SilverPR5

Just buy a moonroof deflector. Our Protege 5 doesn't whistle anymore.

JJB

I looked under 2002 on alldata.com for a TSB for Mazda and the only category is "Mazda Truck" for some MPV stuff nothing that I could find for a Protege... did I look in the wrong place?

silver_p5_owner

If you go the the government's NHTSA site, http://www.nhtsa.com/cars/problems/t...hTopic=Vehicle you'll see only one TSB on the 2002 Protege and the fix has to do with the rubber moulding around the windshield not the rack. You'll have to enter all the data for year, manufacturer, model etc. to get there. It even shows the fix. Maybe this is the whistle some folks have been hearing.

dsamon

My 2002 MP5 has the "rubber toothed thing" on the front roof rack cross member. I never gave it much thought until I tried to install my dealer-purchased yakima bike rack. It was impossible to get the Mazda rack adapters to fit on the rack per the installation instructions since the adapters would not fit over this rubber piece. They fit fine on the section of the crossmember that did not have this rubber peice. To get this rack to fit without pealing off this rubber piece (which would have left a nasty, hyper-sticky residue on the bar) I had to remove and swap the front and rear bars. After doing so the bike rack installed without incident BUT the rack was noisier. I could hear more "whistling" from the front bar. I think that "thing" does help reduce noise on the rack. I'm certain the sunroof contributes to how much of that sound makes it into the cabin. I can even tell a difference in the noise levels between having the sunshade open and closed. That said, even the noise it makes now is not bad at 80-90mph. Far less than my '98 Civic LX at such speeds.