New MX5 Nevada, 2 problems...

[scoots66]

Just collected an '03 Nevada 1.8 and have 2 problems i cant solve..?
1. Pulling away in 1st, the car is shuddering like mad unless i give it around 2000 revs, any other gear is fine. The clutch bites halfway up... any ideas?

2. Exhaust is fine until it gets warm, then it sounds like it's blowing and rattling. Ive had it on a ramp at my local exhaust place and they cant fault it, it's on nice and tight with no holes etc ? anyone else had this problem. It also pops and rattles when the engine is switched off.
The car was serviced (apparently) prior to collection but of course these things are not covered by the warranty !
cheers

[Scottydon]

Not really able to help, I'm afraid.
However my 2004 1.6 has the exact same exhaust noises, so I would be interested to see any answers on this one.

[Munter]

Clutch Judder?

Read all about it: http://www.mx5ocforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=32344

[MX-5 Lazza]

The clutch judder affected a lot of Mk2.5s including mine (and a few Mk1s & Mk2s but that's much rarer). There is a Mazda Service Bulletin for it so they do know all about it. A lot of owners just learned to live with it which is a shame as if they had chased their dealer they could have got it fixed on warranty (as I did).
My advice would be to take it to a dealer and see if they are prepared to help you out with a fix without charging you full whack for it. If you don't get any joy there, give Mazda UK a call and see if they are prepared to help - you can't lose anything by trying.
When I bought mine it had one month of warranty left. I reported the problem just after the warranty had run out but I called Mazda UK and explained the situation and they agreed to fix it as a warranty repair even though it was out of date and I had bought the car privately. Yours has obviously been out of warranty for a fair bit longer but it's worth a go.

[scoots66]

Thanks everyone, will get onto my local Mazda and update as and when...cheers !

[Combover]

scoots66 said:

Thanks everyone, will get onto my local Mazda and update as and when...cheers !

I have a Nevada too and it does the same thing. Mazda UK essentially told me that because it didn't compromise safety, it wasn't a recall. It won't now be done, but if you asked for it at the time (i.e. under warranty period) it would have been done.

Try what I do:

Let clutch up 1/2 way, giving it over 2500 rpm. Let revs dip and depress clutch down slightly, giving it another rev and let the clutch out fully. A sort of two stage, two rev system.

Works for me.

[Combover]

scoots66 said:

2. Exhaust is fine until it gets warm, then it sounds like it's blowing and rattling. Ive had it on a ramp at my local exhaust place and they cant fault it, it's on nice and tight with no holes etc ? anyone else had this problem. It also pops and rattles when the engine is switched off.
The car was serviced (apparently) prior to collection but of course these things are not covered by the warranty !
cheers

Forgot to add:

I replaced my exhaust because of this. I've not had any problems since and non of my other MX-5s did this, so I think there will be a problem with your exhaust.