My 2002 Protege LX is a lemon$$$$

[IHateMyProtege]

I just have to vent! I bought a Mazda for the first time, brand new, in 2002. It is the worst car I have ever owned. It presently has 60,000 miles on it.

The tires went bad by 30,000 miles and the only tires made for this car are expensive high performance models. The battery leaked and ate right through the positive cable. The car, of course, uses an expensive battery. (Plus tow charges.)

The front hood rattles. The inside trunk release is broken and now the trunk key lock won't work either. So now I don't have trunk access. The rubber trim around the driver's door is bad and leaks air. The heat gets too hot and the air conditioning doesn't get cold once the outdoor temp goes over 90 degrees.

The rotors warped. The LCD display broke on the radio. The entire underneath rattles when going over bumps. (I'm getting that checked out this weekend. $$$$ I'm sure!) Of course, all went bad right after the warranties ran out. No more Mazdas for me. My next car will be a Toyota!

[almighty4wd]

shoulda got a 1st gen instead

[Protegebuddy]

Prolly Should've brought it to a shop and had it looked at before buying.

[EricM]

1) there are economy tires made for that car.
2) you do not need an "expensive" battery.
3) you could put a new door gasket on yourself for very cheap (check ebay)
4) heat being too hot doesn't sound like a problem
5) maybe an a/c recharge, but thats down the road since its winter

he bought the car brand new, no reason to take it to a shop first. however, it sounds like some of the things just happen to be bad luck. you're on the wrong board to be complaining about mazdas, they're actually very good cars.

[96ProDX]

yea im sure all those probs could be fixed cheaply enough if u tried. It doesnt sound like a complete lemon, just a few kinks, even toyotas have problems, i think every car does.

[Roocer]

I just have to vent! I bought a Mazda for the first time, brand new, in 2002. It is the worst car I have ever owned. It presently has 60,000 miles on it.

.... My next car will be a Toyota!

I also like Toyota cars too and I also bought a 3rd gen Protege with just over 60,000 miles last year. It's been a great car for me ever since.

Although stock replacement parts like tires and battery might be expensive, there are cheaper alternatives. For tires, TireRack.com usually has a pretty good selection of tires you can get them online or ask you local tire shop to see if they can order the same tires for you.

My radio LCD went out on me too. You can buy some pretty cheap Mazda factory radio's on eBay or just get a cheap $20-$30 replacement at you local electronic or auto parts store.

My heater also gets pretty hot when I use it. After that happens I usually just turn back the temperature dial a bit. Before I bought the car, the previous owner took the car in for the 60K maintenance and had the A/C checked up. With that I A/C has been pretty good to me since then.

[Roocer]

I just have to vent! I bought a Mazda for the first time, brand new, in 2002. It is the worst car I have ever owned. It presently has 60,000 miles on it.

.... My next car will be a Toyota!

I like Toyota cars too and I also bought a 3rd gen Protege with just over 60,000 miles last year. It's been a great car for me ever since.

Although stock replacement parts like tires and battery might be expensive, there are cheaper alternatives. For tires, TireRack.com usually has a pretty good selection of tires you can get them online or ask you local tire shop to see if they can order the same tires for you.

My radio LCD went out on me too. You can buy some pretty cheap Mazda factory radio's on eBay or just get a cheap $20-$30 replacement at you local electronic or auto parts store.

My heater also gets pretty hot when I use it. After that happens I usually just turn back the temperature dial a bit. Before I bought the car, the previous owner took the car in for the 60K maintenance and had the A/C checked up. With that the A/C has been pretty good to me since then.

[zerocover]

I have 90,000 miles. And the only problem, which wasn't really a problem is that the maf was recalled. Other then that this thing does not do into the dealer for any problems. Other then routine maintenance, things a champ.

Heat is hot so I turn the dial from all the way red to a little less red. AC is ice cold, i get complaints on it all the time. So I dial it to less blue. Hmmmm.