Clutch Problems of Mazda Miata

The contact owns a 1999 Mazda Miata. The contact heard a loud rattling noise near the engine when the clutch pedal was depressed. The failure occurred for more than a year when the vehicle became hot. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was not notified. The VIN was unavailable. The approximate failure mileage was 25,000.

See all problems of the 1999 Mazda Miata 🔎.

When starting out cold from an intersection my 2003 Mazda Miata lurches forward possibly causing stalling in the intersection and causing an accident. This complaint has been addressed to my dealer who says that Mazda will only fix this problem during the first 12 months. /12,000 miles of owner ship. Mazda has had this problem since 2001 as a result of a re-design of the clutch and refuses to fix my car because it is beyond 12,000 miles. This is a latent defect that only manifests itself I cold weather but I am concerned that someone may be seriously injured or killed as a result of this deficient clutch system.

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Transmission/clutch - clutch springs or plates stick after shifting into gear. Clutch has been replaced by dealer after only aprox. 30k. Miles and problem has appeared again. Dealer claims the springs on clutch stick. Problem shifting into gear esp. When car is first started, also clutch wears at rapid rate.

See all problems of the 2002 Mazda Miata 🔎.

Clutch shudder, especially when driving vehicle for the first time each day. The whole drivetrain/exhaust will shake as you engage the clutch. As the vehicle warms up, the problem is less noticeable. Starting around 20k miles. Also, "ringing" noise in 5th gear (6 speed transmission) under load since new. Retailer will not fix, and was told this is just a harmonic in the transmission that is due to machining tolerances. Interior of vehicle gets very hot. There does not seem to be enough insulation around transmission/exhaust as floor is very warm to the touch.

On 11/10/03, my 1999 Miata stalled when clutch is pushed at idle. I was driving on highway 101 at that time and would create a danger environment for the surrounding cars. After a car mechanic inspected my car, he found that the crankshaft end play was approximately . 5" wide. The mechanic suspected that the problem might have been caused by the failure of the thrust bearing. My car currently has about 70,000 miles. Mazda installed improper thrust bearing on many 1999 Miatas, causing the car to stall when clutch is pushed at idle. So far, Mazda has only issued a technical service bulletin claiming the problem would only make noise but ignores the potential stalling problem.