Car has 125,000 miles. Not sure if the brake fluid has ever been flushed, despite brake jobs in the past 5 years. I do not have the manual so not sure if it even addresses frequency of flushing the brake lines. None of the invoices mention it. Last checkup in Aprl recommends flushing brakes.
Lots of posts on Cartalk about flushing in general, but not anything for my Mazda 1996 Protege.
I have a 96 Mazda Protege DX. 1.5L engine, now with 161,000 miles. 5 speed manual transmission. I had it for 7 years. Originally bought it for $1900 with 121,000 miles.
This has been a problem for about 5 years. When I am at a red light or idling and I step on the brake, my idle gets rough and my engine feels like it is about to turn off. The idle does not bounce up and down. It just goes down to 400-500rpm from the normal 800-950rpm range.
Again, this only happens when I step on the brake while the car is not moving. It does not seem to happen when I coast in neutral and hit the brake to slow down. I raised the idle a bit, but it still does it. I could not find any vacuum leak around the brake booster and I know the brake booster works because I pumped my brakes while the car was off, and when I turn the car on, the brakes soften up.
Also, my brakes feel weak. I usually hit the brakes nearly to the floor board to stop the car. New pads, rotors are good. Brake fluid is at right level. Mechanics say nothing is wrong with my brakes.
Secondly, my belts screech at every start up. Lasts anywhere from 3-20 seconds. This has been happening for the entire 7 years I have owned the car. Mechanics replaced the serpentine belts twice in that time. Replaced a pulley and A/C compressor. I tried using WD40 but it doesn't effect it. Mechanics tell me that the belt tension is correct and they do not know why it still screeches.
What is the process for flushing the brake fluid for a 2007 or any other year from the Lexus Service Manual for our cars? I have read what I believe is the correct process on various threads but would prefer to read the service manual directly.
View 1 Replies2002 Merc Mountaineer, 135K miles: I've been taking my car to the local town tire shop for years for my regularly scheduled maintenace. Just the usual oil changes, tire rotations, etc. If they saw some minor adjustments needed, they would just take care of it. About 2 years ago, when the economy tanked, they started hitting you with "The Form" - a checklist of all the recommendations needed for your car. For the past 3 oil changes, they said your brake fluid is black and needs to be flushed. Never heard of this so I always declined. Last week I dropped the car off for an oil change and planned to pick it up later that afternoon. I got the call about 2 hours later, and you know when you get a call before you expect, they always have found something wrong. This time it was "the brake fluid is really, really black" and needs to be flushed. I caved in and said OK do it and it was one of those XX.99 prices. Is this a needed maintenance or did I get flushed?
View 19 Replies it was over 100 degrees today in Lawrence, Kansas and on the way home from work, the air conditioner stopped making cool air. Hot air now comes out. This is a different problem that the poster before me seems to have. Mazda Protégé, 1996, 128,000 plus miles on it.
A reconditioned one was installed in 2006, compressor replaced in July, 2012.
I own a 1996 Mazda Protégé with 128,000 miles. I had it in for a check of a sewing machine sound. The mechanic tested it and found, among things, a "lean running condition". What does that mean?
View 4 Replies1996 Mazda Protege air conditioner died today in the lovely 2nd week of Kansas heat wave of over 100 degrees each day. Was replaced in 2006.
What should be the approximate cost of the parts and labor to replace? Is it normal to have died after 8 years? It was a reconditioned one.
1996 Mazda Protege has 125,000 miles. Checkup this spring noted that the engine oil sensor was leaking, but did not note if a problem. I check the oil monthly with no problems with the oil going down. Many posts about engine oil pressure fixes, but none about leaking issues. What happens if I ignore the problem?
View 5 RepliesI have 1999 Mazda Protege that has a transmission fluid leak. I took it to a transmission shop close by, and they said it is either the torque converter or the front pump. I also have oil in the coolant reservoir, which I was told they wouldn't be able to tell where the oil is coming from until the leak is fixed.
My question, is what could have caused either the torque converter or the front pump to leak? Wear and tear and old age? Or could it have been caused by something else?
I realize at some point I will just have to decide, but any input on whether it's a worthwhile fix? The shop quoted me $787 for the front pump, and said the torque converter would be a few hundred more. That's not taking into account the possible issue with the radiator from the oil in the coolant reservoir.
The car has approximately 160,000 miles on it. The catalytic converter will need to be fixed at some point in the future, the O/D light is flashing (though I'm not sure if it's related to my transmission problems at all), cruise control doesn't work, and the drivers side mirror is broken...
1996 Mazda Protégé, 130,000 miles, squeaky sound coming from under the hood. Happens any time, whether I am moving or not. Should I be worried? Been going on for about 2 months.
View 4 Replies128,000 + miles... The lower climate control is physically hard to move like something is blocking it. However, the intensity control moves just fine. Both do their job of controlling the temperature/intensity, etc. Why might the lower control be hard to move? Can I fix it myself?
View 3 Replies1996 Mazda Protégé, 128,821 miles, in town driving 5000 miles per year in recent years.
I hit the frame of my garage door about 6 months or more ago which partially pulled off the front bumper area and knocked the right turn signal lens and headlight out of whack. My handyman fixed it up, by using good quality baling wire so the turn signal and headlight etc worked.
Then, I did the same thing a couple of weeks ago. (I was trying to avoid hitting my bicycle which I had just had reconditioned for an ungodly amount of money) My handyman is unavailable to fix it again. I have gotten stopped once by the police for the malfunctioning turn signal so it was time to get it fixed.
Mechanic (same one as previous posts) said it will cost 1500 to replace the bumper area etc so the front turn signals will work. He absolutely insisted that the turn signal wires cannot be reconnected. He reattached the bumper area "temporarily". I am willing to pay to get the turn signals functioning but do I need to replace the whole bumper assembly unit?
Does this seem plausible?? I just want the turn signals to work. I do not care about how it looks. (I drove the car in the interim with a bright yellow bungie cord holding the unit together)
A couple weeks ago the front brakes were done on the Mazda. Then the wheel bearings needed to be done. I think the shop outsourced what I guess was the packing of the bearings. I paid for the work, and drove away, nearly, but didn't because I had no brakes and there I was pulling out into 5:00 PM traffic. The emergency brake saved me. I walked back into the shop and they discovered the power brake booster had broken. I wonder, because if you drove the Mazda to park it in the shop lot where the customers pick up the vehicles after repairs are made, wouldn't you notice that there is no braking action. The brake pedal was high and hard and there was literally no response when I depressed it.
The shop keeper said, darn I guess I'll have to replace this, meaning pay for it, since it (may have) happened when the bearings were being worked on. My question is, is there any reason why working on bearings might end up breaking the brake booster? Chances are, it was just coincidence, right? or? I don't know. Because the car is old, he had to take several days to find the part. Anyway, he sent me off and told me to drive it carefully. The drive home was absolutely nervewracking and required continual tugging up on the emergency brake stick. I wonder if they despise my car so much now that they are sending me off to drive in it in such an unsafe condition. Anyway, hoping it will be fixed tomorrow. But my question still is ... would working on bearings possibly be cause for breaking the brake booster?
I have been negligent regarding the timeliness of replacing my transmission fluid on my 2007 Honda CRV. Have 70K miles without changing and was told by the dealership that it should be drained and refilled because it was no longer pinkish in color and was brown. I asked about flushing and they said something about the pressure may damage the "celenoids?" and cause the transmission to not shift smoothly. I asked 2 different mechanics at local gas stations and they each said to flush it (although one said that if the fluid was black he wouldn't advise flushing and just replace, and the other said that if over 100K, that flushing could cause the transmission not to shift smoothly).
The dealership wanted 120 to drain and replace, the gas station mechanics want approx 240 to flush.
"I have a 1997 Mazda 626 w/ 198k miles.... The clutch is making a squealing noise when depressed and I am losing brake fluid."
View 5 RepliesHave 2002 mazda protege 5 . During acceleration at 3000 rpm the engine hesitates. Computer said o2 sensor, replaced it but that wasn't it. Drilled out both catalytic, that wasn't it. Found hole in mass air flow tube, figured that is it. I haven't replaced that yet, however I used gorilla tape thinking it would be a temporary fix but that didn't work. I know I need to replace that tube, but think that it may now be a fuel pump issue??
View 5 RepliesI have a 1999 Mazda Protege. As of last summer it started giving me problems with not wanting to start after I had driven it around town for a little while. (IE: to the grocery store, to the bank and then to my sister's house. It wouldn't give me the same problem if I just went to the grocery store and back home. It would start up fine and I'd be on my way. Only when I went somewhere and shut it off then repeated that a couple more times.) I took it to a mechanic who wholeheartedly believed it was the coil packs not allowing my car to function properly.
So we replaced those and everything seemed on the up and up. (Keep in mind that this was towards the end of summer and the temperature was dropping.) The car was perfect all throughout the fall and winter, but now that the temperature outside is starting to rise again it's beginning to do the same thing it did last summer. I don't want to take it to another mechanic that's going to have me dish out an extravagant amount of money again only for the problem to persist.
2000 Mazda Protege ES 1.8L
What's a good way to find whats the cause of all the rattling and knocking in the front end of my car when going over uneven terrain? It seems that noise appears only if one of the wheels is lifted up a little bit. I am attaching a picture describing the "motion" here:
Steering wheel doesn't shake when driving at high speeds and is fairly stiff, but it does pull to the right a bit, maybe because I didn't perform a front end alignment (I know this is not good) after I had most of the stuff in the suspension of the replaced; all 4 struts + boots + mounting blocks, ball joints, control arms...
Now the only part, I didn't replace was the sway bar link on the passenger side and it's being knocking for 3 years. The one on the driver side was replaced at the time the struts were replaced but I didn't have enough money to pay for the other one.
Another mechanic told me when I was quoting that sway bar links aren't really necessary as a safety feature, and a google search showed me that there are people that just take the sway bar off the car, so I left it there and just tried to live with the noise. now I am noticing the driver side is knocking as well, and I am wondering if it has to do with because I didn't replace the one in the passenger side?
I just want to rule out the possibility of another component being the cause of the noise because I am prioritizing safety over ride comfort in my attempts to save some money.
I read here that some tire noise can be caused by bad belts. How do you know if the tire belt is bad? My tires get loud between 20 and 40 mph. Mechanic says the tires are OK but to replace them to get rid of the noise.
View 7 RepliesBasically, my car (2002 Mazda Protege) has been acting like my brakes are engaged. Not all the time, though - The first time I get out and drive it, it drives smooth as silk like always. But then after I put it in park and then get back in and head out (I'm a delivery driver, so this is constant), sometimes it feels like the brakes are constantly being pressed. No, the emergency brake is not on. Most of the time it's almost not even noticeable so, like an idiot, I put it off for the past week. But today, it was very, very, very bad. I was having to press the gas to the floor to get up to speed, and then it was constantly trying to slow down. My brakes were definitely getting burned up while it was doing this, but luckily it stopped.
It may be unrelated - I know I have an oil leak, but today I saw a very unusual spot where something leaked out in my driveway. I checked my oil, and it was where I expected it to be, but this was a relatively large stain which would be very unlike my current leak.
Started my car yesterday and as I was accelerating, it made a very loud noise. It sounds like normal engine acceleration noise, only ten times louder. It was present whenever I accelerated, but not when I was coasting or idling, and not when the car was in neutral. (It's a stick shift.) During acceleration, there was a little hesitation and a little jerkiness, but not horrible. The problem came on suddenly - no problems with the car before yesterday.
View 4 Replies