Clutch assembly faulty design. While driving and shifting gears (manual transmission) the clutch pedal assembly snaps, resulting in the loss of ability to shift gears. The thin metal tears away from around one of the bolts that holds the assembly to the firewall. This is happening on other rx-8's of people I associate with to the point that welding up the old bracket is becoming common. Mazda has not come up with a stronger assembly since they introduced the rx-8 in 2004. The alternatives to correct the issue (out of warranty) is to: (a) purchase a new one from mazda. (b ) have your old assembly welded or purchase a remanufactured welded one. (c) purchase a bracket that adds support to the assembly I did both b & c, welded and added support.
2004 Mazda RX-8 transmission complaints
Page 5 of 6: complaints 101 to 130 of 154, newest first, as owners wrote them.
2004 mazda rx8 clutch lever bracket broken. Shifted car from 3rd to 4th heard a loud snap and the pedal did not feel right. I was very close to home so I made it but was hard to shift. Found the lever bracket to be broken and cracked on the right side.
Clutch pedal on my 2004 rx8 broke and caused me to almost get in accident when the car would not release out of 4 gear. The clutch shifted towards my break pedal and it almost made me wreck.
I own a mazda rx-8 2004 model and I was driving down the interstate on approx 10/31/09. I didn't realize it until I needed to change gears but I realized that my clutch was getting stuck behind my brake pedal and that I could not shift gears properly. I slowed down and after tugging and tugging I was able to switch gears. I stopped the car to call my friends thinking it was a bad clutch but no one could give me a straight answer. I called a tow truck and spent 200 dollars getting it towed and another 180 to get it fixed. The problem had been my clutch pedal bracket. Its made out of material so flimsy that it had snapped from the welds. I think this is a safety hazard and after doing my research I have found that many other people have had this problem. I for one don't want to ever be stuck o the middle of an interstate again.
1. Clutch pedal felt about a 1/2" low (as if hydraulic fluid had an air pocket and needed bleeding) about two blocks before failure. 2. I was stopped at a light behind 3 cars in the right hand lane, shifted into first when the light turned green; accelerated very slowly and tried shifting to second gear but the pedal made a snapping sound and went to the floor, the engine stalled and the transmission was stuck in first until I let the car roll back a little and got it in neutral. I was stuck in a major intersection and there was gridlock, lots of honking and yelling and a few cars came very close to having accidents. I pushed my car to the edge of the intersection and waited for the tow truck. The tow truck had to have smaller pickup brought in to winch my car out of the intersection because he said it was unsafe to set up the tow right in the middle of the intersection. 3. My car was towed to my mechanic and after inspection he said it would happen again to a new pedal from mazda. He was surprised it lasted for 60k miles. After some research I ordered a reinforced clutch pedal bracket assembly from here: http://www.fluidmotorsports.com/p-188-transmission-and-accessories.aspx turns out here are three aftermarket companies manufacturing reinforcements, mazsport, bhr and race roots; each has their own design and they are selling hundreds of them because all the pedals fail in 40 - 80k miles.
The clutch pedal bracket on my mazda rx-8 snapped while I was driving and since then have had a lot of difficulty switching gears while driving. I learned how to drive the vehicle like this even though the pedal at times became stuck beneath the break pedal. I hired an mobile mechanic to reweld the pedal bracket although just yesterday it snapped again. My vehicle is a mazda 2004 rx-8 and there is not a single dealership I have found that will acknowledge the problem.
The bracket for the clutch pedal on my 2004 mazda rx-8 broke while I was driving the vehicle. Over the past few weeks, the clutch would squeak a little bit while I was driving it. I noticed that the bracket was loose once, so I tightened the bolt on it, but that didn't change the squeaking. Little did I know that the whole bracket was about to fail! I took a close look at the broken bracket, and it appears that a weld broke. It occurred one morning on my way to work. As I downshifted from third to second gear, I heard a 'crack' and then my clutch wouldn't work properly. I looked down, and the clutch pedal was next to (and touching) the brake pedal (it should not be that close). I was able to pull off to the side of the road without the ability to shift. Now, I cannot drive the vehicle, as the clutch will not engage with the broken bracket. I believe this is a safety issue, especially in cases like mine when it happened while driving the vehicle.
Clutch bracket failure; (1) of the 3 welding points failed, causing the bracket to separate at the weld, bending, and separating the plate into 2 pieces, making shifting in and out of gears difficult during operation. The service rep. At gainesville mazda laughed at me when I asked if they would give me a discount on a new bracket. Gainesville mazda is at 2600 n main street gainesville, fl 32609 (352) 505-9459.
1. No events, just driving 2.clutch pedal snapped off not allowing me to change gears at highway speeds 3. Since mazda didn't want to cover it, I had it rewelded myself.
It was approximately 11:15 in the night, I was on my way back from a late night food run at mcdonald's. The distance from my residence to mcdonald's is approximately 2.2 miles. As I approached a stop sign, one (1) block away from my residence, I depressed my clutch pedal in order to come to a complete stop, and that is when I heard a loud clattery clang. Immediately after, the clutch pedal felt extremely soft and I found it very hard to change gears. Being that I was so close to home I didn't have time to further examine and evaluate what exactly had happened. Hence, I ignored it parked my car and went inside. The next morning on my regular routine I started my car to go to school, again the clutch felt extremely soft and mushy. Tried to put the gears in reverse but failed. This is when I finally realized that something was definitely wrong. My first inclination was that the clutch disc that had worn, but after further investigation I found that the clutch pedal bracket had broken.
I was stopped at a stop sign, start engaging the clutch to go into first gear and I hear a crack. I am in first gear and as I am about to shift into second gear I am unable to do so. I notice that the clutch pedal has no pressure and it is near the brake pedal. From here on I was not able to shift into any gear. So after further inspection I see that the brake pedal is broken and can easily move from left to right. I am just glad that I was on the street because I was on my way to catch the freeway. This is very dangerous and has to be fixed, something bad could have happened and to think I have been driving the car on the highway for long trips is very scary.
I was driving and notice my transmission would not shift into reverse. I had to shut off the car to get it in reverse. I then took it to a dealer and they said my slave cylinder was out. So they replaced it. Later I received a phone call telling my clutch pedal assembly bracket was also broke. Which may have been the result in my slave cylinder to fail. The bracket was broke on the left bottom bolt pattern that connects to the firing wall. I am glad this did not happen or completely brake off while I was driving for this could have been a possible fatal accident. I am putting in for this because apparently I am not the only one having this bracket brake. It seems to be on the same side as everyone else is describing. As the pedal brakes it leans or brakes to the right which heads towards the brake pedal itself.
2004 mazda rx-8 clutch pedal bracket broke off during normal driving. No corrective actions have been taken yet mazda refused to cover it under there new extended warranty.
My clutch pedal began squeaking about 4,000 miles ago. Just yesterday, I was driving on the highway when I downshifted into 4th gear and the clutch pedal snapped. I was not able to shift gears so I had to stay in 5th until I could safely pull of at an exit.
I was driving 1200 miles from home doing about 45 MPH on the local roads, and my clutch pedal started feeling funny, maybe a little loose. Then I heard a loud pop as I was trying to change gears and checked it out. The clutch pedal assembly bracket had failed and I called up the dealership as it was under warranty. They offered to replace it at my cost ($600) at which this is a manufacturer's defect so I shouldn't be liable for such damages, even after 59,000 miles. And especially after seeing that so many other people have this same problem, it poses a huge safety risk. I was able to drive it back home, shifting perfectly to match revs but was always difficult to start. Sometimes the pedal would be pushed so far back that it would run behind the brake pedal. It worried me so much that I might have had to have it towed so far to get someone to fix it. But this is a real problem!
1) nothing just driving it 2) faulty clutch pedal assembly snapped rendering the clutch useless. 3) not yet corrected.
The clutch pedal bracket of the mazda rx-8 is prone to snapping and breaking during normal use. Mazda considers this item to be a "wear item" despite the safety implications that a breakage could pose. A broken clutch pedal could possibly lead to a crash with fatalities if the driver can no longer pull the car out of gear or shift gears. The events leading up to my case were normal. I was driving as I do regularly in the city and the pedal snapped without warning. In my case I was still able to shift gears and was close enough that I could drive home. Nothing has yet been done to correct the failure. I am going to have to replace the entire clutch pedal assembly which mazda was asking $415.00 for to replace.
Driving 2004 mazda rx/8 under normal conditions and the clutch pedal bracket broke. The bracket broke at a weld point and through a bolt connection causing the pedal to shift to the right. It did not cause an accident, but could have if I were in a different location when driving.
Clutch pedal in 2004 rx8 failing/breaking at a light on a busy highway.
Clutch pedal bracket breaking loose causing clutch engagement to be stuck in current position. This is a risk I am monitoring daily on my car for when the event fails until either a: I have money to weld the weak spotweld to prevent failure. B. Mazda administers a recall to replace faulty piece with a stable part. My concern though being part of the rx8forum makes it look like it's an exponential issue. In opposite retrospect, this could be a more broader issue of the total amount of rx-8 solds that just hasn't had a fatality yet. The failing part can be forced to failure I believe by administering repeated use replicating daily wear. I don't look forward to my day this happens, hence I'm filing this form requesting investigation for potential recall.
Complaint is to mazda USA for their weak clutch pedal welds. I've been driving my rx8 (2004) since september 2007 and the first time it snapped was in 2008 late summer. I got it rewelded at a local shop and after about 9 months the bracket broke in half, broke right through the welds and cracked the metal. So I bought a new bracket and an aftermarket reinforcement bracket for about 450$ which should all be covered by mazda.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 mazda rx8. While driving at an unknown speed, the clutch pedal detached from the mounts. The vehicle was unable to move in or out of gear and was towed to a dealer. The contact feels that this is a safety issue because a crash could have occurred. The VIN was unknown. The current and failure mileages were 85,000.
Clutch pedal stopped working in the middle of the road of my 2004 mazda rx-8. Everytime I switched gears it squeaked until it snapped and car stalled. Consequence is that I couldn't drive my car anymore and had to tow it to the dealership. Dealership had to replace the clutch pedal assembly according to paperwork.
I was driving along the highway as I shifted gears the bracket keeping my clutch pedal together broke...had to drive really slow because depressing the clutch pedal causes it to almost go into the brake pedal...pedal keeps shifting to the right...there seems to me a design flaw as more people have been reporting this and on the rx8club.com website...this issue needs to addressed before somebody gets killed because it almost caused me to get into an accident on the highway...and it seems like mazda is not taking any responsible for this, having people pay almost 400 or more to replace an obvious design flaw...pictures of the broken bracket have been taken by my many people with this same issue...please contact mazda and have them issue a recall of some sort...hopefully this issue is resolved before somebody gets hurt...because I know I almost did , but was lucky enough to gain control..
Clutch pedal bracket broke while shifting gears on freeway. Could barely get car into and out of gear to remove car from traffic and safely in parking lot.
Only a partial failure occurred, but had I not taken preventive measures, a full failure would certainly have occurred. Noticed bizarre squeaking from clutch pedal under normal use. Removed pedal assembly and noticed metal had torn halfway through on bracket. Had use continued, metal would have torn completely through, rendering the clutch pedal useless without repair. Had a full failure occurred while driving, it could have caused a car accident, endangering life and property. To correct the problem, I had the clutch bracket seam-welded in the existing problem area and in all potential problem areas.
While driving my 2004 mazda rx8 the clutch pedal snapped and went to the floor and wouldn't come back up. I was not able to change gears and had to coast to the side of the road. There was no accident but if I had been on the freeway and traveling at a higher rate of speed it could have been very dangerous. After inspecting the clutch pedal I determined that a weld joint on the bracket that holds the clutch pedal complete broke off. Clearly this is the result of poor design, poor welds and poor metal thickness. Mazda claims this part is not under warranty so I proceeded to remove the bracket and repair the welds myself. From what I've read on the forums this is a very common issue and I would think it is only a matter of time before a serious accident occurs. Mazda wants over $500 to make the repair which is not acceptable.
I was driving my 2004 mazda rx-8 on the highway at approximately 60mph and went to shift from 5th gear into 4th gear when I felt a "pop" at which point my clutch fell to the floor and I no longer had any ability to accelerate. Fortunately traffic was light and I was able to coast off onto the next exit ramp and pulled to the side of the road. I called mazda roadside assistance who towed the car to mazda bedford. I was told that the clutch was "blown" and needed to be completely replaced. The mazda forum is full of similar episodes and I was encouraged to file a complaint.
The clutch pedal bracket broke while driving, rendering me unable to shift I was able to safely stop the car, but on the highway or in heavy traffic this could have been extremely dangerous.
During normal driving on the freeway, the clutch bracket of my mazda rx-8 snapped during shifting and the clutch became inoperable. This made changing gears impossible and caused a serious hazard. Apparently, the cause of the problem was the usage of weak materials and poor quality spot welds. Upon some investigation, it turns out this is a very common problem as the following discussion thread shows: http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=132912 to fix the problem, the clutch bracket was replaced. It is apparently also possible to weld the broken parts or to install a reinforcement bracket to prevent the failure. I did not keep the broken (replaced) bracket, so the old part is not available.
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