2000 Mazda Protege

Typical pattern

7.1% of complaints about the 2000 Mazda Protege came in the first year, which is unremarkable for a 2000 vehicle — around the middle of the 213 model-years on record. The median complaint arrives at 3.8 yr in service. The most-reported system is air bags (24 complaints), typically at 3.0 yr or about 42,000 miles.

Complaints: 112
Median age at failure: 3.8 yr
Median mileage: 49,800 n=50
Crash / fire / tow: 32.1% of reports
Safety recalls: 3

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

09E012000 2009-04-07

Exterior lighting

SABERSPORT IS RECALLING 16,270 COMBINATION CORNER AND BUMPER LAMP ASSEMBLIES OF VARIOUS PART NUMBERS SOLD FOR USE AS AFTERMARKET EQUIPMENT FOR VARIOUS PASSENGER VEHICLES. THESE HEADLAMPS FAIL TO CONFORM TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 108, "LAMPS, REFLECTIVE DEVICES, AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT." THESE LAMPS DO NOT CONTAIN THE REQUIRED AMBER SIDE REFLECTORS.

DECREASED LIGHTING VISIBILITY MAY RESULT IN A VEHICLE CRASH.

06E026000 2006-03-23

Exterior lighting

CERTAIN PRO-A MOTORS CORNER LAMPS, TURN SIGNALS, AND HEADLIGHTS SOLD AS REPLACEMENT LAMPS FOR USE ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES LISTED ABOVE. SOME COMBINATION LAMPS THAT ARE NOT EQUIPPED WITH AMBER SIDE REFLECTORS FAIL TO CONFORM TO FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 108, LAMPS, REFLECTIVE DEVICES, AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT.

WITHOUT THE AMBER REFLECTORS, THE VEHICLE WILL BE POORLY ILLUMINATED, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A VEHICLE CRASH WITHOUT WARNING.

01V024000 2001-02-01

Service brakes, hydraulic:foundation components:hoses, lines/piping, and fittings

VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. SOME LEFT SIDE REAR BRAKE HOSES WERE DAMAGED DURING ASSEMBLY. BRAKE FLUID LEAKAGE COULD OCCUR.

BRAKE PERFORMANCE WOULD BE DEGRADED, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.

In owners’ own words

Air bags mileage not reported 11 mo in service crash / fire / tow

WHILE DRIVING ABOUT 40 MPH REAR ENDED ANOTHER VEHICLE. UPON IMPACT, AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY.*AK

Air bags mileage not reported 1.2 yr in service crash / fire / tow

WHILE DRIVING ABOUT 5 MPH THE VEHICLE WAS IMPACTED BY ANOTHER VEHICLE ON RIGHT FRONT CORNER, AND AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. VEHICLE WAS TOTALED. *AK

Air bags mileage not reported 1.4 yr in service crash / fire / tow

VEHICLE WAS HIT FROM THE REAR AT 50 MPH WHICH CAUSED DRIVER'S AND PASSENGER'S SEATS TO COLLAPSE BACKWARDS, ALSO, AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY, CAUSE UNKNOWN. *AK

Power train mileage not reported 1.1 yr in service

WHEN DRIVING TRANSMISSION JUMPED OUT OF DRIVE AND WENT INTO NEUTRAL, CAUSING VEHICLE TO DECELERATE AND LOSE POWER. PRIOR TO INCIDENT, OVERDRIVE LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATING ON THE DASH. POSSIBILITY, THAT THE PROBLEM WAS LINKED TO COMPUTER WHICH HAS MALFUNCTIONED. *AK THE VEHICLE WAS IN DRIVE POSITION THROUGH, BUT WHEN THE DRIVER STEPPED ON ACCELETRATOR, ENGINE RACED UP IN RPM BUT WHEELS ACTED AS IN NEUTRAL. *YH

Other Protege model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

2000 Mazda Protege

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

In owners’ own words

Other Protege model years

How to read this