Research · complaint index
Mazda Protege years to avoidWhat NHTSA complaint data does and doesn’t say
We compared 5 model years of the Mazda Protege by owner complaints to NHTSA, adjusted for how long each year has been on the road. No single year stands far above the rest.
Complaints per year on the road
1.0 = typical year for this model
| Year | Complaints | Per year on road | Index | Recalls | Crashes | Signal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 102 | 4 | 1.6 | 3 | 25 | Typical |
| 1999 | 90 | 3 | 1.4 | 3 | 21 | Typical |
| 1998 | 46 | 2 | 0.7 | 2 | 8 | Typical |
| 1997 | 68 | 2 | 1.0 | 2 | 15 | Typical |
| 1996 | 73 | 2 | 1.0 | 2 | 24 | Typical |
- 2000102 complaints · 3 recallsTypical
- 199990 complaints · 3 recallsTypical
- 199846 complaints · 2 recallsTypical
- 199768 complaints · 2 recallsTypical
- 199673 complaints · 2 recallsTypical
Data from NHTSA Complaints & Recalls APIs · synced Nov 11, 2026
About this comparison
What Mazda Protege years have the most complaints?
No Mazda Protege model year drew more than twice the typical complaint rate among the 5 model years compared. The highest was 2000.
Is this a reliability rating?
No. These are counts of unverified owner complaints to NHTSA. They are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so a popular year can collect more complaints. Use them to find patterns, then read the reports.
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.