1998 MAZDA PROTEGE — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 45 complaints · 2 recalls
Most-reported system: POWER TRAIN (14 complaints · 31.1%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 7
  • Fires 0
  • Injuries 2
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 1997 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution POWER TRAIN appears in 14 of 45 owner complaints (31.1%) in this vehicle snapshot. POWER TRAIN: 14 complaints, 31.1% of reports POWER TRAIN 14 · 31.1% ENGINE: 8 complaints, 17.8% of reports ENGINE 8 · 17.8% · 1 crash reports SERVICE BRAKES: 5 complaints, 11.1% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 5 · 11.1% · 2 crash reports SEAT BELTS: 3 complaints, 6.7% of reports SEAT BELTS 3 · 6.7% · 1 crash reports AIR BAGS: 2 complaints, 4.4% of reports AIR BAGS 2 · 4.4% · 2 crash reports TIRES: 2 complaints, 4.4% of reports TIRES 2 · 4.4% VISIBILITY: 2 complaints, 4.4% of reports VISIBILITY 2 · 4.4% ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 1 complaints, 2.2% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 · 2.2% STEERING: 1 complaints, 2.2% of reports STEERING 1 · 2.2% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 36 complaints, 80.0% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 36 · 80.0% · 5 crash reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
POWER TRAIN 14 31.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 8 17.8% 1 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 5 11.1% 2 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 3 6.7% 1 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 2 4.4% 2 crashes · 0 fires
TIRES 2 4.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 2 4.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 2.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 1 2.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 36 80.0% 5 crashes · 0 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Apr 1998; the first recall shown was reported in Apr 2009. 1998-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 1999-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 1999-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 1999-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 1999-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2000-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2000-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2000-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2000-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2001-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2001-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2002-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2002-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2003-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2003-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2008-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Apr 1998 Oct 2021 Recall campaign 09E012000 ◆ Recall campaign 09E012000 Recall campaign 15V674000 ◆ Recall campaign 15V674000
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1998-Q2 Owner reports 1
1998-Q3 Owner reports 1
1998-Q4 Owner reports 2
1999-Q1 Owner reports 4
1999-Q2 Owner reports 3
1999-Q3 Owner reports 2
1999-Q4 Owner reports 1
2000-Q1 Owner reports 3
2000-Q2 Owner reports 1
2000-Q3 Owner reports 2
2000-Q4 Owner reports 2
2001-Q1 Owner reports 2
2001-Q4 Owner reports 1
2002-Q1 Owner reports 2
2002-Q2 Owner reports 2
2002-Q3 Owner reports 1
2002-Q4 Owner reports 2
2003-Q1 Owner reports 1
2003-Q2 Owner reports 2
2003-Q4 Owner reports 1
2004-Q1 Owner reports 1
2004-Q3 Owner reports 1
2004-Q4 Owner reports 2
2005-Q1 Owner reports 2
2008-Q4 Owner reports 1
2017-Q2 Owner reports 1
2021-Q4 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 09E012000
Recall campaign 1 15V674000
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (2)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 09E012000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    DECREASED LIGHTING VISIBILITY MAY RESULT IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    SABERSPORT WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER A FULL REFUND FOR THE NONCOMPLIANT COMBINATION LAMPS. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON MAY 11, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT SABERSPORT AT 1-909-598-7589.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 15V674000

    Report date
    Component:
    ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
    Consequence:
    If the ignition switch overheats there would be an increased risk of a fire.
    Remedy:
    Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the ignition switch, free of charge. The recall began on December 17, 2015. Owners may contact Mazda Customer Experience Center at 1-800-222-5500, option#6. Mazda's number for this recall is 8715J.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 45 complaints · page 1 of 2

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources