Hello everyone,

Just joined this forum. I have just purchased a 2002 mazda protege 5. Manual tranny. So far I love the car. I was just curious if there was any certain things other people have had problems with or anything special I should know about.

It's has roughly 43000 miles. Power everything, and sunroof.

I didn't know if they made different equiped ones or if they were all roughly the same.

Thanks in advace for any advice you can give.

 

Welcome to the forum. You shouldn't have any problems if you take good care of her!
Just sit back and enjoy the ride.

 

There are a few known problems with the car.

1. The ecu will need to be "re-flahed" because of the cold weather rattle. The re-flashing doesn't make much of a noticable difference however.

2. The stock rims are known to be prone to corrossion. Some dealers will fix this.

3. As well, some people's window frames are rusting. Again, the dealer will fix this.

4. Rotors are also bad for rust. The dealer will fix this if you point it out to them. My dealer noticed it during an oil chanage and replaced them for me.

I'm not sure if there is anything else, these are the only things I can think of off the top of my head.

Welcome the club.

 

welcome to the forum sesom. hope you enjoy your mazda, i have an 02 proDX

 

I noticed that my calipers were kinda rusted. Can I take them off and sand and repaint them?

 

sand them and prime first.

 

welcome to the forum. You should find the majority if not all thing you need here.

 

what does re-flashing mean? how do i do it?

 

If you ever come across having damp floors in the front, take the windguard off the sunroof and check the windguard brackets. There is a tape under the brackets to keep the brackets from scratching the paint. If the tape gets wrinkled, it causes a leak that travles along the frame of the windshield, down onto the floor. I just ended up taking mine off ( tape, brakets, windguard) and the roofracks along with it and the car looks smoother. And more importantly it stays dry.

 

A re-flashing is the reprogramming of the computer that the dealer will do. Just take it in and ask them about the re-flash for the cold weather rattle.

 

Will I have to do this every year?

Also what is the cold weather rattle?

 

No, it's a one time thing.

Basically the cold weather rattle is something to do with the knocking noise the car makes when first started up. It's gets worse with the colder weather and has something to do with the variable valve timing. The re-flash is suppose to help this but it's really not noticable.

Also, the rattle is not bad for the car, some people just found it annoying.

 

Ah... so nice living in a rust-free part of the world...

 

wait!!. is this true for the P5 as well (the cold weather rattle), and i don't think we have Variable Valve Timing??>.
just curious.

 

Coupla' more:

Check your rear window wiper arm attachment bolt torque. Lift the cover and make sure it is tight.

To fix the rear license plate rattle - put the rubber bumpers under it.

Cut the gas cap cord - if you hate it. The gas door holds it.

Get an MPV variable wiper stalk.

Consider taking off the rear head rests - they really block the view and none of my passengers reach over the seats anyway...

Lube the rear hatch strut attachments.

(is this what you were looking for?)