Anyone with flywheel problems?

[Pale Fire]

So my friends ms3 wouldn't go into gear the other day and we kind of figured he had burnt up his clutch. Well yesterday he got a call from the mazda service dept. and they told him that it wasn't the clutch, it was the flywheel. They also said that its not covered under warranty and will cost 2g to fix. They said it has heat marks on it and its probably due to driving fast, but if thats the case, I think that this would have happened to a few people already.

Has anyone else had of heard of this happening? What would cause this to go out and be replaced and why wouldn't it be covered?

 

[eg6motion]

It should be covered regardless. Bumper to bumper is still intact most likely and there is def warranty coverage, another sleazy dealer it sounds like.

 

[BlackCherry06]

There's got to be more to this story. Some burn marks on the flywheel shouldn't prevent the transmission from changing gears.

 

[Pale Fire]

There's got to be more to this story. Some burn marks on the flywheel shouldn't prevent the transmission from changing gears.

Thats what i don't get. But thats all they told him. I'll post more when i find out what exactly they are gonna do to his car

 

[Pale Fire]

It should be covered regardless. Bumper to bumper is still intact most likely and there is def warranty coverage, another sleazy dealer it sounds like.

Yeah his car is stock except for the mscai that the dealer he got it from put on. Is this dealer just trying to rip him off cause they don't want to fix it under warranty? Why wouldn't it be covered? I thought that the only things that were not covered were wear and tear items. I don't see how the flywheel would be one of them.

 

[MTuning]

from my understanding thats one of the parts are not covered under warranty. It is a wear and tear part. i forget exactly how the dealer put it but he explained to me that if someone that can't drive a manual and burns up a clutch that is not a manufactures defect.

 

[BlackCherry06]

Clutch plate, clutch housing, flywheel, belts, hoses, brakes, tires, etc. are all wear & tear items that usually aren't covered under the car's full-length warranty (they usually are covered for 12/12 however).

My issue here is that they're trying to blame abuse on the problem, when the item they've found and are calling 'abuse' isn't causing the problem the customer is having. Yes, the flywheel is part of the drivetrain, but it's NOT causing shifting issues in the transmission.

Now, if they can find a broken synchro, sheared gear, bent shift fork, etc. in the transmission, they'll have an argument.

 

[Pale Fire]

Clutch plate, clutch housing, flywheel, belts, hoses, brakes, tires, etc. are all wear & tear items that usually aren't covered under the car's full-length warranty (they usually are covered for 12/12 however).

My issue here is that they're trying to blame abuse on the problem, when the item they've found and are calling 'abuse' isn't causing the problem the customer is having. Yes, the flywheel is part of the drivetrain, but it's NOT causing shifting issues in the transmission.

Now, if they can find a broken synchro, sheared gear, bent shift fork, etc. in the transmission, they'll have an argument.

I guess I learned something new. Would he have to beat the hell out of his car to cause this to happen or is it common? Like i said, I haven't heard of it happening here and it hasn't happened with ay of my cars.

 

[intak3_bLkMs3]

damn dealers sometimes argue alot alot or tell the dealer to **** themselves

 

[CWPspeed3]

I dont see how driving fast would cause a flywheel to burn and fail either... driving hard maybe

 

[MikeHTally]

Since when is a metal flywheel a wear and tear part?

 

[TropicalDelight]

Since when is a metal flywheel a wear and tear part?

because its part of the clutch.

 

[MikeHTally]

Don't think so. The flywheel is more part of the motor, attached to the end of the crankshaft. The pressure plate forces the clutch against the flywheel to transfer energy to the tranny. If the flywheel is that damaged, then the clutch probably has been abused.

 

[MTuning]

he either slipped the clutch alot or improperly breaking-in a clutch disc. flywheel is a separate motor accessory.

 

[FrequentFlyer]

The flywheel could be warped, but unlikely. Our flywheel is pretty robust and can probably take quite a bit of abuse. If it's not warped, all they have to do is resurface it, which is pretty much standard practice when you do a clutch job. I can't see how the flywheel is damaged, but the clutch disc/plate aren't. Dealers like to bulls*** you for more $$$$$$$. $2,000 for a flywheel? LOL I bet you can buy the part online for half of what they want and then just walk in with it and say, here ya go. Put it in.

 

[staples187]

Ahhh sounds like deja vu with a buddy of mine battling Mazda for the last 6 months since he lost his second gear syncro, warped the teeth on his flywheel and fried his clutch. Unfortunately there's not much of a leg to stand on in this situation because it's too apparent to the dealership that it was "abused". By the way, I highly doubt it's just the flywheel damaged if it's not going into gear at all. He's driving way too hard and grinding gears too often, that's what causes this situation. MazdaUSA isn't going to cover it, it would be up to the dealer to say we'll warranty it and send the claim to national as a "normal wear and tear" or not. By the way, my friend spent over 4k to get everything fixed and it's still not right.

 

[Pale Fire]

Well I haven't talked to him in a few days so i don't have any updates of what is actually being fixed. I do know that he said he is done with this car and is going to sell when he gets it out of the shop. He's spending too much money on it and decided it's best to get rid of it.

By the way, my friend spent over 4k to get everything fixed and it's still not right.

He has had work done on the car before and it's also not right. He got into an accident and had to have the front suspension and brakes replaced and it hasn't been the same car since. His insurance covered it but his deductible was a grand. Also, it just happened two months ago.

 

[mazdaspeedster3]

$1200 to drop the trans guaranteed and another $800 parts labor to put it back. 2k easy! I would keep arguing though. If they are calling it "abuse" then they need to check for more problems and prove abuse. Over revving, things of that nature, bent valves, whatever...

 

[Pale Fire]

Last time I talked to him he was a little down and just doesn't want to deal with arguing with the dealer. Oh and he does drive that car really hard. Almost everywhere he goes he hauls ass. It was only a matter of time really... I just thought it was a little weird that it was the flywheel is all.