Overview & Reviews

User Reviews:

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  Decent Car that needs tweaking - 2000 Mazda Protege
  By ptben - November 2 - 2:00 am

  Theres a factory defect in the way a front knuckle was put in in the steering column. took several attempts to finally get the dealership to fix it. Good little car. Its just be in the shop for a new catalytic converter, new starter, new fly wheel, wears brakes quickly even though we drive very conservatively.

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  Mazda Lemon - 2000 Mazda Protege
  By No Zoom Zoom Here - February 17 - 10:00 am

  Some of these cars may have a manufacturing fault with wheelbase and castor settings. This causes the car to drift and wander, necessitating constant correction on the steering. This results in an exhausting drive over longer distances or in adverse conditions. I see another reviewer has had front end/steering problems and wouldnt be surprised to bet they are the same as on my car. Definitely my first and last Mazda.

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  Last Mazda For Me! - 2000 Mazda Protege
  By Lamrin - April 2 - 4:43 pm

  This was my first new car. I regret the purchase. I should have gotten a Corolla. Gas mileage is a joke for a small 1.6L auto. I had the rad replaced twice under warranty. At 3 yrs I noticed rust on the bottom front passenger side door. I now have rust inside both rear wheel wells (winters are harsh where I live). AC no longer works and never blew very cold. CD player is extremely finicky. Sometimes it plays, sometimes not. I think it might be related to temperature and humidity. Volume goes up when turning it down. The OD button doesnt work anymore. Some dash lights in the tach are blown. The car is very reliable. Its never broken down on me. I like the interior and trunk space.

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  It held up...but.. - 2000 Mazda Protege
  By Jussy_in_NJ - November 11 - 8:50 pm

  This car held up. I bought it with 68,000 miles on it. While it held up it had terrible handling. And the noises it made were embarrassing and ridiculous. It constantly sounded like it was dying. I never had this car stall and I drove about 40 miles to and from work daily. But if your looking for a nice car thats going to be a quiet ride.. this isnt for you.

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  Poor Gas Mileage - 2000 Mazda Protege
  By t - October 11 - 3:46 pm

  Reliable transportation, like others noticed that volume went down when trying to go up. Then one day the cd player just quit. Not really happy with gas mileage - noticed that right away after buying it - not at all like my Civic. I had to fill up every third day with the Mazda - every fourth with a Civic. I get about 26 mpg.

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  What happened? - 2000 Mazda Protege
  By buzz - March 28 - 10:00 am

  Bought this car new at the end of the model year. Just got it out of the shop, again. This is the second time in 1 1/2 years that the fuel injector had to be replaced. Both times I took the car in for repairs, it took a while to diagnose the problem. Overall the drive is clean. Only major complaint is inadequate power for acceleration when merging on the highway or driving up a hill (especially if the air conditioner is on--then you can forget it!!) As long as you can get a good "run" towards a hill the car will GO.

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  Ok - 2000 Mazda Protege
  By Vince - March 23 - 8:30 am

  Just bought this used to act as commuter car. Styling is more boring than white paper. Engine is very loud at highway speeds. For a small car, gas mileage isnt too impressive. Probably due to the fact that engine is around 3500 RPMs when cruising @ 70 MPH. Fairly agile and nimble. Fun to drive backroads, unless you have a lot of hills, then expect a struggle. Not too shabby as a commuting car, but Im glad this isnt my pride and joy.