2002 Mazda Protege problems
Owners have filed 133 complaints about the 2002 Mazda Protege with NHTSA. Seat belts account for 15.8% of them — narrowly the most common, ahead of power train at 12.8%.
Complaints133
Crashes19
Fires3
Injuries23
Deaths0
What owners report breaking
Seat belts 15.8% · 21
Power train 12.8% · 17
Air bags 7.5% · 10
Electrical system 7.5% · 10
Tires 6.8% · 9
Structure 6.8% · 9
Service brakes, hydraulic 6.0% · 8
Fuel system, gasoline 5.3% · 7
Severity
Of those complaints, 19 describe a crash, 3 describe a fire and 23 report an injury.
Reading the numbers
Across the 6 model years of the Mazda Protege in this data, 2002 ranks 3rd by complaint volume — 1995 draws the most.
Filings are rising — 13 in the last three years against 11 in the three before. For a vehicle this age that usually points to a wear-related failure owners are hitting now.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 65,000 miles.
In owners' own words
The rear seat belt mechanism failed. While riding in the car my daughter fell asleep. When she sat upright the seat belt had twisted around her middle. She was able to release the latch but the seat belt was feeding back in and would not release. I tried to pull the seat belt and was unable to advance the belt. It would retract causing more constriction on her. I eventually had to cut the belt to free her. Seat belts · reported at 41,000 miles
: The contact stated the driver seat belt would not buckle at all. There was no click when the seat belt was inserted in the buckle, and the belt did not lock into the buckle. The vehicle was taken to a service dealer, where the dealer was unable to determine the cause of the problem. A new part was ordered. The manufacturer was also notified. Seat belts · reported at 75,800 miles
2002 Mazda Protege. Driver-side seat belt receiver , the piece that the seat belt clips into, shattered when inserting the seat belt. Our car now has no seat belt, and there were no recalls for that particular year. We have to spend over $150 to have it replaced by Mazda. Seat belts
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…