Dont Tell Me I Burnt My Clutch Already!!

[xHOODLUMx]

so i took my week or so old 2007 3i for its second road trip yesterday, i went to orange county (1.5 hrs from home) then to la (45 mins from oc.) on the way to la i got caught up in some rush hour traffic on the 101. when the 110 exit came up i there was no traffic, so i was like ill just make a little detour and drove towards the exit.. thats when i got some issues.. i shifted from 2nd to 3rd then stepped on the clutch to go into 4th and when i started to pull my foot back off the clutch, i noticed there was no pedal under my foot!! i started to panic and pulled the stick into neutral and tried to push the clutch which was stuck to the floor. after a few kicks (while coasting towards the 110 on ramp) the clutch popped back up, and i thought great its fine ill just go on my way and go to la. so i pressed my clutch, shifted, and when i put some gas on it, i wasnt moving!! it would finally engage at higher rpms around 5500 or 6500 but accelerated very slowly. at the bottom of the on ramp i pulled over to the side because there was traffic going up hill and i knew i wasnt going anywhere.. called mazda roadside and the towed me to a dealership in glendale around 630pm. service was closed and so was the rentals. so i had to call up my cousin to pick me up 2 hours from home.. and im still dealing with the dealership over there, theyre a bunch of morons they looked like they have never seena mazda before.. ANYWAYS, my question is what do you think happened to my car!? its my first stick that i drive everyday, and i would day i am a fair or average manual driver. i only have 646 miles on it. could i have burnt out the clutch already!? or could it be a factory thing.

HELP!! i dont want to have to spend that much replacing the clutch after a week. what are the chances of me burning it at less than 650 miles, im not abusing it (i dont think.)

[carter1551]

That cars practically brand new, whatever happened should be covered under warranty.

[xHOODLUMx]

That cars practically brand new, whatever happened should be covered under warranty.

lets hope!

i know these morons at the dealership are gonna put the blame on the clutch, and make me pay for it. i hope its a bigger issue so i dont have to pay anything.. (naughty)

[AFaceInTheCrowd]

star mazda in glendale is the worst. insist that it get towed to alhambra mazda. they aren't as stupid. the best WAS heritage which sponsored MOCC (go check out the club for cali ppl), but they closed.

[carter1551]

wait now I dont know all the exceptions to warranties and stuff but if they blame it on the clutch how is it your fault? You have no mods im assuming since its a pretty new car and also I dont see how a clutch could burn up that fast unless your horrible at driving stick (like me, hence why I have an auto)

[xHOODLUMx]

i dont know!! im racking my brain!!

one min ill be thinking yeah.. factory defect.. next min im thinking damn i must be a horrable driver!! i fried it at 650 miles!!

but yeah... star mazda is terrible... i told the manager his employees are douche bags. i would get it moved but thats even farther from here where i live (coachella/palm springs) id have it towed here but my guys are just as dumb with their mazdas (theyre apparently 1 in the 3 counties for ford tho)

i dont know... i just want to get that call telling me whats going on...

carter, parts like clutch arent covered if they assume its the drivers fault and has no mechanical reasons to it burning up.

[Black_Protege_5]

I personally prefer Mazda of TO but they are far for you also though.

[nondual]

I can vouch for Alhambra Mazda - that's where I had it towed after the engine fell out of my MS3. Mazda Roadside Service wanted to tow it to Star, but I looked them up online and heard absolutely NOTHING good about them.

[Speedy3]

Could it be the hydraulic fluid leaked out? With all the loose bolts found on this car lately, maybe a hydraulic line is loose and the fluid leaked out?
what does the clutch fluid resevoir look like?

[MM3Canuck]

Carter, that is some small font size you are using!!!! Could hardly read it! (and im only 23!)

I hope you get everything sorted out with your dealer though. And I dont think that it could be your fault whats so ever. I almost think its not possible to burn a clutch within 650 miles.

[Olestra]

^+1 You'd have to try pretty hard to burn out a clutch in 650 miles... I wonder if that's even possible. I'm sure everything will be fine - if they ask you to pay refuse with every bone in your body. =)
If they still insist you pay, call up Mazda corporate.

Btw, don't mention you're a new manual driver. =) It shouldn't matter but it'll just make it easier for yourself.

[xHOODLUMx]

UPDATE: so after trying to get a hold of someone there all day, i finally got someone.. all the guy told me was a clutch was ordered.. fdkjghdfhgdfghdfugh these guys are monkeys.

[WagonMan]

Does not sound like a burned out clutch to me. Sticking to the floor sounds more like some sort of defect in the pressure plate or diaphram spring, or another mechanical part of the clutch.

Make sure you don't pay for anything, there is no way you burned out the friction material on the clutch that quickly.

[uncletime]

Could it be the hydraulic fluid leaked out? With all the loose bolts found on this car lately, maybe a hydraulic line is loose and the fluid leaked out?
what does the clutch fluid resevoir look like?

i have never had a manual before this... where is the clutch fluid reservoir?

[carter1551]

[QUOTE=MM3Canuck]Carter, that is some small font size you are using!!!! Could hardly read it! (and im only 23!)QUOTE]

Im not the one with the small font, Im 18 and I can barely read it!

[jhowey]

I dont think you will have to pay for anything, generally even wear items are called under warrenty if they fail in the first 12/12

[xtrememps]

I dont think you will have to pay for anything, generally even wear items are called under warrenty if they fail in the first 12/12

That's correct, you have nothing to worry about even if it was your clutch that somehow burned out. That being said with the clutch sticking to the floor that almost certainly isn't the disc being fried.

[MM3Canuck]

[QUOTE=MM3Canuck]Carter, that is some small font size you are using!!!! Could hardly read it! (and im only 23!)QUOTE]

Im not the one with the small font, Im 18 and I can barely read it!


Sorry was xHOODLUMx

[Olestra]

He fixed the font. =)

Hoodlum - hang in there. If they order parts they don't need or order the wrong parts, that's not your fault. Don't pay for them. Dont' take the car back until it's fixed and the clutch feels good. In other words, when they say your car is finished, MAKE SURE it's finished - insist you go for a test drive and they wait for you to come back to confirm it. Don't leave without checking.

[TheFa1isOutdone]

Clutches last several, several, several thousand miles. Even the most horrible manual driver couldn't burn it out that fast.

Sounds more like to me the clutch spring has gone bad, hence it's not popping back out and disengaging the clutch correctly.

[StealthWyvern]

Clutches last several, several, several thousand miles. Even the most horrible manual driver couldn't burn it out that fast.

Sounds more like to me the clutch spring has gone bad, hence it's not popping back out and disengaging the clutch correctly.


I agree with the above statement. My 94 grand am I had I had taught several people how to drive stick in it. I have even pulled a grand prix with it. Hell I let my cusin give it a shot and well he had the clutch smoking as if he was doing a burn out with the car. I still drove it on that same clutch for another 20k miles tell i got rid of the car and it was still shifting fine.

[Wwalkeriii]

You could not have burned your clutch. My clutch went out on a brand new 07 speed 6 at 22 miles (yea 22 miles) and the dealership determined it was misaligned from the factory. The clutch destroyed itself after 30 min of driving. They are fixing it at the moment. I spoke with them today and they tried telling me there was also some burning from riding the clutch. I basically called BS and they are fixing the car. Granted, I learned how to drive stick the day I bought the car; however, my friend who has driven stick for ten years and watched me drive in his 626 said there was no way I burned it out. Take no crap (fu) from mazda or its dealers, you are not the only one with clutch problems.

William

[CaSHMeRe]

sounds like "crankwalk" in a dsm !!! lol

anyone who has ever owned a dsm will understand what i just said, anyone else, just continue on ! lol

[BHOUST528]

Thank god for warranty thats all i know doesnt cost me any money and the dealer has to eat it....Good luck to ya keep us posted..

[Wwalkeriii]

Got the car back finally. It took them forever. Apparently there is a misprint in the 07speed6 service manual that caused them to order the wrong clutch. They threw in the black bra for free because of the wait and they rented me a JAG S-type. The car runs great but there is still a slight burning smell coming off the clutch from normal starts. 1000-2500 rpm. Is there a certain amount of mileage where this is normal?

[MMM77]

You should not have to replace the clutch, Mazda should. The reason I say that is because there are many customers that are complaining about the same thing, having the same problem, so obviously it's a defect. I set up a petition because I believe they should not make the customers pay for THEIR mistake. http://www.thepetitionsite.com/petition/910317136

They should know that it's not ok to sell a product that has a defect(an expensive defect) and then make their customers pay for their mistake.

[clos561]

he didnt pay, my service rep told me that theres a mileage warranty and if the car is still under 12500 the clutch and thigns are still covered. after that its considered user mistake or something

[Jays07MS3]

sounds like "crankwalk" in a dsm !!! lol

anyone who has ever owned a dsm will understand what i just said, anyone else, just continue on ! lol

LOL!! Thats the first thing that popped in my head. But he wasn't making a left turn so he's ok ;)

[MSLou]

star mazda in glendale is the worst. insist that it get towed to alhambra mazda. they aren't as stupid. the best WAS heritage which sponsored MOCC (go check out the club for cali ppl), but they closed.

Alhambra Mazda is by far the worst mazda dealership ever! i bought my rx-8 from them worst decision i have made in my life! i recommend sierra mazda in monrovia thats where i got my ms3 from and they are a really good dealership

[RobSpeed3]

that sucks let us know what happend. i prefer todey mazda they are great. the rear sway bar bolt was missing and the other one was loose. they fixed it for me in 20 mins got me on my way to work. thousand oaks guys are a$# holes

[stevekt]

If you burned out the clutch you'd smell it right away.