Mazda Protege towed March 25, 2014, 10:40:26 am Yahoo Message Number: 145465We got our 2005 26.5 IB in Oct 2013 without ever having been in a RV before. By Oct 2014 we put 14K miles on it and love it. Now considering towing. Friends selling 2002 Mazda Protégé, standard transmission with 45K miles. They maintain their vehicles immaculately. Contacted local Mazda service manager who didn't know if could be towed. I down loaded the oweners manual which calls for towing front wheels on dolly. Called Mazda and customer service rep was helpful but didn't know. She spoke to someone in service who stated Protégé can't be towed 4 wheels down. I confirmed we were talking about a standard transmission. Unfortunately I was unable to talk directly to Mazda service rep to find out why.Anyone have experience towing a Mazda Protégé with standard transmission? Thank you. Coy
Re: [LD] Mazda Protege towed Reply #1 – March 25, 2014, 11:10:51 am Yahoo Message Number: 145468Motorhome Magazine's 2002 Dinghy Towing Guide doesn't include any Mazda's at all. Additionally, Remco Towing's website doesn't include the Protege among the Mazda models it has listed for 2002. Given that the Owner's Manual should be the final word on recreational towing, if you buy this car, plan on buying a tow dolly for it, too.Linda HyltonFrom: clbjek@...Sent: Tuesday, March 25, 2014 7:40 AM To: lifewithalazydazerv@yahoogroups.comWe got our 2005 26.5 IB in Oct 2013 without ever having been in a RV before. By Oct 2014 we put 14K miles on it and love it. Now considering towing. Friends selling 2002 Mazda Protégé, standard transmission with 45K miles. They maintain their vehicles immaculately. Contacted local Mazda service manager who didn't know if could be towed. I down loaded the oweners manual which calls for towing front wheels on dolly. Called Mazda and customer service rep was helpful but didn't know. She spoke to someone in service who stated Protégé can't be towed 4 wheels down. I confirmed we were talking about a standard transmission. Unfortunately I was unable to talk directly to Mazda service rep to find out why.Anyone have experience towing a Mazda Protégé with standard transmission? Thank you. Coy
Re: Mazda Protege towed Reply #2 – March 25, 2014, 11:32:15 am Yahoo Message Number: 145470We got our 2005 26.5 IB in Oct 2013 without ever having been in a RV before. By Oct 2014 we put 14K miles on it and love it. Now considering towing. Friends selling 2002 Mazda Protégé, standard transmission with 45K miles. They maintain their vehicles immaculately. Contacted local Mazda service manager who didn't know if could be towed. I down loaded the oweners manual which calls for towing front wheels on dolly. Called Mazda and customer service rep was helpful but didn't know. She spoke to someone in service who stated Protégé can't be towed 4 wheels down. I confirmed we were talking about a standard transmission. Unfortunately I was unable to talk directly to Mazda service rep to find out why. We got our 2005 26.5 IB in Oct 2013 without ever having been in a RV before. By Oct 2014 we put 14K miles on it and love it. Now considering towing. Friends selling 2002 Mazda Protégé, standard transmission with 45K miles. They maintain their vehicles immaculately. Contacted local Mazda service manager who didn't know if could be towed. I down loaded the oweners manual which calls for towing front wheels on dolly. Called Mazda and customer service rep was helpful but didn't know. She spoke to someone in service who stated Protégé can't be towed 4 wheels down. I confirmed we were talking about a standard transmission. Unfortunately I was unable to talk directly to Mazda service rep to find out why. A friend has a Jeep that is standard transmission and they have the same problem. The problem is that the wheels do not have lock out hubs. As the wheels turn they turn the drive shaft which turns every thing back to the transmission. These parts that are turning need to be lubed. Different auto handled this problem in different way. Mazda must not have handled this problem in a way to lube the moving/turning parts.
Re: Mazda Protege towed Reply #3 – March 25, 2014, 02:03:20 pm Yahoo Message Number: 145471Coy wrote, "...I confirmed we were talking about a standard transmission. Unfortunately I was unable to talk directly to Mazda service rep to find out why. ..."On some transmissions the gear to the output shaft in a manual transmission is not sitting in the oil. The seal and maybe barring on the output shaft will dry out while your towing and go bad and start to leak. Modern transmissions use the primary gear from the engine input shaft gear to beat the oil into a fine mist to lube the rest of the transmission. This method works because modern oils are less thick. They do went to this design because it allows for less drag on the power train and that helps milage over the life of the car. Note there will be enough oil on the shaft to start the car and coast down a hill. That is not the same as running a car some miles with no oil on the shaft.