Emotional state: (sadbanana)
The story:
I've got a 2003 Protoge5 (~135,000km) with a sport shift, that shiftronic pseudo-manual automatic deal-e-o. I took it in to JiffyLube: oil was low (got the synthetic), tranny fluid was fine. I got both flushed, just because. A couple days later the check engine light starts flashing. No symptoms but I'm supposed to take it back to check for leaks and levels so I ask them to check codes while they're at it. No leaks, levels are fine, and the kid pulls a code which means nothing to either of us. He suggests the Mazda dealership down the road so I make an appointment, as one does. Then the CEL goes off. I cancel the appointment because I'm not about to pay +$150 for them to check for codes which aren't being thrown.
Fast forward a week and the CEL's come on, turned off, turned on, flashed, turned off, etc. I've found a pattern and I can probably get the CEL to flash before taking it in to the shop. I registered on this forum because ya'll seem to have pretty good handle on what's going on. One way or another, I'm almost certainly going to have to pay a shop for the work but I'd like to go in with a working hypothesis (or few).
Symptoms: When in full automatic, the CEL turns on after driving for awhile. Not necessarily long distances, but enough to really warm up (under 10-15km). If I keep going (+30km), the transmission will randomly (infrequently) downshift then pop back up. This usually happens above 70km/hr, so between 3rd and 4th. I can "fix" the problem by switching to the sport shift. The shiftronic response was never something I'd celebrate, a little slow to respond IMO, but that's probably me not knowing the shift points. It'll do as I instruct and doesn't shift (improperly) without my direction. If the CEL is flashing, it'll stop in ~5km and turn off in 10-20km. If I go back to full auto, CEL will come back and shifting will start acting up again.
Reading the forum:
Did I miss anything?
Has anything I've written removed any of these options from consideration?
P.S. Based on the many cars I've killed (this is the first car I've bought under 200k miles) I had come initial hypotheses:
(a) dying fuel pump. Wouldn't be affected by using sport shift.
(b) bad gas/clogged fuel filter. Isn't an option 'cause the P5 has a "sock" in the fuel tank (wha?), and I've been buying premium from various gas stations since then.
(c) blown head gasket. Wouldn't be affected by using sport shift (or get better by driver more).
(d) tranny goin' toe-up. Pretty gentle symptoms for a dying tranny. They usually buck like a bull.
(e) oxygen censor dying. I've heard this a half-dozen times from friends/family but I don't know why that would make any sense here.
The story:
I've got a 2003 Protoge5 (~135,000km) with a sport shift, that shiftronic pseudo-manual automatic deal-e-o. I took it in to JiffyLube: oil was low (got the synthetic), tranny fluid was fine. I got both flushed, just because. A couple days later the check engine light starts flashing. No symptoms but I'm supposed to take it back to check for leaks and levels so I ask them to check codes while they're at it. No leaks, levels are fine, and the kid pulls a code which means nothing to either of us. He suggests the Mazda dealership down the road so I make an appointment, as one does. Then the CEL goes off. I cancel the appointment because I'm not about to pay +$150 for them to check for codes which aren't being thrown.
Fast forward a week and the CEL's come on, turned off, turned on, flashed, turned off, etc. I've found a pattern and I can probably get the CEL to flash before taking it in to the shop. I registered on this forum because ya'll seem to have pretty good handle on what's going on. One way or another, I'm almost certainly going to have to pay a shop for the work but I'd like to go in with a working hypothesis (or few).
Symptoms: When in full automatic, the CEL turns on after driving for awhile. Not necessarily long distances, but enough to really warm up (under 10-15km). If I keep going (+30km), the transmission will randomly (infrequently) downshift then pop back up. This usually happens above 70km/hr, so between 3rd and 4th. I can "fix" the problem by switching to the sport shift. The shiftronic response was never something I'd celebrate, a little slow to respond IMO, but that's probably me not knowing the shift points. It'll do as I instruct and doesn't shift (improperly) without my direction. If the CEL is flashing, it'll stop in ~5km and turn off in 10-20km. If I go back to full auto, CEL will come back and shifting will start acting up again.
Reading the forum:
- It could be a software glitch which is solved by flashing the computer.
- It could be wheel speed sensors on the fritz.
- There may be a bad switch in the shifter assembly, which is a pretty cheap fix (great photos, but I'm not gonna do it).
- I saw something about hitting the solenoid with a hammer, especially if the sluggish sport shifter is real and not normal (as opposed to my manual-driving lizard brain being judgy). Or possibly replacing it.
Did I miss anything?
Has anything I've written removed any of these options from consideration?
P.S. Based on the many cars I've killed (this is the first car I've bought under 200k miles) I had come initial hypotheses:
(a) dying fuel pump. Wouldn't be affected by using sport shift.
(b) bad gas/clogged fuel filter. Isn't an option 'cause the P5 has a "sock" in the fuel tank (wha?), and I've been buying premium from various gas stations since then.
(c) blown head gasket. Wouldn't be affected by using sport shift (or get better by driver more).
(d) tranny goin' toe-up. Pretty gentle symptoms for a dying tranny. They usually buck like a bull.
(e) oxygen censor dying. I've heard this a half-dozen times from friends/family but I don't know why that would make any sense here.
Last edited:
