Vehicle: 2001 Mazda Protege LX 2.0 liter engine failure: Key is inserted in ignition and turned, starter will turn over but engine will not start. Occurrence: Intermittently, 3 times in 2 months. Service: Had it towed each time to a certified Mazda dealership. First time - they replaced the ignition coils with another vehicles coils and it started right up. They put the original coils back in and it started up fine. Second time - they replaced the PCM third time - had it towed to a different Mazda dealership. After towing, the vehicle started right up. I have had the vehicle serviced at regular intervals as recommended by Mazda since I purchased it new 6 years ago. I have been in contact with Mazda corporation to check for recalls or known issues and was told there are none for my vehicle. After explaining my problem to them, I was given no suggestions for recourse. This problem is intermittent, but leaves me with an unreliable vehicle.

- Alexandria, VA, USA

Last November the "check engine" light came on in my 2001 Mazda Protege. I immediately brought it to the Mazda dealership, who said that their was an error with the code and they cleared it and recalibrated it. They said it had gone off for no apparent reason. Three months later (shortly after the warranty expired) the light came on again. This time the dealership claimed that the code said that the gas cap was not screwed on tight. This was not true! when that light came on I immediately checked the gas cap since the owners manual told me that was all I could do myself (it was tight as a drum). The dealership claimed otherwise-it was my word against theirs and naturally they won. Two weeks later the light again came back on. When I took it back to the dealership, they told me that the code this time said my solenoid was bad (the car was running great). The charged me $427 to replace it and said I should have no more problems. Another couple of weeks goes by and the light again goes off. This time they kept it in the shop for 3 days. They claimed that the code indicated it was the solenoind (how could that be since it was a brand new one?) they cleared the code and test drove it for 50 miles, it did not come back on. I believe that the computer controlling that light is defective and giving out erroneous codes since I know that my gas cap was securely tightened, and how code it point to the solenoid after it had been replaced with a new one. The dealership will not refund those repair bills and the Mazda customer service would only refer me back to the dealership. They did not want to hear any statements from me about a possibly defective part. Told me to get an independent auto repair person's assessment. I cannot afford that! please look into this for me. The dealership did tell me that I'd never be able to get my car smogged with that light on and I can't live with running back and forth to the shop every time it goes off.

- Burlingame, CA, USA