MK 2.5 CLUTCH JUDDER ?

[srdtvr]

Just recently bought an immaculate 2003 1.8 sport with 38000 miles - all excellent except for a clutch judder when pulling away from standstill - not always but quite often - I suspect there's no easy cure - usually means a fairly major amount of work - any ideas ?
cheers
Steve

[Combover]

The basic answer is to replace the clutch.

Mazda won't do it as it is out of warranty and the item was not replaced under a recall due to it not compromising safety in the first instance.

There is no definite effect, all the clutches act differently. Mine does it when cold only, some do it when hot.

Either live with it, or replace the clutch. I'm afraid those are your only real options.

[srdtvr]

I figured that might be the case - so it is a known fault then - not just mine - probably live with it, and yes its mainly starting from cold.


Thanks for the quick reply

[MX-5 Lazza]

I found mine did it worst when reversing. You can drive around it with a bit of practise.
Mine suffered very badly so I had the clutch replaced under warranty. I was actually very lucky as when I reported it it was about a month out of warranty but Newbury Mazda found that the original owner had reported it but ever had the work done so they replaced it using her complaint date rather than mine - that's good service!

[srdtvr]

Mine was bad last night when hot and reversing -
don't think I stand much chance with the warranty but will ring original suppliers of the car - they have serviced it from new - and I found a note from the previous owner to the service manager asking them to investigate the judder but no mention of it on the service sheet.
worth a try I guess
didn't see this note until I got the car home - funnily enough it didn't judder when I test drove it or for a few days after I bought it - typical
still probably would of bought it anyway as its pretty damn good otherwise !

[Jonny671]

Yes, quite normal really.

We just get used to it here with ours but the only thing you could do would be to replace the clutch, its un-needed costs really though.

[abarber]

When I had one, my 2003 1.8 did the same. It had two clutches, was never perfect. More common on cars driven predominately in cities / urban.

[Combover]

abarber said:

When I had one, my 2003 1.8 did the same. It had two clutches, was never perfect. More common on cars driven predominately in cities / urban.

Evidently, you'll use a clutch more in cities.

[srdtvr]

I spoke to main dealer service manager and he said its down to material used on plate - alternative to asbestos has not been successful - suggested slipping clutch a couple of times when doing 50 ish - might improve judder for a short time.

no big deal - just live with it I reckon

[Andy G Bmth]

i've had 2 1.8 svt sport mk 2.5;s and they have both had this as had all the ones i have test drove. On the first one, i took it in to Mazda who said TADTS and they were right.

just get in the habit of rising the revs a little more than normal, (around 2k ish or just above)when letting teh clutch out and it will be fine

just enjoy the car!

[MX-5 Lazza]

Andy G Bmth said:

i've had 2 1.8 svt sport mk 2.5;s and they have both had this as had all the ones i have test drove. On the first one, i took it in to Mazda who said TADTS and they were right.

just get in the habit of rising the revs a little more than normal, (around 2k ish or just above)when letting teh clutch out and it will be fine

just enjoy the car!

He wasn't right. They introduced a new clutch friction plate material in 2001 which caused the problem. By some time in 2003 (I think) they had it fixed. Under warranty cars could have the clutches replaced but this didn't always fix the problem as the flywheel usually needs to replaced too as the grabbing friction plate causes hard-spots and material build-up on the flywheel. Some cars don't have any problem at all despite having the dodgy friction plate. It's probably something to do with having the perfect combination of flywheel & friction plate friction and pressure plate pressure (and possibly driving style when it was brand new bedding it all in nicely).

I was lucky with mine - they'd been through 3 or 4 different friction plate materials trying to fix the problem on other cars so when they did mine they just fitted a whole new clutch (friction & pressure plate) and flywheel and I've never had a problem since. In fact it's still the same clutch now, still going strong despite nearly 4 years of supercharged track & drag-strip thrashing

So basically the dealer was just putting you off because he either had no idea or didn't want to do the work.

[Andy G Bmth]

interesting as my current one is a 2004 which is doing the same and been told yet again its absolutely fine.

if this is the case then may need to pay another visit to them

[S7Paul]

The previous owner of my daughters car had the same problem. The dealer kept saying "they all do it", but she eventually got fed up with it and asked them to replace it. New clutch fitted - problem gone away. So no, they don't all do it.

[Andy G Bmth]

did she have to pay for it or was it done as an unofficial recall?

[S7Paul]

I'm sure the previous owner said that when she asked for it to be replaced, the dealer said that if it turned out not to be faulty, she would have to pay. As it happens, it was faulty, so I'm pretty sure she didn't pay for it.

[Andy G Bmth]

thanks

[Jonny671]

How old is the car?

Full Mazda Service History?

1st Owner?