Hey Everyone- just got a picked up a 96 LX. I think...For some reason I think it is an ES and the owner didnt know..

First off-
It has all the standard power everything.
Four Wheel Disc Brakes.
It has 185/65/14 Tires- which I read are only on the ES model for this year.
Doesnt say "LX" on the front fenders as I have seen in pics.

Here's the funny things I see pointing to the ES..

The smog certificate reads the engine as a 1.8L
I tried run the VIN and it comes back as LX/ES.
It doesnt feel like a 1.5L.

Here are some pics-





my black baby in the background!

 

Look under the hood for a label that will specify what engine you have. If it is 1.8L then you have ES, otherwise you have a LX/DX. Also, the vehicle could have been modified after an accident for any other reason. Good luck.

 

Just thought of loking under the hood...hope nothing bad with the car...

forgot to post the VIN...

JM1BB142XT0******

Edited by TheMAN-- don't post your full VIN

 

Well, according to your vin, the 8th digit being the engine code in the protege faq
unless edwin changed it, you've got a 1.6l sohc.
Was the lx touring edition sold in the U.S.??
Thats what mine is, and it has the 1.8, rear discs, power whatever...........

 

well, now I'm a little more confused, just confirmed under the hood, its a 1.8L engine....but I've never really heard of a touring edition...I looked in other standard specs on the car, and only the ES had the 1.8 and rear discs for the 96 model?

 

Touring Edition might just be a Canadian thing then. Mines a 97 model.
There was another thread on something like this but it didn't really clear anything up for me...............

 

http://www.protegeclub.com/forum/sho...&threadid=2602
Thats the link for it. You may find something out about it or you may not. Like I said, the touring edition may be a Canadian model only thing. I'm still a little confused on the subject myself.

 

From my understanding on the decoder...I've got an ES.. I got towards the end of the VIN, but think I got it right..

 

O.k. TRYING to be helpful.
For my own knowledge as well then, how the **** do I read it.
Aside from one number that I couldn't figure out, which was written down properly, I doublechecked. everything checked out as it should. once you pointed out that I should look at the decoder for northamerican cars.

 

almost all of the VIN posted decodes just fine against the chart in the FAQ, and shows a 1.8L in the car.

The only thing that does not jive is that the "14" as the body style. Even if the it was a typo on the "1" in "14" it is certainly not a "24" which would be a 5 door hatch.

 

read the tag on the passangers door it will tell you what size engine.. mine says 1500 cc, which is ithe 1.5. You may also find some wierd intrestin stuff liek I did. For some reason on my tag it says Special Edition....

 

Your car looks exactly like my car. I have a 95 ES. I have the same tire size and hub caps as you. However, I have the Green Metallic color.

 

My canadian '96 has what you described, 1.8L, power everything, 4-wheel disc brakes, 185/65-14 tires and it DOES say LX on the fender, however no ABS brakes or airbags. It's a 4-speed auto if it makes any difference.

The funny thing is I got a check engine light recently due to a faulty primary O2 sensor, I hooked up a universal OBD-II reader and couldn't get the codes... Are we sure all north american '96 Protege are OBD-II compliant ?

 

Are LX 2nd gens available with sunroof or if it has a sunroof it has to be an ES? Just a question that I've had for a while and this thread reminded me of it.

 

I'm not sure on US spec but in Canada we had an LX 1.8 with 4 wheel disc, frt/rear swaybars , power group , cruise , upgraded seats and 14inch wheels standard(wheels optional on SE model). A/C was optional . Standard LX (Canadian spec )with sunroof , rear spoiler and stripe was called LX touring edition . SE models were 1.5 as were DX models. As for the 14 in the VIN it is common to see that in Canadian 2 gen's for a body code.