NY: you'll dig the reinforced clutch pedal.
You gotta stop spending so much money though!! your wallet is going to hate you. ;)

Too Funny....You don't have to cut or un-intact :) anything :lol: A paperclip works well if you're stuck....beats a tow truck any day :)

You don't need the dealer to program a remote.......or even a key if you have 2.

Don't buy one from them...they charge about 4X what they are new from E-bay

If they are giving you one for free.....go for it :)

Yeah, I took my car in for the recall starter and battery and they programmed my switch blade key for free, they even had to make two attempts because the first time it didnt work. I only had one key before, but if you have two look up the DIY, its extremely easy

Oh and i also bought one on ebay, and had the key cut at a local place for 10 dollars, a little sand papering to get the edges smooth and engage with the lock pins smooth, done, total cost like 60 bucks

Late reply but, whatever :P

My wallet already hates me.

trust me u dont wanna see my bills for this month :(

of course ~ I got my remote and key thru MMS. :)

its already programmed and now I have 2, next time if I need another key I can just do it myself.

wow this sucks...such an expensive car and it's still shitty...I noticed the squeaking about two weeks ago and yesterday im driving and Im in second going into third gear and snap the clutch pedal bends to the side all stupid.

I was about 4miles from home and was able to still drive it home because It didn't snap off completely, so i park and check it out in the garage and its moving to the right and left when i press the clutch in so im guessing in a matter of time the whole cluch is going to snap off.

So i call mazda service and i have an extended warranty that i paid for and they are telling me that nothing is covered with my warranty and the TSB about the unusual noise should have nothing to do with it..Also towing isent free.

What a waste of 1800$ for a cheap extended warranty.

wtf am i to do??? lol do i buy the mazsport kit and should that fix my problem?

edit: and today the day after the pedal almost snapped off, im trying to shift into first and i cannot, I cant shift into any gears my clutch pedal is $h!t, someone help me out with some options i got..

szym0nk, welcome to the club. I hate to hear these stories but it's going to happen again and again. Your alternatives are all discussed in this thread but basically you have these alternatives. See which works for you:

First remember that this is a pretty simple repair that you shoud take care of on your own in my opinion.

1. Go to Mazda and purchase a new bracket.
2. Talk to Jason at OnlineMazdaParts.com
3. Order a replacement from Charles R. Hill and he will request you send your old one back to him. His are referbs and have added support.
4. Take yours off and go to a local welder (cheepest alternative)
5. Order the Mazsport kit
6. Get a new or reman or weld you're own and put the Mazsport kit on as well

I chose #6 since I work in the manufacturing industry, we have welding capabilities and I got it done for free and put the Mazsport kit on as well.

Good luck and let us know how it goes. Oh, there is something you need to know about taking the assembly out so if you have a problem let me know and I'll help you. PM me and I'll send you my cell phone. There is a real problem getting a socket on the nut on the broken side because of the position of the shreaded cheep-ass metal.

Yeah I dont understand why Mazda gotta make their bracket so shitty. I mean a few extra points of welding shouldn't cost them too much right ?

Get the Reinforced kit from BHR A.K.A. CRH :)

Takes maybe 30 minutes to swap it. not that hard.

Mine was sqeaking and after Ray (CRH) took the pedal off, we could see signs that the weld was beginning to break and that my pedal's days were numbered.

I've had his reinforced clutch pedal on for about 6 months now and it feels 100 times better. :)

No way ! I dont believe you. :anger:

Swap with mine, if it really feels 100 times better. I pay ya double. + :bowdown:

if not, I'll keep it :rofl:

come out to Cali and drive mine. Open invitation to ya NY. :)

Nah, ship me ur BHR bracket, I will cover the shipping cost :yelrotflm

Let me take this opportune moment to stress yet again that all of you, even though your's has not broken yet, should take the assembly off and have it properly welded. You should be able to do it for $35 or so. That's all and you can do all the breakdown and install yourself. It's an easy job before it brakes and a pain in the ass after it brakes. It's also costly after it brakes so just do it now before you need it. It's the cheepest insurance you can buy.

it's in the mail. ;)

Another One
 

Greetings,

I have been reading about the clutch pedal issue and was VERY concerned. Hell, paranoid!

Took my car to a repair shop, to have the clutch replaced, (dealership was asking for WAY too much money). I have been hearing the squeaky sound from my clutch pedal for a little while. Figured with the temp drop, that some lube oil was needed. On the way to the shop, pedal broke. Good News, I was close enough to PUSH the car.
I am a reasonable person. Replacing a clutch is a wear and tear thing. BUT when you look at an assembly (keyword), you would think that this would not break, unless you are just HAMMERING the pedal. I have had to replace hydraulic lines for the clutch/brake fluids, but NEVER something like this.

I followed the link listed above and filed a complaint. I hope that Mazda would act on this, but considering the state of the economy, I am not holding my breathe.

I plan to keep the car, but will get another vehicle to be used as a daily driver.

Mine went as well!!
 

I am soo sick of MAZDA! They are charging me $470 for a damn clutch pedal!! This should never break under any circumstance. I drive it nicely and this is what I get? 1 month ago I had to buy a heater control unit $389? This is BS!! Not to mention the 5-6 times I brought it in for the ECM which they replaced. :banghead:

well.. look on the brightside.

ur gonna have sex tonight.

It is pretty messed up.

I mean heater control and other stuff can break but CLUTCH PEDAL ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

come on now Mazda. what the hell ?

Wow just diassamble the bracket...It's a mess, its so tight down there. And I broke one of the nuts and Im not sure what to do. I was turning the socket wrench the wrong way and it cracked the top Nut. How can i fix this now cuz im clueless...

How do I get that screw out? its about 1mm offset of the top so I can get a grip around it. Any suggestions?

http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/6286/img00527bw6.jpg






And here is the bracket, what a piece of junk
http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/6403/img00530gt4.jpg
http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/4633/img00531eg4.jpg

i definitely have a pronounced creak down there now ;(

I replaced my pedal with the BHR reinforced clutch assembly and have not only noticed a difference in pedal feel but also got the peace of mind that I won't be stranded should the pedal break.

It's a crappy thing to have to take care of but I knew that I'd be kicking myself if something happened and I didn't take care of it.

I agree that everyone should get this done regardless of whether or not you are having issues.

So, there has been no TSB for this problem? How can that be possible? Maybe everyone who broke a pedal should make a class action suit or something, get Mazda to pull its head out of its ass. Twud be a really stupid way to get into an accident or die. And if someone DID get into an accident b/c of it, seems like that might cause Mazda some problems.

No TSB my friend. Mazda still not admitting the problem. When mine broke, they tried to blame it on Aftermarket clutch. kiss my butt. the crap fails even with stock clutch. I have stock clutch on so if that crap breaks again and I got into any accident (I hope not), Im so going to sue them.

"I think" the reason why Mazda didnt do anything is that MOST of these bracket. under normal condition, would break AFTER basic warranty. so who cares ? It works under warranty.

U have to use a tiny drill bit and try to drill it out slowly.

I know it sucks. but be patience.

how many years/miles is the basic warranty that covers this? I'm getting an aftermarket clutch soon so I guess I'll reinforce it if they aren't obliged to fix it.

If you have a dremel tool, you may be able to cut a slot in what's left of the bolt with the cutoff wheel. Then use a flat screwdriver to turn it. The other method is to use a "screw extractor" (a.k.a. "E-Z Out"), which you can get at auto parts or hardware. You drill a hole into the center of the bolt, then the extractor screws counter-clockwise into the hole, bites into the metal and (maybe) lets you get the bolt off. Use the biggest extractor that will fit because they're notorious for snapping and a bolt with a broken screw extractor stuck in it is really a pain.

Basic warranty for 04/05/I think 06 too - 50K miles or 48 months

Well... I'm WAY past 48 months. Got the car in 2003 :(

Closing in on 50K miles as well.

Guess I'll grab a reinforcement bracket before I put the new clutch in. Also I guess I have to get the welds reinforced if I read that correctly. What kind of shop do I go to for that?

any welding shop will do. like u know those iron/smith shops. NYC has them. not sure about ur area. (Long Island)

or if u have a welder and someone in the house KNOWS how to weld, let them do it. those sticks are cheap anyway.

no welding gear or experience in my house, but i'm sure I can find something in yellowpages.

You know, since you're out of warranty anyway, why not reinforce the clutch bracket and then just weld the factory bracket directly onto the firewall? I'm sure that'll help fix the weak weld issue!

TiG it. The firewall is just stamped, not heat treated, as far as I know. A good welder won't put in much heat and so the heat affected region would be minimal.

Good luck welding up there...even with a TIG :)

Well, the firewall is pretty thin from what I hear, hence the reason for those master cylinder braces. Also, welding to the firewall transforms a simple reinforce the welds project into one involving a welder being inside a cramped spot in my car. I don't think I need to go that nuts about it.

That RV better have a nice generator to support the TiG! Though actually my specialty is a miterer, I leave the welding to someone else I know. And dan, I've seen him weld upside down, inverted with only a small mirror to sight where to stick the torch (there was no direct line of sight) and have the welds come out perfect. Amazing stuff. I'm sure the pedal bay is a comparative piece of cake, especially if you remove the dead pedal first.

By the way, TiG welds can look great, but you gotta cut them up to see how they really are.

hey guys i didnt know this clutch sanpping was a big issue, it happened to me like 6 months ago :( but my dealership fixed it for free

report it to the NHTSA please.. this should be a recall.

put myself too in the unhappy customers list !!! :rant::rant:

€ 193 for the pedal + € 47,60 for the repair work... = € 240 :spank::spank:

thanx for all the pics in the thread !!

'should have welded it... :icon_no2:

...will inform all my budies @ the Greek Forum !! :)

It's funny how it's just not important, until it happens to you. >>SNAP<< OH CRAP... I should have listened to those guys when it was easy to fix.

Yes, please spread the word. Prevention will save them a lot of money and time.

My love my Thread :)

You should be proud of it. It's one of the most important threads on this forum. :)

Mine is creaking but I inspected it and it does not seem to be cracked but now I'm wondering if I should get it welded or buy the bracket? It looks liek a bitch to remove, is there a DIY on the bracket installation?

i'll make the same offer here that i did in the other thread:

if you live close enough to knoxville, tn to drive to me, bring it on by and i'll weld the stock one up for you.

if you don't, and you are willing to pay all shipping expenses, i extend the same offer.

either way, i'll weld it for free. i am an AWS certified welder.

Why is there no TSB on this, or better a general recall !!! :uhh:

i don't mean to take any business away from vendors, if that's what you're getting at.

it's not going to be as nice of a product as what you'd get from BHR and the like, but it'll definitely work.

so, if you're anal retentive about everything being perfect, go with a vendor. everyone happy?

i just fucking love to weld.

It's really not hard to take out as long as you do it before it snaps. If you wait till after it snaps, It's a pain in the arse to get the socket wrench over the nut where the bracket broke. All you do is disconnect the two switches, being careful not to snap the wire clips loose and they spring into the rotory twilight zone somewhere (like mine did... still haven't found that bitch), then take the nuts off and just pull the assembly out. Really, it's not hard. When you put it back in, you need to make sure the master cylinder is in place properly on the other side of the firewall. I wedged mine snug with a block of wood or something like that. Go back and look at photos I posted and you will see the only parts you have to deal with.

Thanks man, I''l have to look, I'm not sure whet you mean about the master cylinder without looking at it.

taking the clutch assembly off is really easy. its just 3 metal bolts and one plastic one. plus the 2 clips. very easy.

i have no experience with the weld, but the mazsport bracket that i have is really nice. especially since the assembly is made with really thin stamped steel and the bracket is pretty thick and you cannot bend it by hand, like you can with the stamped steel.