1991 Mazda Protege
Safety record from NHTSA: recalls, owner complaints, investigations and service bulletins.
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Vehicles › Mazda › Protege › 1991
These records cover every 1991 Mazda Protege. To see whether one car still needs a recall repair, decode its VIN or check it with NHTSA.
Recalls
1 recall names the 1991 Mazda Protege. Newest first.
Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain model year 1989-1998 MPV, 1990-1995 323, 1990-1998 Protege, 1992-1993 MX-3, 1993-1995 929, 1993-1997 MX-6, and 1993-1998 626 vehicles. In the affected vehicles, grease applied to the contact points inside the ignition switch may become conductive and overheat.
Risk and remedy
Risk
If the ignition switch overheats there would be an increased risk of a fire.
Remedy
Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the ignition switch, free of charge. The recall began on December 17, 2015. Owners may contact Mazda Customer Experience Center at 1-800-222-5500, option#6. Mazda's number for this recall is 8715J.
Owner complaints
51 complaints5 involved a crash2 involved a fire8 injuries
What owners report most
Latest complaints
- Electrical system
TL* the contact owned a 1991 mazda protege. While driving various speeds, smoke appeared under the hood. There were no flames visible and no injuries. The vehicle was destroyed. The contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 15v674000 (electrical system). The failure mileage was unknown.
- Air bags · Seat belts
TL* the contact owns a 1991 mazda protege. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 45 mph during rain weather conditions, the vehicle went over a pothole causing the contact to lose control of the vehicle and stopping on the shoulder of the road. The contact then attempted to drive…
TL* the contact owns a 1991 mazda protege. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 45 mph during rain weather conditions, the vehicle went over a pothole causing the contact to lose control of the vehicle and stopping on the shoulder of the road. The contact then attempted to drive and the vehicle spun crashing the front of the vehicle into a tree. The seat belt detached and the contact was released from the rear window. The air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was towed and deemed destroyed. The contact received knee, head, and back injuries which required medical attention. A police report was filed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 90,000. updated 03/15/16*lj *tr
- Structure › Body
Rear strut towers rust right through. *tr
- Seat belts › Front › Retractor
The automatic shoulder belt would retract slower and slower until it finally stopped retracting. The consequences were: on april 18, 2005 I was given a fix-it ticket for not wearing my shoulder harness.*ak the automatic harness no longer fully retracts, so it IS useless.
- Seat belts › Front
The seat belt cord on my 1991 mazda protege has become inoperable and therefore I have no top seat belt on my cars driver side. *Ak
- Structure › Body › Hood › Hinge and attachments
While driving, the vehicle's hood detached resulting in the hood hitting the windshield.*mr *cb *jb
- Seat belts › Front › Retractor
Driver side seat belt will not return to the retactor, leaving the occupant unrestrained. Dealer notifed. Feel free to provide any further information.*ak
- Power train › Automatic transmission
Transmition locked up going 65 mph. *Ak
- Structure › Body › Trunk lid
Trunk lid was in the up position and trunk came down and hit consumer's daughter on head. *Ak consumer states nothing to keep the trunk lid in upright position. A slight wind or elevation could blow the open lid down and may cause serious injury. *Yh
- Seat belts
Seat belt seat belt warning light and beep go on and off intermittently while driving due to an electrical connector wearing through in the drivers shoulder belt retractor located in the center console. Replaced several times under warranty. Part IS nearly $300. Several people I know with this model and year have the same problem.*ak
- Seat belts · Seat belts › Front › Warning light/devices
Seat belt warning light and beep go on and off intermittently while driving due to an electrical connector wearing through in the drivers shoulder belt retractor located in the center console. replaced several times under warranty. part IS nearly $300. several people I know with this model and year have the same problem.
- Service brakes, hydraulic › Foundation components · Structure
With vehicle in drive & at a standstill, car vibrates heavily, replace motor mounts and transmission mounts but problem still persists.* et
- Tires
Third tire of set of 4 that tread had separated - this one totaled the car and injured one person. Tire had 18,000 miles wear. *ak (tiresize: p185/60r14)( dot number: tire size: p185/60r14 )
- Seat belts › Front › Retractor
Current recall on mazda 323 motorized safety belt does not cover the mazda protege which has the identical part number. my car's belt has failed due to this defect and mazda refuses tocover it.*ak
- Exterior lighting › Headlights
Dates are approximate. headlights: both lens's were fogged/yellowing later when I went to dealer in leesburg, va (pateros); service manage tried to clean.. Made worse. then I realized that lens's were plastic! -- his cleaning solution melted that part of the lens. I believe that the…
Dates are approximate. headlights: both lens's were fogged/yellowing later when I went to dealer in leesburg, va (pateros); service manage tried to clean.. Made worse. then I realized that lens's were plastic! -- his cleaning solution melted that part of the lens. I believe that the headlights should last the duration of the car's life. --That I should get replacements as they are a safety feature. engine: a year and a half ago engine will emit black smoke when on treadmill for emissions inspection and smokes white when I sit for length of time idling. three valves needed to be replaced under warranty years ago -- I think the engine should not be doing this at this point and either the now defunct service dept did improper job or have a defective engine. I have followed regular schedule for oil changes. passenger seat: the springs have fallen apart completely, I thought perhaps one of my kids did it years ago but went to see about repair and was pointed out that the whole seat frame/springs IS falling apart!
- Seats › Front assembly › Recliner
On three occasions while driving the rear seat belt fell apart while making a turn. replacment could not be done due to no warranty. *yc
- Latches/locks/linkages › Doors › Latch
Rear doors will not unlock.this happens when the car IS on or off ,and these are manual doors.dealer has yet to be contacted. *ak
- Seat belts › Front › Anchorage
Automatic shoulder safety belt has locked up in the release position. it appears the operating mechanism for the safety belt has jumped off track.
- Electrical system › Wiring › Fuses and circuit breakers
The horn goes off randomly without applying it due to a short circuit in the steering column. Dealer has not seen vehicle. *ak
- Electrical system
At gas station to fuel vehicle. Reached for fuel lid & a burst of flames shot out. Driver's arm & hair were burned. Flames over gas lid. Fire department put flames out. Fire department stated that cause of fire was static electricity. *ak
- Vehicle speed control
Went to stop at stop light, engine continued to accelerate, unable to stop. Rearended stationary vehicle at light. Our vehicle totaled. Driver sustained injuries. *ak
- Seat belts › Front › Warning light/devices
Seat belt warning light and alarm activate at random times, causing owner to question whether seat belt will function properly in a crash. *ak
- Seat belts › Front › Retractor
While driving vehicle about 65 mph the seat belt won't retract, leaving consumer loose on the passenger side. *ak
- Seat belts
Driver's automatic lap and shoulder belt IS inoperable due to a malfunction within the motor. please give any further details. *ak
- Seat belts
Automatic part of the seat belt does not operate properly. The motor runs, shoulder part does not conntect. Vechicle does not comply to the recall. Dealer cannot repair, $500 at owners expense. *Ak
Defect investigations
NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened these reviews into vehicles including this one.
- Auto restraint system fail
There is no summary currently available
- Auto restraint system fail
There is no summary currently available
Service bulletins
Technical service bulletins and other communications the manufacturer sent dealers about this vehicle. Ask a dealer for the full document by its number.
- 10213425Speedometer replacement procedure
- 10153339In accordance with Federal regulations, follow the procedure listed below when replacing a speedometer. NOTE: Tampering with a motor vehicle odometer is strictly prohibited by Federal, and State laws. It is the dealer's responsibility to comply with Federal, State, and local laws concerning odometer and related documentation requirements when providing a repair or replacement. Mazda vehicles are manufactured with tamper-proof speedometers. When a speedometer is replaced, the new speedometer will read zero (0) miles. This procedure is extremely important to accurately represent actual vehicle mileage. Prior to speedometer removal, complete the information required on the "Speedometer Replacement Label". Labels can only be ordered through Mazda eStore. In an effort to achieve a higher level of Customer Experience and retain the value of Mazda's vehicles, MNAO Warranty Operations is allowing all Mazda dealers to utilize a third party, SPECMO Enterprises, Inc., for Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC) odometer setting service. With the use of SPECMO's services, it is possible that the odometer will be set between 10 to 31 miles over the odometer mileage at the time of replacement for both warranty and customer pay repairs. Please make sure that the customer is aware that there may be a slight variance to the odometer, in which case the customer may have to accept the slightly higher mileage. Since odometer setting service is not part of the warranty repair, it is not warrantable nor required, but optional. However, Mazda Warranty policy provides after-warranty assistance (AWA) or DSA that can be utilized to cover this service expense.
- 10148072In accordance with Federal regulations, follow the procedure listed below when replacing a speedometer. NOTE: Tampering with a motor vehicle odometer is strictly prohibited by Federal, and State laws. It is the dealer's responsibility to comply with Federal, State, and local laws concerning odometer and related documentation requirements when providing a repair or replacement. Mazda vehicles are manufactured with tamper-proof speedometers. When a speedometer is replaced, the new speedometer will read zero (0) miles. This procedure is extremely important to accurately represent actual vehicle mileage. Prior to speedometer removal, complete the information required on the "Speedometer Replacement Label". Labels can only be ordered through Mazda eStore. In an effort to achieve a higher level of Customer Experience and retain the value of Mazda's vehicles, MNAO Warranty Operations is allowing all Mazda dealers to utilize a third party, SPECMO Enterprises, Inc., for Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC) odometer setting service. With the use of SPECMO's services, it is possible that the odometer will be set between 10 to 31 miles over the odometer mileage at the time of replacement for both warranty and customer pay repairs. Please make sure that the customer is aware that there may be a slight variance to the odometer, in which case the customer may have to accept the slightly higher mileage. Since odometer setting service is not part of the warranty repair, it is not warrantable nor required, but optional. However, Mazda Warranty policy provides after- warranty assistance (AWA) or DSA that can be utilized to cover this service expense.
- 10118467In accordance with Federal regulations, follow the procedure listed below when replacing a speedometer. NOTE: Tampering with a motor vehicle odometer is strictly prohibited by Federal, and State laws. It is the dealer?s responsibility to comply with Federal, State, and local laws concerning odometerand related documentation requirements when providing a repair or replacement. Mazda vehicles are manufactured with tamper-proof speedometers. When a speedometer is replaced, the new speedometer will read zero (0) miles. This procedure is extremely important to accurately represent actual vehicle mileage. Prior to speedometer removal, complete the information required on the ?SpeedometerReplacement Label?.Labels can only be ordered through Mazda eStore. In an effort to achieve a higher level of Customer Experience and retain the value of Mazda?s vehicles, MNAO Warranty Operations is allowing all Mazda dealers to utilize a third party, SPECMO Enterprises, Inc., for Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC) odometer setting service.With the use of SPECMO?s services, a Mazda dealer can get the odometer setting updated to reflect the correct mileage at the time of replacement for both warranty and customer pay repairs, therefore resulting in a higher level of customer satisfaction. Since odometer setting service is not part of the warranty repair, it is not warrantable nor required, but optional. However, Mazda Warranty policy provides after- warranty assistance (AWA) or DSA that can be utilized to cover this service expense.
- 10098367In accordance with federal regulations, follow the procedure listed below when replacing a speedometer.note:mazda vehicles are manufactured with tamper-proof speedometers.when a speedometer IS replaced, the new speedometer will read zero (0) miles.this procedure IS extremely important to accurately represent actual vehicle mileage.prior to speedometer removal, complete the information required on the speedometer replace-ment label. Labels can only be ordered through mstore, not mdcs.
- 10009427Battery test procedure requirements.
- 10009424Speedometer replacement procedure.
- 605988Experiencing popping noise from front brake caliper during slow speed braking.
- 603891Conditions with steering wheel slightly off center.
- 603882Subject on passive seat belt retractor switch.
- 54319Pre-painting preparations for front and rear bumpers.
- 54318Subject pertaining to mtx overhaul information.
- 52520Parts replacement after airbag deployment.
- 52503Maintenance free battery - diagnostic and charging procedure.
- 52497Use of a/c tracer dye.
- 52492Wiper motor inoperative - circuit breaker activation.
- 44000Unknown
- 39687Fuel lid with remote fuel lid opener will not open.
- 39685Difficult operation of the power door lock.
- 39681Front door assist/grip breakage.
Every Mazda Protege model year
Bars are owner complaints, dots mark years with recalls. Select a year to open its report.