Clutch Kit??

[ghetto waggon]

Carlos, I second your experience, though I am in Fairfax, VA.

I went in with my TSB papers for the clutch, Rotor rust, and roof rack, and the service manager was by no means eager to help me, even happy to see me, and told me up front, that those papers were of no use to him at all (even the copy of the invoice you scanned). He told me that all of the things I claimed would have to be proven positive and then would be further acted upon.

Like a ******* jackass, I went ahead and left my car there overnight, for them to test it the next morning "in the cold".
He called home while I was at class saying nothing was found on the car.

He managed to slam on the brakes, most likely a good few times, to clear the rust off...leaving rust on the tops of the rotors where no contact is made with the pads. My roof rack was partially "severed" from the clamps that hold it to the side body moldings, and my note said please check driver's side front for attachment, and wind noise. His answer was "he didnt hear anything coming from the drivers side of the rack" :wtf:

As for the clutch he didn't even really want to comment on it. "I even called mazda and asked, there is no TSB for your car, with the model year and VIN number). Blows my damn mind...even more so now that I know it can be fixed.

At the end of the day I raised a huge fuss about the roof rack, knowing that it obviously was not only a TSB issue, another service member proceeded to step in and oversee what this prick was doing. He knew immediately that the rack wasn't attached correctly, said that it needed to be removed and inspected immediately, and if it was faulty installation, replace it asap!

I thought I saw the light when this man stepped in, but they both ventured off, and "the good guy" ended up going on home for the day.

I am new to the service dep't experience, but friends have warned me not to take in the car unless it had necessary work that needed to be done, as 1. They usually screw two things up in the process of fixing one, and 2. it leaves a bad service record on the car.

I need to know, specifically, HAVE ANY 2003 Protege5's gotten the clutch fixed?

What should I do?
I got nothin today!
:mad: :mad: :mad:

 

[MinnowGT]

you have a 2003 with the cold clutch chatter????

I thought the fix is to put the fixed clutch/flywheel in that
is used in the 2003 models. That's why the TSB only lists
upto 2002.

the rattle lists upto the 2003 and that's just a pcm reprogram.

 

[4DRMP5ATR]

this intrigue's me very much i'm curious about those who do have this clutch, that do you feel more grip and better release with it than with the stock, and also if anyone has performed this clutch change with also adding the kart boy short shifter or any other shifter of any kind, and what kinda of performance or fell do you get.

 

[carlos]

Carlos, I second your experience, though I am in Fairfax, VA.

the service manager was by no means eager to help me, even happy to see me, and told me up front, that those papers were of no use to him at all (even the copy of the invoice you scanned).

What should I do?
I got nothin today!
:mad: :mad: :mad:

I think these guys must be trained to present such an aversive experience to the customer so that they don't try coming back to the service dept. Maybe these are tactics a struggling company uses to deal with a less than stellar product. I had these people plead ignorance (maybe they were), lye, give me long blank stares (literally) after I explain a problem, and generally act more like inanimate objects than customer service folks. The parts dept didnt seem much better...I had a parts guy tell me that Mazda does not make OEM wiper inserts for any of their cars because it would be too expensive to make them for each model. He told me I could buy cut to size inserts for like 7 bucks each! (of course another dealer in the area said they had OEM inserts on hand). Do you think I could trust these guys to order a correct flywheel for my car, since that is what I will probably have to do?

I used to have an 01 Civic that had a lot of problems. But the service manager, while not the most mechanically knowledgable guy, at least tried to have the car serviced in some way. On one occasion, the manager confirmed the civics suspension was squeaking, but had the exhaust replaced to try and solve the problem. While this was a pain in the but and cost me a few trips to the dealer to have it fixed, I at least felt I was making some progress, and felt I was being at least listened too. When it came time for Honda to admit I had a lemon on my hand, Honda corporate got me a new car for no charge even though I had 15,000 miles on the car. This only took maybe a half dozen angry phone calls, and about a month total to have my new car in hand (not bad considering I got a new civic out of it).

With Mazda though, it seems like they are betting the customers with problems will go away if they ignore it long enough (clunking MP3 sway bar bushings anyone?). It will work too. If I can't get this clutch problem solved by the end of summer, I'll be willing to consider my Mazda an orphan, accept the car for what it is, and not consider Mazda again for me or my family (sucks too, with the Mazda 6, RX-8 and all).

I know maybe this hasn't been everyones experience with dealers, but in my area, this is all I have experienced. Apparently I am not the only one either.

 

[blynzoo]

this intrigue's me very much i'm curious about those who do have this clutch, that do you feel more grip and better release with it than with the stock, and also if anyone has performed this clutch change with also adding the kart boy short shifter or any other shifter of any kind, and what kinda of performance or fell do you get.

It just fixes the chatter. It is still "stock." It's stock on 2003 and up cars.

 

[Cheese]

Carlos, I second your experience, though I am in Fairfax, VA.

I need to know, specifically, HAVE ANY 2003 Protege5's gotten the clutch fixed?

ummm.... according to the TSB this problem only occurs in the 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002 Protege's (pr5's included)... this problem was fixed in the 2003 model...

 

[ghetto waggon]

Maybe it's just me, I admit I am anal!
But it's fairly evident to me, and has the same symptoms as many on this board.

The car is a 2003 model, but it was manufactured in sept of the previous year. I have doubts as to whether this probem was adressed on my car.

No chance I'm leaving my car with that group of tools to go "fix" drivetrain problems. I'll come home with many more to fix.

I will just wait until about 30,000 miles, and have it professionally swapped out for a performance clutch. Only 1500 miles on the car at this point....can't picture screwing it up, especially this early.

Boo Greg @ Fairfax Mazda Service dept!

Forgot to ask....the car wasn't purchased at this dealership, purchased at one about 50 miles away. Could I retry my luck there, or will they refuse me now that there is a record of customer compaint at another service dept?
I realized they are getting reimbursed from mazda, but it is a pain.

 

[Cheese]

call the other dealership and tell them what is happening, tell them you know of a TSB, give them the TSB number (listed in this thread), and tell them the parts that are supposed to be replaced, offer them the Part numbers for the parts... after that, they will most likely do it... dont forget to remind them that they most likely will need to "special order" the parts needed...

they will most likely think you know what your talking about and do the work...

 

[mountjonas]

here's the latest on my car. if you recall, they ordered the clutch, clutch cover and no flywheel. i called them today and they got the clutch off and the service tech now wants to replace the flywheel, so that's been ordered. i should have my car back by this weekend.

 

[blynzoo]

good!

 

[Cheese]

here's the latest on my car. if you recall, they ordered the clutch, clutch cover and no flywheel. i called them today and they got the clutch off and the service tech now wants to replace the flywheel, so that's been ordered. i should have my car back by this weekend.

they gave you a free loaner right?

 

[4DRMP5ATR]

ok so aside from the stock clutch has anyone replaced w/an aftermarket on ie...(ATC) something if so whats the verdict w/it good or bad and does it do well w/the combo of the shortshifter???

 

[mountjonas]

they gave you a free loaner right?

yes.

 

[Cheese]

 

[HurricaneP5]

I'm taking my car to Mazda Thursday, hopefully they'll read the TSB I printed and fix my car....cross your fingers for me...

 

[mountjonas]

when i got my car back, they attached the tsb to the rest of the paper work. but i made sure before i took it in that they checked the tsb for themselves.

 

[TexP5]

So how does the car feel? are you happy with the results after all your headaches?

 

[mountjonas]

the car feels good. no chattering at all. second gear occasionally is hard to shift to, but it seems to do it less and less each day (or so i think) it sometimes requires more force to shift than the rest. if it is still like that after a week or so, i'll bring it in, but so far, i'm very happy with the results.

 

[TexP5]

Cool !
Mine felt a lot better and actually seems to feel bettwr the more I drive it and break it in. I never had any probs with the 1-2 shift with the new clutch. What do you mean exactly? is it hard to get into second or sticking in first or what?

 

[TNP5]

Does anyone have problems shifting into reverse before the fix?

That is my biggest complaint....I have taken into the dealer about it before and of course they could not recreate it