My protege has 200,000kms (over 100,000 miles) and I've been noticing the engine light turn on exactly after 1 minute of driving...every time. Each time, it idles down, and sometimes stalls.
The problem has gotten worse, and the engine almost shuts off even while driving on the highway....it sputters for a few seconds, then it recovers fine.

Anyone have an idea? If it's my o2 sensor....where is it located on my protege, and is it easy to replace?

Thanks for the help.

I have a similar problem with a 92 Protege with 147000 miles. I let it warm up for 5 - 6 minutes. Check engine light comes on and off, idle goes up and down during this period. When in "Drive", and idle at 500 rpm, accelerates OK. Then idle increases to slightly more than 1000 rpm, and car hesisates badly on acceleration. Sometimes hesitates while moving when push on gas. The idle alternates between these two levels throughout driving. Alternately accelerating OK then hesitating. Check engine light flickers on and off during this time. Occassionally won't restart start after turning engine off. After about 5 minutes waiting starts OK.

Let me know if you find a fix.

I HAD MY O2 SENSOR REPLACED THAT DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM . i EVEN HAD THE FUEL FILTER CHANGED AND INJECTORS CLEANED THE SAME PROBLEM IS THERE . i AM STILL GUESSING AT WHAT THE PROBLEM IS

ECU problem?

I just talked to a guy . he said the same problem . likewise so do I . his was caused by a leak in the air intake hose .( the one that connects the air filter to the engine . it is the black rubber one . take this off and check for crackes or breaks according to other people on this forum that is the problem with 99 % of the cars let me know twdsad@cox.net