You are correct. Mine's getting worse as the weather gets colder so a trip to the dealer may be in order soon. Check out this thread if you haven't already... Bare in mind that his may be a small batch of flywheels and doesn't affect all cars.

http://www.protegeclub.com/forum/sho...hlight=chatter

I myself was having the "bunny hopping" problem and after reading this thread, and a real long road trip, I went to the dealer. I just told them I have a clutch chatter, and a bad Vibe when in 1st or reverse. We then went out to the car and then was going to go on a test trip but didn't even get out of the parking lot before the tech said it needs to be replaced. They replaced the Clutch, pressure plate, and fly wheel. I was told they are a higher performance set then what comes stock in the P5s. Also there are service bulletins the techs can look at, so the problem is out there. My advise is to take you're car in now before it breaks. Mazda will pay for a loaner/rental till the car is fixed. It took 2 days for mine. Hope this helps you guys.

Just to throw my 2 cents in,

I just recently got my car fixed under warranty for the clutch chatter.

Definitely a good thing to go do.

One thing to think about, my dealer told me the clutch was only warrantied for 12000 miles (I was at 14000), but since there was an existing TSB on the subject, they were going to fix it anyway.

Much better since I got my car back. I've been trying to make it do it (dump clutch in morning, not hard, just not trying to finesse it), and it doesn't hesitate, just grabs and goes.

hmmmm
 

I'm not sure if I am having this EXACT problem, but I do have a problem when in 1st or 2nd at low RPMS, the throttle is VERY VERY touchy and sometimes it will stutter/hop. Is this what you guys are referring to? I only have 5K miles on the car and my next oil change is coming up so I can have them take a look then if you think I should.

I had two separate problems.

The first was wheel hop, the second was clutch chatter.

Wheel hop felt like I was running over bumpy road, imagine driving over a series of 1 inch speed bumps. That's what my wheel hop felt like

The clutch chatter felt like there was a midget in my engine bay with a sledge hammer beating it back and forth between my engine and my firewall. HUGE difference in feeling.

Do you know if they fixed this problem on the 2003's?
What models is the TSB for?

I've only had my car for 1000 miles and I can't say I've
noticed it yet. I do notice a difference from my old car,
but that car had a limited-slip diff (SE-R).

Anyway I'd like to get the new flywheel/clutch/pressure place for free under
warranty if need be. Especially if they are higher performance.:D

I believe it's 2000+ but I don't know if Canada has the TSB. The link is in the Protege FAQ.

Re: hmmmm
 

What you describe sounds to me like it is probably the slack in the drivetrain (soft motor mounts referred to earlier in the thread) and fast throttle tip in - when you are idling, and you try and feather the gas, you get a big jump forward/stop feeling. If this is what you feel, there really isn't a fix (except for maybe aftermarket motor mounts, and being *really* careful with your driving technique). This is a low frequency motion (maybe twice in a second).

If you get a judder/chatter that feels like the clutch is grabbing/letting go/grabbing, and it goes away when the car warms up, then you likely have the clutch chatter. This is a higher frequency motion like maybe 5-10 times in a second). he hammer against the firewall refernce made above is a good description - it feels like something bad is happening within the engine/transmission. This is addressable if your car is still under warranty.

When I had the chatter, I got my new clutch. The chatter is gone, but if I'm not smooth on the throttle, I still have the engine rock happening.

:)

Dale.

With nearly four years of Protege under my belt, I've learned to deal with the clutch chatter by using slow starts (lots of throttle and clutch slipping) until everything warms up. Unfortunately for me, my warranty was gone a long time ago.

As for the engine rocking... will new mounts eliminate this? I recently moved and now have a 40 mile commute to and from work. The drive to work isn't bad and only takes about an hour. However, the drive home take upwards of two hours of which half is spent at 5mph or less! The engine rocking really becomes a pain. When it occurs in first gear at 1,000rpm, the car comes to a jerking halt and then takes off and then halts... every once in while wouldn't be bad... but an hour of this is insane. Add to this the wild jerk when the AC compressor kicks on and I don't look forward to driving at all. I am seriously considering a different car even though I still haven't caught up with depreciation (my car is worth about $3,500 on trade... maybe $5,000 if I sell it myself) which is worse than a Hyundai.

Of course, costly new engine mounts, a timing belt change, new brakes, new tires, cooling system flush, transmission oil change, new radio, new power door lock actuator, new door key cylinders, new clutch/flywheel, etc. all add up to nearly what the car is worth. It seems hitting the 80,000 mile mark is a rather costly affair and everything is failing at the same time!

So, is it worth getting the new engine mounts, new clutch, and new flywheel? Or should I just bite the bullet and get a new car (with an automatic, unfortunately.... someone kill me now!)?

Hey jstand - I have not tried motor mounts myself, but people that have seem to think they make quite a difference (at the expense of much more vibration through the steering wheel though). Try searchingfor motor mounts or mounts on this forum and 'the other one' as well, as there has been some discussion on the matter. If I had first hand experience, I would pass it on, but the theory defnitely makes sense to me.

I will say, I think it has greatly improved the way my car shifts. Cold or Warmed up it does not have the shutter it had before the clutch change. I have also tried to get it to repeat the problem, but with no success. Our engines are touchy with the throttle so the jerking will always be there. I have gotten use to it, when I drive my wifes civic I am always stalling it because I am use to the Mazda. Just added 2 cents to my last 2 cents.