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2003 Mazda Protege

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2003 Mazda Protege do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 66.

About this comparison →
120Owner complaints

Model-year median: 66

0Recall campaigns

View recall details →

0Investigations

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How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

Other model years Selected year
102
200050
200198
2002120
2003
Compare all Protege years →

Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.

What owners reported most

Engine And Engine Cooling
34Seat Belts
17Power Train
12Suspension
11Air Bags
10
All reported categories
Tires
10Steering
7Engine
6Seats
4Service Brakes, Hydraulic
4Structure
4Electrical System
3Equipment
3Exterior Lighting
3Fuel System, Gasoline
2Parking Brake
2Vehicle Speed Control
2Child Seat
1Electronic Stability Control (esc)
1Latches/locks/linkages
1Service Brakes
1Unknown Or Other
1Visibility
1Wheels
1

Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

89 reports with mileage · 31 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.

  • Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 34 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Seat Belts. Review the 17 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Power Train. 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.

16 crash reports2 fire reports10 injury reports

Power Train complaints

12 reports
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18,157 miles · Mar 21, 2004
Power Train

MY TRANSMISSION COMPLETELY FAILED AT 18,000 MILES AND ONE MONTH SHY OF BEING A YEAR OLD. A NEW TRANSMISSION WAS INSTALLED. I HAD MY CAR BACK FOR ONE WEEK AND THE NEW TRANSMISSION WOULD DOWN SHIFT FOR NO REASON AS I WAS DOING 70 MPH DOWN THE INTERSTATE. AFTER REPLACING THE COMPUTER, THROTTLE POSITION SENSOR, THROTTLE RANGE SEN…

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MY TRANSMISSION COMPLETELY FAILED AT 18,000 MILES AND ONE MONTH SHY OF BEING A YEAR OLD. A NEW TRANSMISSION WAS INSTALLED. I HAD MY CAR BACK FOR ONE WEEK AND THE NEW TRANSMISSION WOULD DOWN SHIFT FOR NO REASON AS I WAS DOING 70 MPH DOWN THE INTERSTATE. AFTER REPLACING THE COMPUTER, THROTTLE POSITION SENSOR, THROTTLE RANGE SENSOR, AND THE ENGINE WIRING HARNESS, MAZDA HAS NOW DECIDED TO REPLACE THE NEW TRANSMISSION. THIS WILL BE THE THIRD TRANSMISSION IN A YEAR OLD CAR. *JB

NHTSA ODI #10062733

6,000 miles · Nov 1, 2003
Power Train

LEAKING GEAR OIL FLUID AT THE LINKAGE COUPLING. *LA

NHTSA ODI #10045239

Official recalls

0

No recalls in this snapshot.

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.