The 1993 Mazda Protege has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 1,368,500 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 56 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the seat belts. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain model year 1989-1998 MPV, 1990-1995 323, 1990-1998 Protege, 1992-1993 MX-3, 1993-1995 929, 1993-1997 MX-6, and 1993-1998 626 vehicles. In the affected vehicles, grease applied to the contact points inside the ignition switch may become conductive and…
Consequence
If the ignition switch overheats there would be an increased risk of a fire.
Remedy
Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the ignition switch, free of charge. The recall began on December 17, 2015. Owners may contact Mazda Customer Experience Center at 1-800-222-5500, option#6. Mazda's number for this recall is 8715J.
Complaints by component
SEAT BELTS
13
1injuries
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY
5
3fires
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR
5
1crashes1injuries
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM:RADIATOR ASSEMBLY
3
1injuries
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:ANCHORAGE
3
1injuries
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS
3
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:HORN
2
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:WEBBING
2
BACK OVER PREVENTION:WARNINGS:EXTERNAL/PEDESTRIAN ALERT
1
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ALTERNATOR/GENERATOR/REGULATOR
1
Total complaints56
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“Tl* the contact owns a 1993 mazda protege. The contact stated that the front driver side seat belt failed and remained stuck. The contact spoke with the manufacturer and inquired as to why other mazda vehicles were recalled for the seat belts but not the protege. The manufacturer provided no…”
“1) I have a 93 mazda 323/protege and the seat belt were recalled according to the web sit safercars.gov. Nhtsa id no.97v211000 2)the seat belt light was on my vehicle and the belt refuses to move on the rail some times. In addition the buzzer comes on while I am driving and the belt tends to move…”
“Nothing led up to the failure, one day the passive seatbelt just went about half-way up the track, then it stopped and a greasy cable popped out of it. Worst of all, mazda's emergency handle which is supposed to turn an internal hex nut to move the seatbelt rearward only made about one turn until…”
“Consumer states the vehicle horn goes off by itself.dealer notified. Ts”
“Consumer states while driving the horn goes off by itself. Dealer notified. Ts”
“Consumer states that the seat belt on the driver and passenger side does not retract any more. Contacted dealer.*jb”
“The horn goes off on its own.”
“Coolant coming through cracks in radiator. Coolant is blowing on engine.*ak”
Defect investigations
InvestigationEA94039 Opened 1994-11-30 · closed 1997-11-26
AUTO RESTRAINT SYSTEM FAIL
There is no summary currently available
InvestigationPE94029 Opened 1994-03-24 · closed 1994-07-28
CRUISE CONTROL MALFUNCTION
There is no summary currently available
InvestigationPE94059 Opened 1994-07-28 · closed 1994-11-30
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1993 Mazda Protege as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.