2003 Mazda Protege Recalls
No NHTSA recalls on record for the 2003 Mazda Protege. That means NHTSA has no open safety campaign for this vehicle — it does not guarantee the absence of problems. Owners have filed 145 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the seat belts. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Complaints by component
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.
“Rough idle causing to stall while driving, check engine light on for cylinder misfire, found cylinder 4 with a bent spark plug with the gap closed. Replaced all 4 plugs car ran fine for a few months only to have the same issue cylinder misfire with cylinder 4 with another bent plug gap closed.…”
“Tl* the contact owns a 2003 mazda protege. The contact stated while driving 50 mph, the vehicle stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the engine and timing belt needed to be replaced.…”
“2003 mazda protege would not pass 2019 virginia safety inspection due to defective passenger side airbag. Dealer cannot replace because mazda has discontinued that part. Under virginia law, car cannot be operated without valid inspection certificate. Inspection disclosed no other disqualifying…”
“2003 mazda protege 5 was traveling approximately 45mph and struck a moving vehicle in the rear quarter panel. No air bag was deployed in the mazda protege 5. The other vehicle's airbags deployed.”
“Severe rusting of left and right rear quarter panels leading into rear of rocker panels due to poor rust protection from factory.”
“The driver side seat belt latch is no longer working. There appears to be broken parts in the female part.”
“I was pulling up to my residence when the seat belt popped out of the receiver by itself.. I tried to re-latch the seat belt and it would not latch. I attempted a few more times and the seat belt receiver completely fell apart.. *tr”
“Passenger side strut tower has rusted to the point that failure of the suspension is imminent. The rust inhibitor that was applied from mazda motor corp. During manufacturing, on the passenger front wheel well has failed and is allowing water, road salt etc to enter the engine bay and cause severe…”
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2003 Mazda Protege as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.