Dropped my car off at dealer tonight/ Cold clutch chatter

[slamdp5]

Hey guys. I dropped my 02 P5 off at the dealer tonight Has to sit there over night so they can check for the clutch chatter in the morning. Ever since it has been getting below 50F the freakin front end feels like it is going to come apart in the mornings when I first start off. It does it in every gear for about 5 miles or so, and I guess the tranny has warmed up. The dealer said there was NO tsb, but there are repairs listed to do. ANyone else have this prob. I was going to just leave it and take it easier in the mornings, but after Searching I have found out more. This morning the actual tranny felt like it was shaking and the horrible sound came from the whole undercarriage....fuked up. Will call them tomorrow and see what they find. Later on

 

[ghetto waggon]

I did the same thing

They denied a need for help

and as for the Brake rust TSB, I asked them to sand and paint. They just slammed on the brakes to clear the rust and said there was no problem.

 

[Jethro_TDot]

i didnt bother since almost everyone here is having the same problem, i think its just normal. I just start my car for 10mins and its fine.

 

[slamdp5]

I do not have a prob with brake dust at all, but the clutch is bad. Just not satisfied with the bucking the car does in the morning. By the time I had let my car running for 10mins, I could be where I was going already.

 

[KYMP5]

the clutch shudders when they are cold because they are not made for a car that weighs as much as ours do. mazda used the clutches out of the 323 on ours and thats where the shudder comes from. there was supposed to be a bulletin on having the dealers install bigger clutches.

 

[toucci]

the clutch shudders when they are cold because they are not made for a car that weighs as much as ours do. mazda used the clutches out of the 323 on ours and thats where the shudder comes from. there was supposed to be a bulletin on having the dealers install bigger clutches.

actually I recall they said the flywheel was manufactured improperly and it wore roughly when it wears...

or is that the miata?

 

[KYMP5]

i thought the flywheel issue was the miata, my dealer told me the clutch thing but i could be wrong

 

[slamdp5]

Ok, called the dealer and asked about my car. THey said to come and get it, and when the parts come in they will call me back. New flywheel, pressure plate and throw-out bearing. The TSB is only for the Miata I was told, but there are repairs for the P5 also. The temps last night only got down to about 55F so I figured it wouldnt do it, but they said it bucked like a bronco I have a cool dealer

 

[scott42]

I had my clutch, pressure plate, and flywheel (maybe throw out bearing too) replaced @ 25k miles for this same reason. I think there was a TSB on it...thre is a link somwhere around here that shows it, and the part numbers as well.

 

[mcstark]

Slam - Glad to hear your dealer is standing behind you. Let us know how things improve.

 

[slamdp5]

I sure will. I will make sure and list everything they do after the work is done. Maybe two days till they get parts, then a day or two having my car. All worth it in the long run, this prob was progressively getting worse.

 

[Coqui258]

*NOT A THREAD JACK*

I was wondering, anyone with a 2003 have this problem? Supposedly they replaced the 2003's clutches, but I was curious to see if any 03's were experiencing this problem.

And to clear it up, what exactly is the chatter? Like you mean when you put it in first and let go of the clutch it bucks? Please clarify..

 

[mcstark]

I have 900 miles on my `03 -- manufactured in July 2002 -- and no problems at all. The tranny is reluctant to shift when cold, but nothing that some synthetic won't take care of.

But, back on topic, no problems with the clutch whatsoever.

 

[blynzoo]

This is on 01-02's/02.5's only. I know by '03 it is fixed. The compound in the clutch plate is bad, and was replaced for the '03 model year. There is a TSB on it. I'll search and try and find it. But have your service dept. search for a TSB with the word "clutch plate" in it and it will pop up.

 

[MP5Alive]

I wonder why are there some people here whose dealers simply deny that there is a problem. Some people even have to leave their cars at the dealers overnight just to have their dealer say, "Sorry, we couldn't reproduce the problem."

If anyone needs the text of the TSB, it can be found in TheMAN's site. Just search under 3rd gen for TSB#MT000003848.

http://web2.airmail.net/theman/protegefaq/tsb/

All I did was print out the TSB, bring it to my dealer and said "I'm experiencing this problem, could you fix it please? Here are the instructions."

 

[HooliganR6]

Wow!!

I am so glad I read this post. I never thought to search on this issue cause I thought it was my heavy foot in the morning. I have the same issue with my 2002 P5. As soon as I leave for work every morning when it is cool out I have to stop at this stop sign down the road. When I leave from the stop I always get this clutch chatter. I always thought it was just me being stupid with the clutch. But you guys are saying it is a actual flaw with the car?

To help with this, what I usually do now is give it a lot more gas and ride the clutch so it does not buck as bad. This is only first thing in the morning as soon as I leave for work.

 

[Eugeosyncline]

Show TSB

I noted intermittent chatter problems with my '01 ES clutch, also-- This was after only around 15k miles on the car.

After taking it to the dealership for analysis, they too "Couldn't reproduce the issue", as is unfortunately pretty common, even after having it sit there overnight so they could test it in the cold morning.

That said, I had given them a copy of the official TSB when I first brought the car in, and the morning they called me back saying they couldn't reproduce the problem, they said they'd replace the components anyway because I had brought in official documentation indicating that Mazda knows about the issue, making it sound like they were being nice in doing me a favor.

Although it indeed does appear nice, I honestly didn't think it had anything to do with that: It's quite likely Mazda has a complete database of all cars potentially affected by this chatter issue, and they know ALL of them are subject to the problem. Based thereon, dealers are probably blanket authorized to replace parts if a customer complains (hoping that as few people as possible WILL complain). It has to do with liability, I expect, not being all Lovey Dovey and sweet to Protege owners.

In my opinion, Mazda should have incorporated clutch components of high quality from the start. Whether or not the issue really is because they installed clutch parts not originally intended for a car of our weight, the bottom line is they should have done the thing right in the beginning, not after the fact. Quality and reliability are very important to me and I'm troubled when expectations of this aren't met.

At any rate, my clutch has been operating fine since they replaced the defective (or improper) parts, and hopefully this is an issue that can be put behind us.

Anyone taking their cars in for this problem might be well served by taking that official TSB with them, and give them a copy so they can't claim they didn't know about it. Although these vehicles weren't terribly expensive by comparison to other cars, it's still a lot of money and I believe we're entitled to a product that works properly.

 

[HurricaneP5]

I had the same problem with my dealer...left it with him for two days and guess what?? They couldn't reproduce the problem! I did take that TSB to them and they said it wasn't real. They couldn't find it in their database. I need to find a dealer in the Atlanta area that isn't a freakin crook!

 

[slamdp5]

got my car back today, and wow what a difference. was not this nice when the car was new. no more lugging or bucking. stayed in second pulling up to a red light, let the engine almost die and then gassed it and everything was smooth. use to jerk real bad when i did that. had new flywheel, pressure plate and throw out bearing replaced. also, i think my dealer is the coolest in the country, they warrantied a dime size rock chip on the front of my hood, and i get it fixed and repainted next week. the p5 is fun to drive all over again

 

[jjac28]

I got the '03 p5 and i have the same problems , it's difficult to engage 1st gear in the morning when it's cold and i also get the buckling...i'll take it to the dealer soon