9.5
really awfulTypical Repair Cost:
$1,190.00
Average Mileage:
28,063 miles
Total Complaints:
15 complaints
Most common solutions:
- replace clutch (11 reports)
- not sure (4 reports)
clutch problem
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2010Nov 22
MAZDA3 Touring 2.0L
- Manual transmission
- 14,800 miles
I had a 2010 Mazda3 sedan. At 14,800 miles, the clutch suffered a catastrophic and sudden failure. I took it in to the dealership, feeling good cause I had been paying a lot of money for an extended warranty, and of course, I knew that I hadn't destroyed a brand new clutch in 15,000 miles. To my horror, they called me the next day saying "the clutch disk is ruined due to driver error" and it would cost $1200 to fix. They also claimed that the disk is a "normal wear" item that is not covered under the warranty. Basically, I raised holy hell with the dealership, who knew it was bull***, so they raised hell with corporate, who refused to admit that the clutch was defective. Eventually, they paid for the new part, and the dealership, feeling bad paid for $200 of the labor. In the end, I was ripped for $640 to replace a brand new clutch with under 15,000 miles of use, which should have been covered under the extended warranty I was paying for. Plus, I drive 5 days/week in the nastiest Los Angeles rush hour traffic. So, knowing that they simply replaced the old clutch with the same, stock piece of junk, that would surely fail like the last one, I traded for an automatic Mazda3 hatch. Let's just hope that it doesn't have any defects, cause Mazda is SHADY. By the way, the car I had before I got the Mazda3 was a 1992 Acura integra, 120,000 miles. Sold it with the ORIGINAL clutch still in it and working perfectly.
2011Oct 26
MAZDA3 Sport 2.5L
- Manual transmission
- 18,500 miles
I've had this car for about 2 years and it's got less than 19,000 miles on it. The clutch has already blown as it takes a lot of rev's to get the car moving slowly and yesterday, I could smell the burn. Mazda dealership says they don't think it's covered under warranty because it's normal wear and tear and I asked if he thought it was normal that a car with less than 20,000 miles should need a new clutch. His response was no it's not normal but they would be charging me $800 to take it apart and look at it. This doesn't even include the parts and replacement if they "deem" it necessary. This is ridiculous, Mazda needs to come out and admit that the clutch on 2010's is weak and fix it or replace it.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
2011Oct 29
MAZDA3 Sport
- Manual transmission
- 51,000 miles
COMPLETELY Shocked!! I had the same car, but the 2005 Model before this car and NO PROBLEMS!!!!!!!!! I had 85,000 miles on that car and NO PROBLEMS!! I have had this 2010 model for LESS THAN 2 years and the clutch is TOTALLY DAMAGED!!!!!!!! Not sure if this is some sort of scam but I for sure DO NOT HAVE $1.,680 dollars lying around to fix this car!
2011Oct 20
MAZDA3 Touring 2.3L
- Manual transmission
- 31,200 miles
Hard to believe I have only owned this car for 3 months and have to buy a new clutch. I have had other cars with over 100K with out having to replace clutches. TOTALLY A BAD PART NOT A TYPICAL WEAR PATTERN, MAZDA NEEDS TO STEP UP.
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2010Aug 10
MAZDA3
- Manual transmission
- 9,000 miles
I am wondering if there was a problem with this clutch and if many of us help launch a complaint. I need to know how many other people have had this experience. I have been driving manual cars for 45 years and never had an issue. With the Mazda it disintegrated
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
2011Jun 27
MAZDA3 S 2.5L
- Manual transmission
- 40,000 miles
Really want to like this car as it is a fun drive, but the clutch has got to go and really should be taken care of by the manufacturer as there is an ever increasing amount of complaints showing up on the web for such a new car.
I have experienced pretty much the same symptoms as everyone else, but seemed to sneak out a few more miles. Car slipping out of gear when accelerating and clutch not engaging until almost completely let out. Dealer seemed stunned as he said, " never heard of this happening." I told him he just needs to look it up...I was more stunned at the $1340 repair cost on a year old car.
The problem now is that I don't have an extra $1300 sitting around, and I definately do not want the same piece of junk put in as a replacement. Solution...get an aftermarket clutch kit, and have my regular mechanic put it in for half the cost. Only problem is that there are no aftermarket clutch kits that I can find for this car. So here I sit with a vehicle that I can only get repaired if I want to pay way too much for a part I knoe will just fail again.
Mazda needs to get off their tails and remedy this before word really gets out.
2011Jul 12
MAZDA3 S Grand Touring 2.5L
- Manual transmission
- 19,500 miles
I was driving my car home one night and I noticed on the highway the RPMS were jumping while I was in 6th gear. This continued when I pulled off the highway and was taking backroads. By the time I got 10 minutes down the road, the car was undriveable and would NOT move at all, I could not shift into any of the gears, and the clutch was a bit looser than normal.
I had it towed to the closest dealership, and am currently fighting them about having them fix it under warranty. The way I drive should allow the clutch to last to at least 100k miles. I had no warning of this happening, even drove to Florida and back with no issues a couple days prior, and then all of a sudden this happened in the middle of the night in backroads of PA in bear country. Being a young female this put me in an extremely compromising position since I was alone.
I am very much regretting this purchase.
2011Jun 05
MAZDA3
- Manual transmission
- 11,900 miles
Premature clutch failure and the warranty wont cover it said that it was abused, the abuse here is the neglect from Mazda to admit the parts are cheap. When you have just paid out good money for the car this is ridiculous.
Update from Sep 4, 2011: Mazda did go ahead and pay for it, I guess they may have a Conscience after all.Still think that it is an inferior product.
2011Jul 06
MAZDA3 S 4Door Sport 2.5L
- Manual transmission
- 93,423 miles
Bought this vehicle new in May 2009. Car is driven 200 interstate miles daily for work. Very little in town driving. Clutch rarely used. Cannot believe we had to replace it! This is our 4th Mazda and the newer they are, the worse they are made. Our '88 626 had 268K miles when we gave it away to a college kid to drive till she died - he is still driving it. Our '89 323 had 236K miles when we gave it away. We currently own an '04 3 (replaced clutch, transmission and 3rd gear at around 100K) and now the '10 needed a new clutch - won't be buying a 5th one.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
2011Mar 25
MAZDA3 S Hatchback 2.5L
- Manual transmission
- 17,000 miles
I have a 2010 3 2.5 5 door sport with the 6 speed manual. I have put 17,000 mostly highway miles on it (drive back and froth from Alabama to Texas a lot). This car spends most of its life in 6th gear with the cruise on.
Here is some background, I've driven mostly Hondas and Acuras and with only a couple of exceptions I have driven stick shift cars for 20 years. My last car was a Civic with 120,000 miles on the original clutch that still felt brand new. I have been in the Auto industry for 15 years and know my way around a car.
On Friday my wife was driving my car (she learned how to drive on a manual and has no problems driving it) on a back country 2 lane road with our son in the back and out of cell phone coverage. She was driving along at 60 mph, in 6th gear when the RPS started to bounce off the rev limiter. She checked to make sure she was still in gear. She took it out of 6th and put it into neutral then tried to go back into gear. No dice, it wouldn't shift. So she pulled over and shut it down. She tired to start again, tried to get it into first, nope, tried to get it into second, and nothing.
Amazingly she got some signal on the phone after a panicked 20 minutes and got roadside assistance out to tow her in.
Now Mazda is saying that the clutch is burned up and that it is not a defect so it is our fault and it won't be covered under warranty. Now, I have never heard of spontaneous and catastrophic clutch failure, with NO prior slippage or difficulty shifting being due to driver error.
2011Jan 03
MAZDA3
- Manual transmission
- 36,000 miles
It has hard to believe that a clutch that is not defective would be 'in pieces" after one year of driving, primarily freeway travel.
2010Dec 25
MAZDA3
- Manual transmission
- 33,000 miles
Same problem here and dealing with it right now. 2010 Mazda 3 2.5 with 33K miles on it. Driving on the highway, tried speeding up and noticed my engined just revved up and then back down and locked into gear again. I thought, that's really weird. About 15 miles later, tried shifting into gear, and boom! nothing, I could easily push my clutch in and put the shifter into position but it would not go into gear....any of them. Dealership said it would cost $800+ to "diagnose" the problem & I would pay for parts if it's a clutch issue. I was upset, cause I thought this car would last forever with very little problems except normal maintenance. So I called Mazda Corp. they said they don't pay for a diagnoses but will pay if it's a problem covered by warranty. Here's my problems, Why isn't anyone questioning the fact that someone at Mazda Corp. picked a supplier that is making a cheap part that is failing and should be recalled and replaced with a better quality part? If Mazda Corp does not cover this problem I will be contacting the News and my good friend is a news anchor for Channel 2 in Houston! I mean really, I'm having clutch or transmission issues in the first year with only 33K miles on it. I would have rather bought a used BMW or Lexus. I'm terribly disappointed right now!!!!
2010Oct 03
MAZDA3 GS 2.0L
- Manual transmission
- 14,913 miles
Well the Car is 1 year old...since maybe a week or less ago..and has 24k on it. the clutch has to replace...now im 26years old I dont race,powershift...just go to work and friend ..ive had a sunbird for 5 years also manual and the car about 15- years old with original clutch...and I got mazda dealer telling me that its my fault the clutch is dead and as far as i know i dont "ride the clutch" my brake use as normal much as other cars
2009Jun 29
MAZDA3
- Manual transmission
- 13 miles
The car was for my daughter. It was a manual shift. Five miles on it when I left the dealer, 8 miles when I got home. I was showing my daughter how to drive it and the clutch burned out after 5 miles of driving. No more than hiccuping as she learned to drive it but was getting the hang of it after about 20 minutes. Dealer took 2 days looking at it to see if it was abuse to the car or a car problem. They said it was so unusual. Interesting that because it was unusual it was our fault. How are they going to prove that anyway?
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
2012Jan 20
MAZDA3 S Grand Touring Hatchback 2.5L
Not much to say that hasn't been said about this issue already. Dealer says its normal wear and tear and wont even call the warranty center to lodge a case. Had I known I would be spending $2K to replace the clutch at 30K miles I would never have bought the car.
jason.v
St. Petersburg, FL, USA
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