A collegue of mine mentioned that the three Mazdas he's has had (two 626, one 323) all had rust problems over the years, especially the trunk and around the read window. Is this something I can expect with the Protege? What's the best prevention?

BTW, I'm new to the Protege, havent even emptied the tank for the first time! lol

Thanks
Michael

 

The best way to prevent rust it to keep your protege clean. Its the best way I know how too. Maybe some wax once in a while will help also .

 

What year is your Pro? Also, where do you live? Both will have an effect on the amount of rust you risk getting. THE BEST solution to prevent rust is Anti-rust oil treatment. It's messy for the first few weeks, but it's definately worth it. You can't always be cleaning the nooks and crannies, not to mention the underside of your car and they can't be waxed, so oil treatment is the only way to protect those areas. But cleaning your car, touching up the chips and waxing are, as Wil said, essential to protecting your car. If ANY seal is leaking, I will garantee that the metal in the surronding area WILL rust, so check them often. Also, if you own a 1st gen, check the window frames (see picture ). I have seen countless Pros in my area that had that area rusted out COMPLETELY. Mine were alot worse than in the picture when I first got my car. I sanded down all ther rust in the area and repainted it 3 times, but it still kept coming back (like in the picture). The only solution was to cut out the entire surrounding area and weld in a plate of new metal. Not easy, not quick, but it did the job. Catch it early, or prevent it, and you won't have to worry about it.

 

Yeah, I wish they did'nt use as much salt around here, that's why I've stored my Pro for the winter... I don't think I'll be able to afford the 2 cars next year though....

 

Hey mraviator..

I just got my Protege in April 2001 and I decided to get mine oil sprayed after the first month!
I figured that it had been sitting on a ocean liner coming from Japan for 3 months, so it had seen some rough weather.
Also usually in the spring is a bad time for cars, because there is still alot of salt/sand and crap on the roads and according to the guy who sprayed my car, the spring is the worst.. worse than winter. (believe it or not)

Bottom line is, get your car sprayed once a year and keep cleaning it thoroughly.. every little crevas and nook and cranny..
and wax it too... this will help your car look good for years to come!

cheers!

 

Well i owned a 90 lx with 204k on it before my new 02 es and the only rust area i have is the sunroof. And the car is driven around NYC and western new york so i think mazdas hold up against rust pretty well. that's just from my experience but i guess you can't say that for every mazda

 

I live in southern ontario. We use 100% salt here(as far as I can tell).

My pro doesn't have much rust. It was undercoated when new (not oil spray, but an undercoat which lasts longer).
The underside is basically spotless (due to undercoat). My car has some rust on the window frame like Bizobs car had. there is a rust bubble on one corner on the trunk (partly underneath and emblem). And lastly around the sunroof and on the sunroof.... One edge has a fair amount of rust bubling, the other is almost spotless. It would seem mazda has some trouble with sunroof design, or used to. All 3 RX-7's i've owned have had nice rust on the sunroof panel (looks like the same panel as in the protege).

The car has 252 *** kms on it, and since it was undercoated when new, I'm guessing its been driven in the snow since day one.