NHTSA Complaint #10315939 — 2005 MAZDA RX-8

INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) AROUND 30 DAYS AGO I HEARD A "POP" SOUND WHEN I DEPRESSED THE CLUTCH PEDAL OF MY 2005 MAZDA RX-8. IT FELT A LITTLE SOFTER AFTER THE "POP" SOUND. I THOUGHT SOMETHING HAD BROKEN BUT COULD NOT SEE ANYTHING AND THE CLUTCH SEEMED TO WORK OK. HOWEVER, OVER THE NEXT 30 DAYS, IT BECAME HARDER AND HARDER TO GET THE MANUAL TRANSMISSION INTO REVERSE. ON FEBRUARY 23, 2010, I BROUGHT MY 2005 MAZDA RX-8 TO CONGRESSIONAL MAZDA IN ROCKVILLE, MD TO HAVE MY CLUTCH INSPECTED. THE DEALER INFORMED ME THE CLUTCH PEDAL ASSEMBLY BRACKET WAS BROKEN AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE QUOTE WAS OVER $500 SO I SAID I WOULD BRING THE CAR BACK IN WHEN I HAD THE MONEY. HOWEVER, WHEN I DROVE AWAY I COULD NOT SHIFT OUT OF 1ST GEAR AND THE CAR WAS NOT DRIVABLE. I IMMEDIATELY DROVE BACK TO THE DEALER IN 1ST GEAR AND ASKED THEM TO ORDER THE PART AND REPLACE THE CLUTCH PEDAL ASSEMBLY BRACKET. WHEN THE CLUTCH PEDAL ASSEMBLY WAS REPLACED, THE CAR SHIFTED FINE. I HAVE THE BROKEN CLUTCH PEDAL ASSEMBLY AND I CAN SEE CLEARLY THAT THE METAL ON ONE SIDE OF THE MOUNTING BOLT HAS TORN APART MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE TO FULLY ENGAGE THE CLUTCH. THAT MUST HAVE BEEN THE "POP" SOUND I HEARD. I HAVE 77,000 MILES ON MY RX-8. I DRIVE THE CAR TO WORK, NOT ON COMPETITIVE OR CHALLENGING TRACKS OR COURSES. I AM VERY CONCERNED THAT MAZDA USED POOR QUALITY METAL AND/OR POOR QUALITY SPOT WELDS IN CONSTRUCTING THE CLUTCH PEDAL ASSEMBLY ON THE 2005 RX-8 AND I REQUEST THAT NHTSA EVALUATE IF THERE IS A DEFECT IN MANUFACTURING QUALITY OF THAT PART. I HAVE THE OLD CLUTCH PEDAL ASSEMBLY BRACKET AND CAN SEND IT TO NHTSA FOR INSPECTION. I BELIEVE MAZDA NEEDS TO RECALL THE CARS AND REPLACE THE CLUTCH PEDAL ASSEMBLY WITH A BETTER CONSTRUCTED SYSTEM. THE REPLACEMENT CLUTCH ASSEMBLY I RECEIVED HAS THE SAME POOR QUALITY METAL AND SPOT WELDS AS THE ORIGINAL PART. MAZDA DOES NOT SEEM TO BE ADDRESSING THIS POTENTIALITY SERIOUS SAFETY PROBLEM. PLEASE LOOK INTO THIS SITUATION. [XXX] *TR