Melanie Crider
Member
- :
- 2002 Mazda Protege5
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Mazda Protege5 problem
- Thread starter Melanie Crider
- Start date
moparmansfield
Member
- :
- mazda protege5
Have you checked the oil? That sounds pretty bad. Hard to tell from the video.
Melanie Crider
Member
- :
- 2002 Mazda Protege5
Description of problem. . .
Published on Dec 2, 2015A month and a half ago one morning I accidentally drove over a concrete barrier. I then ran errands for the rest of the day through the afternoon. At one point my car stalled out in the middle of an intersection briefly, but I started it back up right away.
I then arrived home in the evening, and an hour later, got in the car to go back out, and the car would not start. It would only turn, but not catch. I attributed the issue to the car running over the barrier earlier in the day, and had it towed to a collision place to find the problem.
They took a look, and said there was only minor cosmetic damage underneath.
I then had the car towed to my mechanic, who could only find that a battery terminal was bad, and the throttle body sticky.
The terminal was replaced, the throttle body cleaned, and it was assumed fixed, so I picked up the car.
The next morning I was driving into the city in some heavy stop and go traffic for about an hour when my car started to stall out on me again. I was able to get the car started a few more times to get to a safe place on the side of the road to call a towing company.
The car was acting as if it was getting no fuel, so I was feeling that I had done something to damage the line to the fuel pump, and/or the pump itself.
Had the car towed back to the mechanic, who told me he was basically at a loss about what could be wrong, because of course, it started with no problem after he got it.
Since the car was running, I decided to take it to a Mazda dealership a few miles away for them to run diagnostics.
They found several things that the little car needed, but the thing they found that could be related to the car not starting, was that the fuel pump was running at half capacity. They quoted over $800 to fix it, and my mechanic offered to do it for almost $300 less, so I chose the latter. He initially tried to replace it with an aftermarket pump, however, it did not fit correctly, so he had to replace it with one from the Mazda dealership.
The car was ready on a Friday, and drove it around locally during the weekend with no problem.
The following Monday, I drove to school, and then to my clinical site with no problems. On my way home for the day, I was running low on gas, and decided to fill up my tank in order to see if I was getting better gas mileage with my new pump. When I got back in the car, it would turn, but the engine would not catch.
I had to have the car towed from the gas station back to my mechanic that evening.
My mechanic researched the problem some more, and he said he read that this model has been known to have a problem with one of the relays associated with the fuel pump. He replaced said relay, and I picked up my car the day before Thanksgiving. Again, I drove it around the holiday and with no problems until the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, when the car started stalling out on me again.
The video above is what keeps happening. It will turn, but rarely catch and start up again, and when it does start up again, it stalls out immediately after.
Input/comments will be greatly appreciated.
Published on Dec 2, 2015A month and a half ago one morning I accidentally drove over a concrete barrier. I then ran errands for the rest of the day through the afternoon. At one point my car stalled out in the middle of an intersection briefly, but I started it back up right away.
I then arrived home in the evening, and an hour later, got in the car to go back out, and the car would not start. It would only turn, but not catch. I attributed the issue to the car running over the barrier earlier in the day, and had it towed to a collision place to find the problem.
They took a look, and said there was only minor cosmetic damage underneath.
I then had the car towed to my mechanic, who could only find that a battery terminal was bad, and the throttle body sticky.
The terminal was replaced, the throttle body cleaned, and it was assumed fixed, so I picked up the car.
The next morning I was driving into the city in some heavy stop and go traffic for about an hour when my car started to stall out on me again. I was able to get the car started a few more times to get to a safe place on the side of the road to call a towing company.
The car was acting as if it was getting no fuel, so I was feeling that I had done something to damage the line to the fuel pump, and/or the pump itself.
Had the car towed back to the mechanic, who told me he was basically at a loss about what could be wrong, because of course, it started with no problem after he got it.
Since the car was running, I decided to take it to a Mazda dealership a few miles away for them to run diagnostics.
They found several things that the little car needed, but the thing they found that could be related to the car not starting, was that the fuel pump was running at half capacity. They quoted over $800 to fix it, and my mechanic offered to do it for almost $300 less, so I chose the latter. He initially tried to replace it with an aftermarket pump, however, it did not fit correctly, so he had to replace it with one from the Mazda dealership.
The car was ready on a Friday, and drove it around locally during the weekend with no problem.
The following Monday, I drove to school, and then to my clinical site with no problems. On my way home for the day, I was running low on gas, and decided to fill up my tank in order to see if I was getting better gas mileage with my new pump. When I got back in the car, it would turn, but the engine would not catch.
I had to have the car towed from the gas station back to my mechanic that evening.
My mechanic researched the problem some more, and he said he read that this model has been known to have a problem with one of the relays associated with the fuel pump. He replaced said relay, and I picked up my car the day before Thanksgiving. Again, I drove it around the holiday and with no problems until the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, when the car started stalling out on me again.
The video above is what keeps happening. It will turn, but rarely catch and start up again, and when it does start up again, it stalls out immediately after.
Input/comments will be greatly appreciated.
Melanie Crider
Member
- :
- 2002 Mazda Protege5
Yes, it seems clean, and I get the oil changed regularly.
It is possible that the initial impact with the concrete barrier caused some debris in the tank to loosen. This could have caused the pump to become partially clogged. If there is still debris (rust) in the tank, the new pump will suck it up, blowing the relay and causing stalling out. Its also possible that a fuel line was pinched during the collision. The fuel filter could be plugged as well. All this things could cause stalling from fuel starvation. Your mechanic should remove the fuel connection at the fuel rail and check the fuel flow. He could put a fuel pressure gauge on the line as well to confirm proper pressure. These are merely suggestions on my part and may not have anything to do with your problems.
He could put a fuel pressure gauge on the line as well to confirm proper pressure.
This ^^
But does this issue happen when the engine is cold or when the engine is warm?
My rule of thumb is always check the vitals and the cheapest before jumping to conclusion with expensive components.
- Is there spark? Is it strong? (Plugs, coils)
- Is there fuel? (injectors, fuel pump)
- Is there compression in the engine?
- Is the Crank sensor working? (Is the harmonic balancer toner wheel intact? i.e. are all the teeth there and are they streight).
- Cam sensor working?
It is unfortunate that you are having to pour so much money into this car, these Proteges are usually very reliable.
Last edited:
Jackie chan
Member
- :
- Pro5
^^ Crank sensor or harmonic balancer seem very likely if you took a hit to the bottom.
Melanie Crider
Member
- :
- 2002 Mazda Protege5
It is possible that the initial impact with the concrete barrier caused some debris in the tank to loosen. This could have caused the pump to become partially clogged. If there is still debris (rust) in the tank, the new pump will suck it up, blowing the relay and causing stalling out. Its also possible that a fuel line was pinched during the collision. The fuel filter could be plugged as well. All this things could cause stalling from fuel starvation. Your mechanic should remove the fuel connection at the fuel rail and check the fuel flow. He could put a fuel pressure gauge on the line as well to confirm proper pressure. These are merely suggestions on my part and may not have anything to do with your problems.
Some great suggestions to consider! I've had similar thoughts myself. Thank you!
Melanie Crider
Member
- :
- 2002 Mazda Protege5
Yes, Mazdas are very good cars. That's why it's going to break my heart to part with it, if the problem is not found. I'm hoping to have her a very long time. Thank you for the comments, I never heard of some of the things you mentioned.
Melanie Crider
Member
- :
- 2002 Mazda Protege5
Yes! All these suggestions are great, never heard of these issues or considered them. Thanks guys! Now to find a mechanic who will actually research and try these things.
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