1995 Mazda Protege Problems, Complaints & Recalls
- Compared with other Protege years
- Far more complaints than other years 1st of 9 for complaints
- Safety recalls
- 4 recalls: check your VIN
- NHTSA crash rating
- Not rated
Owners have filed 165 complaints with NHTSA about the 1995 Mazda Protege. That is the most of any Protege model year in the database (9 years). The most reported problem area is air bags (41 complaints, 25%), typically at around 49,000 miles. Complaints mention 31 crashes, 4 fires, 58 injuries. There are 4 safety recalls covering this model year. NHTSA has opened 2 defect investigations involving it.
- 165owner complaints
- 4safety recalls
- 2NHTSA investigations
- 31complaints mentioning a crash
Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.
Most common 1995 Mazda Protege problems
Complaints grouped by the part of the car owners reported, with the median mileage when the problem happened.
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median miles | Owners mention most | Typical repair cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Bags | 41 | 25% | 49,000 | — | — |
| Exterior Lighting | 27 | 16% | 98,533 | — | — |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 19 | 12% | 111,123 | — | — |
| Power Train | 19 | 12% | 92,564 | — | — |
| Electrical System | 15 | 9% | — | — | — |
| Seat Belts | 13 | 8% | — | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 12 | 7% | — | — | — |
| Seats | 10 | 6% | — | — | — |
| Visibility | 10 | 6% | 5,000 | — | — |
| Unknown or Other | 8 | 5% | — | — | — |
| Suspension | 7 | 4% | — | — | — |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 7 | 4% | 88,000 | — | — |
| Steering | 4 | 2% | — | — | — |
| Structure | 4 | 2% | — | — | — |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 3 | 2% | — | — | — |
| Equipment | 2 | 1% | 180,000 | — | — |
| Latches/locks/linkages | 2 | 1% | — | — | — |
| Electronic Stability Control | 1 | 1% | — | — | — |
| Engine | 1 | 1% | 49,000 | — | — |
| Interior Lighting | 1 | 1% | — | — | — |
| Tires | 1 | 1% | — | — | — |
One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.
Complaints by year received
1995 Mazda Protege recalls (4)
Tap a recall to see the problem, the risk and the fix.
Electrical system:ignition:switch
Problem: Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain model year 1989-1998 MPV, 1990-1995 323, 1990-1998 Protege, 1992-1993 MX-3, 1993-1995 929, 1993-1997 MX-6, and 1993-1998 626 vehicles. In the affected vehicles, grease applied to the contact points inside the ignition switch may become conductive and overheat.
Risk: If the ignition switch overheats there would be an increased risk of a fire.
Fix: 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.
Exterior lighting:headlights:switch
Problem: Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. The headlight lead wire running through the turn signal lever can fail at the soldered connection to the headlight switch.
Risk: The failure of the wire connection can cause a loss of headlights without prior warning.
Fix: Dealers will repair the headlight switch.
Air bags
Problem: The tie down hooks can cause undercarriage impacts that can result in unnecessary air bag deployments.
Risk: Inadvertent air bag deployment can cause injury to the occupants and increase the potential for a vehicle accident.
Fix: Dealers will remove and replace the tie down hooks with modified tie down hooks.
Engine and engine cooling:engine
Problem: The wire rod used in the manufacture of the engine valve springs can develop minute cracks causing breakage of the springs.
Risk: This breakage can cause engine chatter, damage to the engine pistons, and cause the engine to stall increasing the potential for an accident.
Fix: Dealers will replace all sixteen (16) valve springs in the engine of the affected vehicles.
To see whether a specific car still has an open recall, enter its VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup. You can also decode a VIN here.
NHTSA defect investigations
- Headlight wire breakage (EA99029) — opened Sep 30, 1999, closed May 10, 2000, led to recall 00V118000.
- Loss of headlights (PE99038) — opened May 20, 1999, closed Sep 30, 1999.
Recent owner reports
Short excerpts of the latest complaints filed with NHTSA, with personal details removed. Full reports can be searched on NHTSA.gov.
The air bags exploded while i was out side the car , there was a recall on the air bags & i was never notified by either mazda corp or the dealer & i have been the original owner , there has been numerous recalls on the 1995 protege & at no time i was ever contacted that there was a recall period…
I was out of the car & both air bags exploded , there was a recall on the air bags , but i was never informed by mazda corp ,i became aware of the recall after the air bags exploded. *js
1995 mazda protege automatic transmission failure. *tr
Tl* - the contact had a 1995 mazda protege which was in a head on crash. The contact stated that the car was traveling at 55 mph under dry conditions when the vehicle was struck by another head on. The contact stated that the driver side air bag did not deploy and as a result the driver was killed…
My 1995 mazda protege has the gas and brake petals so close in height and little separation that it is very easy to apply the brake and still be applying the gas. I have not had an accident yet but have had some very near misses. *nm
Other Mazda Protege years
| Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 Protege | 120 | 0 |
| 2002 Protege | 98 | 0 |
| 2001 Protege | 50 | 1 |
| 2000 Protege | 102 | 1 |
| 1999 Protege | 88 | 1 |
| 1998 Protege | 46 | 1 |
| 1997 Protege | 66 | 1 |
| 1996 Protege | 70 | 1 |
| 1995 | 165 | 4 |
See all Mazda Protege problems by year, every Mazda model, or the Mazda VIN decoder.
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Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems with the 1995 Mazda Protege?
Owners most often report air bags, exterior lighting, engine and engine cooling problems. The top one, air bags, accounts for 41 complaints.
Was there a recall on the 1995 Mazda Protege?
Yes, 4 safety recalls. Enter your VIN at NHTSA.gov to check whether the repairs were done on your car.
Was the 1995 Mazda Protege a good year?
Complaint data can't fully answer that, because counts aren't adjusted for sales. Compared with other Protege model years, the 1995 has far more complaints than most years. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.