Is 2003 Mazda protege DX reliable? I mean by what miles do ya think will have problems with engine? Like 100,000? or less?

THanks

 

BTW I've also heard that it has ford focus's engine zetec so thats why I asked about reliability!

 

No, the FP-DE 2.0 in the Protege and the Zetec 2.0 in the Ford Focus are two totally different engines. They may have very similar specs but nothing interchanges. The Zetec is a Ford design and the FP-DE is a Mazda design.

 

Mine is also a 2000 (got it on January 12th 2000 actually), and it´s got 48,500 km (just about 30,000 miles) on it. The only problems I have had are:

- Problem with powerlock on front passenger door (at 5,000km).
- Problem with something related to the ignition that made only two cylinders fire and the other two not fire (talk about low power!). It was one of two little black boxes that attach to the spark plug wires on top of the engine... I think. (at 10,000 km)
- One strut going bad at 8,000 km (due to the shitty roads here in Latin America)

All replaced for free by the dealer. No problems at all ever since.

 

Well is mazda 6 reliable? I've heard that mazda has ford duratec engine.

 

Mazda 6 should have same high reliability as the Protege.

the V6 is NOT the same Ford Duratec in the Taurus. Mazda just uses the Duratec's block, all the heads, valves, intake & exhaust manifolds are all Mazda engineered.

let me repeat

THE MAZDA6 V6 IS NOT FORD DURATEC

 

From what I understand the Duratec engine program was a joint R&D between Ford and Mazda (not the first time) . But in the late 90's It was rated as the "most technically advanced engine", beating out Chevy's new 350 design and even Mercedes and BMW.

As far as reliability goes, after 100 000kms(60,000mi) the condition and relibility will depend on how you took care of the car since new. My father has pushed 3 Ford Tempos to 350 000kms (about 200,000mi) with regular maintenance .

I just hit 100 000kms(60,000mi) a few days ago, and I noticed at how the car was running well for "just being broken in" I had a few problem early on, but that was all repaired under the 3/80kms warranty...I still have a bit of the powertrain warranty left (5/120kms).

 

So will mazda 6 be able to pass 100,000 miles without any problems?

 

Not to argue, but from what I've read, and from what the dealer says, the Mazda6 6cyl actually is the Ford Duratec, but with VVT added, and a few other things. Granted- these are significant upgrades, but I think we have to admit it...

Now, I don't know how the two engines compare part-for-part, but I think it is safe to say (unfortunately), that the Mazda 6cyl did start life as a Duratec V6.

Oh well. Hopefully this car won't have the same quality problems as other Ford-Mazdas- namely the Tribute. I have high hopes for the 6s.

Can you believe the salesman actually once tried to tell me that the Tribute didn't have the same recalls as the Escape?
I hate car dealers.....

 

I had ford contour GL and on 104,000 miles it started falling apart. Lots of stuff was broken and died. Even the small thing where it measures engines cool/heat, that didnt work neither. I dont know why, but thats why I asked is mazda 6 more reliable.

 

about as reliable as you asking these moronic questions over and over again.

 

Apparently he wasn't lying, to a certain extent... Car & Driver did a long term test of a Tribute ES V-6. They mentioned all the recalls that affected the Escape and said that none (or maybe just a few) applied to their particular Tribute. It was also very trouble free for the 40000 miles they had it.

 

[QUOTE]From what I understand the Duratec engine program was a joint R&D between Ford and Mazda (not the first time) . But in the late 90's It was rated as the "most technically advanced engine", beating out Chevy's new 350 design and even Mercedes and BMW.

Actually the original duratech was a joint operation between porsche and Ford. The Duratech is a pretty good engine especially the new 3.0 that is in the mazda6 (I know there are some changes, but the basic design is the same.) The few problems that the 2.5 suffered from, bad WP, oil flow issues (SVT), and driveshaft (SVT) issues were all fixed in the upgrade. I've had a 2.5 for nearly 100k now and no serious issues, replaced WP at 90k and the cats were replaced at 60k but nothing else.

"the FP-DE 2.0 in the Protege and the Zetec 2.0 in the Ford Focus are two totally different engines"

Completely different but I've seen the Zetec last just as long w/ as many issues as any other engines, in contours, focus, and escorts. Just about any engine will last if you take care of it and do regular maintenance.

 

i have a 99 with 62,000 and no problems yet. and i beat the **** outa it. lol