Mazda - Protege :: Power Loss And Engine Shaking A Little

'99 Mazda 323 Protege. Manual, fuel-injected, 4cyl.

Engine code: CE04D16

So just recently started having troubles with the car. It ran fine then all of a sudden I lost what felt like 15-25% power, and the engine felt like it was shaking a little.

When revving, then engine would shudder. Idle rev went from just over 1000 to around 500. there was very little pickup when increasing speed. I can only assume it is losing a cylinder. But since it is fuel injected, people have been saying check the leads, (from where to where?), the distributor, spark plugs etc etc. Now for the last couple days it has been jumping backwards and forwards, from regular to slow.

What is the problem, can I fix this myself, or do I need to take it to a mechanic?

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Mazda - Protege :: 1995 ES - Loss Of Power During Acceleration

I am the original owner of the car, which has approximately 125k miles on it. The car has given me great service, but lately a strange problem arose that has my mechanic stumped. When I try to accelerate, the car typically does not respond. After 5 seconds or so, the engine suddenly comes to life and the car begins to accelerate. At high speeds it is not an issue, but the engine sputters once in a while. It has never stalled. It is not the transmission because the RPM stays low during low-power times.

The mechanic initially thought that it was a dirty fuel filter. But, changing it has not worked. Once the engine light came on, and the code was for the air-flow sensor. But, the mechanic is not convinced about that.

The problem tends to become worse after driving for a while, after the engine has warmed up.

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Mazda - Protege :: Low Power / When Apply The Gas Seems To Over Rev In Order To Accelerate

I googled my symptom and came across an old post that sounds exactly like my issue, except that my car is an automatic with 98k miles. What could it be? Should I go to Autozone or similar to get a computer diagnostic check or bring it straight to a mechanic?

I have a 2001 mazda protege lx w/ aprox 120,000 miles manual transmission. for the past few days I've noticed a change in how it shifts & i fear its getting worse. it feels like it has low power/acceleration, when i apply the gas it seems to over rev (higher than usual rpms) in order to accelerate.

I also noticed going 70 mph on cruise control today, i tapped te cruise control to increase speed another 1mph or so & it over-revved in order to accelerate only another mph (jumped a couple thousand rpms & made revving noise it did used to do for only a slight increase in speed, then once it catches it goes back normal rpms or aprox 3000) which kind of mirrors what it feels like it needs me to do to increase speed when not on cruise control. i push the gas slightly & it doesn't seem to accelerate as well so i have push harder & it revs more than it should before it catches & increases speed sort of like normal.

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Mazda - Protege :: 1999 - Loses Power Intermittently?

My 1999 Mazda Protegé has the hiccups ...every now and then it loses power for a fraction of a second. It lasts just long enough to feel it clearly, but it's gone before I can think about it. Very distinct sensation, but it certainly doesn't push me against the seat belt. It's been doing this for over a year (about 5-7,000 miles). No Check Engine Light has appeared at any time. The timing belt was replaced a few thousand miles back.

Yes, I've had it to a mechanic, a trusted local one. I even left it with him for several days. The car won't hiccup for him. I sometimes notice it around town, but I notice it more when driving on the highway (which has probably been over half my mileage in the past year), but I'm still disappointed that it won't do it for him. He suspects a spark plug wire -- he says it's probably only one cylinder based on my description -- but doesn't want to start replacing the wires if he can't diagnose it.

Recommendations? Should I just replace the wires and figure if that doesn't do it, it's part of the cost of diagnosis? (This much I should be able to do myself.) Should I try something else? Actually, as I think about it, he could have been encouraging me to replace the wires myself.

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Mazda - Protege :: Losing Electrical Power But Car Still Starts And Runs

I'm driving a 1995 Mazda Protege with about 200,000 miles. It has been generally pretty reliable, and I have fixed things as necessary, but a DNR has been in place for awhile. The water pump is leaking coolant and need replacing it, so I'm driving it (and keeping the coolant topped off) while I arrange to get something else. The temp gauge stays in the normal range.

Yesterday on the road the car began to lose electrical power: the radio turned off, the gauge cluster and then the headlights got dimmer, etc. But it continued to run ok. When I got where I was going, I parked it for a few hours, then on the return trip the car started fine, the headlights and gauges were bright, but over the course of about half-an-hour they began to dim again. The car continued to run ok until I got where I was going and parked it. I'm not sure I want to drive it again until I figure out what's going on.

The battery is about six months old, and the alternator was replaced about two years ago. The serpentine belt is in place and seems to be in good condition. Battery connections and cables look ok. The "charging" warning light has never come on. The water pump has been leaking for a couple weeks, but this is the first time the electrics have acted weird. Would the alternator go bad this soon? Does the water pump affect the electrics? What do I look for?

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Mazda - Protege :: 2002 - Recently Started Losing Power Periodically / Misfires

I have a 2002 Mazda Protege' which recently started losing power periodically. At the same time, the check engine light would blink and then stay solid. The dealer diagnosed a random engine misfire and replaced the spark plugs, wires, and coil packs. It cost $500.00. After 3000 miles, the problem has returned worse than before. This weekend it lost and regained power repeatedly in short spans of time, and lurched back and forth as it happened. The check engine light returned as well.

My first question: what do you think this is? My neighbor suspects a clogged fuel filter or fuel regulator.My second question: what, if anything, does the dealer owe me financially?

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Mazda :: 2002 Protege 5 - Hesitation At 3k Rpm

Have 2002 mazda protege 5 . During acceleration at 3000 rpm the engine hesitates. Computer said o2 sensor, replaced it but that wasn't it. Drilled out both catalytic, that wasn't it. Found hole in mass air flow tube, figured that is it. I haven't replaced that yet, however I used gorilla tape thinking it would be a temporary fix but that didn't work. I know I need to replace that tube, but think that it may now be a fuel pump issue??

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Mazda - Protege :: 1999 - Won't Start When Hot

I have a 1999 Mazda Protege. As of last summer it started giving me problems with not wanting to start after I had driven it around town for a little while. (IE: to the grocery store, to the bank and then to my sister's house. It wouldn't give me the same problem if I just went to the grocery store and back home. It would start up fine and I'd be on my way. Only when I went somewhere and shut it off then repeated that a couple more times.) I took it to a mechanic who wholeheartedly believed it was the coil packs not allowing my car to function properly.

So we replaced those and everything seemed on the up and up. (Keep in mind that this was towards the end of summer and the temperature was dropping.) The car was perfect all throughout the fall and winter, but now that the temperature outside is starting to rise again it's beginning to do the same thing it did last summer. I don't want to take it to another mechanic that's going to have me dish out an extravagant amount of money again only for the problem to persist.

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Mazda :: Protege ES 1.8L - Rattling And Knocking Front End

2000 Mazda Protege ES 1.8L

What's a good way to find whats the cause of all the rattling and knocking in the front end of my car when going over uneven terrain? It seems that noise appears only if one of the wheels is lifted up a little bit. I am attaching a picture describing the "motion" here:

Steering wheel doesn't shake when driving at high speeds and is fairly stiff, but it does pull to the right a bit, maybe because I didn't perform a front end alignment (I know this is not good) after I had most of the stuff in the suspension of the replaced; all 4 struts + boots + mounting blocks, ball joints, control arms...

Now the only part, I didn't replace was the sway bar link on the passenger side and it's being knocking for 3 years. The one on the driver side was replaced at the time the struts were replaced but I didn't have enough money to pay for the other one.

Another mechanic told me when I was quoting that sway bar links aren't really necessary as a safety feature, and a google search showed me that there are people that just take the sway bar off the car, so I left it there and just tried to live with the noise. now I am noticing the driver side is knocking as well, and I am wondering if it has to do with because I didn't replace the one in the passenger side?

I just want to rule out the possibility of another component being the cause of the noise because I am prioritizing safety over ride comfort in my attempts to save some money.

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Mazda - Protege :: 1996 - A/C Isn't Blowing Cold Air

it was over 100 degrees today in Lawrence, Kansas and on the way home from work, the air conditioner stopped making cool air. Hot air now comes out. This is a different problem that the poster before me seems to have. Mazda Protégé, 1996, 128,000 plus miles on it.

A reconditioned one was installed in 2006, compressor replaced in July, 2012.

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Mazda - Protege :: Loud Tire Noise Between 20 And 40 Mph

I read here that some tire noise can be caused by bad belts. How do you know if the tire belt is bad? My tires get loud between 20 and 40 mph. Mechanic says the tires are OK but to replace them to get rid of the noise.

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Mazda - Protege :: Brakes Stuck And Burning Up

Basically, my car (2002 Mazda Protege) has been acting like my brakes are engaged. Not all the time, though - The first time I get out and drive it, it drives smooth as silk like always. But then after I put it in park and then get back in and head out (I'm a delivery driver, so this is constant), sometimes it feels like the brakes are constantly being pressed. No, the emergency brake is not on. Most of the time it's almost not even noticeable so, like an idiot, I put it off for the past week. But today, it was very, very, very bad. I was having to press the gas to the floor to get up to speed, and then it was constantly trying to slow down. My brakes were definitely getting burned up while it was doing this, but luckily it stopped.

It may be unrelated - I know I have an oil leak, but today I saw a very unusual spot where something leaked out in my driveway. I checked my oil, and it was where I expected it to be, but this was a relatively large stain which would be very unlike my current leak.

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Mazda - Protege :: Little Hesitation And Jerkiness During Acceleration

Started my car yesterday and as I was accelerating, it made a very loud noise. It sounds like normal engine acceleration noise, only ten times louder. It was present whenever I accelerated, but not when I was coasting or idling, and not when the car was in neutral. (It's a stick shift.) During acceleration, there was a little hesitation and a little jerkiness, but not horrible. The problem came on suddenly - no problems with the car before yesterday.

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Mazda - Protege :: Generator Or Alternator Same Thing?

My Mazda 1996 Protege appears to have no alternator, but there is something called a generator. Are they the same thing?

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Mazda - Protege :: Dashboard Lights Cutting Out

Here's a quandary for those who know more than I do:

I have a 2000 Mazda Protege with 182,000 miles on it. On occasion my dashboard lights (and radio, for that matter) cut out, going completely dark. Now here's the kicker: If I give the dashboard a little tap with my hand, everything comes back all glowing and lit.

My fear had been the alternator was going bad (Again!), but since it seems to be coming back with a bop on the dashboard...is this just a loose ground? What should I be looking for? Is this something a novice like myself could be taking care of, or where should I be directing my mechanic?

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Mazda - Protege :: 2003 - CEL Came On Again / Engine Without Motor Oil?

I have a 2003 Mazda Protege. I had the check engine light come on and took it to my local repair shop. They diagnosed it as a bad oxygen sensor. They replaced it, but a week later, the light came back on. So, I decided to take it to the dreaded dealership and pay for their "expertise". They informed me that the light was a result of a intake hose with a hole in it. They also told me that the vehicle's oil pan was rusty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle did not leak oil. After a week of driving, I noticed spots of oil on my driveway. I checked the oil and it was low, so I decided to have it towed back to the dealership to have it checked out. I assumed it was the oil pan that had not been installed properly.

Today, the service tech informed me that my engine was blown and needed to be replaced. He told me that this cam warped and didn't leak before because the pressure was being release through the rusty oil pan. This sounds absurd to me. It seems to me that what has happened is their responsibility. What could have caused this? A co-worker suggested that more than likely the mechanic could have made a mistake and started the engine without motor oil either after the oil pan was replaced or after the vehicle sat overnight and the oil drained out. Does this seem more logical? If the dealership is at fault, but will not fix it, what can I do?

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Mazda - Protege :: 2001 - Getting Code P0421

I have sel code of P0421. What are the odds of the downstream sensor being bad vs a bad catalyst converter? The car runs great and I get 19+ mpg in town driving. It is a 2001 Mazda Protege, 2.0L V4 .....

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Mazda - Protege :: 1998 - Won't Start At Cold?

I have a 1998 Mazda Protege LX 1.5 L 4 Cylinder and i have been having some starting issues, and stalling at stop lights.

To be clear i have replaced/cleaned, Injectors, Spark Plugs, Spark Plug Wires, Distributor Cap, Distributor Coil, Air Filter, Cleaned MAF, Cleaned the EGR Valve,

My car won't start in the morning, just gives cranks but if I press gas pedal it starts and have to keep it until engine gets hot enough. then it works till the car cools down again, and repeat the problem in the morning when I have to go to work. When the car is warm it starts fine but has idle issues regardless of temperature. As usual when the engine is cold or cool, it won't start.

Visited 2 different mechanic shops and the problem still exist, I don't know how and what they did it, it only worked for couple of months and the engine noise was bit high, I believe he just increased the idle, When i am at stop lights it has a rough idle and tries to die, When it idles it idles rough, Every once in a while I get a CEL Cylinder Misfire on cylinder 4. I'm confused on want to do , Don't know what else to do and its getting tiring, The car also feels like a lack of power.

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Mazda - Protege :: 2002 - Won't Accelerate Properly?

I own a automatic 2002 Mazda Protege with about 167,000 miles on it. The other day I was at a stop light and when I accelerated it felt like the car was taking longer than normal to get into gear. I am scared that it may be a transmission problem.

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