Ask the Car People.SM


Mazda 3 Transmission Problems

475 messages,  Last post on May 23, 2013 at 6:25 PM

You are in the Mazda3 Forum.

What is this discussion about? Mazda MAZDA3, Mazda MAZDASPEED MAZDA3, Transmission, Hatchback

    
Go to NHTSA to file a safety complaint.
Or call Monday-Friday (8 am to 8 pm ET) (888) 327-4236 TTY: (800)424-9153

Messages Page 37 of 48

#355 of 475 Re: Mazda 3 2010 Help with Recall of Clutch! [hphopsoldr] by moogoogaipan

Jan 08, 2012 (11:12 am)

Replying to: hphopsoldr (Dec 19, 2011 3:31 pm)
I do not know if it is normal or not, but I noticed 2nd gear (manual trans) is extremely touchy in my car (2012 mazda3 2.0l). I have to shift extremely slowly to get my shifter to slip smoothly into second gear. I have driven nothing but manuals for 16 years and this is the first time I have experienced this issue before.
 
I had a Mazda dealership mechanic row through the gears and he said it is normal and that I will have to "get used to it."
 
Is an extremely touchy / balky 2nd gear normal for these cars?
 
I only have 700 miles on my car and I hope this is not a precursor of problems.

#356 of 475 Re: Mazda 3 2010 Help with Recall of Clutch! [moogoogaipan] by backy

Jan 08, 2012 (12:27 pm)

Replying to: moogoogaipan (Jan 08, 2012 11:12 am)
Was this the new Skyactiv 6MT? If so, the shifter was smooth for me in all gears during a recent test drive. No touchiness that I noticed.

#357 of 475 Re: Mazda 3 2010 Help with Recall of Clutch! [backy] by moogoogaipan

Jan 08, 2012 (1:40 pm)

Replying to: backy (Jan 08, 2012 12:27 pm)
No, 5 speed manual transmission.

#358 of 475 Re: Mazda 3 2010 Help with Recall of Clutch! [moogoogaipan] by caleb9

Jan 09, 2012 (9:18 am)

Replying to: moogoogaipan (Jan 08, 2012 11:12 am)
I have the same problem with my 2009 Mazda 3 manual transmission. I bought it with 52,000 miles on it, and it didn't start until it had around 70,000. It doesn't do it all the time, but it is a little troubling. I took it to a transmission shop, and they took it for a test drive and couldn't find anything. Apparently because it didn't do it for them. The only thing Mazda told me is that they would replace the entire transmission, and since it's out of warranty, I'm not going down that road. I would keep taking it back to Mazda if I were you. Ride in the car with them while they shift to prove it to them! One answer I got online was to double clutch, i.e. shift into neutral and then a second time into second gear. This seems more trouble than it's worth at this point, however, because it doesn't do it all the time.

#359 of 475 Re: Mazda 3 2010 Help with Recall of Clutch! [caleb9] by shipo

Jan 09, 2012 (9:23 am)

Replying to: caleb9 (Jan 09, 2012 9:18 am)
Hmmm, I have no such a problem with my 2009 Mazda3 with the 5-Speed manual.

#360 of 475 Mazda3 hatchback 2007 Clutch by dgeh

Jan 11, 2012 (8:13 pm)

Hi, I read most of 359 forums on Mazda3 transmission & clutch problems. My husband & I bought this car, Mazda3 hatchback 2.3L 2007 manual shift. Only 44K...already wear/tear clutch. No warranty cover & we were told by Mazda dealership that clutch kit $1,500, $230 for mobile motor, nitrogen, and flywheel...plus our brake pads/rotators in front need to be replaced $510. Total $2,500... I went to Autozone to check honest prices on clutch kit...only $229.?? plus taxes, front pads $22, a pair of rotators $120. Should be under $1,000 plus labor work. I read all of your forums and it made sense why I hate this car since my husband bought it. He refused to trade it in. We still have Honda CRV 2003, it only needs small maintenance & still going strong. I think we should file complaints because I am 360th to complain about Mazda's transmission/clutch.

#361 of 475 Mazda 3 2006 MT history by mazdaboy2

Jan 11, 2012 (8:55 pm)

Replying to: moogoogaipan (Jan 08, 2012 11:12 am)
This is far from a horror story, but nor is it 100% good news. I bought my Mazda 3i 2006 5-speed new and was immediately thrilled - best car I've ever owned, easily. After maybe 18 months I noticed an occasional very alarming brief grind when shifting into 2nd gear. It got more frequent and I took it to the dealer. They were about to tell me they couldn't duplicate it, when it finally did the same thing to the tech driver, twice. So they agreed to rebuild the MT under warranty. (In retrospect, this may have been a case of the local dealer milking Mazda USA for warranty labor hours, because I'm told it would have been cheaper and quicker just to replace it.) Anyway, after that it was improved, but still not quite like new. I'm a decent authority because my previous 300K miles were all 5-speeds, 3 different cars, and none of them acted that way at any time.
 
Well, today I'm at 80K miles, and I've just learned to shift slightly differently - rather than jamming it directly from 1 to 2, I pause for a fraction of a second in neutral, kind of "feeling" for the slot. The other gear shifts have no issues. Bottom line, this is still by far the best car I've every owned. I've basically spent zero $ in 6 years other than oil changes and the like (knocking on wood). But there may be a slight design flaw with the MT.

#362 of 475 Re: Mazda 3 2006 MT history [mazdaboy2] by shipo

Jan 12, 2012 (4:06 am)

Replying to: mazdaboy2 (Jan 11, 2012 8:55 pm)
I've communicated with a few folks who've reported the same second gear issue as you, and I've recommended a switch of the gear oil to Red Line. So far at least, each car that's had it's gear oil changed has immediately stopped the second gear grinding.
 
For my part I've been using Red Line in my last five cars since they were new; not to improve any second gear issues, but to improved shifting feel, especially during the winter.

#363 of 475 Re: Mazda3 hatchback 2007 Clutch [dgeh] by shipo

Jan 12, 2012 (4:25 am)

Replying to: dgeh (Jan 11, 2012 8:13 pm)
A few comments:
 
1) I rather doubt we're going to hear from you again as I suspect you're hear to fuss and then never to return.
 
2) I rather doubt you've "read most of the 359" posts prior to yours; if you had you would have discovered that the vast majority of the folks reporting issues in this thread were talking about their automatic transmissions.
 
3) While I'm on the subject of you not having read all of the posts in this thread; there is a healthy mixture of folks complaining about Automatic related issues, folks complaining about Manual related issues (many of which were about non-clutch related issues; see the post after yours), AND other folks offering advice and condolences. Said another way, I'd be surprised if there were even three or four dozen independent complaints about the clutch.
 
4) Brakes at 44,000 miles? Sounds pretty normal to me regardless of the make or model of the car. Do enough city driving and the brakes will be gone at 30,000 or less; do enough long distance highway driving and the factory brakes can easily last to 100,000 miles. Said another way, you have nothing to complain about here.
 
5) Did you buy your 2007 Mazda3 s new or used? If used, then you have no way of knowing how much abuse the previous owner heaped on the clutch.
 
6) I taught my (then) fifteen year old son to drive a stick in my 2009 Mazda3, and he was none-too-gentle on the clutch while learning. My car is quickly approaching 55,000 miles and has no problems with the clutch at this point (although given the beating he gave my car I wouldn't blame it if it failed soon). My fifteen year old daughter is going to be learning to drive a stick in my car this summer, and what my son didn't complete (relative to destroying the clutch), my daughter probably will.

#364 of 475 Re: Mazda 3 2010 Help with Recall of Clutch! [jlarose] by coakub

Jan 16, 2012 (8:03 am)

Replying to: jlarose (Dec 27, 2010 5:20 pm)
i had this same exact problem in July 2011 they refused to admit there was a problem when the clutch died at 19k and only 6 months old. ended up getting it towed out of mazda to a garage and had it repaired with an aftermarket performance clutch for totaling 900 dollars(labor and parts, new clutch was only 130 dollars for whole kit...Kentucky Clutch ftw). Im currently still experiencing issues with the car from the dealership screwing something up electrically and causing shorts throughout the car. The latest issue is that my battery plum up and died out of nowhere and wont restart. They also cant fix the electrical short and Im about to Lemon Law this piece of crap vehicle and go buy a Toyota

Messages Page 37 of 48

To POST a message, please Sign In.

Advertisement

Browse by Category

Browse by Vehicle
   View All Vehicles

Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
View All Topics

Edmunds Community

Advertisement