTIONED UNDER "SUBJECT" OF THIS E-MAIL - ACCELERATING WITHOUT THE GAS PEDAL BEING TOUCHED ON AT LEAST THREE OCCASIONS SINCE I PURCHASED IT NEW IN THE FALL OF 1996. THE VEHICLE ALSO EXHIBITED INTENSE RUMBLING WHEN IN DRIVE AND WAITING AT IDLE AT A STOP SIGN OR TRAFFIC LIGHT. ON ONE OF SEVERAL OCCASIONS THAT I RETURNED THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER ABOUT THE LATTER PROBLEM, A YOUNG ATTENDANT AT THE DEALER (MAZDA MAPLE SHADE IN MAPLE SHADE, NEW JERSEY) MENTIONED - APPARENTLY INADVERTENTLY - THAT THE RUMBLING WAS A "FACTORY DEFECT". I NEVER MENTIONED THE ACCELERATION PROBLEM SINCE I HAD ALWAYS MANAGED TO PUT ON THE BREAKS FIRMLY WHENEVER IT OCCURRED, AND THEREBY PREVENTED MOVEMENT THAT COULD HAVE CAUSED SERIOUS DAMAGE TO ANYTHING IN FRONT OF ME AS WELL AS THE CAR. THE VEHICLE ALSO HAS AN ELECTRONIC FEATURE THAT CAUSES IT TO AUDIBLY "REV UP" THE MOTOR BRIEFLY (APPROXIMATELY SEVERAL SECONDS, BUT LESS THAN A MINUTE) TO WARM UP. ONCE THE WARM-UP CYCLE ENDS THE CAR "REVS DOWN" TO A NORMAL IDLE SOUND. EVENTUALLY I HAD ANOTHER PROBLEM WITH THE CAR THAT REQUIRED THAT A MAJOR REPAIR BE DONE TO THE TRANSMISSION - AT EXPENSE TO ME SINCE THE EXTENDED WARRANTY I HAD PURCHASED HAD WORN OUT. THE REPAIR FIXED NOT ONLY THE NEW PROBLEM BUT -COINCIDENTALLY ACCORDING TO THE DEALER - THE RUMBLING. I HAVE ALSO NOT HAD THE ACCELERATION PROBLEM SINCE THE TRANSMISSION PROBLEM WAS FIXED. ALL OF THESE PROBLEMS APPEAR TO ME TO HAVE BEEN CONNECTED. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF OTHER PURCHASERS OF THIS VEHICLE HAVE HAD SIMILAR PROBLEMS. FROM NHTSA WEB SITE. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10316645

Mileage unknown · Sep 30, 1997
Vehicle Speed Control

INTERMITTENTLY AT A STOP SIGN OR WHEN DECELERATING THE ENGINE RACES, AND HAS TO APPLY THE BRAKES TO PREVENT THE VEHICLE FROM GOING FORWARD. THE DEALER HAS TRIED TO CORRECT THIS PROBLEM TWICE IN A (3) MONTH PERIOD, THE PROBLEM STILL EXISTS. *AK

NHTSA ODI #816290

Mileage unknown · Apr 17, 1996
Vehicle Speed Control

WHILE DRIVING, SOMETIMES VEHICLE ACCELERATES. PLEASE DESCRIBE. *AK

NHTSA ODI #982858

Mileage unknown · Sep 18, 1995
Vehicle Speed ControlCrashInjury

SUDDEN UNINTENDED ACCELERATION CAUSING VEHICLE ACCIDENT. TT

NHTSA ODI #972124

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.