Three problems related to clutch pedal/linkage have been reported for the 2003 Mazda Protege. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2003 Mazda Protege based on all problems reported for the 2003 Protege.
2003 Mazda Protege (manual transmission); have trouble going into reverse and sometimes into first gear; also, unable to take key out of ignition; driver window feels like it is rolling off track when rolled down. Problems with vehicle first began some time in March 2005.
Clutch apparently failed to engage transmission after being driven 15 miles to work with no apparent symptoms that it was going to fail. Vehicle has previously had a motor mount break that was covered under the terms of the warranty. I believe the motor mount failure caused a misalignment of the drive train which resulted in the premature failure of the clutch. Mazda has refused to cover the clutch as a warranty repair even though they did the motor mount repair. At the time the motor mount failed the motor or transmission was making an awful racket. The clutch sounded like it was under an awful strain!.
Leaking gear oil fluid at the linkage coupling.