Would hitting the upper catalytic converter with a rubber mallet free up anything that may be causing the P0421 error and CEL to come on? I need to know if it would do any good or any harm.
View 7 RepliesLast year I posted my CEL problem of P0421 and replaced both upstream and downstream sensors. I passed smog because I was allowed one error message and that message was Cat not ready. I had cleared the CEL light and drove long enough before inspection to reset all but the Cat not ready message and no CEL.
Last Friday I had to clean my throttle body butterfly valve and interior housing and I also had to replace the air inlet hose that connects the air cleaner/MAF sensor to the throttle body because the hose had some splits allowing air in. I disconnected the battery before doing any work.
My new question: Could air entering freely through the splits in the inlet hose, thus bypassing the MAF sensor, and being delivered directly to the throttle body, cause an error message of P0421?
I have sel code of P0421. What are the odds of the downstream sensor being bad vs a bad catalyst converter? The car runs great and I get 19+ mpg in town driving. It is a 2001 Mazda Protege, 2.0L V4 .....
View 15 RepliesIf the upstream pre-cat sensor is bad could it cause a P0421 CEL error? 2001 Mazda Protege L4 2L 116,800....
View 5 RepliesI have a 2001 Mazda Protege LX 2.0 with 121,000 miles. I removed the front oxygen sensor today to replace an exhaust pipe, and I noticed that the tip has a red/pinkish color on one side only. What this would indicate?
The only thing I could find online is that a pink tip indicates lead in the fuel. This is impossible, since the only gas station I frequent is a Conoco which is always very busy. Plus, I haven't noticed any performance issues from bad gas, and not to mention the fact that leaded fuel has been completely phased out for 15 years. What's weirder is that the sensor tip is only pink on one side - I'm guessing it's the side that's facing the exhaust manifold.
2001 Mazda Protégé 2.0 LX model.
When I turn on the AC I can hear the compressor working. When the fan speed is 1, 2, or 3 the AC button is green, the compressor is working but no air is coming out of the vent.
When I turn the fan speed knob to 4 the AC button light goes out and I have air flow from the vent. The hose from the compressor is cold to the touch but the air coming out of the vent on 4 is not cold.
2001 Mazda Protege 2.0L
In California, if my OBC11 reader shows, "Cat Not Ready" and all other systems are "Ready" will it pass the smog test for an enhanced area?
In other words, do all systems need to show, "Ready" or am I allowed one or two "Not Ready"?
I do not have CEL on.
Lately, when first starting my car and after it’s been sitting for a while the gas pedal seems to be stuck.
When I push on it slightly it doesn’t move; but if I push a little harder it will make a noise and become free and movable. No further problems until it sits for a while or the next morning. Then the same stuck pedal. Exert a little pressure and it frees up.
I tried squirting WD40 on the linkage but it does no good. What could cause it to bind up? 2001 Mazda Protege LX 2.0 ....
Have 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.
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 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 RepliesMy Mazda 1996 Protege appears to have no alternator, but there is something called a generator. Are they the same thing?
View 19 RepliesHere's a quandary for those who know more than I do:
I have a 2000 Mazda Protege with 182,000 miles on it. On occasion my dashboard lights (and radio, for that matter) cut out, going completely dark. Now here's the kicker: If I give the dashboard a little tap with my hand, everything comes back all glowing and lit.
My fear had been the alternator was going bad (Again!), but since it seems to be coming back with a bop on the dashboard...is this just a loose ground? What should I be looking for? Is this something a novice like myself could be taking care of, or where should I be directing my mechanic?
I have a 2003 Mazda Protege. I had the check engine light come on and took it to my local repair shop. They diagnosed it as a bad oxygen sensor. They replaced it, but a week later, the light came back on. So, I decided to take it to the dreaded dealership and pay for their "expertise". They informed me that the light was a result of a intake hose with a hole in it. They also told me that the vehicle's oil pan was rusty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle did not leak oil. After a week of driving, I noticed spots of oil on my driveway. I checked the oil and it was low, so I decided to have it towed back to the dealership to have it checked out. I assumed it was the oil pan that had not been installed properly.
Today, the service tech informed me that my engine was blown and needed to be replaced. He told me that this cam warped and didn't leak before because the pressure was being release through the rusty oil pan. This sounds absurd to me. It seems to me that what has happened is their responsibility. What could have caused this? A co-worker suggested that more than likely the mechanic could have made a mistake and started the engine without motor oil either after the oil pan was replaced or after the vehicle sat overnight and the oil drained out. Does this seem more logical? If the dealership is at fault, but will not fix it, what can I do?
I was driving my car on the highway, stopped to get gas and it started stalling but would never loose all the power. The check engine light did not go on. They have replaced spark plugs, hoses and it keeps doing the same, they told me there could be water in the fuel i pumped so i burned through the gas, drove 5 hours back home and when going uphill i would give it gas the rpms would go but no speed.
I took it to the ford/mazda dealership in town and said that the codes it was giving em they could not decipher, their best guess was a timing belt issue, they suggested i took it to an exclusive mazda dealership...but the closest one is 3 hrs away. They said it wasn't my transmission. There is no set speed when it stalls..it does it often maybe every 20 seconds or so...the car is a mazda protege 2000 with about 140000 miles...
I have a 1998 Mazda Protege LX 1.5 L 4 Cylinder and i have been having some starting issues, and stalling at stop lights.
To be clear i have replaced/cleaned, Injectors, Spark Plugs, Spark Plug Wires, Distributor Cap, Distributor Coil, Air Filter, Cleaned MAF, Cleaned the EGR Valve,
My car won't start in the morning, just gives cranks but if I press gas pedal it starts and have to keep it until engine gets hot enough. then it works till the car cools down again, and repeat the problem in the morning when I have to go to work. When the car is warm it starts fine but has idle issues regardless of temperature. As usual when the engine is cold or cool, it won't start.
Visited 2 different mechanic shops and the problem still exist, I don't know how and what they did it, it only worked for couple of months and the engine noise was bit high, I believe he just increased the idle, When i am at stop lights it has a rough idle and tries to die, When it idles it idles rough, Every once in a while I get a CEL Cylinder Misfire on cylinder 4. I'm confused on want to do , Don't know what else to do and its getting tiring, The car also feels like a lack of power.
I own a automatic 2002 Mazda Protege with about 167,000 miles on it. The other day I was at a stop light and when I accelerated it felt like the car was taking longer than normal to get into gear. I am scared that it may be a transmission problem.
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