I think the cold rattle "problem" is bullshit, and I'm tired of everyone bitching about it. It is an emission control thing for when the engine starts up. It was purposely designed into the car, and if it's really that bad, which it isn't, protegeclub, just turn up the awesome stock stereo.

I feel your pain, Pro_fan, I did the exact same thing you did. $150 US dollars. Oh well.

Go with the manual transmission, fo-sho. - = -

My only complaints are that the motor mounts give too much backlash (whose don't?) and second gear seems long, but then I'm stepping out of a Rabbit GTI with a close-ratio gearbox. It is a very fun car that Zoom~Zooms around like none other.

 

exactly.......

I never noticed the 'rattle' until you people pointed it out.....

now every morning I look at my rpms and try and skip 2700 rpms...


I wasn't aware of a paint problem with Proteges neither

I didn't get the alloys on my Protege, but was thinking about adding them later. I asked the parts department about the price, and they all said not to bother but to just get some better and cheaper aftermarket wheels.

 

the only problem I've had was with the front power windows. first the passager side got stuck and wouldn't go up. then the drivers side was stuc an dwouldn't go down all the way. the cost to fix $0. dealer fixed both.

 

I think that the alleged paint problems are not Protege specific. I think the paints they use now are composed of different stuff than previous paints.

My buddy's '02 Impreza TS wagon has way more paint chips than I do AND one of his chips has rust in it (although he refuses to believe it)!!!!

So I don't think we can blame Mazda...I think it's an industry wide thing.

 

well what happens sometimes is that they don't wait for the first layer to dry properly before applying to coat. This causes the little chips that might appear for no reason. If that happens, the dealer should take care of it for sure.

 

Sorry...I meant that the paint chips were due to rocks/gravel in the winter. Apologies for any confusion

 

I have an MP5 with the 5sp manual.

I, too, have the engine rattle at @2800 rpm on cold starts and the experience of the dealer's service department denying they could detect it.

The service manager never mentioned that the rattle is a common problem but now having stumbled upon this club's forum, I now realize I was not imagining things!

Now my question -- has anyone else noticed a small surge in acceleration that accompanies the rattle??

Having looked through the various threads/posts that mention the rattle problem, I don't recall any complaints about the surge.

I look forward to any and all of your comments.