NHTSA Complaint #11175123 — 2004 MAZDA RX-8

AS I PRESSED MY CARS CLUTCH TO CHANGE GEARS (6 SPEED MANUAL ) WHILE DRIVING ON MY REGULAR SUNDAY DRIVE IN A CITY STREET, I HEARD AND FELT A VERY LOUD EXPLOSION AND NOISES OF METAL PIECES EJECTING FROM UNDER MY CAR. I WAS IN THE 60KM/H ZONE SO WAS NOT SPEEDING OR GOING FAST SUCH AS ON A FREEWAY ETC. I WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER SAFELY WHILE ROLLING AS THE ENGINE HAD BEEN DISABLED IN THE EXPLOSION. I COULD FEEL MY LEFT FOOT WAS IN EXTREME PAIN. MY CAR WOULD NOT START. I FEARED THAT THE ENGINE HAD BLOWN UP. MY CAR IS VERY WELL MAINTAINED AND SERVICED REGULARLY WITH NO MODIFICATIONS. WHAT I DISCOVERED WAS THAT THE TRANSMISSION HAD DETONATED, THE GEARBOX BELL HOUSING WAS TORN APART (GOT PICTURES TO PROVE IT) AND I FOUND PARTS OF THE CLUTCH IN MANY TINY PIECES ALL OVER THE ROADS. THE CLUTCH WAS REPLACED BY MAZDA 30,000KMS AGO AND AT A MAZDA DEALERSHIP USING OEM CLUTCH KIT. THE FORCE OF THE GEARBOX EXPLOSION WAS SO GREAT THAT THE CLUTCH PEDAL IMPACTED MY LEFT FOOT AND SHATTERED THE BONES OF THE LEFT FOOT IN PIECES (YES I WAS WEARING THICK SOLED SNEAKERS) AND CAUSED SEVERE TRAUMA TO MY FOOT IN GENERAL. AT THE HOSPITAL, THE SURGEONS WORDS WERE " IT LOOKS REALLY BAD". I WAS OPERATED ON AND TITANIUM PLATES AND 4 SCREWS WERE INSERTED TO TRY TO HOLD MY SHATTERED BONES IN PLACE. 8 MONTHS AND A LOT OF HOSPITAL VISITS LATER, I AM STILL RECOVERING FROM THE DAY. I HAD FURTHER SURGERY FEW WEEKS AGO TO PERFORM A BONE GRAFT BECAUSE ONE BREAK WASN'T HEALING. I HAVE APPROACHED MAZDA REGIONAL HEAD OFFICE. INITIALLY MAZDA CONTACTED ME VIA PHONE ASKING FOR DETAILS OF THE CRASH. I SENT THEM PHOTOS VIA EMAIL. I HAVE NOT HEARD FROM THEM SINCE. I THEN ALSO CONTACTED THE DEALERSHIP. THEY PROMISED TO RING BACK AND THEY TOO, HAVE STOPPED. IT'S BEEN DIFFICULT TO FIND A LAWYER WHO CAN SEE THE OBVIOUS PROBLEM, THAT A VEHICLE SHOULD NOT BLOW UP, OR CATCH FIRE ETC NO MATTER WHAT AGE IT IS. HELP!