Two problems related to clutch have been reported for the 1998 Mazda Protege. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Consumer noticed that the transmission was not shifting right, it would rev high and not shift back down when she stepped on the gas, consumer had to take her foot off the gas to get it to come back down. Took it back to the dealer, dealer said a new transmission was needed and that the warranty had expired. Vehicle wasthen taken to a nationally known service shop for a second opinion and was told the hydraulic clutch had come apart, consumer letting them do the repairs because she was not satisfied with initial service from dealer.
The vehicle stalls when pushing in the clutch. When pushing in the clutch, the idle drops to 0 and the car shakes before returning to it's normal idle speed, approx. 500 rpm, or it just stalls. This has caused harrowing moments when pushing in the clutch and braking at high speeds on exit ramps and pulling into parking spots. It has been back to (2) Mazda dealers 3 times and each time I am told that it is the gas I use, but this has been happening for 40,000 miles now and is getting worse. Dt.