so heres the thing! My clutch and flywheel are gone and im pretty sure it aint my fault.

Heres the story: I started to hear a very very very small squeek in my clutch when i pushed it all the way in. Took it into the dealer for a look and they took it apart and said it just needed some oil and that everything was fine. 3 days later my clutch started to slip and within an hour of driving it was completley gone.

My cars only got 38k miles, ive had it for 20k miles and before me some old guy who babied it had it. I dont race it and it wasnt my first manual.

Took it to the dealer right after noticing the problem and their response is that its normal wear and tear and ofcourse warranty dont cover it. They deny that it could have been their fault and seem to avoid even talking about it. Now the dealer wants 1200-1500 just for the clutch. They also said that there was excessive "blueing"

So i tried bringing up the recall with the extended warranty on the clutch and flywheel and they said theyve never heard of the damn recall.....which is bullshit cause when i took it in they said they would do the recall check up things.

So i called the Mazda Rep and they said they would look into it. Got a call back days later and was told the warranty only applys if the part was deffective so no luck. The Mazda guy was also a huge dick too

So im running out of ideas as to what to do. I really dont believe it was my fault it went out. Anyone have ANY idea as to what i could do? Ive talked to a few other mechanics and they all say this doesnt sound right. Id appreciate any and all of your help

 

actually the dealer sounds right, chances are the clutch is at the end of its life. the "blueing" would be the flywheel.

 

Have to agree, we would always like clutches to last longer but depending on use 40k is not that far off.

 

you could always get a second price at a non mazda dealer garage (which will most likely be cheaper), or do it yourself if you have the proper equipment. check the DIY section.

 

I appreciate your responses but does it not sound "fishy" that everything was fine untill they took it apart and then two days later it was completly gone?

 

I would request to see the clutch disc. You said they oiled a squeak so maybe some oil went onto the fiber material and made it contaminated. Which would cause it to slip. Also you should be able to actually see the worn disc. There should be rivets or something similar it is down to.

HTH

 

Excessive blueing?! Isn't the metal around the clutch disk blue brand new? Dealerships seem to use that line all the time to imply abuse...

 

Typically the reference to 'blueing' is with regards to the surface of the flywheel. The added heat of a worn disc causes the surface to appear blue.

 

Well, I can pretty much guarantee that the first time you brought it in they did not take anything apart. If so, why would they put it all back together without at least recomending the clutch. Also, not sure what they would have "oiled". Anyway the clutch is covered for 12/12 against defects in workmanship, period. You will have to pay for a new clutch.

 

The bottom line is you need a new clucth and probably need the flywheel turned.

Not sure about any oil service other then it's not likely to have been a real problem. If it was something related you would have noticed clutch slippage and almost certainly smelled a burning plastic-wood type of odor. That odor eminates even when it's cool so if you can sniff around you may detect it - but all in all that point will be moot regarding getting anything out of the dealer.

Now there could be something they've done that "sabotaged" the clutch, and if so you could spend a small fortune in failure analysis - but at the end of the day you'll spend more money then you'll get back.

Your options are pretty limited.

Dealers charge a small fortune for simple services like clutches brakes etc. A decent shop can R&R an RX8 clutch & flywheel in under 6 hours. Of course decent shops are sometimes hard to find. I haven't priced out a clutch set but I would bet you could get an OEM quality unit for under $250. Rather then turning the flywheel I think I'd upgrade to a lighter one for another $400-$475. That gets you out for just under $1200 with a noticable improvement in 1-3 gear acceleration.

Look at it this way; Over the next 2-3 months Exxon Mobil will be sapping your wallet a little less so you'll have a little more to spend on other things.

 

^^^ i also agree with gettin a flywheel while having the clutch changed, why pay for all that labor twice.

 

40k miles on a clutch, average? I'd be interested to hear how many other people lost a clutch under 40k or how many people still have the original. Sounds like a short life, especially for normal driving.

 

upgrade that flywheel

 

It is, here is a pic of my clutch, and my flywheel

 

Same thing happened to me but I had 2 oil leaks prior and the tranny was "dropped" both times, the service mgr had seen the flywheel and clutch about 28000mi and a new flywheel was put in b/c of worn threads....so when they looked closer my throwout bearing had failed causing the whole assembly to take a crapat 35000mi....Guess the oil leaks were a good thing...

 

So it sound like in the car savings account, you are going to need about 2-3 tho to replace clutches after 28 K miles - are there any other major replacements scheduled, which are not under warrenty?

 

It's not that hard to replace the clutch.. just time consuming.. The steps in the shop manual are pretty easy to follow.

(So far I've been only been involved w/ one clutch swap.. pressure plate, and fly wheel were fine.. clutch disc and cluth bearing were toast.)

It took a group of us two evening to do the swap.. I could definately do it faster next time. (The price around here for a clutch disc swap was quoted at about $1k.)

 

most of the cost is labor, if you have some tools you can do it yourself in a day and only be out parts. we are all already aware both delaership and mazda are asses about their crappy stock clutch.

 

Don't let that dealership touch your car ever again. How they handled it is either shady or just flat out BS. This sounds to me like a fair retelling of what happened:

You brought your car in for a legitimate complaint. The service guy(s) looked the car over, and supposedly took it apart to "oil" it. You were then told that everything looked fine. 3 days later it craps out. The same service team looks at it and tells you it's dead due to normal wear. So they -
A. Looked you in the eyes and lied about looking at it.
B. Looked you in the eyes and lied about the condition of the parts they looked at.
C. Looked you in the eyes and lied about their ability to fix a minor problem, in order to put in new parts or fix the minor problem and steal your money.

 

That was me who sold you the 8. I'm an old fart.

Doesn't mean I know how to drive. That's why I bought a new one.

Sorry to hear about your troubles, but sometimes us old farts just muck things up.

 

so heres whats happenin as of now.

Dealership is still ofcourse saying its my fault. Mazda consumer rep guys either refused to come out and look at it or just called the dealer and took their side. Now im waiting on the Mazda regional rep to call me back and open up a "file" which apperently i was suppose to already have.

If i get no where with the rep then im having it toed to a local mechanic i trust and having him do the work. And yes im upgrading both the cluth and flywheel in preperation for some day FI. Thanks for you imput guys

 

well if you actually get around to file suit against mazda 99% of the time they will settle right before the court date.