2010 3 with 17k and a destroyed clutch

[tdaspit]

So I am completely baffled and ticked at Mazda.

I have a 2010 3 2.5 5 door sport with the 6 speed manual. I have put 17,000 mostly highway miles on it (drive back and froth from Alabama to Texas a lot). This car spends most of its life in 6th gear with the cruise on.

Here is some background, I've driven mostly Hondas and Acuras and with only a couple of exceptions I have driven stick shift cars for 20 years. My last car was a Civic with 120,000 miles on the original clutch that still felt brand new. I have been in the Auto industry for 15 years and know my way around a car.

On Friday my wife was driving my car (she learned how to drive on a manual and has no problems driving it) on a back country 2 lane road with our son in the back and out of cell phone coverage. She was driving along at 60 mph, in 6th gear when the RPS started to bounce off the rev limiter. She checked to make sure she was still in gear. She took it out of 6th and put it into neutral then tried to go back into gear. No dice, it wouldnt shift. So she pulled over and shut it down. She tired to start again, tried to get it into first, nope, tried to get it into second, and nothing.

Amazingly she got some signal on the phone after a panicked 20 minutes and got roadside assistance out to tow her in.

Now Mazda is saying that the clutch is burned up and that it is not a defect so it is our fault and it won't be covered under warranty. Now, I have never heard of spontaneous and catastrophic clutch failure, with NO prior slippage or difficulty shifting being due to driver error. Apparently I'm not alone in having this happen either.. Has anyone else ever hear of such a thing? I have 3 mechanics that work for me with 50 years combine experience and they think its total BS.

 

[fam]

when you say mazda do you mean the dealer? If so, go over their head...mazdausa.com do some emails\calls

 

[tdaspit]

when you say mazda do you mean the dealer? If so, go over their head...mazdausa.com do some emails\calls

Called Mazda. They told me to pound sand effectively. They said that it was a "wear and tear" item and that it would never be covered under warranty and that they would not override the dealer. I asked to take it up with the supervisor or district manager and they said I could not. They said this was their final stance.

I'm done with Mazda. I will never own another one again.

 

[fam]

a clutch is a minor thing, Ive had some wear and tear things in mazdas go bad WAY too early...rear shocks at 16k (05 mazda5), front breaks at 18k (08 mazda5), rear shock at 32k (08 mazda3)

My take is fix the clutch...free your mind on it being a defect on whoever made the clutch, and just keep rolling...and if push comes to shove I'll trade you cars ;-)

 

[tdaspit]

I guess I'm just too used to Hondas and Acuras then.

1996 Honda Civic 30,000 miles traded with original clutch
1998 Civic 80,000 miles traded with original clutch
2000 Acura Integra GS-R 60,000 miles traded with original clutch
2000 Honda Civic 120,000 miles traded with original clutch.

If this is the way they are then I'm done. There is no way I'm going to spend my hard earned money for a car that brakes that fast.

 

[fam]

Clutches dont go out that fast plenty of folks on here have went 100k + before worrying about a clutch...once again...I just think you got a bum clutch. Clutches arent made by mazda they are made by their supplier to mazda specs and sometimes defective ones can make it through...and mazda only gives a 1yr bumper to bumper so once thats up they dont care anymore.

Hondas are more reliable...100% true, if youre main concern is gas mileage and a 0 dollar repair bill then you should stick to honda..sadly their cars have no soul whatsoever so thats the tradeoff.

 

[tdaspit]

Clutches dont go out that fast plenty of folks on here have went 100k + before worrying about a clutch...once again...I just think you got a bum clutch.

Which is EXACTLY my point. They should cover the defective clutch.

I agree about Hondas being soulless now and that was what attracted me to Mazda in the first place. However, no car is fun to drive when it is in the shop.

 

[Russm]

I say inform your bank you will no longer pay for car till it is fixed BY MAZDA and park it in the Mazda service dept.! Get a lawyer, may be a wear item but 17K miles isn't excessive and most mfg would be more than willing to work with you. Just my 2 cents!

 

[chromal]

20K seems too soon, and yeah, I kept the old car, a 98 Civic hatchback 5MT, and it's got 218K on the factory clutch, and here's hoping for 300K. I'll be somewhat disappointed if my 10'MZ3 clutch gets less than 200K, though I've got no idea at this point if I'll keep it long enough to find out. Not lasting as long as a civic I guess is somewhat understandable, given the MZ3's 2.5l produces some actual torque whereas in the civic's D16Y7 nominal 103ft-lb isn't so powerful, but 20K sounds completely abnormal. Even the guys with FI on their MS3s make it a lot longer than that routinely.

 

[Straeliterun]

Hey not sure where you're from, but I know around ehre once you get the state AG involved and all the lemon laws etc any car company seems to change their tune REALLY quick. Mostly because its cheaper to fix something that really should of been covered than deal with legal issues from a state agenciy. Also, I thought it was a 3yr bumper to bumper or 36k miles and a 5yr/60k powertrain for the warranties (which even carried over to the used one I got).

Sucks about the tranny though, i really do think it was a luck of the draw thing, although with 2010 being the first year of the remodel there might be more issues than normal.