The 1996 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 91 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the air bags. 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
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
18
16crashes11injuries
AIR BAGS
5
4crashes6injuries
EQUIPMENT:APPLIANCE:AIR CONDITIONER
5
4injuries
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP
4
2crashes3injuries
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
4
1crashes1injuries
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
3
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:GEAR POSITION INDICATION (PRNDL)
3
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY
3
1injuries
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR
3
3crashes2injuries
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE
2
Total complaints91
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“My 1996 mazda protege lx (1.5 liter engine) suffers from such extreme engine vibration that the car has recently become practically undriveable despite its low mileage of 83,000k and a good maintenance history. The car shakes severely when starting, jerks severely when shifting gears and is…”
“Consumer's vehicle was rear ended while stopping at a traffic light, which caused a chain reaction with two other vehicles. Consumer's head impacted the steering wheel , the seat back, and then the steering wheel again. Upon impact, air bags failed to deploy. *ak”
“While driving car on highway air conditioner seized breaking belt and causing me to lose power steering”
“Car started smoking & within less than 10 minutes the fire that started under the hood had half the car engulfed in flames, within 25 minutes the whole car was completely burned up from front to back.”
“Car started smoking & within less than 10 minutes the fire that started under the hood had half the car engulfed in flames, within 25 minutes the whole car was completely burned up from front to back.”
“I had difficulty moving the automatic transmission gear shift lever when the car was about 1 year old. The problem would occur on and off over the next few years. I finally had to replace the part when the gear shift lever was stuck with my key still in the ignition about 2 or 3 years ago. I can't…”
“Serious rust problem discovered in the windshield area of car when having new windshield installed. Several years ago, probably 1999, while the car was still under warranty, I attempted to have mazda repair rust that was appearing on the front pillars by the windshield. Their area representative…”
“In arear end collision with another truck neither air bag deployed. Dealer and manufacturer were not notified at this time. Feel free to provide any further information.*ak”
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1996 Mazda Protege as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.