1999 Mazda Protege: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 102 complaints
102
Total Complaints
60,500mi
Median Mileage
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Top Issue
26
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

41,974 25th Percentile
60,500 Median Mileage
74,750 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
16
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
14
AIR BAGS
7
TIRES:TREAD/BELT
6
TIRES
5
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
4
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
4
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
3
POWER TRAIN
3
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
3

Severity Assessment

26
Crashes
1
Fires
20
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"I'VE READ THAT LATE MODEL YEARS WITH THE AT HAVE EXPERIENCED RANDOM HARD SHIFTS WHILE GOING AT MODERATE SPEEDS. I WAS ACCELERATING GENTLY FROM 35 TO 40 MPG ON A VERY GENTLE SLOPE WHEN I FELT AS IF THE CAR HIT A LARGE BUMP OR RIDGE. CURIOUS AND WORRIED, I TURNED BACK AND RETRACED MY PATH TO SEE IF IT..."
"VEHICLE REAR ENDED ANOTHER VEHICLE AT ABOUT 15MPH AND HOOD OF CAR WAS SMASHED. UPON IMPACT, NEITHER DRIVER'S SIDE NOR PASSENGER'S SIDE AIRBAGS DEPLOYED. *AK"
"WHILE TRAVELING AND AS A RESULT OF AN ACCIDENT AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY. NO INJURY TO CONSUMER. MANUFACTURER HAS BEEN CONTACTED. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATON. *AK"

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28