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1999 Mazda Protege

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 1999 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

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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

25 reports with mileage · 63 unknown

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.

  • Power Train. Review the 22 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Air Bags. Review the 21 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Tires. Review the 12 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

21 crash reports1 fire reports15 injury reports

Unknown Or Other complaints

4 reports
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68,000 miles · Jan 15, 2004
Power TrainUnknown Or Other

MY CAR STARTED WITH UNINTENTIONAL ACCELERATION LAST FEB. 2003. THEN IT STARTED TO FELL LIKE THE GEARS WERE SLIPPING. THE PROBLEM WAS INTERMITTENT. I TOOK IT INTO THE DEALER AND THEY COULD FIND NO PROBLEM. NOW, IT IS OCT. 2003 AND THE TRANSMISSION HAS FAILED. LAST NIGHT THE CAR GOT STUCK IN LOW GEAR AND WILL NOT REVERSE. THE…

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MY CAR STARTED WITH UNINTENTIONAL ACCELERATION LAST FEB. 2003. THEN IT STARTED TO FELL LIKE THE GEARS WERE SLIPPING. THE PROBLEM WAS INTERMITTENT. I TOOK IT INTO THE DEALER AND THEY COULD FIND NO PROBLEM. NOW, IT IS OCT. 2003 AND THE TRANSMISSION HAS FAILED. LAST NIGHT THE CAR GOT STUCK IN LOW GEAR AND WILL NOT REVERSE. THE RPM GO UP WHEN YOU TRY TO ACCELERATE, BUT THE CAR WILL NOT GO PAST 10 MILES AN HOUR. RIGHT NOW THE CAR IS AT THE DEALER'S SHOP AND I AM MAD!!! I AM A SINGLE MOM WHO BOUGHT THE CAR NEW. I'VE HAD ALL MAINTENANCE, AND I WANTED A CAR THAT WOULD LAST FOR 10 YEARS. NOW I FEEL CHEATED BY MAZDA!!

NHTSA ODI #10070987

Mileage unknown · Jan 15, 2004
Unknown Or Other

I BOUGHT THE CAR IN AUGUST 1999,IT HAD 12 MILES ON IT I HAD JUST GOTTEN RID OF ANOTHER PROTEGE 1994 THE MOST LOUSY CAR I HAD EVER SEEN,I HAD SPENT OVER$ 8,000 ON REPAIRS. 2 TRANSMISSIONS IN 2 YEARS. 2 SETS OF CV BOOTS ETC. ANYWAY I THOUGHT IF I COULD GET A NEW ONE I WOULD NOT HAVE ANY TROUBLE FOR A LONG TIME, IF ANY AT ALL. WELL…

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I BOUGHT THE CAR IN AUGUST 1999,IT HAD 12 MILES ON IT I HAD JUST GOTTEN RID OF ANOTHER PROTEGE 1994 THE MOST LOUSY CAR I HAD EVER SEEN,I HAD SPENT OVER$ 8,000 ON REPAIRS. 2 TRANSMISSIONS IN 2 YEARS. 2 SETS OF CV BOOTS ETC. ANYWAY I THOUGHT IF I COULD GET A NEW ONE I WOULD NOT HAVE ANY TROUBLE FOR A LONG TIME, IF ANY AT ALL. WELL,I HAD IT PROBABLY HAD IT ABOUT 6 MONTHS OR SO,AND IT STARTED MAKING A METALLIC RATTLING IN THE FRONT IN THE ENGINE. IT SOUNDS LIKE BACK IN THE OLD DAYS WHEN A CAR NEEDED OIL IT WOULD RATTLE LIKE A PIECE OF JUNK. THEY CHECKED IT OUT COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING,TOOK IT BACK SEVERAL TIMES, SO THE SERVICE MANAGER JOE BURK VERY NICE MAN VERY HELPFUL. THEY CHANGED A FEW PARTS, POWER TRAIN ETC, PLEASE CHECK MY RECORDS WITH THEM IF YOU CAN, OR I WILL HAVE TO DIG IN MY FILES TO FIND ALL OF THE RECEIPTS.SO HE SUGGESTED THAT I TRY DIFFERENT GAS. WELL,I DID I TRIED ALL OF THEM COST ME ALMOST $1,500. MOBIL,EXXON,CHEVRON,TEXACO,SHELL MID GRADE GAS. ABSOLUTLEY DID NOTHING,THIS WENT ON FOR A YEAR.THIS IS ABOUT 2001. WELL IT SEEMS IT DOES THIS VERY BADLY WHEN IT GETS HOT. HE SAID THAT THEY HAD HEARD ABOUT SOME OF THESE PROBLEMS IN HOUSTON WITH THEIR HEAT AND HUMIDITY. I ASK IF THIS DOES NOT WORK WHAT ARE THEY GOING TO DO? WELL MAZDA MENTIONED MAYBE GIVING ME ANOTHER CAR. THEY DECIDED TO PUT A BRAND NEW ENGINE IN IT,(A BRAND NEW CAR)BY THAT TIME IT HAD A LITTLE 20,000 MILES ON IT. I PAY $412.64 A MONTH ON A CAR THAT RATTLES LIKE A PIECE OF CRAP. THAT DID NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM. AS OF THE WEEK OF AUGUST 4-8 TOOK IT BACK STILL DOING IT, THEY REPLACED THE POWER TRAIN ON IT AND IT STILL DOES IT. THEY LOOKED AT IT AGAIN. NOTHING CAN BE DONE,AS LONG AS I AM IN WARRANTY I AM ALRIGHT, BUT WHEN THAT RUNS OUT I AM SCREWED.

NHTSA ODI #10070674

Mileage unknown · Jun 29, 2000
Electrical SystemUnknown Or Other

I AM HAVING ALL OF THESE LOOKED AT WHEN I TURN IT IN FOR REPAIRS; THE CARPET/ELECTRICAL PROBLEM CAUSES A MAJOR SHOCK UPON LEAVING THE VEHICLE. *AK

NHTSA ODI #724747

Mileage unknown · Jan 6, 2000
Unknown Or OtherVehicle Speed Control

CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON, CONTINUED PROBLEM OF ACCELERATION WHEN CHANGING GEARS. *AK

NHTSA ODI #716968

Official recalls

1

00V301000 · Equipment:electrical:radio/tape Deck/cd Etc.

Oct 5, 2000

VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH A PARTICULAR FACTORY INSTALLED AUDIO UNIT. IF THE VEHICLE IS OPERATED AT LOW SPEED IN A HOT AND HUMID ENVIRONMENT WITH THE WINDOW OPEN, AIR CONDITIONER RUNNING, AND AUDIO ON, CONDENSED WATER ON THE A/C DUCT SURFACE COULD DROP AND ENTER INTO THE AUDIO UNIT, CAUSING A SHORT CIRCUIT.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: IF THE SHORT CIRCUIT OCCURS AT ONE SPECIFIC SET OF TERMINALS, THE REAR RIGHT LOUDSPEAKER CAN OVERHEAT AND, IN SOME CASES, CATCH FIRE.

Remedy: DEALERS WILL AFFIX ALUMINUM TAPE OVER THE AUDIO UNIT TO PREVENT WATER FROM ENTERING.

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.