Tranny / Clutch noise
 

I may just be hearing what is normal but i have not noticed it until today. (Had the car 3 weeks now) When sitting in neutral at an idle i hear what sounds like rotating hum/buzz inside the car only, i cannot notice it from outside or when the windows are open. When i press the clutch it disappears, when the clutch it fully out i hear the noise. Does anybody know what this is and if its normal noises that i'm just hearing now? Car has 1.2k miles on it.

Thanks

1.7k on mine. I don't have anything like that, so I don't know if I'd call it normal. Interesting that it's dependent on the clutch though. Not sure what that could be.

I believe it is the throwout bearing. They are kinda loose on this car so they are noisy when the car idles in neutral then it goes away when you push in the clutch. nothing to worry about IMO

you will blow up soon. mine sounds like a pop corn machine

Normal....mine has done it since day 1 and I've had no issues whatsoever with it (17k now).

From my research on another forum about it, a lot of people hear the same exact sound and contribute it to the TOB. But I've never been 100% convinced of this because it is my understanding that the TOB should only be spinning when the clutch is disengaged (pedal in) and not when engaged in neutral. I never found a good explanation...but I know it is very common and hasn't been a problem mechanically for me, and many others, thus far.

Good call on being in neutral. OP try and replicate the problem while the car is stationary and in neutral. If you hear the noise then its not the TOB, If it's quite then it is.

i have this too. it has something to do with the clutch and the flywheel. since i'm no tranny expert, i won't say much more than that. but i think it's alright

When just sitting on a flat surface (or atleast wherei dont roll, even with parking brake on) I hear the noise, when i press the clutch it stops, when i let off the clutch it starts. i dont know what it is. its very well possible that its normal and im just noticing it now.

Also when shifting i can hear the tranny shift into gear often is that normal? Ive had some crappier manuals in the past but never heard the actuall gear engage in the tranny.

I hear gear changes as well, especially when the tranny is cold.

my sounds the same op. no worries. or at least i have 32k and no problems.

I'm going to try this once I get through with my meeting at work tonight (still at work):

To turn on the car, you need to have the clutch pedal depressed, which should start the TOB spinning. Once the clutch pedal is released, it should continue to spin for awhile until it comes to a stop.

So I'll turn on the car...hop out and give it the normal 3-4 minutes of warm up time...hop back in and see if the noise is still there. I will report findings after I get done w/my 45min commute.

If someone knows what the source of this noise is, please let us know. I've always wondered about it but have never heard a solid, confident explanation of what it is.

Sure enough!

I turned on the car, took my foot off the clutch and heard the noise. Pushed the clutch in and the noise disappeared, as usual.

I hopped out of the car and finished my coffee as she was warming up. Got back in the car and...silence. I pushed the clutch in...no change in sound. Took my foot off the clutch, and the noise returned.

So it must be the TOB making noise as its winding down. Try this for yourself and report back. I dont know why it took me this long to notice...must be because I'm usually blaring some Radiohead while I wait for warm up.

Edit: This is false information, don't waste your time.

i read once that it was because of the dual mass flywheel?

Not sure, but I know at least the sound that I'm hearing (the sound I think the OP is referring to) went away after letting the car idle for around 3 minutes or less. Maybe there is another sound contributed by the DMFW. If there is, it must be faint or I've just summed it up as normal engine noise at idle while in the cabin.

Shit! I was wrong...wrong...wrong! The noise is still there after 3 minutes of idle. I sat there for 5 minutes in my driveway with the radio off, free from the air compressors and vaccum pumps near our company lot...and the noise persisted, then disappeared when I depressed the clutch pedal. Damn it, my mind was at ease...now its not.

Sorry to waste your time guys. If it is the DMFW, I'm curious why it makes such a sound.

Like i said earlier to me (i usually have a keen ear to things, i know rattles before there rattles.....AND I HAVE ONE ON MY 3 WEEK OLD CAR) it sounds like something rotating, spinning in a circle

mine does the same thing,i think its because the 3 shaft tranny has more gear noise from the extra gears in the 3 shaft,just a guess, 32000 miles on mine do problems

Lol, you'll probably develop more rattles unfortunately. The most common is the windshield tick, followed by the glovebox rattle, seatbelt squeak, and the E-brake button rattle. I know there is a TSB for the windshield tick and the seatbelt squeak...not sure about the others.

The windshield tick is horrible and from what I've heard, the TSB is a temporary fix...so it may not be worth your time.

Its a 2009 shouldnt it be taken care of already lol? I acutally cant pin point where the rattle is located yet :( its faint but i know its there

More than likely what you are beginning to hear is the windshield tick. I'm sure the TSB doesn't apply to your car being as it is an 09 (not sure though)...but unless they changed the design of the cowl altogether, their "8 extra foam pads" from the TSB have failed to prevent it from making noise again after a few weeks.

If it is indeed the windshield tick, you'll notice it much more in the cold, and when you pass over a rough patch of road. Right now since it is warming up, I only hear it on my commute to work in the morning when its around 45-55F. When ambient temps get up into the 65+ range, the noise disappears...and I have a brief bit of rattle free driving. It was driving me Fing nuts this winter though. It got so bad that it sounded like someone was tapping a pencil really Fing fast on my windshield all the way to work. Had to turn the radio up to 17ish to drown it out.

Here's a good thread on some attempts made to fix it...involving a lot of velcro, hockey tape, weatherstripping, headaches, and ibupropen:

WINDSHIELD RATTLE FIX

The windshield rattle sucks bad. Mine is loud. But I don't care enough to bring my modded car in. They would blame it on my MM.

And for the clutch noise, my car has done it since like 1k miles. It's normal.

Its a Throw out bearing noise. Its normal dont worry about it. You should start worrying if when you depress the clutch you start to get a resistance int he pedal or if you feel it start to shutter in the pedal thats bad.

Mine does that a little as well. Nothing major. 10k miles on mine. If you are overly concerned go to the dealer and have them tell you not to worry about it and it will be at least documented at mazda.

I had to have my tensioner pulley replaced because of the bearing shitting out. But that doesnt really sound like its your problem. It would be on serp belt side not from the tranny side if that was your problem.

It's NOT the TOB. When I was at the dealer for an oil change, they said it was gear roll-over. They even released a TSB for it for the RX-8. It's normal and not doing anything harmful from what they say.


TRANMISSION GEAR ROLL-OVER NOISE
Applicable Models
Model Starting S/N Ending S/N
2004 RX8 00000000 ZZZZZZZZ

Some customers may complain of a whirring noise from the transmission while at idle N in neutral. The noise may also be described as a light rattling when the AC compressor cycles on. This noise is normal N no repairs should be made. Confirm the gear rollover noise by depressing the clutch pedal, the noise should be eliminated. Compare noise to another vehicle to verify this is a normal characteristic. 1. No repairs should be attempted on vehicles with gear rollover noise.

Sweet thanks for the info.

Yea sounds good, im supprised this turned into such a big topic. I thought i was just a paranoid nerd that heard a small noise that no1 else would have had haha

Its normal dont worry about it. I have a 2009 with 9k and its been doing it since day 1!

Well I'm now happy in knowing what the noise is...I knew it probably wasn't a problem but it was always in the back of my mind that something might be wrong. Thanks for the info fellas.

Screw the Dealer, it's the throw out bearing, mine wasn't noticeable til I installed a real motor mount, I aint worried about it though............

I have the trz trany mount i get the same sound,but sometimes it gets real loud like a knocking noise sometimes then goes away.I wana get a new clutch but people say they still hear the same noise