Clutch bracket on my 2004 Mazda Rx-8 broke making the car impossible to drive properly.

- Overland Park, KS, USA

Under normal driving conditions during a light shift my clutch pedal bracket snapped. The pedal is now loose and moves easily from side to side only working if pushed on the correct way. It has been squeaking for a few months and suddenly on an easy drive it just snapped. The pedal and assembly have never been abused or modified in any way nor has the car been driven particularly hard.

- Orlando, FL, USA

Regular driving lead the car a 2004 Mazda Rx-8 6 speed clutch pedal to literally break at 3 of the spot welds, disabling the ability to push the clutch in. Luckily I was able to push the car home as it happened down the street. If this happened on the highway during a emergency downshift to slow the car down god knows what could happen. I went to the local exhaust shop and had them do a solid bead all around the mounting bracket fixing the issue. This is a serious problem because you never know when its going to snap off it just does.

- Santa Monica, CA, USA

1. the events were most likely cold weather, Alabama has had an unusually cold winter during the 2009-2010 period. 2. the clutch has broken. The weld that holds it in place has broken. 3. I am going to have to replace the clutch bracket due to its breaking.

- Madison, AL, USA

During the course of my morning commute to work the clutch pedal assembly failed. The car was able to be driven to a safe location by use of "rev matching" shifting as depressing the clutch pedal would no longer engage the clutch and the pedal no longer returned to the proper position. The assembly was removed, rewelded, and replaced.

- Bryan, TX, USA

I feel grinding when I shift from 1 gear to 2. sometimes is difficult to shift to the 2 and 3 gear. I bleed the clutch line, changed transmission oil. It is weird because the car has low mileage.

- New Britain, CT, USA

The clutch pedal in the Mazda RX8 began creaking during use. After investigating the cause online, I learned that this problem is widespread among Mazda RX8 owners and that continued use of the clutch pedal would lead to failure with the creaking being a sign that the pedal is prematurely wearing. Since Mazda refuses to acknowledge the defect and offer a recall, I removed the clutch pedal and had the mounting bracket rewelded. I've also observed that the metal used for the bracket is incredibly thin and that the spot welds made at the factory by Mazda are wholly insufficient to keep the bracket from moving under stress, leading to permanent failure when it breaks.

- Woodcliff Lake, NJ, USA

I was driving my Mazda RX8 at 35mph down a city street at night. I pushed in the clutch pedal to shift gears. There was an extremely loud pop, then the clutch dropped to the floor. I was able to force it into gear to get it home. I took it to the dealership, they said that the clutch pedal bent/collapsed, and the clutch burned out. Up to this point there was no indication of clutch wear, no slippage of the clutch, everything operated normally. I have had every service completed on the car, and had it in the shop for a major repair only 3 months (or less) ago. The clutch pedal should not have bent, and was the cause of the catastrophic failure of the clutch. Again, up to this point there was no indication of clutch wear, the car was operating fine. I can provide all service records for the vehicle. This exact problem has been documented several times on Rx-8 club threads, and matches identical to this very thread: www.rx8club.com/showthread.php"T=132912 and www.rx8club.com/showthread.php"T=182412&highlight=clutch+bracket this failure could have caused a major accident had I been traveling at a higher rate of speed or had the clutch pedal folded underneath the break pedal. There is no excuse for the clutch pedal to fold under the pressure of my foot, much less under normal clutch operating circumstances where I was just shifting gears. This could have caused a deadly accident! the damages to the car incurred as of today are approximately $1900 before taxes. Normal clutch damage would have been indicated by slippage of the clutch disc against the pressure plate. This sort of damage could have also seized the engine had the pressure plate deconstructed in the catastrophic failure. The property damage I claim in this was the amount of damage done to the vehicle itself, not anyone else's property. The costs for replacement and repair are outlandish and upsetting. I will provide any documentation on request, as well as pictures.

- Albuquerque, NM, USA

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.

- Center Barnstead, NH, USA

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: 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.

- Glendale, CA, USA

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.

- Portland, OR, USA

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.

- Tucson, AZ, USA

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.

- Gainesville, FL, USA

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.

- Grants, NM, USA

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.

- Radcliff, KY, USA

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.

- Dover, PA, USA

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!

- Arlington, TX, USA

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 for to replace.

- Charleston, SC, USA

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.

- Boones Mill, VA, USA

Clutch pedal in 2004 RX8 failing/breaking at a light on a busy highway.

- Medford, NY, USA