I called my dealership (Kramer Mazda in Calgary, AB) today and booked my 25,000 checkup (oil change and whatever else they cahrge $175 for) and mentioned to them that I am STILL having cold weather intermittent clutch chatter and am dissapointed that nothing has been done. I have had them document this problem at every oil change and on 2 seperate visits but they have been unable to duplicate the problem.

The dealership has always admitted that there was a known issue but because there was no service bulletin *in Canada* they were unable to cover it under warranty without seeing the problem themselves.

Well - the bulletin was finally issued in Canada this month! Or, who knows... maybe it was already issued and they just saw it, but I have been unable to find anything outside of the US that mentioned this issue. They have me booked for an appointment to replace the clutch, flex plate? and a few other parts - all covered 100% by warranty. I'm very excited because this issue has been pissing me off to the point of wanting to get rid of the car!

I posted this here hoping that as many people as possible will see it and hopefully have their problems solved as well! Thanks Sir Nuke for pointing out a few resources

 

Good to know... I'll have to check with my dealer as well... I was complaining about chatter too in the winter time... not to mention blowing out tranny seal too (-40º weather will do that I guess). They told me they couldn't find anything wrong with the tranny. Being summer now I haven't had the problem, but I imagine it will reappear.

 

My dealer tried to tell me that there wasn't a TSB on the problem. I printed it out and took it in to them. So they drove it and admitted that my car was affected by the clutch chatter and replaced the clutch/flywheel about 3 months ago, it's like a whole new car.

 

sweet!

who were you talking to at kramer. b/c mine's going in for a service soon and i want to talk to them about this.... again.

 

it was the guy i always talk to at kramer - rick? oops, i'm not sure but i'm in on friday for some other work.

the issue wasn't that they wouldn't fix it but since they couldn't duplicate the problem they wouldn't do the work. he told me the 'magic words' for the tsb are along the lines of 'cold weather startup intermittent clutch chatter'

hope it helps!

 

Hey, I have a 02 Protege, and I am starting to have clutch problems. At higher rpms it will grind into 2nd 3rd and sometimes 4th depending on how fast i am shifting. Anyone help? I'm worried about the dealership sayin that its cuz i abuse my car by racing, ya know the same ol excuse..

 

Can you describe this problem in more detail, like any sounds or physical effects?

I had the ECU fixed to fix the cold-start problem on my 2002 P5 last winter, it isn't totally fixed but much better than it was.

However, I started to notice other "cold" problems from last winter, where I would hear a clunking "cable-like" sound coming from under the car when shifting from 1st to 2nd or sometimes 2nd to 3rd when the car reaches the point where it is close to stalling. It went away when the summer arrived, so I think it is mostly a winter problem.

Another "cold" issue I have noticed, and it even happened in warmer weather, is my car sometimes shakes pretty violently when first starting it and shifting up to 2nd-gear when going up a steep incline. I am not sure if this is driver error on my fault or another mechanical fault.

And to make my day today, I discovered that some dumb ***** rode their car against the front left fender of my parked car sometime within the past 48 hours, busted the turn signal light, bent the !(*)% fender out slightly where it joins with the side frame. Of course, the !()(%* didn't leave a note of appology or nothing. I had the exact same thing happen last year to the back side bumper, leaving several scratches on the back left wheel drum and took a good amount of paint on the back fender too.

Good thing I have this car leased, definitely won't be buying it after my term is up.

 

Can ne1 point me in the direction of the TSB for the clutch chatter... My dealership isn't exactly up with the times... if ya know what I'm saying

 

have them call the service centre at kramer mazda, i suppose!

(403)259-0500

 

K cool. thanks.

 

Big R

Let me know what happens on this one please.

 

I am having the same thing done. I talk to Kevin at Kramer, hes good.

 

Would you guys be able to clarify, or describe what you mean by cold weather clutch chatter?

I have an 02 pro LX, and I have noticed that even after letting my car warm up for 5-10 minutes in -15 C (and colder) that shifting from 1st to 2nd is... well its hard to explain.. its sort of hesitant to do so. Is this what you mean by clutch chatter? (this is only for the first few minutes of driving, then later on its all good)

Also... I am currently out of province, but when I get back to the C dot (Cow town), I'll probably want to get this fixed.. if I am in fact having the above stated problem... OH and where did you get the bulletin telling us about this problem? Did it come in the mail (cuz I will have missed it) or is it online somewhere? I hope I'll get the same kind of service you guys get at Kramer.. cuz my car is from Sunridge...

ALSO:
This may be a somewhat stupid question: Sometimes when I am stopped at a light, I'll have the clutch all the way in, and my right foot nowhere near the gas (cuz its on the break duh..) and my engine will rev slightly. Like it will go from idle up to 1500 or so.

I'd assume that this is somewhat normal accept that it is extremely intermittent. Meaning it will happen during the winter after 5-10 minute warm ups, and it will happen in summer 20-30 C weather... My car will go months without doing it, then do it again out of nowhere...
(this happens on my folks Altima.. so I'm assuming its fairly normal...?)


thanks for any and all help

 

The chatter might be described as a hesitation when engaging the clutch. I find that I get a combination of chatter/wheel hop badely inthe mornings when I pull out of my underground parking (going up a ramp on a cold clutch is interesting). As for serivce I've found Kramer very good, just have to know who to talk to.

As for the idle, maybe bad gas? THe only thing I can think of is if the ECU detects the car is about to stall so it opens the throttle a bit to compensate...

 

I've read a lot of postings on this topic even on other message boards. Just wondering if Mazda recognizes this as a problem enought to post a recall?
Otherwise how bad does you clutch need to be to have the dealer cover this repair under warranty? In my case mine is very intermittent, so what are the chances when I take it to the dealer that this will be evident?

Right now it's not a big enough concern or problem to worry about. However I do want to get this corrected before my warranty runs out.