En route to a Local All-Mazda meet, I was driving about 45mph in traffic. As traffic slowed to about 25-30mph, I pushed the clutch pedal in, and rev' matched my downshift from 3 to 2nd gear. When I let the clutch out the whole car felt like it was shaking. Was HORRIBLE grinding/popping sound. I Pushed the clutch pedal in, tried the gas pedal - no dice.

As fortune would have it, the car had enough momentum to coast into a 'transmission repair' parking lot.

4.5hrs later I'm just getting home from the mazda dealer - Praying to God I don't have to go thru weeks of 'well it broke, so OBVIOUSLY you've abused it!' bullshit.



will update as I get info.

 

Yep, might not hurt to go back and check for any "incriminating" posts. :D

 

OUCH....good luck This really sucks. Hope it's fixed before Sat :D

 

Mate, sorry to hear of your problem. Hopefully it's as a result of loose pressure plate bolts......but it sounds like a catastrophic clutch plate failure to me.


Model Starting S/N Ending S/N
2004 RX8 40000000 40122421

Some customers may complain of hard to shift, or unable to move shift lever into any gear range while the engine is running. Also, the clutch may engage / disengage near the floor. The concern may be caused by loose clutch cover (pressure plate) bolts. Follow the repair procedure below. 1. Confirm concern. 2. Remove starter per shop manual.(Section 01-19-2) 3. Check clutch cover bolt torque. (16.3 - 24.4 ft lbf) The bolts may be difficult to access using standard wrenches / sockets. Aftermarket distributor wrenches may be used to access N torque bolts.(14mm 9/16) (Example- Snap-On P/N-s-8176) 4. Confirm repair.

All the best. Cheers,
Gomez.

 

Dmp,


I Told You To Check Your Plugs!!!!!



:D

 

Damn, that sucks.

 

sucks horribly...

anyone recommend a good mazdaspeed parts dealer?

 

sorry to hear that dmp. hopefully u will get your transmission fixed soon.

another misfortunate event happened to silver 8 owner :o

 

Sorry about your problem. We all hope it is covered under warranty.

Please let us know which dealer you took it to and what the outcome is.

 

SAME THING happened to me last night.

I have a 05 base 6MT with 5000 miles on it. Bought it in July.

I was on the highway doing 60mph 6th. I wanted to pass a truck, so I downshifted from 6th to 5th. Pushed the clutch in, blipped the throttle to match teh RPMS. Heard a Horrible grinding noise, the clutch pedal sunk the the floor, seems like the clutch completely failed. I coudlnt get into any gears. Car has been towed to the dealer, and I'm anxiously waiting for what the dealer will say monday morning. I'm still in shock as to why this happened. I've been driving manual transmission since i got my license 5 years ago. I BABY this car.

 

Again, welcome to the club. This highway experience sounds almost the same as mine. Unimpressed.

 

What's the diagnosis, 6mm??

 

This seems to be a recurring problem....

would those that have had a pressure plate/clutch problem give us a reply with how it was handled by Mazda...ie: this should be covered under warranty.

I know dmp, and the way he drives his car...it would be impossible that it was related to abuse in any way!

I know of a few already that have been handled poorly by Mazda....let's hope that they get better results this time!

 

.....and approx VIN #.....

 

Not to hijack the thread but I have noticed something with my car, when I don't drive my car for a day or 2 then get in it the clutch is very grabby and the peddle is somewhat firm, yet after driving it that day and then the next day and so on the peddle feels a little spongy and the clutch doesn't feel like it grabs the same, just a little softer. Is it just heat getting back into the disc? Like I said, it is just something I have noticed. No major work has ever been done to my car, and you can see my build date below.

 

Unless somebody can run my vin and get a build date, I won't know my build date until I get back to my car - assuming it's annotated on the data plate.

 

sorry to hear the news this blows... hope you don't encounter any resistance and get it covered under warranty.

 

Still no word from the dealer; as I'm sure they'll crack open the transmission, I went ahead and ordered a MS Flywheel today - either way this thing works out, I'll get the car a better flywheel

 

OK, the dealer tore it all down today and got back to me. Service manager claims that the clutch "exploded" and is completely destroyed. Much to my relief, he said the regional Mazda rep has approved the repair work for a new clutch assembly under warrenty. he also said this is the "only time they will do it, as the clutch is not covered under warrentied". This is when i brought up the pressure plate bolts issue to him. He seemed like he never heard of this problem before and suggested that the cause of failure was probably the driver. I said, im not going to accept that and I would like a complete investigation done as to the cause of failure. I REFUSE to be told that I am the cause of this problem. I baby this car and hardly ever drive it hard! I also told them to go ahead and do the 5000 mile service and recall repairs. Service manager also pretended to not know what was talking about when I mentioned the recall...SHould I be worried?

 

Yes.

 

By the same token, loose pressure plate bolts should not be a problem if your car is not in the indicated VIN range......

 

Understood. the car is an 05 with a 4/05 build date. does everyone having clutch/tranny problems own an early build 04?

 

I think we will find there are quiet exceptions to this statement :D about it not being covered under warranty.........

 

Please PLEASE if you can, ask him to give you a case or file number or something...If I can show precidence, it'll help me in my 'cause'...

Thanks much!

 

Wait a minute. I thought wear items (i.e., clutch, brake linings, etc.) were covered for the first 12,000 miles?