2005 Mazda RX-8 Transmission Problems

Which parts fail

• Manual transmission
  22
• Clutch assembly
  7
• Clutch assembly › Pedal/hand lever(motorcycle)
  5

Components named in complaints (automatic and manual transmissions, CVT, axles, driveshaft, 4WD/AWD).

Mileage when the problem started

• Under 25k
  00%
• 25k–50k
  918%
• 50k–75k
  2243%
• 75k–100k
  1122%
• 100k–150k
  612%
• 150k+
  36%

Owner reports

Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2005 Mazda RX-8 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).

The steering wheel sometimes its hard to control sometimes its normal and when going fast the steering is so loose like there's a gaps that you need your two hands on the steering all time and the weels Weigel at high speed 60mph. its hard drive the car on the freeway And everyday use i already spend $2800 at the dealership get fix but never get fix The car no accident to be like that. Car has 80k mileage

Clutch pedal bracket broken under normal conditions. I went to push the clutch in to downshift at highway speeds to over take a slower vehicle and it snapped with an audible "pop" and I couldnt shift into the lower gear and my rpms, went to idle at highway speed. Had it broken at a different time, I could have been locked into a certain gear and ha to break fast or crash risking the lives of my occupants and the occupants of another vehicle

Driving my Mazda rx8 last night on a local highway shifting from fifth to sixth gear the clutch pedal gave way and doing 65mph and stuck itself under the brake pedal had to shut the car off and hit the e brake to stop. Lucky im not dead.

While driving a 2005 Mazda rx8 I lost control after shifting from 5 to 4th gear. The clutch pedal stuck in and moved slightly right near the break pedal and would not release. This surprised me which caused me to run off the side of the road. I called a tow company to transport the vehicle back to the Toyota dealer where I bought it used with 58000 miles on it. They said the clutch had to be replaced for 1400 dollars. At the time I didn't have the money so I asked for it to be towed back to a local garage. My local garage found that the clutch pedal assemble broke away from the mounting plate. This is a part that you would not expect to break. All indications point to a faulty weld. The metal ripped from the point of a spot weld. This spot weld May have weakened what is relatively thin metal for this use. I had a local garage replace the part for 500 dollars with parts and labor. …

I have a 2005 Mazda rx8 and for the past 2 years the dealership has replaced my clutch pedal assembly 3 times because of a loud squeal when pressing the clutch pedal. My most recent visit they replaced it again.. The other night I was out with my girlfriend driving long distances and my pedal began to feel really strange and it didn't seem to want to shift properly.. I drop her off and I go home the next morning I wake up to clean my car and I back up and then move forward and my shifter is completely stuck! And the clutch pedal is literally touching the brake pedal.. I tried to see I could still turn the car on and the pedal stuck to the floor as if there were no clutch fluid.. Fortunately we were not driving when this happened but this is a danger to many people who are driving manual transmissions. Upon inspection the thins bracket that holds the assembly together was torn... …

2 days before the incident the clutch made a clicking sound. I looked down and saw no problem. I was driving down the road and the car would not go into gear because the clutch pedal assembly had gave way. I was able to turn off the car and get it into 1st and had to drive home in 1st gear. I have been looking through forums online and this seems to be a very frequent occurrence. I also got a ticket for failure to yield and causing an accident 350.00 dollars. I called Mazda and they even told me it was a common occurrence. Im working on the issue now but Mazda wants 1150.00 dollars to fix a "common" problem. Its completely ridiculous. Ive counted over 150 different people who this has happened to but just got it fixed on Mazda forums and other auto forums. Many of them caused accidents as well. I just dont want this to happen to someone and they get killed because of it.. …

My Mazda RX-8 has a manual transmission, and the clutch bracket just broke off for no special reason. It is to my understanding that under any circumstances these components should not break. Mazda did fix it for me. Funny thing is Mazda tech line saids this is a time warranty repair* only. This clutch bracket problem is a very well known issue in the RX-8 community, but Mazda just keep replacing broken brackets and wait for user's warranty period is over. I just do not understand what do Mazda mean by "one time repair" only. What I concern now is that. What if the clutch bracket breaks when im driving on the highway at 50 miles an hour? It will not be funny and I might just die. Another thing is that, Mazda always try to blame it on aftermarket parts for their own failure. There should be a lot of RX-8 user complaining about this clutch bracket issue. Please check.

I bought a used Mazda rx8 (2005 with about 60 thousand miles) with a manual transmission. After about 3 months of daily driving (no racing or hard shifting) my clutch pedal broke while approaching a red light. The bracket that holds the pedal in place broke due to its very thin metal design. Upon researching the issue online I have found that many RX-8 owners are having the same issue. I have installed a reinforced bracket at my own expense and still need to make some adjustments because it has unaligned the gears in the transmission. If this break would have occurred at any other time I believe it could easily result in serious injury or death. I spend a lot of time on the highway getting to school and I believe that at 65 MPH this break would have at least destroyed the transmission. This issue needs to be resolved and a recall must be implemented.

Clutch assembly faulty design. While driving and shifting gears (manual transmission) the clutch pedal assembly snaps, resulting in the loss of ability to shift gears. After pulling over to the side of the road, the car had to be started in 1st gear to drive to safety. The thin metal tears away from around one of the bolts that holds the assembly to the firewall. This is happening on other RX-8's of people I associate with to the point that welding up the old bracket is becoming common. Mazda has not come up with a stronger assembly since they introduced the RX-8 in 2004. The alternatives to correct the issue (out of warranty) is to: (a) purchase a new one from Mazda. (b) have your old assembly welded or purchase a remanufactured welded one. (c) purchase a bracket that adds support to the assembly I did both b & c, welded and added support.

I own a 2005 Mazda rx8 with 30K miles. I noticed a squeaking noise when applying my clutch pedal approx a month ago. The other evening while I was attempting to pull onto a busy road the clutch made a loud popping noise when I applied the clutch and I was unable to put it into gear. Luckily I was able to roll back to a safe place and wait for a tow. Mazda informed me this is not a warranty item & I will be responsible to pay for the repair. I've read other complaints and this is a safety issue. Had I been able to pull into traffic and it broke, I would not of been able to shift which would have left me in a very unsafe situation. I'm very disappointed that Mazda is not willing to replace this part w/o a charge. I think this should be looked into.

NHTSA investigations

Transmission complaints in other RX-8 years