FujiToast

Hey Guys, I'm about to buy a 2002 Protege 5 with 55,000 miles, literally from a little old lady. The papers are getting signed to today so I'm pretty excited. But I have a couple questions for you guys.

This one maybe a dumb question, but I'll ask anyway. This P5 comes with a standard automatic. Yeah, yeah, I know, the manual is better, but this will be my daily driver, so it'll will see traffic and MN winters so cold the last thing you want to do is put forth more energy then necessary, and also that wouldn't allow me to put a remote-start into it which is also VERY handy in our cold winters. PLUS I have my 2002 Miata SE with a 6 speed for when I want to do some more spirited driving. But back to the potentially dumb question. I saw somewhere that I can buy the ActiveMatic shift assembly. Are both the standard transmission and the ActiveMatic actual transmissions the same but with different shift assemblies? Could I actually just put in an ActiveMatic Transmission and be able to have a little more control over my shifts that easy?

I'm hoping your answer is yes.

Secondly, this probably doesn't belong in this part of the forum but does anybody know of a place where you can still get ahold of DDE or AngelEyes for the Protege5?

djs2571

If your main reason for an auto is the remote start... the trans may have a neutral switch, or the ability to rig one up to allow the remote start to be added. This is for safety only, but a moot point if you're not one that leaves it in-gear when you turn it off.

FujiToast

No, I'd be buying this vehicle anyway regardless of transmission. Great condition, VERY low mileage, 1 owner (who happens to be an 70+ years old) and a great price. Though in this case I am ok with it being an automatic for the reasons I mentioned above.

I've heard too many stories of people having remote starts on their manual transmission cars and either forgetting it was in gear or having someone else put it in gear after driving and BAM, through the garage wall. It almost seems as though an error is bound to be made at some point in the cars' life. I remember reading not too long ago where a mustang owner had their car at the dealer and the mechanic parked it in gear after service and the button got bumped and the car thrust itself into a pond. So I will never install a remote start on a manual transmission automobile.

But anyways, does no one really know about swapping a standard auto for a activematic? Any information at all would be much appreciated.