2003 Mazda Protege Fuel system Problems
- Complaints
- 2about this part
- Share
- 2%of 120 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 32,000miles
- Trend
- Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.
NHTSA recorded 2 complaints about the fuel system of the 2003 Mazda Protege, 2% of the 120 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 32,000 miles.
Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“I have had two occurrences of screws from the butterfly valves on the vtcs system from the intake of my 2003 Mazda Protege 5 coming loose and being sucked into the combustion chamber of the vehicle. Each instance has caused the piston to knock the screw into the spark plug, thereby causing failure of a spark plug, which causes the engine to misfire to the point where it is undrivable, thereby leaving me stranded on the side of the road. The first incident was misdiagnosed (spark plug replaced). The second was diagnosed correctly and the intake manifold assembly was replaced. …”
NHTSA complaint #10130728, filed 2005-07, 32,000 milesRelated service bulletins
- 10154879Mar 20, 2019In support of the new MRT distribution, Mazda will ship to dealers a new Dual Purpose Diagnostic Leak Detector beginning March, 2019. Training videos will be posted to MGSS…
Fuel system: other model years
Other parts of the 2003 Mazda Protege
34 complaintsSeat belts
17 complaintsTransmission and drivetrain
12 complaintsSuspension
11 complaintsAir bags
10 complaintsTires
10 complaintsBrakes
7 complaintsSteering
7 complaintsEngine
6 complaintsSeats
4 complaintsBody and structure
4 complaintsElectrical system
3 complaints
← All problems reported for the 2003 Mazda Protege
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 29, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.
To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology