strange...

[typeshluder]

This weekend I was traveling to my parents house with my fiancee for a 4th of July picnic. I was cruising in sixth gear stuck behind someone who was driving very slow. A passing zone came up so I did what the MS3 does best, passed the guy. I downshifted and floored it, then my car sounded like it was just revving, but the clutch was only partially engaging (made a lot of noise but didn't really go anywhere). It revved to almost redline, I shifted and the same s*** happened. I backed off and the smell of burnt clutch was in the air, but it seemed to be driving normally. About a half hour later, I decided to wind out through the gears to see if it was okay and it was then driving fine. This ever happen to anyone else?

Before anyone asks, yes I know how to drive a manual tranny and it's all I've ever had since I got my license.

 

[mazdaspeedster3]

I think this has happened to some others, Search it and see...

 

[typeshluder]

I think this has happened to some others, Search it and see...

Yeah, I've been searching with no luck.

 

[oaklandopen]

weird...did you buy used or new? im not sure but the ms3 clutch mght be hydraulic pressure as opposed to spring pressure during engagment as well as release, so you could check the level of the clutch fluid reservoir

you could keep testing the clutch by driving in 5th or 6th (id do 5th gear) and stomp the gas at like 3,000 rpms. all the tq is around 3k so if your clutch really is slipping it should stumble a lot when you do this

 

[typeshluder]

weird...did you buy used or new? im not sure but the ms3 clutch mght be hydraulic pressure as opposed to spring pressure during engagment as well as release, so you could check the level of the clutch fluid reservoir

you could keep testing the clutch by driving in 5th or 6th (id do 5th gear) and stomp the gas at like 3,000 rpms. all the tq is around 3k so if your clutch really is slipping it should stumble a lot when you do this

I got it brand new. It's an 08.5 and it just rolled over 6,000 miles on that trip. It drove okay the rest of the way there, as well as the 100 mile trip home.

 

[oaklandopen]

well as long as you don't have any aftermarket stuff on it (or take it off beforehand) take that thing to the dealer after you test it yourself a couple of times cuz you're obviously still under warranty.

and it's not like having aftermarket stuff on there should void your warranty at all, but you don't want to give them the impression that you're overly hard on the vehicle so a prematurely worn clutch would be due to "driver abuse"

just make sure you set aside enough time to ride along on their test drive cuz something like this that requires one has the chance of a tech saying that it "felt normal" or "could not duplicate problem". in this instance they might also want to ride shotgun while you drive to make sure it's not your driving habits

 

[08cosmic3]

This happened to a lesser degree to me when my car had only 2000 miles on it. I was entering I65 north from Natcher parkway and need to get on it to get in front of a semi next to me, I was in 6th gear down shifted to 5th and got into the gas too much before letting out the clutch. My RPM shot up and the car went no where. The stinch of burnt clutch filled the cabin and I could still smell it a week later. I have 25,000 miles on my car now and have never had it happen again and my clutch is fine. It did scare me back then because I thought I had destroyed my clutch and it would never hold quite the same again. It turned out ok though. I hope yours turns out ok as well.