Hi, All.

This is my first post here. I haven't owned a Mazda since I bought a brand new B2000 truck back in 1978, but now my wife and I are looking at a 2003 Protege.

According to my research, certain 2003 Proteges use regular fuel, and others require premium. But I haven't been able to find out how I can tell which type this partucular car needs.

The trunk just says "Protege" on it; there's no "ZXZ" or whatever to indicate any fancy trim level. The salesman says if it requires premium, it should say so somewhere on the car -- but maybe it's been repainted or maybe a sticker's been removed.

The valve cover says "DOHC 16 Valve." The underhood tag gives the test group as 3TKXV02.0HJA, and the VIN is JM1BJ225230124818. The characters BN5WA appear at the top right corner of the tag.

So...Are there any Mazda gurus out there who happen to know the answer off the top of their heads, or any who can translate the provided info into the required fuel octane?

Thanks in Advance.

Mark W. in MI

 

Your Vin number indicates you have a 2 L engine.

Here is what aguy posted somewhere else:
On Page 4-2 of the 2001 Owner's manual:

"Your Mazda will perform best with regular unleaded fuel having a research octane number (antiknock index) of at least 91 [(R=M)/2 method, 87]"

The manual states to USE REGULAR. My car is a 2.0L.
__________________
Mike

2003 ES-GT 2.0L - 5 speed
Black Mica
Monsterflow Short-ram Intake

And this from Wikipedia:
For the 2001 model year in North America, Mazda introduced the limited-edition Protegé MP3 featuring a new sport-tuned suspension, 17-inch Racing Hart wheels, and a 10 hp (7 kW; 10 PS) gain for a total of 140 hp (104 kW; 142 PS), which was achieved through a tuned factory ECU which advances ignition timing requiring high octane rating gasoline, cat-back exhaust by Racing Beat, and removal of the Mazda VTCS system. The MP3 also came from the factory with a complete 450-watt Kenwood powered MP3 stereo with 10-inch (250 mm) powered subwoofer. A total of 1,500 were produced – 1,000 finished in blue, and 500 painted yellow.
2001 saw the introduction of a station wagon version called Protegé5 with the same 2.0 L engine offering 130 hp (97 kW; 132 PS) / 135 lb·ft (183 N·m) this year and a slightly revised interior. In 2002, most Protegés (including the 5) received the 2.0 L engine, although the SE in Canada had the 1.6 L.
In 2003, Mazdaspeed introduced the Mazdaspeed Protegé, an update to the Protegé MP3 that had a 170 hp (127 kW; 172 PS) / 160 lb·ft (217 N·m) turbocharged engine, shared the MP3's full Racing Beat suspension, redesigned 17-inch (430 mm) wheels, larger four-wheel disc brakes, and a Kenwood stereo system that included an amplifier along with a rear-deck mounted 8-inch (200 mm) sub. Mazda then followed with a mid year change dubbed the "2003.5." This model included a different aero-kit, the same 17-inch (430 mm) Racing Hart wheels, but with a darker color, and custom interior pieces. In total, there were 4,500 Mazdaspeed Protegé models produced of which 1,750 were painted Black/Orange for first version and 2,750 of the mid-year model that were finished in Yellow/Titanium/Blue/Silver.


Consult the owner's manual. If it says regular, 87 octane, than it means the engine will be o.k. However, I noticed that my 1.5L engine runs much smoother with higher grade fuel. Some deposits in the combustion chamber may in fact have increased the compression ratio.

Here is more than you care for about octane:
Octane rating - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Neat little tid bit about the mp3.
I have lots of .mp3 songs!

All earlier models with a turbocharger must have at least 91 Octane. Such as Mazdaspeed. Some newer models of other cars are putting turbochargers on that don't require 91 octane but this is very recent (past couple of years) technology.

Throw in some fuel system cleaner.