IllustrationORIGINAL TRANSMISSION REPLACED BY MAZDA 7/26/00 DUE TO TECH. BULLETIN. SINCE THEN SEVERAL INCIDENTS OF TRANSMISSION SUDDENLY JERKING INTO A LOWER GEAR, AT BOTH HIGH AND LOW SPEEDS. MAZDA DEALER UNABLE TO REPLICATE OR IDENTIFY PROBLEM AFTER 3 ATTEMPTS. MR
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
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
10–25K
625–50K
1050–75K
575–100K
3100–150K
0150K+
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
What owners actually said
88 reportsCONSUMER STATES THAT WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN A CAR CRASH WHERE THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOYED. MAZDA WAS NOTIFIED. *MR
STEERING WHEEL OUT OF CENTER, CAR PULLS TO ONE SIDE, TOOK THE CAR TO DEALER AND WAS TOLD THIS IS ALIGMENT PROBLEM, I MENTIONED TO THE DEALER THAT THIS IS A MANUFACTURER DEFECT BECAUSE CAR AND DRIVER FOUND THE SAME PROBLEM IN PROTEGE AND CONSUMER REPORTS TOO. DEALER REFUSED TO FIX IT AT NO CHARGE WITH THE CAR STILL UNDER MANUFAC…
Read full complaint
STEERING WHEEL OUT OF CENTER, CAR PULLS TO ONE SIDE, TOOK THE CAR TO DEALER AND WAS TOLD THIS IS ALIGMENT PROBLEM, I MENTIONED TO THE DEALER THAT THIS IS A MANUFACTURER DEFECT BECAUSE CAR AND DRIVER FOUND THE SAME PROBLEM IN PROTEGE AND CONSUMER REPORTS TOO. DEALER REFUSED TO FIX IT AT NO CHARGE WITH THE CAR STILL UNDER MANUFACTURER WARRANTY, I CONTACTED MAZDA MOTOR CO. AND I GOT SAME ANSWER.*AK
THERE IS A SMELL AND A DARK COLOR LIQUID COMING FROM PASSENGER'S SIDE DOOR. DEALERSHIP IS AWARE OF PROBLEM.*AK
SIDEWALLS FOUND TO BE CRACKING AS IF DRY-ROTTING ON 7/23/02. E-MAILED FIRESTONE WITH NO RESPONSE YET. SCHEDULED TO REPLACE TIRES FRIDAY BECAUSE I CONSIDER THEM UNSAFE ESPECIALLY AFTER READING ON THIS SITE ABOUT ALL THE SIDEWALL BLOWOUTS.*JB
WHILE TRAVELING ABOUT 20-50 MPH ON HIGHWAY AND WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING, VEHICLE JERKED INTO REVERSE AND BECAME UNCONTROLLABLE. DEALERSHIP WAS AWARE OF PROBLEM.*AK GEAR SHIFT REMAINS IN DRIVE OCCURRING EVERH 2-3 MONTHS. DEALERSHIP COULD NOT FIND PROBLEM, BUT STATES 4-5 OTHER OWNERS HAVE THE SAME ISSUE. *TT
CONSUMER STATES WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED APPLIES BRAKES , AND WITHOUT WARNING THE BRAKES FADE.*JB
CONSUMER STATES THAT THERE WAS AN OIL LEAK IN HIS VEHICLE WHICH WAS CAUSED BY A CRACKED ENGINE BLOCK. NLM. CONSUMER ALSO STATED THAT THE CLUTCH STUCK AT TIMES.*JB
WHILE DRIVING, WITHOUT WARNING, WHILE ACCELERATING GEARS WILL CHANGE/ EXTREMELY ROUGH. CONSUMER WILL CONTACT DEALER AND MANUFACTURER. *AK
WHILE TRAVELING ON HIGHWAY AND WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING TRANSMISSION WILL JERK OR GET STUCK INTO OTHER GEARS. DEALERSHIP WAS AWARE OF PROBLEM.*AK
Official recalls
100V301000 · 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
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.