Protege 5 - loud engine? hard to start?

[music_fiend]

Hi,

I'm new here so please bear with me.

I bought a 2003 Mazda Protege 5 in May of this year so I've had it for about 2 months now. I've noticed that the engine is quite loud... is this normal? It's very loud when I first start the car in the morning and then quiets down slightly after it's been started. I'm used to driving a Toyota Corolla (previous car) so maybe it's just a P5 thing.

As well, I've noticed that sometimes I have difficulty starting the car.. for instance, I'll park the car, go into a convenience store, buy something, come back out and re-start the car. It starts, but sometimes it feels like it's going to sputter out. Has anyone else had this problem?

other than that, I love my car...! any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[Huckleberry]

I got mine Dec. 2001 and put about 25000 on it since. I'm not sure how "loud" is loud. but in the morning while the car is warming up, there is a rumbler that'll make a loud rattling noise. It goes away when the engine reaches optimal temperature. this is per my dealer mechanic.

Mine does a little sputter like it's going to die when I stop at a light some times. Idle drops then comes back up to normal. Can never duplicate that at the dealer... typical. It's never hard to start though.

Maybe it's the intake air sensor or the throttle control need some attention. My dealer has been pretty good about looking into my complaints (alignment, start up rattle).

Originally Posted by music_fiend

Hi,

I'm new here so please bear with me.

I bought a 2003 Mazda Protege 5 in May of this year so I've had it for about 2 months now. I've noticed that the engine is quite loud... is this normal? It's very loud when I first start the car in the morning and then quiets down slightly after it's been started. I'm used to driving a Toyota Corolla (previous car) so maybe it's just a P5 thing.

As well, I've noticed that sometimes I have difficulty starting the car.. for instance, I'll park the car, go into a convenience store, buy something, come back out and re-start the car. It starts, but sometimes it feels like it's going to sputter out. Has anyone else had this problem?

other than that, I love my car...! any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[Edison_Chen]

I think its quite normal for the P5....
IMO i dont this is a very good engine.. It sort of has a ticketin.. sound.. when you pop the hood open..

[P5-Lemon]

I have a 2003 P5. This is a LONG story but to make it short. My "old" engine was a little loud compared to my "new" engine at 12K miles.

Yes, "new" engine. The engine was recently replaced. The reason for replacemnet was that a couple of screws that hold the butterflies of the intake manifold came loose, fell out and were sucked into the engine.

I can only assume that the rattling and "loudness" was due to the intake butterfly mounting screws were loose.

While I was picking up my P5 I was told that there was another car in the shop for the same thing.

BTW, it took the shop over 30 days to get all the replacement parts, gaskets and manifold. I guess this is a known problem and they have redesigned the intake manifold (put screws on oppisite side of butterfly). The redisign intake manifold also needed a new fuel rack.

Has anyone else heard of any occurences of this failure?
One possitive note is that the Mazda Roadside Warranty Assistance is very efficient, both times. The third time we were able to limp in to the dealer.