Dermen

I took my car in yesterday because of the clutch chatter, engine rattle, and grinding when shifting to second. They called today and my sister answered the phone. They told her they ordered some kind of rod for the rattle and that there was nothing wrong with the clutch. They didn't even mention anything about the grinding. This is the first experiance with the service department and I was hoping that things would have gone better. I am going there tomarrow to tell them about the TSB and ask about the grinding. I am pissed that I have to do this. It brings back memories of taking my ranger in for service. I was in many arguements in that place and I was hoping that the Mazda dealer would be better.

vip3321685

sorry to sound like a dumbass but what is clutch chatter? my car doesn't shift very well, and i was wondering if it was just me or if there was something wrong with it! the thing is a pain in the *** to shift.

i too took my car in for some odd noise that the cooling fan was making, but the dealership was no help. i wonder if they just don't want to spend the money to fix it!

MP5Alive

Visit the Protege FAQ by clicking the link at the top of the page. It'll be listed under Technical Service Bulletins. Look for TSB # MT000003848.

Print it out if you have to and give it to your service advisor. This has been an issue for a long time and there's no reason for them to play dumb.

My dealer was great. made an appointment, borrowed one of their '02 626's, a couple of hours later my car was ready, washed, and vacuumed! no questions asked. YMMV.

p.s. it's better to be a smartass than a dumbass.

Dermen

I called them and told them there was a TSB for the problem. The person said, "Yes, but we can't get the problem to occur." She also said they couldn't get it to grind when shifting into 2nd. I think that is BS because I have to try hard not to grind when shifting to 2nd. They said tomarrow morning they would try again to see if they could make either of the problems happen. If they can't I am going to see if I can take the tech on a ride to show him. And if that doesn't work I will just start yelling, then come home and call MNAO.

azrakain

if its the same chatter i had when they replace my clutch/flywheel, it won't do it all time. Mine olny did it when it was cold.

ProtegeMaster

I too had been plagued by the clutch chatter issue. My concern was that they wouldn't be able to reproduce it, as the problem has from the start been intermittent. When I brought the car in I presented a copy of the official Mazda TSB, and a written description of the symptoms I had noted. They couldn't reproduce the problem all day, so they called up and asked to keep the car overnight so that they could try it when cold in the morning. They apparently couldn't find the problem then, either, much to my dismay (I certainly wasn't making this problem up!).

Fortunately, the dealer had apparently called up their regional service rep and got the go ahead from Mazda NAO to replace most of the clutch assembly even though they couldn’t officially find the problem. I imagine my VIN was on that list of affected units, but in any event, I was thankful that they in good faith made repairs to my transmission. To date I had been very unhappy with the quality of my ES-- The front brakes were defective and wouldn’t stop evenly (replaced under warranty), I honestly noted clutch chatter (fixed under warranty just yesterday), the cigarette lighter wouldn’t stay pushed in for the warming cycle (I don’t smoke, but I expect ALL components to work at all times, period. Lighter module was replaced under warranty yesterday), and I’m continually irritated by mass rattles in the interior, and one “metal against metal” rattle under the car (which is a problem that others have also noted here on this forum).

Anyway, now that the major problems with this car have been repaired, I fully expect nearly flawless operation of ALL vehicle components for the next several years, at least. Protegé is supposed to be an exceptionally reliable car, as it has compiled a consistent, excellent record of operation in Consumer Reports. This is among the primary reasons I bought Protegé in the first place, despite many other shortcomings.

You know one of the ironic things about all of these service runs I’ve had to make recently? I’ve had to have my girlfriend give me a ride from the dealership service department… in her ’95 Ford Escort LX. Given a car like that (one with a cheap-***, lousy reliability record; typical of Ford), it should have been the opposite. *I* should have been the one having to give *her* rides to her service department. That’s an example of one of the many reasons I’ve been justified in my current dissatisfaction with this car. It has let me down time and time again, despite very modest, easy driving habits, no weird mods of any kind, and impeccable personal care.

Having a '95 Ford outmatch my '01 Mazda. I find that an insolent personal insult and violation of my trust. I must say, however, I've been happy with Mazda's reaction to these difficulties, as they've made honest efforts to correct the quality problems I've been troubled by, with no financial losses on my part aside from a lot of wasted time (which, on the other hand, IS money). I stedfastly maintain, in any event, that none of these problems should have happened in the first place.

I hope your problems are corrected quickly and without incident, in any event. Hang in there!

vip3321685

where can i find the website that has these TSB's on it. can you post a link. because i looked all over yesterday and didn't come up with anything.

Dermen

On the top of your screen there is a button that says Protege FAQ. Click on it. Then click on Technical Service Bulletins, then on 3rd gen. This will show you a list of TSBs for the 3rd gens. The clutch chatter is in there somewhere.

AwaKeN

I've just called my Dealer and told him about this chatter problem and he said to me that he never heard of that problem, my question is: with my VIN, can the dealer know about this problem ? He said that i will have to leave the car overnight and try it with him the next day.

If there is no problem or it's a normal issue he will charge me !

vip3321685

okay i understand that you can find the information on this site in the FAQ. my question is where are they getting the info. from? is there a specific web site that puts out this info.?