100K MP5 Club

250k now and going strong. no smoke, perfect compression, ice cold AC, hot heat, and every knob, button, and switch in the car works exactly as it should. i've actually been pretty impressed with this little $2k car :) I think i may have to replace either the starter or the clutch switch soon, every once in a while (it's happened twice in 6 months) i'll turn the key and nothing happens. But turn it off and back on and starts up without missing a beat, but hasn't happened enough to duplicate so i can figure out exactly what's wrong and i'm not one to blindly replace parts without condemning them first!
 
.. I think i may have to replace either the starter or the clutch switch soon, every once in a while (it's happened twice in 6 months) i'll turn the key and nothing happens....

It could also be your ignition switch...
 
It could also be your ignition switch...

nope. got it to fail... it was the battery terminals. previous owner had replaced them with some aftermarket ones and did a *really* crappy job at crimping the wires into the terminal. I grabbed the wires on the positive one to make sure the terminal was tight and they pulled right out with no resistance at all! Cleaned it up and crimped it better with some real crimpers, and its all good now. I'm just amazed that it didn't fail sooner!
 
I had an older 1.6L protege manual transmission. First car I learned stick on. It had over 300,000km and the car was in good shape. Needed a suspension refresh and a new starter, but the motor ran really quite well.
 
166k Timing belt went. in the past year i have done, rear trailing arms, O2 sensors, Main Cat, soon timing belt! Ill do the clutch at some point. needs new shocks and brakes.
 
166k Timing belt went. in the past year i have done, rear trailing arms, O2 sensors, Main Cat, soon timing belt! Ill do the clutch at some point. needs new shocks and brakes.
 
Will a well maintained P5 reach 300k?

I dont see why the engine and drivetrain wouldnt. The rest of the car? Im not sure itll be worth to keep fixing the little things that will break as the mileage racks up, a Corolla for example would be more reliable in that aspect.

The protege has the best engine in its class both in terms of reliability, fuel efficiency and power delivery in particular. They sound great, rev great, the gearing with the manual gearbox is quite good, and the chassis/suspension tuning is rather brilliant.

Ive owned a 1.6L protege 5 speed manual and the engine was in perfect condition with 300k KM on the clock. It really did run quite well and had lots and lots of life left in the drivetrain. The engine was in far better shape then both of my sixth gen Honda accords with the piece of s*** Honda f23 engine which makes less torque at lower RPMs smells like gas and gets pretty bad fuel economy while not being fast at all The suspension on my protege really needed a refresh but the rest of the car held up well.
 
I don’t see why the engine and drivetrain wouldn’t. The rest of the car? I’m not sure it’ll be worth to keep fixing the little things that will break as the mileage racks up, a Corolla for example would be more reliable in that aspect.

I couldn't disagree more. I'm at 250k miles on mine now and have no reason at all to believe it wouldn't do 300k plus. compression is still great across the board, doesn't leak or burn a drop of oil, AC is ice cold, heat is toasty warm, and every knob, button, and switch in the car works exactly like it is supposed to. While it is covered in mud most the time, it has zero rust and overall in pretty nice shape when i get a wild hair and clean it up. And while i do change the oil regularly about every 5k miles, i'll be honest and say i'm NOT Mr. Maintenance with this car... After all it IS a 15 year old car with 250k miles that i only paid $2k for a couple years ago. I don't intend to fix anything that ain't broke. And i've have very few problems out of it.

Having owned a 2002 Corolla also previous to this car (i actually sold the Corolla after i bought this one, 160k and burning a quart of oil about every 1k miles) from personal owner experience, the protege is a far superior machine in terms of reliability, ride, experience, and build quality (interior AND exterior). That's personal experience opinion. From professional opinion (from previously being a certified tech at a toyota dealership for years) i would also say the Protege is a far superior machine. A few points...

Corolla with 1zz engine (from 98 until 2008) are notorious for oil consumption, particularly 98-02 but it appliies to any of the 1zz motors. Fuel economy, again a win for Mazda. I never got better than about 31mpg in my corolla. I never get below 30mpg in my P5, and in the winter when i don't use the AC i can usually get closer to 35mpg. Maintenance on the Mazda is easier, the engine is smoother and quieter with a better power band. Aside from that, you see a TON of protege's with 200k plus miles still going strong. The Corolla of similar year range typically die long before then, though there are a few freaks of nature that make it to 200k plus, but they're far and few between.

Interior fit and finish and build quality, the P5 blows the corolla away. 250k miles on my P5 and i live on a farm so it's dirty, but cleans up well when i actually do clean it. No tears in the seat and the only notable wear is some of the silver paint on the driver's window switch from my knee resting on it. Every button and switch in the car works exactly like it is supposed to. Every window, wiper, door lock, even sunroof works flawlessly. if something broke i would fix it but i have not had to replace ANYTHING in this car except the timing belt and a vacuum switching valve. Oh and i replaced spark plugs when i bought it :)

Compare to Corolla, you won't find a 98-02 corolla that actually STILL HAS the door panels attached. Toyota used crap glue and they fall off of every single one. The interior layout is nowhere as nice as the Mazda in terms of comfort; the seats don't support, the dash is layed out blandly and the armrest in the center console is too low to be useful unless you ride like a thug. i don't. The carpet is thin and wears holes easily and the overall noise/comfort/ride quality is very "cheap". 03-08 is a little better but not much, and in that year range you'd be comparing to a Mazda 3 so that's apples and oranges anyway. The AC systems were problematic, i had to replace the expansion valve twice (OEM toyota parts not aftermarket) and had issues with the clutch as well. The AC has always been great in the Mazda minus the "flicker on #2" which i fixed with the resistor trick for free with some spare resistors i had laying around.




I have rambled enough lol. But if i were to buy again and had to choose between a Corolla or a P5, there would be absolutely no hesitation at all in picking the P5. I would go as far to say a "maintained" P5 should last 300k. a "well maintained" will likely go much further than that lol
 
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It wasn’t my decision but I owned a 04 corolla ce. That thing handles like garbage even after being lowered. The seats hurt my back and there was lack of leg space. With me being kind of tall, the steering wheel was far away by the time I sat at a comfortable position. Steering wasn’t responsive. It basically was the total opposite of what I wanted lol. I like go kart like vehicles. My friend had a protege at the time and I always liked driving his car over mine because it handled great in stock form. The corollas body panels moved when you pushed it with your fingers lols. I hated that vehicle with a passion.
 
250k timing belt broke (again). Last time was at about 190k. Tensioner spring was "sprung" to say the least. Another spring, another timing belt and $35 later i'm up and running better than ever again. zoom zoom :)
 
Just rolled 118K this week. I've loved every mile.

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Will a well maintained P5 reach 300k?

'H' yes it will!
328K miles. Original engine, one clutch, one radiator (although a deer antler went through the radiator). I bought it new and was at the dealership when it came off the truck.
Unfortunately, my daughter shot it in the head. Thermostat failed last week. Car over heated and she just kept starting it back up after letting it cool for 5 minutes until she got to work. Blew the head gasket in the process but it still got her to safety (about 25miles)!!!

I'm having it trailored home this week (about 90 miles). I will rebuild her.
 
I just bought a red 2002 P5 w/273k on the body. Don't know if the motor is original, and it was in pieces when i bought it(blown head gasket). The guy I bought it from said everything he removed was in the hatch, lies!



I had to visit the salvage for little things here and there about 10 times. Got it running a couple of weeks ago and have been driving it since last Tuesday. My first time having a manual shift vehicle as well! Hills were giving me fits the first couple days, think I have it down now.


 
2003 P5 manual tranny, 268,000 miles, still running strong. Compression great, burns oil though. Just put in all new rotors & pads. Normal wear and tear. Looking for a rear spoiler because mine is de-laminated. Yellow.
 
2002 P5 Vivid Yellow 207k. I bought this car new and it still runs well. The front and rear bumpers are faded but all in all ad 50/50 car.
 
I have a 2002.5 P5 manual with about 155k miles. My parents bought the car new and I got it from them in about 2007 with only 32k miles on it. My biggest concern is that I have small rust spots on the roof and along the black painted part of the B pillars. There is also some damage to the front and rear bumpers, and the passenger side front fender. Only the last one was my fault, I slipped my foot off the clutch while the wheels were turned to the curb so I jumped the curb and took out a wooden post. (sad1) This last year or so I've dropped some money into major repairs and I'm hoping to keep her for a long while... blemishes and all. Maybe it's time to explore forced induction. (thought)
 

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