2003 Mazda Protege suspension problems

Filed Dec 5, 2017 · Steering, Suspension · 8,000 miles · PR

Excessive wear in the area inside and outside in tires ... Many several workshops can not correct the alignment fault ... The steering wheel go to the right and I have to force to the left ... All the front and rear suspension part are new , including the shock absorber is new and control arm and link rod and bushing ...the centric bolt not correct the failure ...I see over ethernet many people has the same fail in this car ..I buy this car new and never crashed or or mistreated ..I report this in this year because people have told me it's a manufacturing fault..and I have had too much expenses and I can not solve ... Right now I need to buy other tires...please I need a solution ...I send a ethernet photo and the car and color is same ...to remember the milleage valor and year presented in the next question in this form is approximated ...thank you I wait you response

Filed Jun 23, 2014 · Body, Steering · 134,000 miles · OH

Passenger side strut tower has rusted to the point that failure of the suspension is imminent. The rust inhibitor that was applied from mazda motor corp. During manufacturing, on the passenger front wheel well has failed and is allowing water, road salt etc to enter the engine bay and cause severe rusting on the top and side portion of the strut tower where the side motor mount and strut tower brace attach to the strut tower. The failure of the rust inhibitor has now caused the failure of the steel strut tower which in-turn could cause the engine and/or front passenger side suspension to become dislodged and cause a severe accident. Pictures can be provided upon request.

Filed Apr 21, 2014 · Steering, Suspension · 99,000 miles · NY

I bought the car from a smaller cheap dealership, I had no idea that the front end would be as bad as it got. My lower control arm / ball joint was so corroded every time I made a left turn it would make a loud noise in the left front wheel then would continue to happen over and over each time. This would happen often when it was dry and warm and sat for awhile. Living in buffalo, well you can not help but hit potholes in some places more than others. This would make the problem worse and throw my steering off while travel at a high rate of speed. If I was doing the curves on route 33 or route 290 I would have to slow done to maintain steering ability. I have recently been told it was so bad I could lose my wheel and crash. So I went to a local repair shop and they fixed the problem; but with a slightly new problem one of the screws were so corroded they charged me $100.00 to make an access panel from my drivers side floor panel under my feet. The total for just those parts came to $350.00 plus wheel alignment.

Filed Jan 3, 2014 · Body, Suspension · 163,000 miles · OH

Passenger side inner fender where the strut is mounted is getting rusted badly making the car unsafe to drive. Car runs fine but I can push with the finger from the wheel side and see the body move. If car goes over a pot hole it might make the strut fall off and cause a major accident. This is structure issue. I cant replace anything. Mazda should buy it back just like nissan did on their pathfinder.

Filed Aug 20, 2012 · Suspension · 98,000 miles · NY

My car does that as I am turning out the driveway and going over the bumps on roads.

Filed Mar 1, 2011 · Electrical, Engine · CA

2003 mazda protege. Consumer states electrical problems with vehicle and several other concerns *tgw the consumer stated the lights stayed on and the alarm would sound intermittently. The dealer replaced the electrical module. The consumer also stated the engine overheated due to a water pump leak and leaking radiator, the battery was replaced several times, the vehicle was out of alignment, and the consumer had to purchase three sets of tires.

Filed Nov 11, 2009 · Suspension · 00

I would like to make you aware of a problem with mazda protg's. I am not the only one with this problem, which is a safety issue. There are brackets on top of the strut tower that are not coated or coated properly to prevent rusting. The rust on my car and may others is seen covering the top of the strut tower. As you know there is a lot of pressure at this point on vehicles. If the rust advances enough ' the strut and wheel can and will come up through the hood. The result will be a vehicle losing control and crashing into whatever is around. Mazda is unresponsive to this issue. Could you please investigate this issue as many people can be hurt or killed by this. I have pictures of my car if you'd like to see them (unable to submit through this site) and a link to an automotive web site with additional pictures and comments. Http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/piston-slap-mazda-protege5-in-god-we-rust/.

Filed Jan 22, 2007 · Suspension · 10,000 miles · PA · crash · 1 injury

Tl* - the contact owns a 2003 mazda protg. The contact was driving 15 MPH when the passenger side lower control arm split in half and the strut went through the fender along with the upper control arm. The road conditions were normal. When the vehicle hit the ground both airbags deployed. The driver was injured as a result. The police filed a report; however, the contact feels that some of the information is incorrect. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and was told that the failure was caused by hitting something in the road; the contact disagreed. The dealer will not cover the repair under the warranty.

Filed Jun 29, 2004 · Steering, Suspension · CO

Mazdas peed protege suffers from excess torque steer and very unstable steering at speeds over 30 mile per hour. If you excellerate hard the vehicle will jump left or right depending on speed. Also when travelling at highway speed vehicle will swerve left or right without warning or for any noticable reason also at highway speed the vehicle tends to drift in its lane. Dealer service states that this is normal for a high performance vehicle and nothing is wrong. I have owned many high performance automobiles and have never seen this before. This condition has almost resulted in accidents on many occasions and only radical steering has prevented an accident so far.

Filed Jun 29, 2004 · Suspension · CO

The front suspension on the 2003.5 mazdaspeed protege has a very bad noise which you can hear when passing over speed bumps or any small bump in the road. The noise sounds like a soda can being crushed. The noise is more pronouced in wet or cold conditions. Noise has been present in the vehicle since 2nd month of ownership. Dealer has vehicle in for this problem 2 times and indicates they cannot reproduce it. Various online forums indicate this is not a unkown issue and has affect many (if not all) owner of this model.