Clutch Not Engaging – Uh Oh

[McLightning95]

I was driving home from class today and had to stop on a small hill, no big deal. So I put it in first and started to back off on the clutch to get it right before it grabs, except the pedal kept going…. and not engaging.

Anyways, light turns green, foot off clutch, on gas…and we rev to 7k something (while rolling back) before I slamed on the brakes (and clutch). I got everyone to go around me and then when I took off again it protested a bit about engaging before moving forward. It was fine the rest of the way home.

So I had my dad look at it, he took it around the neighborhood and found nothing wrong. He topped off my clutch fluid and said, “Try that”.

Now, it has done this once or twice before, but it always engaged at some point. This is the first time it has just sat there. The car only had 10k when I got it and I’ve put 7k on it.

So, any ideas on why it is acting up?

[Zuhaib]

Jesus, only 10k in 4 year. Have you had the clutch adjusted recently? Have you tested it again on the hill? Your clutch might not be applying enough pressure for a hill start vs on flat ground. So i would have your father test drive it on a hill (with no traffic).


EDIT: BTW what is the warranty left on the car? If any.

[Spectre]

No offense, but many women tend to slip the clutch or ride it, and this causes a lot of premature wear.

[McLightning95]

Zuhaib: We tested it on all the hills we could find in the neighborhood and my dad could not get it to repeat what it did to me.

Spectre: No offense taken. However, I don't slip or ride my clutch.


My dad knows someone who owns a car dealership, so I am going to see if they would mind looking at it for me. I hope that it is just a matter of getting it adjusted...

[Cobol74]

Sticking mechanism that closes clutch to engage perhaps? Do not know really but gett it seen to soon as - you do not want to damage the plates or anything else down there.

[Quiky]

It's not a well documented problem, but you can check this topic;
http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.php?topic=94028.0

[jayhawk]

^ I think you are on to something. When this happened, did you take out of gear and then back into gear?

Myself, I am thinking it is not the clutch, but the cable or something internal, like the shift forks. Clutches give you plenty of warning before they give out.

[matt2000]

Originally Posted by jayhawk

^ I think you are on to something. When this happened, did you take out of gear and then back into gear?

Myself, I am thinking it is not the clutch, but the cable or something internal, like the shift forks. Clutches give you plenty of warning before they give out.

I think it's a hydraulic clutch system from what is said in the first post, but it could still be down to leaky cylinders or a worn gear linkage.

[dodgy]

Replace your clutch fluid, not just top it up... brake fluid (this is what clutch fluid is) absorbs water whenever the cap is off and lowers it's boiling point.

Depending on where your clutch lines are routed (eg near the exhaust) it could cause the fluid to boil, which would then make the hydraulic fluid not do it's job and not engage the clutch.

If the fluid level is dropping, try and determine how fast it is dropping, and then where from. It shouldn't drop fluid if the car is only 10k old.

Either the fluid is the problem (hope that is all)

The clutch itself is the stuffed

Or it wasn't in gear properly