Carlos

Really? Ive had clutches with 80,000 miles that didnt even chatter.


As far as warming up the clutch in your driveway...What do you mean? I can warm up my engine for about a minute and it still does it. The clutch doesnt warm up/stop hopping until I have about two or three engagements.

The biggest problem for me is that I cant really count on my clutch to engage properly the first couple of times. And a busy road is one of the first roads I pull onto. Ive had it a couple of times where I actually had to pull over after the car started chattering more than going forward. The only remedy was to clutch in completely, pull out of traffic, and patiently try to slip your clutch as to avoid the death chatter.

azrakain

They are covering in because its a manufacturing defect in the FLYWHEEL, not the clutch.

I just replaced a clutch in my Jimmy and it had 260K miles on the original clutch/flywheel. 80K miles is nothing. ITS THE FLYWHEEL THAT CHATTERS!!!

wilmit

To warm up the clutch:
with emergency brake on:
rev the car to about 2500 and let the clutch out till the revs drop to about 1000 (this should take 1-2 seconds)
repeat,
your clutch is now warmed up

kc5zom

You know. I just thought it was me because it would only do it to me early in the mornings (when I'm tired) and don't really get on it like I do when I'm awake. My wife was in the car a couple of times and asked what it was and I just thought I wasn't giving it enough fuel. Maybe if it gets worse I will take it in. It did it to me again on Sunday (twice this time) and really annoyed the hell out of me (because I was damn sure awake). Let me know how your repairs turn out. I'm still waiting for the infamous rattle to be resolved.

lupus

mine is in the shop as i speak getting this problem takin care of. mazda sounded like they didn't believe me so i am printing these threads out and bringing it with me incase they try to dick me over. unfortunatly i am a tech at ford not mazda otherwise i would do it myself

azrakain

Why wait for Mazda to fix it. Unless we all complain, it won't get fixed. Its a defect that is their fault. Get it fixed for free!

kc5zom

Unfortunately as much as I have bitched about the engine rattle I don't think my dealership is going to be real interested in fixing something they can't replicate.

azrakain

print this thread out and take it to 'em then.

DaleK

Hey Az,

Do you have a service bulliten number or whatever the heck they call them for the flywheel problem? I talked to my service guy and he said he would order a new clutch and pressure plate for me without seeing the problem (hard to reproduce it if I don't leave the car with him ), but didn't say anything about the flywheel.

Dale.

P5-sleddogg

It will be interesting to know if anyone with the '03s experiences the same problem. I am getting one on Saturday and will let you all know. If no one with an '03 experiences it, that may be an indication of Mazdas awareness of the problem, and their correction.

bizsnatch

i took my car in today and they were 'familiar with the problem but couldn't reproduce it on my car' i left it overnight with them too so they could look at it.

so they put a synthetic redline transmission fluid (no cost, warranty) and told me if the problem continues to come back in and that they would be doing some research into it.

shifts do feel smoother but only a few days of cold mornings will tell if it fixed the problem or not.

wilmit

Your dealer is giving you snake oil,
there is NO WAY that tranny oil is going to stop clutch chatter,

Tonpow

2001 protege ES with 26k miles. I used to get the chatter when it was cold. Now I get it 75% of the time and real bad when cold. My dealer told me, "clutches are a tough thing to warranty." "On a car with 26k miles it would be hard to blame the car when we don't know how you drive or what conditions you subject the car too."

In so many words, they're not doing anything about it.

I've had 2 trucks and 3 cars with manual transmissions. From 5 to 200000 on the odometer. The only vehicle that would shutter like this was an 81 Chevy pickup with a straight 6 and a three speed(great combination for blistering speed! ha ha). I got it with 61k miles. It only shuttered with a rookie clutch foot or when towing heavy loads.

I've never felt anything like this in a new car. Any recommendations on a resolution?

sandman

print the other thread talkign about this where azra had his replaced under warranty!

I just had mine done yesterday.. might be in my head, but i think the clutch feels better now, than the original one EVER did.

Tonpow

I just called the dealer where azra got his fixed. He said that in my situation it would be a very slim chance that it would be fixed. Mostely because my miles are a little high.