how reliable are the protege5???

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drummer829

Member
hey everyone, i was looking for a cheap 4 cyl. reliable car and looking at the protege5's. ive seen a couple around 70-90k miles and just wondering if im going to hit any serious problems in that mileage range or if im going to experiance any problems in the future, like transmission, engine problems, etc...any help would be great
 
VERY! if the timing belt, waterpump/thermo is done. they should me good for many many years
 
If the car has been maintained and hasn't been modified it shouldn't have any serious problems.
My car has 81k miles and has only needed maintence items like plugs, filters and brake pads.
I don't know what may happen in the future, if I did I would know when to sell. All bets are
off if the engine has been modified.

Clifton
 
my old pro5 didnt give me any troubles.. trans was going when i ditched it and that was only due to the fact it had around 170k on it and it still didnt burn any oil!

Edit: It had a intake, header, pullies, motor mounts, brakes, wheels and a few other odds and ends done to it... and i flogged that thing all over the place.
 
I've owned mine since it had 13 miles on it (has 108,000 now) and the only things I've HAD to replace was a Thermostat, coil, and a radiator, besides the basic stuff like fluids and plugs and brakes. I didn't have any mods except a cat back exhaust and I just recently put a HKS intake amd Racing Beat suspension and I actually got am extra 3 miles per gallon with the intake.
 
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thats good to know because i need a nice reliable cheap car thats good on gas, def getting an intake for it and thats about it
 
so far, mine has 91,000 miles on it (147,000km's) and the engine / transmission seems strong. It's been maintained by Mazda since day one by a single owner.
 
As I second owner of this car, I know that MAF has been replaced and that these cars are known for their bad rear ABS sensors :)
 
drummer829 said:
hey everyone, i was looking for a cheap 4 cyl. reliable car and looking at the protege5's. ive seen a couple around 70-90k miles and just wondering if im going to hit any serious problems in that mileage range or if im going to experiance any problems in the future, like transmission, engine problems, etc...any help would be great
Click to expand...

Ours has been reliable, but I strongly suggest you get the manual if MPG matters to you and you do much city driving. Our auto has never been very thrifty in mostly city driving. 21-23 mpg is not very impressive for a small car. Highway MPG should be about the same for auto and manual.
 
pasadena_commut said:
Ours has been reliable, but I strongly suggest you get the manual if MPG matters to you and you do much city driving. Our auto has never been very thrifty in mostly city driving. 21-23 mpg is not very impressive for a small car. Highway MPG should be about the same for auto and manual.
Click to expand...

werid my old auto got 24-27mpg intown... Now my MSP gets liek 21-28mg in town depending on how I drive it.
 
I got mine with 114 miles on it off the showroom floor (probably a demo) in March of 2003, and now I have a little over 136,000 miles. All I've had to replace besides the basic stuff are the front wheel bearings.

Still runs great and I still drive it like I stole it.
 
My P5 is a 2002 model with almost 160,000 km on it. The motor is pretty solid, the only thing i've had to change on the motor is the thermostat.

However, body and drivetrain on the P5 is another matter (especially in more northern climates)

First and foremost: RUST, it goes through the body like butter so you better rustproof it with oil yearly
Here's a list of repairs that i've had to do;

New calipers all around due to seisure
new stabilizer links all round (twice)
handbrake cable seized
front control arms changed (twice)
front shocks
rear wiper motor gone
abs sensor problems
new front exhaust pipe rusted out and new doughnut
new oil pan
rebuilt alternator

Golden rules to follow when making repairs:

USE ANTISEIZE
heat nuts and bolts to loosen
use lots of penetrant fluid
be patient.


Madmaz
 
Mine is a 2003 mp5 90k miles, I would say it's pretty reliable, I'm second owner, been 2 years and never had major problem, MPG is not that good tho ( 21- 25 MPG average I do highway/city ) here's the thing that been changed or problem on my car.

repaired by the last owner:
front caliper
alternator
Battery

Those are what I've done:
intake hose
Abs sensor problem ( Have to clean it once in a while )
rear wiper motor


This car eats headlight, I changed mine twice already...I think this car rust pretty badly, everytime I cross another protege5, I always see lots of rust. Mine is starting to rust on the wheel well and inside the door. The car is made cheap, but fun to drive!

Bonclay
 
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Updated 1/24/15.

Bought new 09/03 (188K ago). One wheel bearing, one timing belt, one battery, plug wires/coil packs at 150K (random misfire--coil pack 3/4), 2 sets plugs, three sets pads. No other problems.

Mods have produced 120 DYNOED whp, 124 lb/ft torque and consistent 29+-33+ mpg. Run Valvoline 5W/20 summer, 5W/30 winter, change every 5K. Burns a qt every 2k driven hard. Dead reliable.

No rust. Would never part with it.
​
 
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Very reliable. Bought new in 2002 and have only ever done tires, oil, brakes once, and air filter. Only 1 small spot of rust on the front strut tower. Nothing bothersome.
 
I sold my manual trans P5 with 180k and it still ran perfectly. I now have an auto with 161k and no problems yet.
 
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