HERO

iTrader: (3)

I appreciate the look. Sorry if this might be longer than it should.

Background: My car had a problem going into gear last week. With the clutch pressed down, the transmission wouldnt let me go into any gear at all. Instead, it would start to roll slowly forward and make a grinding sound from the transmission. They took it in and found that the clutch slave cylinder was leaking and replaced that as well as readjusted the clutch.

Yesteday: I get the car back. Everthing seemed fine. As the day went by it felt like it was getting ever-so slightly rougher to put the car in gear. Later in the day my check engine light came on and then at night the same gear problem occured. I was driving, about to shift from 3rd to 4th, and as I go to press the clutch pedal down it gets stuck halfway. I quickly let go and let it coast in 3rd with my hazards on. I try pressing the clutch down again and it goes down and I get it out of gear. The car rolls to a stop and the same problem occurs. Cant push it in gear. Car rolls forward and makes a grinding sound as I try putting it in gear. This time I used my cell phone to record the grinding sound for the tech to hear. There was a REALLY strong burnt clutch smell for a while coming from the car. Also, eventhough it cant be put in gear with the car on, it can be put in gear with the car off.

Today: The car is towed to the dealer. I tell my story and let the mechanic hear the sound on my cell phone. He goes to turn the car on and the second its turned on the clutch makes a grinding sound so he immediatley shuts it off. I am told that they are going to have to drop the tranny to see the problem. If its the clutch that needs to be replaced it wont be warrantied and will run me roughly $1,400 for parts and labor . They say if they drop the tranny and find the clutch to be the problem and I dont want them to replace it then I can tow the car myself with the tranny out somewhere to have it fixed, or have them put back the tranny and I will have to pay for that labor since it is not a warrantied part and mazda wont cover it. (I may have to pay for them to origonally take out the tranny to check for the problem as well, I fail to remember) I have 30K on the car. No track days of any kind. Can the clutch be in THIS bad a shape already? Shouln't mazda cover finding the issue at least since they evidentally didnt before? I told them not to do anything with the car just yet and let me decide what route I want to go. I seriously dont want to have to pay out of pocket for a serious issue on a warrantied car with only 30K on it!!

Any advice is appreciated!!

RxJaye

iTrader: (2)

Clutch is a wearable item, there is no way ANY auto manufacture will warranty it. Yes it can be bad depending on how you drive, if you rest your foot on the clutch pedal and so on. Sorry to hear about your problem, but it could be shift forks, sycnros or something else.

HERO

iTrader: (3)

I know the clutch itself is a wearable item like the brake pads (both not covered under warranty). No, I dont ride the clutch and I always revmatch. The issue with me is, it feels more like something caused this clutch (if that is the problem) issue other than simple wear........ I am no mechanic but the clutch itself didnt seem warn to me. Gripped perfectly, no slipping, felt fine, no issue, which is why its a little hard for me to believe its simply the clutch and have to pay for it if there was another factor involved that damaged the clutch. Maybe I should upload the sound that I recorded onto my phone........

thanks for the reply

RxJaye

iTrader: (2)

Reguardless if it is the clutch or not, you have to fix the car correct? So if you are sure it isnt the clutch do it, if not then own a car that wont drive.

RxJaye

iTrader: (2)

There are also issues with the hydraulics for the clutch and the clutch pedal bracket. Have those looked at before the trans is pulled out.

dastallion951

hey i feel ya man i just had a similar situation my car needs a new clutch possibly new flywheel......they charged me tell them that since u dont want them to install the clutch, tell them to cut u a better deal then that...........1400 is ****** ridiculous, they tried tellin me a similar number......i have alldata at my work, n looked up labor time to R&R a flywheel 3.6 hours, they told me it was about 1200 with new parts, or 700 with my flywheel n clutch i provide, i asked them how much is ur hourly rate they told me 82, im like no way im not payin that, so i ended up gettin my car back to my shop n the mechanic is installin mine for 100 cash... tell them not to charge u for more then 300, if u choose not to have them do it or theyll take advantage of u.

andylam85

Hey, I am in the same situation as you. I could not get my car into gear 4/5 times. When it does go into gear, it drives fine and pulls strong. Took my car to Best Mazda on highway 59 and they said it's my clutch/flywheel, but the problem is I just replaced the clutch and flywheel 5,000 miles ago. They want to charge me $1550 for parts and labor. If I don't want them to repair, they said the charge was $490 to take transmission apart and half of $490 to put back together. The service manager is Johnathan. He's a scumbag. Hope you did not take it to Best Mazda, if you did, we need to talk. He's definitely trying to rip me off. I'm stuck and not sure what to do. My car has been at the dealership for about 3 weeks. How much do dealerships normally charge hourly?

dastallion951

honestly andy mazda is tryin to rip u off.......i know that for a fact they go off chiltons, we have alldata at work n to remove and replace flywheel takes 3.6 hours. when they told me 700, i asked them whats ur hourly rate 100 hour??? i told them if u want me to have u do it, then im not doin it for more then 400.... n when they said itll be 500... i told them no thanks....when i replaced the clutch i had never resurfaced the flywheel..... so we did that with the brake lathe at my work n so far so good.

monkiboi69

Best Mazda!!??? Don't take it to them...they're always trying to rip you off. Best Mazda is the worst in Houston.

Razz1

If you need a new cluth, they should replace it for free.

It was caused by a bad leaking slave cylinder.

It was not burnt out due to normal wear and tear.

Be nice and when you tell them this.

nmarz77

Hey guys.......I got news for ya.....it's not a worn out clutch disk. If the clutch was worn there would be no problem getting it in gear, but there would be slippage while driving. The problem lies either in the master or slave cyliners, or a leaking line. It cannot be the synchros either because you are hearing a bad grinding noise and if the gears and synchros aren't moving in the tranny any longer then there should be no grinding.

Follow me here:
If the engine is spinning and the clutch is engaged then the tranny will spin internally not allowing you to shift into gear. The only way to disconnect the engine from the trans is by depressing the clutch pedal which dis-engages the clutch disc and frees the tranny of rotating. So basically the problem exists in the mechanisms that dis-engage the clutch disc such as stated above.

The ONLY way it could have anything to do with your clutch is if the fingers on the pressure plate are all broken which I highly doubt!

nmarz77

BTW the really bad burnt clutch smell you're smelling is the clutch disc wearing out due to it only being partially dis-engaged when you push the cluth pedal down. Not only are these asses trying to rip you off but they are wearing out your perfectly good clutch disc in the mean time too.

nmarz77

Well damn, it looks like I'm about 3 months too late! Just saw that now. Monkiboi69 it's all your fault!