3rd Gen Protege/MazdaSpeed/P5/MP3 General/Maintenance Discussion for 1999-2003.5 Models Only (BJ Chassis)

Ok, the P5 is super annoying

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Old April-22nd-2002, 01:57 PM
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Ok, the P5 is super annoying

I've had my car a week... ugh... so many little annoyances...

I've experienced a very very very annoying high pitched whine around 70-85mph. Its crazy annoying. I want to put knives in my ears whenever I hear it. Its sounds like a really really small pig being slaughtered. Or the sound that R2D2 made when Hans almost got shot down. First, what is it? I read in the FAQ about the wiper blades, but it goes away if I take my foot off the gas so thats not the problem. Second, I saw a few posts about it being "harmonics" or something... whatever... call it bad engineering but dont make it sound like a normal problem. Ive never heard anything like this in any of my old Hondas. Is there a fix? Can I put tape on something or rip something off my car or kick something to fix it? Seriously, I need to get rid of the noise... Im going nuts...

Oh yeah, my gas mileage SUCKS. My ITR got better mileage!!! I read it got 7.6l/100km and 9.9l/100km... but I got 10.3l/100km with 80% highway driving. Man that stinks. The cold rattle sucks too. Cry!! I hope the general public doesnt find out about this crap or our resale value is going to suck, and I definately see this car being sold in a few years... SUV like fuel economy, it screams like a pig at low highway speeds, and it rattles like a 20 year old Ford Bronco.

I guess its not a bad car considering its in the economy segment, but still, these are the kind of problems that shouldnt show up in a production car. I feel like Im driving a prototype or something...

Sorry if I offended anyone. Well, not really. I needed to vent.
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Old April-22nd-2002, 02:12 PM
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My P5 is a lot quieter without the roof rack, but I suppose you have the Canadian version w/o the rack, eh? I don't have any rattles and I don't have the whine problem you do.

I used to have a '98 Honda Accord V6. It was most definitely quieter and had low revs at highway speeds. I wouldn't trade back for anything.

Give yourself some time to adjust to the P5. I did, and I love it. By the way, get off the freeway and hit the winding mountain roads. Your impression will improve.
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Old April-22nd-2002, 02:35 PM
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Thats probably some good advice... Im just having buyers remorse or something. I actually had a dream about my old car... LOL... I woke up sad.

Oh well, whats done is done. Ill learn to enjoy this car. Ill just blast the stereo on the highway to drown out the screaming pig!
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Old April-22nd-2002, 03:01 PM
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I have a Canadian Protege5 also. I also notice the cold start vibration and noise it makes but its not biggy. Once the engine reaches operating temperature its fine.

The wind noise at higher speeds is quite annoying sometimes but
I hardly drive at those speeds. I do alot of city driving. And besides having that much noise provides kind of a race car type environment which I like, especially when most of the sounds are pleasanty ones emitted from the engine. I got an Intake mod also so that improves things. I'm suprised you are annoyed at excessive engine, road, and wind noise since the ITR with its lack of sound insulation when compared to more plebian Integras, is quite loud also. But its for the most sporty feeling and for less weight.

As for fuel economy, you will notice an improvement after the car is broken in. Before my intake, I got decent fuel mileage already 9.8l/100km, all city driving with lots of jack rabbit starts and engine revving. After initial instalation of the intake, I noticed a slight drop if fuel economy, but after 2 weeks, fuel economy for some reason (maybe because the computer adapted to the increased airflow.) improved dramatically. I'm not getting 9.6l/100k and thats with even more engine revving and being constantly stuck in traffic jams.

Don't worry about it too much. Everything will be fine.
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Old April-22nd-2002, 03:15 PM
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Originally posted by leungwingkei
I'm suprised you are annoyed at excessive engine, road, and wind noise since the ITR with its lack of sound insulation when compared to more plebian Integras, is quite loud also. But its for the most sporty feeling and for less weight.
I was quite surprised too, trust me. You're right, the ITR is loud... louder than the P5. The difference is the type of noise. I dont mind wind, road, tire, engine, and exhaust noise. But I hate high pitched noises for some reason. Like someone else said, it sounds like an emergency broadcast system test. I never heard anything like that in the ITR. The only similar noise Ive ever heard is in my friends Neon ACR with its frameless windows.

Anyways, the problem will be solved, as I just bought an amp and sub and will be throwing them in on the weekend. I just gotta pick up an HU. Its sort of nice because none of the other cars Ive driven had good sound systems (and I removed the stereo in the ITR).

On a general note, is there a fuse for the ECU, or do I have to disconnect the battery?

Last edited by SouthWestVoodoo; April-22nd-2002 at 03:17 PM.
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Old April-22nd-2002, 03:25 PM
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Originally posted by SouthWestVoodoo



On a general note, is there a fuse for the ECU, or do I have to disconnect the battery?
YES....both....not EXACTLY where the fuse is in the box...but the NEGITIVE termanil is easy enough to locate....
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Old April-22nd-2002, 03:30 PM
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Hmm, you went from an ITR to a Protege 5? why?
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Old April-22nd-2002, 04:01 PM
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Originally posted by TimbES3
Hmm, you went from an ITR to a Protege 5? why?
Buying a house far from my work, getting married, etc. I couldnt see spending 1 + hours each way in the ITR on the freeway. Gas + insurance + putting over 200km on the car each day would have hurt. I didnt have much of a choice. I was looking for an economy car and liked the idea of actually being able to haul stuff around. Reviews were positive, I didnt notice any problems on the test drive, so I bought the car and took delivery the next morning. When I handed the keys of my baby over to the salesman I felt like someone shot me in the gut.
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Old April-22nd-2002, 04:28 PM
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Yeah ninja, I get kinda pissed at my car alot too. I dunno I'm a real random person, and I just got the car cause I loved the yellow wagon. I didn't even test drive the bitch. The looks appealed to me so much and I thought it was pretty cheap in price so I said **** it, might as well. Besides that I also had a vision for a Juggalo Wagon. But alas I feel I would probably not have gotten this car if I actually sat down and thought about it. But oh well, it gets me where I wanna go I guess. MUCH CLOWN LUV!!!!!!
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Old April-22nd-2002, 05:55 PM
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Originally posted by Sweedenhouse
Yeah ninja, I get kinda pissed at my car alot too. I dunno I'm a real random person, and I just got the car cause I loved the yellow wagon. I didn't even test drive the bitch. The looks appealed to me so much and I thought it was pretty cheap in price so I said **** it, might as well. Besides that I also had a vision for a Juggalo Wagon. But alas I feel I would probably not have gotten this car if I actually sat down and thought about it. But oh well, it gets me where I wanna go I guess. MUCH CLOWN LUV!!!!!!
Yeah man you sound like me, Ive went through like 5 new cars in 6 years... the longest one I kept was the ITR (two years), but I had so many others, I cant even remember which ones. The only one ill miss though is the ITR. Hopefully they bring out an RSX Type R in a few years when I get sick of this thing...

The wagon does rule though... I already "broke it in" with the woman. Man, at least I dont have to put her head in the trunk like before (dont ask)... hahaha
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Old April-22nd-2002, 06:00 PM
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Haha coming from a juggalo, the head in the trunk sounds perfectly normal. Heh peace out man I gotta be gettin back to work. MCL
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Old April-22nd-2002, 07:41 PM
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how could you buy a car without test driving it first? i did so much research before my purchase.
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Old April-22nd-2002, 09:59 PM
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Originally posted by Aaron
how could you buy a car without test driving it first? i did so much research before my purchase.
I test drove one for over an hour and didnt notice any of the problems!! I test drove a 5spd for like 20 mins... I decided I didnt like it because the tip in wasnt nice like I was used to, and I even noticed the rubber banding when I took it to a parking lot. So I got the auto. Trust me, I did some homework, read reviews, etc. One of the things that sold me on the car was the Edmunds.com review. They're pretty reputable.

Anyways, the first problem with the test drive was the engine was already warm when I got in... it must have been on a test drive within a half hour of mine. So I didnt notice the rattle at all.

I dont know why I didnt notice the engine whine. It was windy out, so maybe the wind noise masked it. Or maybe I didnt drive at exactly 70-75mph for long enough to hear it.

At least my fuel economy is getting better!!! 250km and Im not even done half the tank. Ill get over 550km on this tank easy. Sweet!

Anyways, the car isnt as annoying as I thought. On the way home I completely forgot about the whine, the rattle doesnt bug me anymore, and the fuel economy is getting better. Sweet!!!
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Old April-22nd-2002, 10:07 PM
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Originally posted by Aaron
how could you buy a car without test driving it first? i did so much research before my purchase.
Heh I dunno, I just did. The dealer looked at me like I was half-retarded, but I said just gimme the damn keys and lemme the hell up outta here. I dunno, like I said I'm a random person, and I'll spontaneously do off the wall ****. Guess I ate too many paint chips as a kid.
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Old April-23rd-2002, 03:03 AM
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Originally posted by Sweedenhouse


Heh I dunno, I just did. The dealer looked at me like I was half-retarded, but I said just gimme the damn keys and lemme the hell up outta here. I dunno, like I said I'm a random person, and I'll spontaneously do off the wall ****. Guess I ate too many paint chips as a kid.
Hahaha, man, you 'juggalos' are funny. Didn't know there was such a following, there's like five of you guys on the board!!!
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