09 Speed 3 Blown Trans/clutch 20k miles dealer refuses to fix.

[Blitzkrieg]

Let me start this off by saying i purchased a brand new 2009 speed 3 gt in may of 09. It was purchased at Mazda of Milford in Milford ct as was the last 4 Mazdas i have owned excluding my MSP, I have never had a problem with this dealer or any warranty service needed for that matter until now.

The only mods i have done to my speed 3 are the dealer installed Mazdaspeed intake and Fiber Images carbon fiber hood, other then that my car is completely stock. So let the story begin..

Back in February of this year my car would randomly pop out of second gear, not all the time but mostly when making left hand turns. i brought it to the dealer to have it looked at and i was told they couldn't find anything wrong and they couldn't simulate what was happening. In April i brought the car back for the same issue only this time it would pop out of second gear if you hit the gas about half way or more, i was told it was a bad linkage cable and it was repaired and the car has been fine since..

well on Halloween i was on my way to the store when it started to pop out of second gear again and i noticed that it was very hard to get it to engage reverse. i continued to drive the car and was waiting to bring it to the dealer the following day. well the following day i was on my way to the dealer to drop it off for them to look at it when all of a sudden i heard a loud bang followed by a grinding sound sort of like when you grind a gear. I pulled over right then and there and was able to disengage it from sixth gear and pull over and see what happened or if the car was even drivable. i noticed that the only gears that worked was 3rd and 6th all other gears seemed to be non existent.

at this time i exactly 1/4 mile down the street form the dealer and i just drove the car the rest of the way there in 3rd gear. I made it to the dealer (Mazda of Milford) and told them what happened and left the car for them to look at it, this was on Monday 11/1/10. I get a phone call from the service guy mike on Tuesday that they are not sure what is wrong with the car but the transmission seems to have failed and states that they need to pull the transmission and see what happened. i authorized the repairs and wait to hear back.

I receive a phone call on Thursday 11/4/10 from Mike in service of Mazda of Milford and he states that someone in service took the car for a test drive and then returned with the car not drivable at all and that the slave cylinder has 0 pressure and now the clutch and flywheel are bad and need to be replaced and that no gears are working in the car, and he quotes me 8700$ to repair it.... Now wait a minute... Not only is the car only a year old but i purchased the extended warranty on the car even though the car is still well within the factory warranty period. Mike then goes on to state that because the car had now suffered a clutch failure and that i have the Mazdaspeed intake in the car (which was installed at the dealer) that my warranty is void and they will not fix it. I state that the car was malfunctioning when it was brought in but was drivable and now you are trying to return my car to me in underivable condition and your refusing to repair it. this goes back and forth for pretty much the whole day.

I contacted Mazda corporate which was no help at all and i contacted several other local Mazda dealers to find out that Mazda of Milford has put in the system my warranty is void. Today i went to the dealer to try and see if there was someone else i can talk to about this to get this problem solved. i spoke to Jason the service manager and he stated that due to the fact the car suffered a clutch failure this was the reason the transmission blew and now the transmission is no longer covered under warranty and that due to the extra horse power from to the intake the the clutch was unable to handle the power and therefor voided my warranty.... OK do i smell bullshit or what???

i have never owned an automatic car, i learned to drive a car on a stick and i also never had clutch go on me ever, including my daily driven MP3 Protege with 160k on factory clutch and my beater rx7 with 156k on the factory clutch etc.. you get my point.

So now i have a brand new car that does not work or drive (though it was running and drivable when i brought it there) that has a voided warranty and on top of it they said if i dont have the car repaired or picked up by Sunday 11/7/10 i am going to be charged a 75$ a day storage fee.

At this point i have contacted the state attorney generals office the better business bureau and the ct state dmv office to try and get some form of justice here. I have no idea what i am going to do nor do i have the money to even fix it, and i think even if i did have the money i wouldn't fix it. i need to hear what all you Mazda people have to say about this horrific ordeal.

[manelscout4life]

wow what a crazy long post, try making paragraphs at least!

[Blitzkrieg]

Originally Posted by manelscout4life wow what a crazy long post, try making paragraphs at least!

sorry i got to typing and it just all came out.

[m4tic]

Yea you are getting dicked.... They broke your car even more and you won't be able to take it back in the same or better condition you brought it in.... It might be tough but how about you go and lawyer up..

[Biggs]

i refuse to read that .....edit it for christ's sake!!!

[rodrigo]

omg dude i tried...i really tried... but without paragraphs i think i reread the fucken 2nd and 3rd line 14 times over...

i gave up....

let me wing it.....anyways....

i hope that your gf takes u back and that your boss gives u that raise u were after.... sounds like you are really a great guy and you definitely deserve the best!!!

good luck!!

[Biggs]

got to the part about second gear pops out, but had to stop cause my eyes started bleeding...

[Blitzkrieg]

Edited into paragraphs hope that helps

[theschrum]

Wow, just be persistent. Good thing that you already contacted some people about it already. It pisses me off that the dealer would do this to you.

[cm-jp1]

Get a laywer. Thats the only way there going to fix it. I had a similar problem and couldnt get it fixed after contacting everyone including the regional service manager. Who was a douche bag.

I brought it in with a STS. They said that a properly installed short throw shifter wouldnt cause the problem of popping out or gear(obviously). so they proceeded to do the warranty work.

Then the next day they called and said i would have to pay for everything if they take it out and prove that i was beating on it. So i got dicked

[hnda etr]

+100 on the lawyer man...

And if that doesn't work out... I got a tranny you can buy for $1000 + shipping ;-)

But hopefully you get a lawyer and bend the stealership over...

[mituc]

Definitely get a lawyer!
The intake adds like 2-10HP (AT WOT!!! NOT NORMAL DRIVING!!!) depending on the engine speed we're talking about, so there's no way for the tranny to blow because of like 10 extra pounds of torque. In cold weather you get even more than that compared to the summer time. People with 350 pounds of torque to the wheels are still fine with the stock tranny and clutch, while yours blew with 270-290 - come on!

Moreover, you complained about tranny problems several times, they should have looked into it before the clutch and tranny failed. Also, since it was popping out of gears it's pretty clear to me that the clutch wasn't the main culprit here, but probably an alignment problem, tranny mount, some poorly tightened stud or something alike.

hnda etr, he could indeed get an usable tranny for 1k, but his car should still have bumper-to-bumper warranty, so it's not fair. They just threw that "huge" extra power from the intake right in his face and they're holding to that with no valid technical proof.

Yet another mazda dealer FAIL.

[Blitzkrieg]

Originally Posted by hnda etr +100 on the lawyer man... And if that doesn't work out... I got a tranny you can buy for $1000 + shipping ;-) But hopefully you get a lawyer and bend the stealership over...

If all else fails i will take you up on that offer, but im hoping for money free resolution here i was recently laid off so funds are extremely tight right now

[Blitzkrieg]

Originally Posted by mituc Definitely get a lawyer! The intake adds like 2-10HP (AT WOT!!! NOT NORMAL DRIVING!!!) depending on the engine speed we're talking about, so there's no way for the tranny to blow because of like 10 extra pounds of torque. In cold weather you get even more than that compared to the summer time. People with 350 pounds of torque to the wheels are still fine with the stock tranny and clutch, while yours blew with 270-290 - come on! Moreover, you complained about tranny problems several times, they should have looked into it before the clutch and tranny failed. Also, since it was popping out of gears it's pretty clear to me that the clutch wasn't the main culprit here, but probably an alignment problem, tranny mount, some poorly tightened stud or something alike. hnda etr, he could indeed get an usable tranny for 1k, but his car should still have bumper-to-bumper warranty, so it's not fair. They just threw that "huge" extra power from the intake right in his face and they're holding to that with no valid technical proof. Yet another mazda dealer FAIL.

The biggest deal to me about this is the car was drivable before i brought it to the dealer, i mean it was clearly broke but i drove it there i just only had 3rd and 6th gear.

in my personal opinion i believe the tech who test drove the car did something causing further damages and now they are using the intake excuse to try and get out of repairing it. and on top of it the intake was installed at that dealer and is a factory part which is covered under mazdas factory warranty.

There is something else going on here, this is a pretty cut and dry situation. car had tranny issues it was brought in for service and now the car not only has tranny issues still but the clutch is now shot and the slave cylinder is now bad and theres no hydraulic pressure. come on... thats just pure griminess right there.

At this point all i want is the car to be repaired so i can get rid of it. this incident had put me off from ever buying a new car from mazda ever again.

[mituc]

Mazda does some awesome cars. Unfortunately the dealers fail us (and they fail mazda corporation as well) sometimes.

[Amazon]

Cliff notes:

Fairly new 2009 Mazdaspeed3 transmission blew

Took it to the dealer and they confirm the master slave and tranny are gone

Dealer refuses to fix under warranty due to MSCAI installed

OP is fucked, what should he do?

[pebenito]

Originally Posted by Amazon Cliff notes: Fairly new 2009 Mazdaspeed3 transmission blew Took it to the dealer and they confirm the master slave and tranny are gone Dealer refuses to fix under warranty due to MSCAI installed OP is fucked, what should he do?

I think you're missing one of the key things here which is the stealership installed the MSCAI. So they should have have no grounds to deny warranty based on the MSCAI.

[Stealth01]

The MSCAI is a warranty-safe item. If it was an Injen or a Fujita, they'd have some very thin ice on which to stand, but the MSCAI is a factory-approved mod that does not void your warranty unless you somehow manage to hydrolock the motor.

Lawyer up and kick their ass.

[edwhayes]

Sorry to hear about your issues with the dealier. The lawer is the only way to go new

[8.5MS3]

guys you dont understand

you fill up with aftermarket gasoline - warranty void
you drive on aftermarket tires - warranty void
you replace your oil yourself - warranty void
you put aftermarket air in your tires - warranty void


seariously OP go to fucking town on them. Mazda initially refused to replace my turbo because i had a cbe on the car (cut the old one off). I bitched at corporate and they called my dealer direct and told them to stop jerking me around.

good luck

[Amazon]

He said it, it doesn't matter whether or not the dealer installed it. The dealer will try to void your warranty if you change your own oil. This doesn't give them any legit reason to deny a warranty, but they will try.

I would have included the "dealer installed" bit if I thought it really mattered. The MSCAI is sold by Mazda themselves.

[Darksun280]

Your fine. First contact mazdausa and force them to send you a written. Letter on why the cars warranty is revoked. Also let them know that the intake on the car wad sold and installed by the dealer and is a mazda approved item. Lawyer up cause you'll win this easy in court. After seeing loosh go after bmw he he got an 8k payout after the lawyer got paid BY bmw and a 100k mile warranty. He didn't even have to take hemto court they settled out of court with just a stern letter starting the facts from the lawyer. They wont take you seriously till you lawyer up so just get on them sending you the letter cause its the onl offical think you'll have to go by

[pebenito]

Originally Posted by Amazon He said it, it doesn't matter whether or not the dealer installed it. The dealer will try to void your warranty if you change your own oil. This doesn't give them any legit reason to deny a warranty, but they will try. I would have included the "dealer installed" bit if I thought it really mattered. The MSCAI is sold by Mazda themselves.

OP didn't say they tried to deny warranty based on oil changes, he said they denied it on the MSCAI. If the stealership didn't install it, they could have claimed that it was incorrectly installed. But they did install it. So they can't claim anything with respect to the MSCAI since its a Mazda part that they installed. So like everyone else is saying, lawyer up.

[Amazon]

lol, I didn't say that they tried to deny his warranty because of oil changes, please reread

[Blitzkrieg]

I contacted the attorney generals office i have to wait till monday though to here back from places cause they are all closed over the weekend.

i should also note that the dealer had a special when i bought the car which included free oil changes so the car has always been serviced at the dealer.

[Blitzkrieg]

***UPDATE***

I just received a call from the District/Regional service manager who told me that the warranty was not voided to do the intake and they are not refusing to repair due to the intake but because they believe the car failed due to driver error (hence they think i beat the shit out of it) because the clutch failed in such a shirt time.

I stated i drove the car there the clutch was fine why do you expect me to believe and accept what you are saying when everyone on earth knows what your saying is bullshit. and he went on to say it didnt matter but there is no way for a clutch to fail like that unless it was caused by driver error and even if the clutch failed due to mechanical error its a wear and tear item and wouldnt be covered under warranty anyways. at this point I just hung up on him cause i have nothing nice to say at all.

i would like to point out yet again the clutch was 100% functional when i dropped it off. Im not retarded i know how to drive and this car was bought souly because i like mazdas and i really liked this car and i wanted something to replace my daily driver MP3 Protege. it looks every bit as new as it did the day i bought it and it was never beat on or misused or neglected in anyway.

if i want to beat on something i have 600whp rx7 sitting in my garage or better yet if i wanna go really fast ill take out my Bimota DB7

Mazda can go fuck themselves!! i cant wait to here back from people (specially the attorney general office) so i can get the ball rolling on this.

[FreeFlyFreak]

Originally Posted by Blitzkrieg Mazda can go fuck themselves!! i cant wait to here back from people (specially the attorney general office) so i can get the ball rolling on this.

Attorney Generals office will likely tell you to get a lawyer.
Get one.

[smakdown61]

Originally Posted by Blitzkrieg ***UPDATE*** I just received a call from the District/Regional service manager who told me that the warranty was not voided to do the intake and they are not refusing to repair due to the intake but because they believe the car failed due to driver error (hence they think i beat the shit out of it) because the clutch failed in such a shirt time. I stated i drove the car there the clutch was fine why do you expect me to believe and accept what you are saying when everyone on earth knows what your saying is bullshit. and he went on to say it didnt matter but there is no way for a clutch to fail like that unless it was caused by driver error and even if the clutch failed due to mechanical error its a wear and tear item and wouldnt be covered under warranty anyways. at this point I just hung up on him cause i have nothing nice to say at all. i would like to point out yet again the clutch was 100% functional when i dropped it off. Im not retarded i know how to drive and this car was bought souly because i like mazdas and i really liked this car and i wanted something to replace my daily driver MP3 Protege. it looks every bit as new as it did the day i bought it and it was never beat on or misused or neglected in anyway. if i want to beat on something i have 600whp rx7 sitting in my garage or better yet if i wanna go really fast ill take out my Bimota DB7 Mazda can go fuck themselves!! i cant wait to here back from people (specially the attorney general office) so i can get the ball rolling on this.

Call your local news station. They love to eat up these stories where consumers get bullied like this. One visit from a news crew requesting interviews and you should be getting an apology phone call soon after. The last thing that dealership wants is a bad image locally.

[Blitzkrieg]

The woman i spoke to on friday told me that someone will call me back on monday/tuesday to review what happened that there is a good chance i could be represented by them and what not. DMV also governs and has final say in the matter when it comes to dealerships so i wanna wait to here back from them too before i independently contact a lawyer.

Originally Posted by smakdown61 Call your local news station. They love to eat up these stories where consumers get bullied like this. One visit from a news crew requesting interviews and you should be getting an apology phone call soon after. The last thing that dealership wants is a bad image locally.

Wow thats a really good idea, the idea completely eluded me. My missive is to get this dealer back in every way possible and yes i will contact my local news.

[turd burglar]

i HATE mazda dealers. or most dealers for that matter. theyre too lazy to wanna do service work, and alot of the "speed" technicians know jack shit about our cars. One time i had a tech call me to ask what "that sensor thing sticking out of my turbo exhaust pipe was" i laughed at that jackass told him not to touch my car and i'd take it elsewhere. mazda is fucking fail, good look man!

[rossisboss07]

in for dealer pwnage... and I too suggest a lawyer soon if you can't get results with what you've tried so far.

[envy]

I'm just glad my car can be servied by any ase certified shop under my warranty program. I'd rather go to a American car dealership to have my car serviced after all these fail stories. Not that they will be any better but at least a Mazda dealer won't get the money lol.

[I<3Groceries]

Ask them if the drivetrain can't handle an aftermarket intake, how in the shit can it handle driving up a steep hill with a car full of people.

[AndersonGT]

Glad I read this. Just bought an '11 last week and have been researching what voids the warranty.

I spoke to the Mazdaspeed certified mechanic (yes, they actually have "certified" Mazdaspeed mechanics) at the dealership I bought from 3 days ago about what voids warranties. You're not going to like what he told me.....

1.) Any mod that produces a CEL.
2.) Removing any of the CATS, Meeooowww
3.) He actually said an after market intake. He also said drop-ins are ok.

Catback exhaust is ok.

Sorry to tell you that. It's really sh_tty that the dealership installed your intake.

I would find work order/receipt for when they installed the intake and give it to your lawyer. As long as it doesn't say warranty voided, I don't think they really have a leg to stand on. Good luck!

[GoBackToSleep]

This whole situation is complete bullshit. Seems like the dealership you do business with is full of a bunch of crooked assholes. I had a turbo replaced a few days ago at my dealership (and I also have an extended warranty plus a Mazdaspeed CAI... which I installed myself) and all repairs were done without any problems or conflicts whatsoever.

I say...

GIVE 'EM HELL!

I mean, how the hell does some stupid intake cause a transmission failure?

[jack_hammer]

[Ntahndagirl]

Ok, I read some of that. For one, the dealer can't void the warranty, Mazda has to. For two, the Mazdaspeed intake does not void the warranty. For three, who the fuck did you talk to at Mazda, cuz it sounds like a bunch of bullshit. If I were you, I would email Mazda the whole story and ask them why they are not covering it. Make sure you tell them that it was drive able and that the tech drove it after you took it in. Tell them about the last repair that was made also. I really hope everything works out for you!!

[TRex]

look i really try to stick up for dealerships...i really do....they are a business they need to make money too...they higher local people and generally good for local economy.....but jesus they can be such fucking crooks....i have seen great dealers that try to make legit money.....but the ones that do it through shady moves and lying...fuck em...pin these guys to the wall...the worst thing you can do is give them bad press...hit that news up...

[HLR Element]

Originally Posted by AndersonGT Glad I read this. Just bought an '11 last week and have been researching what voids the warranty. I spoke to the Mazdaspeed certified mechanic (yes, they actually have "certified" Mazdaspeed mechanics) at the dealership I bought from 3 days ago about what voids warranties. You're not going to like what he told me..... 1.) Any mod that produces a CEL. 2.) Removing any of the CATS, Meeooowww 3.) He actually said an after market intake. He also said drop-ins are ok. Catback exhaust is ok. Sorry to tell you that. It's really sh_tty that the dealership installed your intake. I would find work order/receipt for when they installed the intake and give it to your lawyer. As long as it doesn't say warranty voided, I don't think they really have a leg to stand on. Good luck!

mazda has a intake made for our car and is certified. Go tell your "mazdaspeed" technician to read up more on what can and can't be on the car.

Go get a lawyer cause that's just bull crap... if an intake can make the tranny blow, we would have a really fragile transmission... and those people making power on BT have what? unicorn metal in their tranny?

[Darksun280]

Ok since they made contact do this. Clutch is a wear and tear item they are right. Call back the regional if you have his number explain that you were just upwet and cut a deal. You pay for the clutch and flywheel they cover labor for it AND fix what ever is wrong with the trans. Thats what they are looking for. Maybe 800 out of your pocket