Looking to buy a Protege 5, Any Advice?

X

X6Driver

Member
It's almost time to replace my loyal old friend, my 91 MX-6. The Protege 5 is on my list and in my price range. I don't know much about them year to year or what model I should look for.

Is there any particular one that is more of a lemon than the others? Is there much difference between the first year of production and the last? Particular problem areas to look for on a used 5? All I know for now is I want a 5 speed and sunroof.

Thanks.
 
X6Driver said:
It's almost time to replace my loyal old friend, my 91 MX-6. The Protege 5 is on my list and in my price range. I don't know much about them year to year or what model I should look for.

Is there any particular one that is more of a lemon than the others? Is there much difference between the first year of production and the last? Particular problem areas to look for on a used 5? All I know for now is I want a 5 speed and sunroof.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
well this is probably not my area of expertise but they were only made from 02'-03'...with the difference of leather seats, chrome wheels, sunroof ect, theres not much to choose from except colorwise....there is plenty in these forums if you want to know common problems and such, if you do normal required maintenance then it is a very reliable car...just loo karound these forums and see the beauty of the P5..(drive2)
 
I bought an 03.5 w/52K miles on the clock. Nearly all my motor mounts were trashed. I've replaced two so far and need to do more. My EGR valve is starting to give me crap, too. I love my P5, but in retrospect I wish I had gotten one with some warranty left on it. Then I would have gone to the dealer and bitched to get the motor mounts replaced and the EGR replaced with that new revised version.

My advice: buy an 03.5 (identifiable by lack of roof rack and sub in trunk) with < 50K miles on it.

Besides the motor mounts and dirty egr valves, other P5 problems include clutch chatter on '02s and loose VTCS screws (affected vehicles identified by a vin range). Oh, and the yellow ones have paint longevity issues.

Good luck.
 
Well for starters, the P5 is no lemon in any year, unless you get one that's been flooded or been in some sort of accident that they try to cover up! Always get a carfax report, most dealers have one but run one yourself and have YOUR mechanic look it over.

Warranties I find really are useless on a used vehicle, I had the 6 month factory warranty left which only covered the power train and I didn't purchase the dealerships extended warranty because it was for only 6 months as well and covered the same thing as the factory warranty, basically you would pay extra money for garanteeing there mechanics work who were crooked anyways and did nothing. On top of which each visit to their mechanic whether they found anything or not was a flat rate of $100 and the warranty did not cover that.

Not a whole lot of difference between models, the 02 which I have has more boxier lines which I love. The differences from year to year are really small, just things like different guages, shifter knobs, blinker light on the front quarter panel, cd changer, and like mentioned wheels are slightly different...just topical stuff basically.

The paint in general is bad straight from the factory but you should be able to find one with very few chips, just keep them touched up and make sure it hasn't been repainted, because when they do that they usually only put one coat of clear coat on and it will start chipping like crazy.

Rust is an issue in the rear wheel wells...I haven't had any issues with rust yet except for my oil pan but it all depends on where you live. I haven't had any issues with my motor mounts either and that's a common problem, basically a hit and a miss there, taking into consideration driving habits etc. Another common issue is endlinks/bushings which I am in need of at the moment lol.

Overall nothing too serious or hard to fix.

Most of them come with low Km's and second gear has issues but nothing that a little TLC can't smooth over lol.

Overall a wicked car, good on gas IMO but as I'm sure you know that depends on how you drive yada yada lol, comfortable, lots of space, suspension is A+, styling is sexy sexy, fierce and sly that says to those stupid mini vans and *cough* honda's lol move the hell outta my way yet sweet and innocent looking for when one gets into mischief :D, parts are easy to find and lots of room in the bay for mod's.

You really can't go wrong no matter what year you pick. Although I should mention the first 02's like mine have a nice stock shifter knob :D
 
I can't really notice any differences in body panels between the 02 and 03. Is the 02 really more boxy? I did notice the extra blinker light on the 03's.

Thanks for the advice.
 
By the way, I am in Canada, and I have heard there is an ES model up here with extra trim? Is this true? Is there any reason why there's a 03.5 model? what changed between the regular 2003 and the 2003.5? Thanks again.
 
X6Driver said:
Is there any particular one that is more of a lemon than the others?
Click to expand...

Well, this isn't quite "lemon", but definitely do not get the ATX if you don't do the majority of your driving on the highway. The ATX works fine, but in the city it knocks the MPG down from about 25-27 to 21-22. On the highway there's not much difference in MPG.

On the flip side some of the 2002 MTX cars had a problem with a weak shift fork.

Here's a site that lists the most common P5 problems:

http://www.protegefaq.net/tsb/
 
X6Driver said:
By the way, I am in Canada, and I have heard there is an ES model up here with extra trim? Is this true? Is there any reason why there's a 03.5 model? what changed between the regular 2003 and the 2003.5? Thanks again.
Click to expand...
US and Canada had slightly different standard items for both years; to my knowledge, the sub was never offered here in Canada, and we never had a standard roof-rack.

No, there was not an ES trim on the P5 - unless the dealer put some extra items on/in the car as a 'special edition', but that would only be on their lot. (say leather, chrome wheels, etc). The 03 models did have the extra sidemarker up on the front quarter panel. But some of the 03 models did have that recall for the screws in the VTCS - but again, it's only a certain VIN range, which the dealer will easily be able to check for you.

I personally do not find the 02's 'boxier' than the 03's... but I would suggest trying to get a late 02 or 03 model, simply because you won't have to deal with the *beep*ing annoying clutch chatter issue, and a few other items in with the tranny/shift forks/synchros etc were kind of strengthened and improved over the early 02 models. Oh, and the 02 models had chrome housing in the headlights while the 03 models had a black housing. Many people prefer the black housing... and guess what, you're lucky if you do: the black housing was offered from factory in Canada only :D

Hope this all helps. btw, what part of Canada?
 
JoshP5 said:
I bought an 03.5 w/52K miles on the clock. Nearly all my motor mounts were trashed. I've replaced two so far and need to do more. My EGR valve is starting to give me crap, too. I love my P5, but in retrospect I wish I had gotten one with some warranty left on it. Then I would have gone to the dealer and bitched to get the motor mounts replaced and the EGR replaced with that new revised version.

My advice: buy an 03.5 (identifiable by lack of roof rack and sub in trunk) with < 50K miles on it.

Besides the motor mounts and dirty egr valves, other P5 problems include clutch chatter on '02s and loose VTCS screws (affected vehicles identified by a vin range). Oh, and the yellow ones have paint longevity issues.

Good luck.
Click to expand...

Wow...sounds like you got a "bad" one. I haven't had any issues with my '02.5 Protege 5 in four years of ownership. Like everyone has posted, the changes between years mostly have to do with preferential things, like the availability of leather or spare tire subwoofer. Of course I'm not sure the differences with Canadian models, but there are plenty of Canadian Protege 5 owners on the forums who can better help you.

Red and yellow p5s have paint longevity issues, by the way.
 
Thanks again for all the excellent info. I am a member of mx6.com and when I found this website, I felt at home. It's nice to know there's a community of people to call on for questions on P5's. Mx6.com has saved me a lot of headaches and money, I think this forum will too.

I am from Victoria BC. Soon to move to Winnipeg (will need a block heater).
 
Welcome to the site

I <3 P5s :D :D

let's just say the block heater is "fun" to install. I wouldn't give mine up for anything though, it's so nice to have!
 
In Canada....

The other thing you'll notice is that the '02 had a crappy looking and feeling "golf ball" shift knob, whereas the '03 had a leather wrapped knob. Sorry it's my personal opinion.

The '02 had silver trim on the door pieces, whereas the '03 had fake carbon fibre look pieces.

And yes the '03 had the blacked out front light housing, and side marker "blinker".

Also the OEM wheels were different. I prefer the '02 personally.

You are thinking about the ES sedan with the GT package which offered a similar suspension, brakes, wheel and tire package as the P5, but I do not think that it included the front strut bar which the P5 has.

There were dealer offerred "special editions" with black leather seats with car colored matched stitching. It may have also had embroidered "Mazda" or "Zoom Zoom" on it (?). Also some special colored OEM wheels too.

If I was looking for a used car, I would avoid one that has been in Quebec. The P5 has a sporty and stiff suspension and when combined with Quebec's potholed roads.....

I would look for signs of rust on the rear wheel wells, the rear hatch esp. near the emblems. I've seen it with my own eyes! I was fortunate to have mine Krown rust proofed when I bought mine.

The EGR needs regular self maintanance.

The rear headrests block too much of the rear view so I stow them until needed.

I can't tell you how many dings in my paintjob (it is really thin and crappy paint) I've had on my OEM hood.

When you wash this car, water loves to hide everywhere esp. the mirrors, the rear side windows at the bottom and under the rear spoiler.

I would avoid the OEM wheel locks as they have shattered on me and other owners. I would avoid McGard locks since the key has shattered on me. I'm happy with Gorilla wheel locks.

Don't use Fram oil filters. The OEM ones are very good.

If there's anything else just ask.
 
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Action Jackson said:
The other thing you'll notice is that the '02 had a crappy looking and feeling "golf ball" shift knob, whereas the '03 had a leather wrapped knob. Sorry it's my personal opinion.
Click to expand...

See now I'm the other way, the golf ball looking one is what I have and I love it. I hate the snake shaped leather wrapped one lol. All personal preference tho :)

Action Jackson said:
If I was looking for a used car, I would avoid one that has been in Quebec. The P5 has a sporty and stiff suspension and when combined with Quebec's potholed roads.....
Click to expand...

Mine is the early 02 model, and from Quebec, with no clutch chatter and in awesome shape, rusted oil pan aside lol...

Action Jackson said:
The rear headrests block too much of the rear view so I stow them until needed.
Click to expand...

Are you short? lol sorry that was my first thought because I don't find they block anything. Course with dark tint it really doesn't matter.

Also X6 Driver I'm in Canada as well. East coaster born and raised :D(rockon)

And yes I find it more boxier than the later models...the later models have the same curves just slightly softer..not really noticeable from a distance but I find it very noticeable upclose and when looking down at it. The first time it caught my eye was when I parked beside an 03 at the mall.
 
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they're the exact same car body-wise though.. the only different is the more angular looking wheels and the sidemarker lamps.
 
I bought my 02 three years ago with 16k miles, and have loved every minute of driving it. I have had zero problems with the car, and now it has 45k miles. I also have darkly tinted windows, so the rear headrests are not as much of an issue. I don't have to worry about the one and only recall on the p5 because it only applies to the 03 models (loose screws in the VTCS). Mine is sunlight silver metallic, and there is no rust anywhere on the car. But If I have a complaint, it would be the thin paint and how easy it chips.

You should definitely pick up a p5, you won't be disapointed. But as was stated before, have your own mechanic check it out before signing the paperwork.
 
No matter what you get, be it a P5 or whatever turns out to be more suitable for you, my only advice is to customize it.

You don't need to spend 1000s or even 100s on it to make it yours. There are so many things out there to make it different and to make it scream "you".

But getting away from the general talk, P5 specifcally are so easy to customize with all the accessories that are available. And they really do stand out in a crowd with their basic body design with or w/out any mods.

When I look at the cars around me when I'm driving, I really can't see myself in anything else but mine! It's practical, it definitely gets the jobs done that I need it to do, and damn, I have fun driving it. And what's more - it matched the budget that I had to put towards my next car.

:)
 
Why am I suddenly worried about my car?

My 2003.5 has been good. Replaced one ABS sensor and that's it so far in 40,000 miles.

I do have silver trim plates on the doors, though. Someone above mentioned carbon fiber door trim on the 2003s. Not mine.
 
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