engine stumbles when cold
 

I own 2001 protege ES 2.0 manual trans. On certain cold mornings the car stumbles and is difficult to launch from first gear. But asa the engine warms up eveything is fine. I find myself revving the engine higher to avoid this stumbling. It feels like clutch chatter. Does this happen to anyone else? This problem is occuring while the engine is making that noisey rattling.

there's a simple fix to this problem... let your car warm up before you leave in the morning.

It's been cuh-HOLD here, like negative degrees with the wind chill, and so far I have not experienced the infamous "stumble"!

*knocks on her head*

I have this stumble too. I would describe it as a hesitation when coming off idle, when the engine isn't up to temp. This car is basically a lame duck when it is cold, especially when the hesitation gangs up with the clutch chatter and the slow 1-2 shift. It's like the car is sneezing, coughing, hiccuping and farting all at the same time...a bit disconcerting. You have to take it easy with this car when it is cold, no doubt about it. The positive side is that it only takes a few minutes of nice and easy driving for it to go away (hopefully, your destination is more than a few minutes away).

Also, if it makes you feel any better, I think it was Car and Driver that did a long term update on a BMW M3 and described it as one of the most cold blooded engines they've seen. Apparently it sputters a lot and idles roughly when you've just started it. Better to have a $15,000 cold blooded car, than a $50,000 cold blooded car I would say.

By the way, if you have clutch chatter, it should feel different than the car simply hesitating. Worst case clutch chatter feels like somebody taking a jackhammer to your engine block. Usually though, when I get chatter, it feels kind of like your burning out and getting wheel hop, but your not burning out, and your wheels aren't hopping...if you know what I mean. Basically, the engine starts to bounce around in its mounts while you are engaging the clutch.

Just being a jerk here, but this is not a fix...its just merely accepting the car's weakness. Most people find it just as annoying to have to let the car idle for 15 minutes before leaving.

Just being a jerk here but use the search button.

If you'd bothered you'd know that this is a documented issue with Mazda and you can take your car into the dealership to have the flywheel/clutch replaced.

i would get clutch chater if i didn't let my car warm up......but my new act clutch/aluminum fly wheel solved that problem :D

Cold start.
 

Alot of cars have that problem with manual tranys. My friend has a Honda Prelude that goes through the same ordeal. Im not sure its a fluid problem, but I know that without the right temperature condition due to expanding and contracting can cause either expanding or binding.

COLD START
 

Thanks for that info Carlos and Protege.

Um, yeah... been there, done that. If you do a search for "Clutch Chatter TSB not found by dealer" you'll get a little taste of my experience with Mazda service. Basically, two seperate dealers and the customer service at MazdaNA denied that any clutch chatter TSB exists on my 2002 P5, even with a copy of the TSB in my hand. So, for right now, until I get my patience back up to deal with Mazda again and fight this out, I'm stuck with this clapped out clutch/flywheel.

This car has not been perfect for me (what is?), but it has been the most fun I've ever had in a car. What makes it really frustrating though is having dealers that just don't have it all together. Just yesterday, I went in to buy OEM wiper inserts and they the parts guy tells me that Mazda does not make inserts for specific cars, they just sell cut to size inserts. Finding this hard to believe, I called another dealer and they tell me it's nonsense, of course mazda sells OEM inserts. I know it's a small detail, but frustrating.

Sorry, had to vent. Enough bitchin on my part.

I also have a 2000 Hyundai Tiburon with manual trans that stumbles if you don't let it warm up. Wonder why this only happens with manual tranny?

Same thing happened to my car. I cleaned the throttle body and the stumbling went away.