The car just started jerking one morning on my way to school. Went to the mechanic and he had a look and he said it was the number 4 cylinder misfire code on. He quoted 1040 bucks to fix all the problems in the engine at the time, but I went with the bare minimum which was around $350. Replaced the spark plugs, and wires.

If you want a car that lasts, you may consider getting it checked first if you're getting a Mazda Protege. To be fair though, it had been reliable except for the bearings going out too often up to now. As for myself, I'm never buying another Mazda car again.

This may be a cause the recall because of the Intake Manifold Shutter and Variable Tumble Control Valves.

http://www.protegefaq.net/tsb/3005C.pdf

This problem first occurred in 2008, and again in 2012. I know my dates do not match up via this site. There is a sputtering not only on idle, but while driving. We replaced the spark plugs, wires, harness, etc. We felt that the check engine diagnostics code maybe a general code, and that only a Mazda dealership can decipher it. I learned about the recall later, and when asking the dealership to repair the problem, they said that it had expired.