I have 7,200 miles on my RX8. Just brought it to the dealer because over the past week it has been tough getting it into first gear and reverse. They want $1157.00 for parts and labor to replace it and that it is not under warranty. Has anyone else had problems with this?
ellis_brandt@comcast.net
djfishstix@aol.com

 

10,200 miles and no problems. Unless you've really abused your clutch it must have been defective and should be a warranty item. Is this your first manual transmission?

 

Im sorry but 7200 miles the damn clutch should not wear out. You need to fight for mazda to take care of this.

TOTAL BS.

 

I've been driving a standard for 6 of my 8 years of driving experience. I know how to drive stick. This is complete BS and I just got this back 2 hours ago (1-29-04 @4:00pm). I don't beat on my car or clutch bad enough to wear it out that quickly. Even if i beat the hell out of it, it should last more than 7,200 miles. I will be writing to mazda on this, but was curious if anyone else has had any problems

 

total bs. it is under warrenty.

 

Often the 1st/Reverse problem is that the clutch isn't disengaging all the way. Could be a defect; it doesn't really sound like an abuse issue.

Is there another Mazda service dept. in Boston where you could take it for a 2nd opinion?

 

If the person at the dealer doesnt want to cover it, talk to their manager and if they dont want to cover it, talk to their manager. Keep taking it up the chain until you get satisfaction. Or call Mazda and explain the situation to them. It should be covered under warranty and you may just be getting 'discouraged' by the dealer in the hope you won't be persistent about it.

 

My clutch on the rx-8 was changed at around 3,000miles,
well me and my brother did learn stick off it and learning in San Francisco hills is hard at first ,
so one day my brother drove it on the freeway a lost power,
the dealer changed the clutch, flywheel, and somemore stuff related to it (i forget)and all was under warrenty due to error on the clutch or flywheel was torqed wrong or something like that

 

God, I can't believe all the crap I hear some dealers are pulling. If your car has already been pulled apart to analyze the issue, try calling MNAO customer service and explaining the situation.

If they haven't pulled the tranny off yet, try another dealer. Are there any other dealers in your area, perhaps with a good reputation working on RX7's. Maybe check out RX7 forums, local if possible?

I had no problem getting Subaru to replace my juddering WRX clutch at 28,000 miles for no charge AFTER Subaru issued a TSB on it. Sounds like some Mazda dealers have a big chip on their shoulders.

 

The same thing happened to my car at 7,500 miles. You can read about it on this thread.

When it was all said and done it looks like two of the springs on the pressure plate had annealed (over heated and became soft) and caused the pressure plate to tip sideways.

The clutch, pressure plate, and throw out bearing were replaced under warranty. I think that you should push back on the dealer and if he gives you grief ask to talk with the district rep for Mazda. Then politely explain that other people on this forum have had their clutches fail prematurely.

 

Agreed!! That is total BS if they think this is not something that is covered under warranty.

I am somewhat shocked at all of these horror stories people are posting about dealings with the service department and how they are trying to make customers pay for all of this **** that is going wrong.

I have never once had any problems with getting warranty work done for free by my dealership.

I once had a T-Bird Super Coupe that went through about 5 sets of front brake rotors while under warranty because they kept warping. I was not hard on the brakes at all either, but they would warp bad within about 3 months of having them replaced. The dealer replaced them every time without question.

 

My 8 has a similar problem going into reverse. I always stop the car, run it through a few forward gears then put it into reverse and it still doesn't go into reverse smoothly.

My friend said try putting the car into gear when the motor is off, if it goes in smoothly then it's a clutch problem. My car goes into reverse like butter when the motor is off.

I'm just wondering if I should wait until my 1st scheduled service which is March 20 or if I should take it in now.

 

It's not clear from your post -- Is the dealer claiming abuse, or are they saying the rough shifting does not constitute a defect?

 

Yes, please let us know what the Dealer is claiming and also get it in writing

Bring it to another dealer for a second, third opinion.. From what you are saying, it sounds like the dealer is jerking you, however they also need to prove that the part was not defective and was damged by you, in order for them to charge you

Z

 

my dealership was claiming abuse and they said that I was over revving the engine. Everyone knows the warning sound goes on at 8500rpms so I very rarely let that warning sound ring. When I bought the car, it was from the first release in july. I did buy it with about 100mi on it and I was very weary on buying a new car with this many miles after only being released for a day. Four days after I had the car I had already broke 1000mi and was ready for the first oil change. I did notice that they clutch seemed to be a little bit stiff going into first gear and reverse when the car was at a dead stop. I brought this to the dealers attention and they told me that that was normal and that it had to break in. I guess that was a lie. The dealer left a message with me that he put a call out to the district rep and he is still waiting to hear back from him. I will keep you posted as to what happens.

 

Fish,

Yes tell the dealer your right. It was abuse...the first 100 miles. Also, note the fact that you took it to them regarding the stiff clutch feel and what excuse they gave you. It should of been documented.

How can they prove abuse?

Take it to another dealership.

Good luck.

Al

 

If I may ask, had you noticed a faint burning smell while sitting at a stoplight prior to these problems occuring?

The reason I ask is that I have noticed this smell from day one of owning my RX8, and I initially thought it smelled like a burning clutch, but have since chalked it up as a personality trait of the engine.

However, now that there are several of these threads popping up, and I too experience difficulty engaging reverse almost every time , and only occasionally first, it makes me take pause and wonder.

Before anyone asks, I've been driving stick for 10 years, and don't beat on it hard. I'm just wondering if anyone else noticed this smell.

 

just got the call from the dealer today. They said that they would replace the clutch and parts as a one time thing. However, the only way that they would replace everything needed was that I had to sign a waiver saying that I can't get this replaced again under warranty by mazda. I know that there will be more aftermarket clutches and flywheels and other parts that will be availible hopefully sooner than later. They said that they are next day shipping the parts and I should have my car back thursday evening or sometime on friday depending on when the parts get in.

 

big BS don't friggin sign that! how have they proved it was abuse? even if it was if you sign that and this new one breaks next week because they didn't tighten some bolts correctly you are screwed!

 

That's great that they are replacing it under warranty. They basically told me the same thing (ie one time replacement to maintain good will) when they replaced my clutch but I didn't have to sign a waiver. I'm OK with that because if it fails again the last thing I want to do is put another crappy (this only applies if the clutch fails prematurely) stock clutch in the car again.