2000 Mazda Protege Transmission and drivetrain Problems

“As I accelerated to 30 MPH, the o/d off light on the dashboard flashed and the speedometer stayed at zero, even though I was driving as fast as the other cars on the street. It felt like neutral gear. The manual indicates the flashing light is due to an electrical problem with the transmission. I remembered that within a few months of purchasing this new car, the transmission was replaced due to peculiar sounds, so I worry about the quality of this component since I do not drive much.”

“While lightly accelerating the car suddenly jerked, made a loud noise, and felt as though it slipped into neutral. I pulled my foot off the gas and the car recovered. This has happened 3 times within the past year, all incidents occurred around 40 MPH. I noticed the car usually downshifts at this speed, but had not before each of these incidents had occurred. The car has less than 30k miles. I took it to the dealer, they did not find anything wrong and could not reproduce. …”

“Own a 2000 Mazda Protege dx w/auto & air, 41k miles that was purchased new. Upon driving for 45 minutes on the highway, the o/d transmission light starts blinking. When I bring to the car to a stop, turn off the engine and restart, the light is no longer flashing. I do not drive the car for more than a few minutes after the o/d light starts flashing before letting the car sit for several hours. The transmission fluid also gets dirty at an accelerated rate vs. What would normally be expected for a car. Last full flush at 38k miles, and the fluid is now brownish-red. …”

“I took my 2000 Mazda Protege to the dealer to have the rear bumper repaired. I had been hit from behind. While the car was at the dealership I asked to have the oil changed . The service man contacted me, and told me the transmission gasket had a leak. I called several automob ile repair shops, and found the cost of repairing the gasket cheaper than at dealership, especially since the vehicle was no longer under warranty. I was told by the repairman that it was not just the gasket, but the pump - basically the entire transmission. The cost was over $2200 to be repaired. …”

“I just spent 2200 on repairs to my transmission. My vehicle had been lunging forward while I was driving and the repair shop thought it was the transmission. They found major damage to the transmission. It was fixed and now my vehicle is lunging forward again. It just started again today. If I had been driving too close to someone, I would have hit them. Mazda needs to step up and fix this and do a recall. Now I have to go and let the shop try to see why this is going on. I may be out more money. I hate this car and I will never recommend Mazda. And just note this vehicle only has 59000 miles.”