One problem related to suspension noise has 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.
The front suspension on the 2003. 5 Mazdaspeed Protege has a very bad noise which you can hear when passing over speed bumps or any small bump in the road. The noise sounds like a soda can being crushed. The noise is more pronouced in wet or cold conditions. Noise has been present in the vehicle since 2nd month of ownership. Dealer has vehicle in for this problem 2 times and indicates they cannot reproduce it. Various online forums indicate this is not a unkown issue and has affect many (if not all) owner of this model.