The clutch pedal on my 2004 Mazda RX8 started making a noticeable squeaking noise constantly for about 3 weeks. At one point while driving the vehicle at around 50 mph, it made a loud cracking sound and I noticed the clutch pedal became immediately loose which made it difficult to control the gears. It caused the clutch pedal to stop working and thus impeding my ability to drive the vehicle and control its speed. The consequence of this failure could of caused an accident if the vehicle was traveling at a higher speed and/or on the highway.

- Potomac, MD, USA

My 2004 Mazda Rx-8's clutch pedal bracket has broken. I took my vehicle in to my local Mazda dealership for some clutch problems I have been having with the clutch not engaging or disengaging properly and the first thing they looked at was my clutch pedal bracket. It turns out that this is what was causing all of my problems. The bracket that holds the clutch pedal assembly to the firewall broke along the welds from the manufacturer. The tech told me is a very common problem with 04 Rx-8's and it is usually misdiagnosed as a clutch failure. This is a really big problem as the bracket braking causes the clutch to not fully engage or disengage which leads to premature clutch failure and can also be as extreme as the clutch pedal completely breaking off and obviously that would be a serious safety hazard. I had to have my clutch replaced as well due to the extra wear cause by not fully engaging and disengaging. My car has even stalled in intersections after a light turns green because the clutch would fully engage to shift into 1st properly.

- Huntington Beach, CA, USA

My 2004 Mazda, has 60K miles on it. Already have had engine failure, leaving me stranded on a busy highway. Experienced issues with the heat shield and sensors. Now my clutch pedal bracket is apparently broken, it started off squeaking loudly and embarrassingly. Sounded like it needed some WD40 or something, also leaning inward toward the brake, causing me to sometimes inadvertently depress the brake along with the clutch. It soon after completely broke, depressing nearly to the floor and leaving me stranded once again on the expressway. I know I'm not driving a BMW/Audi/Mercedes etc. But I'm also not driving a Kia, yet my roommates Kia has far less problems and isn't left without a car nearly as often as I am.

- Toledo, OH, USA

I was pulling out on a main stretch of road with busy traffic as I pushed in the clutch on my 2004 Mazda RX8 the clutch pedal assembly broke and I could not get the car into gear. I paid 400+ dollars to get the clutch pedal assembly replaced and ran for about 20,000 miles and now the tranny will not engage again.

- Twain Harte, CA, USA

I went to start my vehicle as I pushed the clutch pedal in and turned the key it started but when I released the pedal it stayed half way down and moved towards the right, resulting in poor shift quality and a weak clutch.

- Arcade, NY, USA

The pedal assembly star making noise when you depressing the clutch. Causing the pedal assembly broke and make don't engage.

- Clt , NC, USA

On Sunday September 5th @ approx 5:30pm, I was driving on a local road. Depressed the clutch pedal before shifting gears. Immediately after the pedal was fully depressed, I heard something break. I pulled over to the side of the road. From that moment on, I was not able to put the car into gear. Upon further investigation by myself, I had found that the metal bracket which secures the clutch pedal, had split/cracked. This made the clutch pedal loose and it was no longer in proper alignment (was able to move the clutch pedal with my foot or hand laterally a few inches.) due to the nature of this failure, I was unable to put the transmission in gear (even with clutch pedal fully depressed).....this made the car inoperable. The engine would start with the clutch fully depressed and the ignition turned to the start position, but the clutch would not allow me to put the transmission into any gear.

- Pittsburgh, PA, USA

I own a 2004 Mazda Rx-8. as I was turning right in second gear, I depressed the clutch pedal and then heard a loud snap. The pedal assembly is now very loose and not what I would consider structurally sound. When I got home, I noticed that the left side of the clutch pedal bracket had snapped. This has caused the pedal assembly to easily move from left to right.

- Canton, GA, USA

During a stop at a traffic light, I tried to engage into 1st gear, stepping on the clutch as usual, and all of a sudden, I heard a loud "pop" coming from underneath the clutch, and also felt the clutch pedal has dropped to the floor and I could not engage into any gear, I put my hazard lights and fortunately I was able to force it into 1st gear and manage to drive home, the part has not been replaced as it was just happened on Aug 20 around 11:00 pm.

- Oakland Gardens, NY, USA

I was driving my friends 2004 Mazda Rx-8 when the clutch pedal snapped. I was able to get it stopped and into neutral. The clutch pedal bracket was found defective and was replaced.

- Cary, NC, USA

1. normal daily driving resulted in clutch failure. 2. heard a "pop" while depressing clutch pedal and clutch became "spongy". since then it as constantly occurred and now the clutch will not release. It has also been difficult to get the shifter into gear. Clutch pedal bracket has come apart at one of the welds. 3. nothing has been done yet to correct the problem, but I will have to replace the clutch pedal assembly with a reinforced one to fix the issue.

- Mechanicsburg, PA, USA

I have a Mazda Rx-8 2004 I discovered that my clutch pedal bracket had broken away from firewall and has caused a safety issue as such if im decelerating I cannot take it out of gear thus could cause a serious accident opposite for accelerating and the inability to go into any gear or reverse. Im in the military and upon my superiors orders am no longer allowed to drive the vehicle until repair which is my only transportation. This is not part of regular maintenance.

- Frederick, MD, USA

Clutch pedal broken while driving on highway. Assembly snapped at highway speed.

- Bronx, NY, USA

The clutch pedal assembly has broken causing the clutch to be completely depressed for the clutch to engage. This happened after normal driving conditions. The repair consisted of installation of a new assembly. If the assembly failed when broken the car may not have been able to be put in gear resulting in an accident.

- Inverness, FL, USA

The clutch pedal bracket broke when depressing the clutch pedal.

- Thousand Oaks, CA, USA

Mazda 2004 Rx-8. clutch pedal bracket snapped. Luckily I was starting the car when it broke. Had this happened when I was moving, I may not have been able to slow down since the clutch pedal now moves sideways and can interfere with the brake pedal.

- Audubon, PA, USA

NHTSA action number : PE09045 as indicated in the above complaint, my clutch pedal assembly snapped this while driving. I depressed the pedal, heard a loud pop and the pedal became permanently depressed with the lack of ability to engage gears in a safe manner. I called the dealership and they stated that this is a normal wear issue and I am out of warranty. The vehicle has 60,000 miles on it and has not been driven hard for the period that I have owned it. I was able to forcibly shift gears and make it home after the incident. This seems like am extremely dangerous situation for any driver if the clutch were to move unknowingly behind the brake and hinder the ability to stop.

- Tucson, AZ, USA

The clutch pedal bracket in my RX8 cracked. I was in city traffic when I heard a snap and my clutch pedal became much looser. About two weeks later I heard another snap and could barely shift my car at all. It caused me to stall in the middle of a busy intersection. Unable to move or start my car.

- San Diego, CA, USA

The clutch pedal on my vehicle suddenly began to have very little resistance when pushing in the pedal on Friday May 28th, 2010, which lead me to believe I was going to need to buy a new clutch for my vehicle soon. The previous days though, the pedal was functioning perfectly fine, and there was no slipping or problems shifting gears. The next day, on the 29th, after about 5 - 10 minutes of driving, the pedal became completely nonresponsive and could not be disengaged once it was pressed into the floor. I had to pull over immediately and have the car towed. Upon a $100 inspection by a local Mazda dealership, the clutch and related components (master, slave, pressure plate, flywheel, bearings, etc) were fine, but the clutch pedal had failed and needed to be replaced. I was happy to hear that I did not have to replace the entire clutch system, but I was charged for a brand new clutch pedal, and I feel the original was defective and should not have simply failed as it had for no reason.

- Surfside, FL, USA

My clutch assembly on my 2004 Mazda RX8 just snapped today as I was driving. Its is the same issue that can be found in NHTSA action number PE09045.

- Woodland Hills, CA, USA