Small Mazda Is No Pick-Up Protege
Tuesday July 22, 2008
From time to time I get questions about towing a trailer with a small to midsize vehicle. This one from Jill seems to sum it up:
Hello, I have a 2001 Mazda Protege and I am intending on towing a trailer (5 x 8') that will rarely have more than 500 pounds in it. I have attached the "correct" hitch according to the hitch company. As I went to set up the wiring, the converter instructions suggested checking any wiring instructions from the car manual. I did that and found that the manual says in no uncertain terms. Do not tow a trailer with your Mazda.Jill, you are about to embark in potentially disastrous territory. We've all seen a Honda CR-V or a Volkswagen Jetta pulling a little trailer down the highway just fine. So it's not a problem, right? Wrong. Passenger cars, especially those with automatic transmissions and 4-cylinder engines, are not made to deal with the additional strain of a trailer. Most of the strain is on your transmission, which is at risk of overheating with the added load. Your engine will also have to work very hard, along with your rear suspension. Also, your brakes aren't designed to work with the weight trying to push your car down the road when you try to stop. Your Mazda wasn't built with mounting holes for a trailer hitch, the hitch utilizes bolts that are already in place for your bumper. All that being said, there are plenty of people in similar situations who have towed without a problem. If you aren't worried about your car, please consider the safety of yourself and others. Towing a trailer requires different skills in acceleration, cornering and braking, so be sure you know what you're doing before you hit the open road.
Why? What kind of problems could occur if I go ahead and tow the trailer? I have asked many of the trailer hitch vendors in this city and no one can imagine a reason why a trailer cannot be towed with the Protege and think that if it were truly strictly forbidden; then a reputable hitch company like DRAWTITE wouldn't make the hitch for the Protege and the Mazda itself wouldn't have ready holes in the frame to receive the hitch.
Please let me know if I am about to embark in disastrous territory. Thank you, Jill
Comments
I don’t necessarily agree with this. Jill here has a trailer that probably only weighs about 650-700 lbs. after loaded with 500 lbs. of cargo. The manual in my 4 cyl. Subaru Outback says that it’s towing capacity is 1000 lbs without trailer brakes and 2000 lbs with them.
Granted, my Outback has a 168 hp 4 cyl motor. Jill doesn’t say which size of 4 cyl her Protege has, but I’m confident that even the smallest, 103 hp 1.6 liter inline 4 could handle a 700 lb. trailer.
But that’s just my opinion…
I bought a 2001 Mazda Protege a few years ago that was wrecked in the rear.I repaired it and put it in use in the family fleet.It reached 100,000 miles without the slightest hint of any problem when I sold it.It was tough and strong and took some serious abuse.I wouldn’t think twice about properly attaching a light trailer for occasional use but Mazda doesn’t like the idea I guess.It’s probably the tongue weight and handling and lawsuits they’re looking at more than anything.Can’t say that I blame them!