Top 10 2003 Mazda Protege Questions & Answers

There are two bolts on the side of the fuse itself. Under the fuse box on each side. Unbolt those and it will come out.

The idle on my 2003 Mazda Protege started acting strange one day - it kinda surged forward a little bit. Then the RPM would drop and kept wanting to stall out. It stalled out at a stop sign. The check engine light came on. I drove it immediately to my Goodyear mechanic. It ended up being the Idle Air Control Valve. They had to order the part from Mazda which took 3 days to get there. The whole thing cost $700. Runs great now (again).

That's a good (and cheaper) place to start. You might also check belts (water pump at least) for cracking and glazing; the circulation rate doesn't have a lot of latitude and a slipping belt can have an influence.
Also, is your electric fan running when it should?
Also, once you are under the hood, check your oil for any signs of Jergens lotion (water/coolant contamination) and your overflow bottle for any signs of oil floating in it.  If you are going to get your hands dirty anyhow, you might pull your plugs and look for any suspicious rusty discoloration. This paragraph is assuming bad stuff; namely a failing head gasket which can also cause overheating if it has failed between a cylinder and the water jacket; during combustion, hot gases are pumped into the coolant which also should cause bubbles that you can see in the overflow bottle.  

Hi
Had the exact same problem, on a used 2003 Protege ES with 82,000 miles that I purchased.
Started with the loud "road noise" I thought well maybe thats just the sound that it makes.
And then noticed that it varies when turning.
This will continue to get worse and then your abs light will come on when it gets bad enough to trigger the sensor..
It turned out to be a bad wheel bearing.
Take it to a shop and have an experienced mechanic check it out. Its repairable.

front stuts need replacement, buy this point it would be both. you can tell most of the time buy if you hit a pot hole on the left and it makes a nosie thats the side. but after a few days of driving like this both are in bad shape and need replacement.

there is no bearing its just the strut, you can tell buy getting a jack stand and lifting the front and moving the tire side to side and back to front. usaly anything over 10-20 thouthands of an inch is bad, and that mean if you feel it it's bad.

but anyways to replace it you will need a sop, you have to compress your front srping in order to remove and install a strut.

Remove the wire from the negative terminal on the battery and wait a few minutes, then reconnect the wire. This will "reset" the computer and remove the check engine light. If the light comes back on, take it to a Mazda service center and let them read the code. They will be able to tell you what is wrong. Pepboys, Autozone....arent always the smartest cookies and are wrong more than they are right.

2002 Mazda Protege5 with the FS2.0 Motor. The EGR Valve is located below the throttle-body. You must take off the Intake tube to get a good view of it. To replace it I think you might have to take off the throttle-body.



Fig. Exploded view of the intake manifold assembly with 2.0L (FS) engine

Good luck (remember rated this).

The lower radiator hose follow it to the engine block You woll remove 2 bolt 12mm or 14mm. there you pull out the thermostat. when you install you need a new thermostat gasket.The thermostat has a air bleeder nipple that has to be up. When you fill the radiator and you start the vehicle the thermostat will open up when it is warmed and coolant will sink down there you fill the radiator up always keeping you eye on the temperature gauge. Also fill the resovoir.

What about new spark plugs and wires?

See page 1:
http://www.mazdaspd.com/manual_files/09-21.pdf