2001 MAZDA PROTEGE — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 48 complaints · 5 recalls
Most-reported system: AIR BAGS (10 complaints · 20.8%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 12
  • Fires 1
  • Injuries 13
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 2000 →
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 AIR BAGS appears in 10 of 48 owner complaints (20.8%) in this vehicle snapshot. AIR BAGS: 10 complaints, 20.8% of reports AIR BAGS 10 · 20.8% · 8 crash reports ENGINE: 8 complaints, 16.7% of reports ENGINE 8 · 16.7% POWER TRAIN: 4 complaints, 8.3% of reports POWER TRAIN 4 · 8.3% SERVICE BRAKES: 4 complaints, 8.3% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 4 · 8.3% · 1 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 3 complaints, 6.3% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 3 · 6.3% · 1 fire reports FUEL SYSTEM: 2 complaints, 4.2% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 2 · 4.2% STEERING: 2 complaints, 4.2% of reports STEERING 2 · 4.2% · 1 crash reports TIRES: 2 complaints, 4.2% of reports TIRES 2 · 4.2% VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 2 complaints, 4.2% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 · 4.2% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 32 complaints, 66.7% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 32 · 66.7% · 6 crash reports 1 fire 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)
AIR BAGS 10 20.8% 8 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 8 16.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 4 8.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 4 8.3% 1 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 3 6.3% 0 crashes · 1 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 2 4.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 2 4.2% 1 crashes · 0 fires
TIRES 2 4.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 4.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 32 66.7% 6 crashes · 1 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 Jul 2001; the first recall shown was reported in Feb 2001. 2001-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2001-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2002-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2002-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2003-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2003-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2003-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2004-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2005-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2006-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2015-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Feb 2001 Oct 2020 Recall campaign 01V024000 ◆ Recall campaign 01V024000 Recall campaign 06E038000 ◆ Recall campaign 06E038000 Recall campaign 06E064000 ◆ Recall campaign 06E064000 Recall campaign 09E012000 ◆ Recall campaign 09E012000 Recall campaign 09E025000 ◆ Recall campaign 09E025000
  • Campaign 09E025000 was reported 2,824 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2001-Q3 Owner reports 5
2001-Q4 Owner reports 5
2002-Q2 Owner reports 1
2002-Q3 Owner reports 2
2002-Q4 Owner reports 1
2003-Q1 Owner reports 2
2003-Q2 Owner reports 3
2003-Q3 Owner reports 3
2003-Q4 Owner reports 1
2004-Q2 Owner reports 5
2004-Q3 Owner reports 2
2005-Q1 Owner reports 1
2005-Q2 Owner reports 3
2005-Q3 Owner reports 1
2005-Q4 Owner reports 3
2006-Q2 Owner reports 1
2007-Q2 Owner reports 1
2007-Q3 Owner reports 1
2009-Q1 Owner reports 1
2011-Q3 Owner reports 1
2013-Q4 Owner reports 2
2015-Q4 Owner reports 1
2017-Q1 Owner reports 1
2020-Q4 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 01V024000
Recall campaign 1 06E038000
Recall campaign 1 06E064000
Recall campaign 1 09E012000
Recall campaign 1 09E025000
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (5)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 01V024000

    Report date
    Component:
    SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
    Consequence:
    BRAKE PERFORMANCE WOULD BE DEGRADED, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE BRAKE HOSE AND, IF NECESSARY, REPLACE THE HOSE. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN FEBRUARY 20, 2001. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SHOULD CONTACT MAZDA AT 1-800-222-5500.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 06E038000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    WITHOUT THE AMBER REFLECTORS, THE VEHICLE WILL BE POORLY ILLUMINATED, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A VEHICLE CRASH WITHOUT WARNING.
    Remedy:
    ALFAOTTO WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE HEADLAMPS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON MAY 10, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT ALFAOTTO AT 626-656-2992 OR VISIT THEIR WEBSITE AT WWW.ALFAOTTO.COM.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 06E064000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    LACK OF AMBER SIDE REFLECTORS IN THE LAMPS WILL DECREASE LIGHTING VISIBILITY TO OTHER DRIVERS AND MAY POSSIBLY RESULT IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    TRADESONIC WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE LAMPS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING JULY 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TRADESONIC AT 626-934-8884.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  4. 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 →

  5. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 09E025000

    Report date
    Component:
    EXTERIOR LIGHTING
    Consequence:
    DECREASED LIGHTING VISIBILITY MAY RESULT IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    DOPE, INC. WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER A FULL REFUND FOR THE NONCOMPLIANT COMBINATION LAMPS. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 28, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT DOPE, INC. AT 1-626-272-1798.
    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 48 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