Suspension Noise Problems of Mazda Protege

My 2000 Mazda Protege lx has had some "major surgery" lately. About a year ago (early 2008), when backing up especially, the car would make a stress then pop noise on the right side and towards the middle underside of the car. I was told this and that. I had new rear struts put on, alignments, tightening of the suspension, etc. Some of these worked temporarily. My car was involved in an "accident" at the end of December 2008. We had bad snow and ice and my car's left front tire hit an ice rut pretty good. After that, my car popped and popped. Turns out, the entire steering rack and everything that goes with it had to be replaced. When I drove the car back to work after the repair, the stick shift turned to jello. I barely made it back to the repair shop where it was discovered that the bushing had come apart. Well, now I have been battling a creaky clutch peddle. With each release, it creaks like an old hinge as if it's trying to get back into position. It's getting worse. I talked to mechanics and read on-line about it. Some say it could be the fluid reservoir (how empty it is) or this spring that is rubbing on another component. The pedal feels okay, it's not loose. I just now wonder if this is coincidental due to the repair of the steering rack and weak bushing of the stick shift. And for the record, the manual in the car is for an automatic transmission, not a 5spd. I bought the car used in 2001 with 24,000 miles on it.

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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.

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Over the past year, my 2000 Mazda Protege ES makes a thumping noise when going over bumps. It sounds like something is hitting the floor. I've had the car back to the dealer for repairs six times over the past year. After having the service department replaces various suspension parts, the noise goes away. . . Only to return a month or two later. The last time it was at the dealer was on Monday (2/3/03). The noise was gone then. However, after driving to and from work today (2/4/03), I noticed that it came back tonight. I'm a little reluctant to drive the car, since I'm not sure exactly how it is going to behave. If it's going to do this after a few miles, what is it going to do on longer trips?.

Consumer has brought vehicle in for repairs on several occasions due to suspension popping noise that is in the front and rear of the vehicle, the noise is still present after replacements and repairs of various suspension components.

See all problems of the 1996 Mazda Protege 🔎.