The problem with clutches is some people are very heavy on them. I had a customer a few years ago (an elderly lady) who used to have a new clutch every two years or around 6000 miles. If you heard her trying to park or pull away you'd understand why.

The dealers don't know how your clutch is being treated which is why there's very limited warranty on clutches.

I had this problem when my VW Transporter clutch failed after 25000 miles. I'm a self employed mobile mechanic but still put the van into the dealer, as it was under warranty. They stripped it down and found it completely burned out, so I had to pay for a new one. When I picked the van up the pedal was really heavy compared to how it was, so there must have been a problem with the original. The new clutch has now done 75000 mile and is still going strong.

It's a bummer but sometimes you just have to accept it. The dealer's not trying to screw you.

 

This is our 3rd mazda in the last 10 years - I too am disappointed. Definitely know it was the clutch, and not my driving. The new one they put in has given me the "fish" smell twice, but I alerted the dealership to it immediately, just to have a paper trail.

Another issue we had was the power steering kicked out on two different occasions - they repaired it as they acknowledged it is sometimes an issue with this model. However, just this week, it happened again.

Back to Mazda I go.......but not to ever buy another one!

 

Took mine to the Mazda service center at the dealership. They said it was not under warranty (surprise!!) because anything over 12k is considered wear and tear on a clutch.

Price quoted was $1100 (US) for Mazda parts. This includes the release bearing, which could be returned if not needed thus reducing the price (by $250, I think he said).

If I wanted an aftermarket kit, it would be only $750 total (release bearing included, non-returnable). He was REALLY pushing the aftermarket kit on me. Hmmmm....

So then I called around to some transmission mechanics in my neighborhood. They were very surprised that a clutch would go out in 31K miles. They also had a very difficult time finding aftermarket clutch kits, because the car was so new (2008).

I called Mazda again and tried to find out which/what aftermarket brand they were using, but the guy said he didn't know. Um, yeah, right.

So, my plan is:
1) Go to Mazda HQ and complain like hell. One mechanic said to do this first. He wasn't shocked that the Mazda service dept. said it wasn't covered under warranty. SOP. But, he said, if others were experiencing the same problem with this clutch, then there is certainly some design problem.

2) If #1 doesn't pan out, get the after market clutch kit and have an independent mechanic do it. Why would I put original parts back in if they failed the first time - and appear to be doing the same for others? And how am I to trust my Mazda service guy, when the first thing he tells me (implicitly) is that I don't know how to drive a manual transmission?

3) Go to other auto review sites and let people know what they are getting in for with the Mazda clutch. Perhaps then Mazda will investigate what the problem is.

 

Curious to hear about the cost to go aftermarket, with an independent mechanic doing the job.... my clutch is perfect (as far as I can tell) at about 53,000 kms... so perhaps I am not infected with the viral clutch... but would be good to know what the deal is should I need to have it replaced some day.

I definitely agree though, that why go stock if stock is failing!

 

Update to an old thread. We had to replace the clutch on our 2009 Mazda5 AGAIN at approximately 90,000 KM. Same symptoms (burning, fishy smell, all revs no progress).

This time we took it to a local garage in our village that came highly recommended instead of the dealer. They replaced it with an aftermarket (non-Mazda OEM) clutch and for the first time in it's life the clutch feels normal. It now feels exactly like the clutch in my car (2009 Mazda3 2.3L) - which I've always maintained it should as the engine and transmission are the same.

They recommended replacing the flywheel as part of the repair (it was just resurfaced at our first replacement). Cost of the flywheel was about $200 compared to ~$100 to resurface. As soon as I picked up the car it was like night and day compared to the previous feel of the clutch. I used to hate driving the 5 because of the clutch but now it's seriously fun to drive ! Amazing what a difference it makes with a smooth progressive clutch.

So was the original flywheel the cause of both early clutch replacements ? Don't know but the evidence seems to point that way. Either that or there was a problem with BOTH previous Mazda clutch kits which seems doubtful to me.

When the clutch went again my wife and I had decided to fix it and dump the car. We have now decided to keep it because the combination of cargo carrying ability, manual transmission, and fun to drive quotient is unmatchable in the market IMHO. Now if they could just fix the minor suspension issues and road noise we'd be all set (I guess we have to get a 2012 model ).

Hopefully that is the last time we replace the clutch....

 

Now I don't feel as bad. My automatic 6 speed Aisin Warner transmission got replaced @ 35,000 km all free under warranty. 20,000 km later I had the tranny fluid changed & flushed at a tranny shop with synthetic and got a lifetime warranty up to $2,000 for free! Next fluid change @ 100,000 km. I also had an external cooler put on!
I should have bought a standard but I do a lot of city driving.
I wouldn't advise getting a clutch changed at the dealer, go to a tranny shop.

 

What was the price at the local garage?

And my clutch is still fine after 29,000 miles ('09 Sport) but I am apprehensive after reading these horror stories about the Mazda clutches.

For what it's worth, my '99 Honda Accord is still going strong with 130,000 miles on it's original clutch, and before that I had put 120,000 miles on a Sundance Duster without changing the clutch. I had another manual car before that, never changed the clutch on that one either (I put maybe 50,000 miles on it?). I have never replaced a clutch.

 

Dealer was $1580 CAD
Local garage was $1290 CAD

Before this we've never replaced a worn clutch in any of our previous 7 Mazda manual transmission cars either. I tend to think we just got the one sub-standard unit that occasionally makes it's way past the quality control guys. I'm a die hard Mazda fan and the cars are just so much fun to drive that I'm willing to give them a mulligan on this one.

 

How awful!! I seriously hope that doesn't happen to us...although I'm worried. I'm at about 103,000 right now, sinse my original replacement. Having problems shifting it into reverse sometimes, and occasionally get that fishy smell, but not like before. I am planning to sell this vehicle, and get an automatic...anything but Mazda. I've lost that zoom-zoom feeling, with the money flying out of my pocket!

 

Mazdaman007: That's very good news that your replacement clutch is better than the stock new one. I might have my local mechanic do mine with an aftermarket clutch as well.

I've recently picked up a used 2007 Mazda5, with 90,00km on it. It's off-lease so I assume it's still got the stock clutch. It works fine, but it has all the signs of wear - lack of feel, sudden engagement point, engagement point at the top of the pedal travel, though I have read that some owners experienced this from the get go. But obviously with this mileage I do not have a 'defective' clutch.

One observation I have... the Mazda 5 seems inordinately low-geared. It revs too high at highway speeds. I can get the car moving with barely any gas, just a gentle nudge of the clutch, and the first shift comes just off the line - like I'm driving a big rig. I can see how this can be hard on the clutch if the driver is not very careful; with the low gearing it's all too easy to over-rev the engine while slipping the clutch.

I've been driving for over 30 years and spent most of them with manual tramsmissions, and have never had to be as careful with a clutch as with my Mazda. Yes, it's got a boatload of kilometers on it, but my old dad's Subaru has way more on the original clutch and it's way easier to drive.

I'm saving up my pennies...