There are 3 stored owner reports matching the powertrain & transmission leading-label group for the 2002 Mazda MX-5 Miata in our NHTSA-sourced dataset. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
This group counts stored reports whose component label starts with one of this site's matching prefixes, ignoring case. Each matching report counts once within the group. Components mentioned later in the label or only in the narrative are not searched. How component counts work
Loaded 3 of 3 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)TRANSMISSION/CLUTCH - CLUTCH SPRINGS OR PLATES STICK AFTER SHIFTING INTO GEAR. CLUTCH HAS BEEN REPLACED BY DEALER AFTER ONLY APROX. 30K. MILES AND PROBLEM HAS APPEARED AGAIN. DEALER CLAIMS THE SPRINGS ON CLUTCH STICK. PROBLEM SHIFTING INTO GEAR ESP. WHEN CAR IS FIRST STARTED, ALSO CLUTCH WEARS AT RAPID RATE. *JB
CLUTCH SHUDDER, ESPECIALLY WHEN DRIVING VEHICLE FOR THE FIRST TIME EACH DAY. THE WHOLE DRIVETRAIN/EXHAUST WILL SHAKE AS YOU ENGAGE THE CLUTCH. AS THE VEHICLE WARMS UP, THE PROBLEM IS LESS NOTICEABLE. STARTING AROUND 20K MILES. ALSO, "RINGING" NOISE IN 5TH GEAR (6 SPEED TRANSMISSION) UNDER LOAD SINCE NEW. RETAILER WILL NOT FIX, AND WAS TOLD THIS IS JUST A HARMONIC IN THE TRANSMISSION THAT IS DUE TO MACHINING TOLERANCES. INTERIOR OF VEHICLE GETS VERY HOT. THERE DOES NOT SEEM TO BE ENOUGH INSULATION AROUND TRANSMISSION/EXHAUST AS FLOOR IS VERY WARM TO THE TOUCH.*AK
UPON MORNING STARTS WHILE TURNING ON THE IGNITION THE CAR DOES NOT GO INTO REVERSE. THERE IS A SOUND METAL ROARING AND FEELS AS THOUGH THE EMERGENCY BREAK IS ON BUT IT IS NOT. CAR HAS BEEN TAKEN 4 TIMES TO AUTHORIZED REPAIR AT KONA MAZDA DEALERSHIP WHERE PURCHASED AND THEY DENY ANY PROBLEMS. THEY SUGGESTED USING SYNTHETIC OIL AND TO WARM UP THE CAR IN THE MORNINGS WHICH I DO ALREADY. THERE ARE WITNESSES TO THIS INTERMITTENT PROBLEM BUT KONA MAZDA CANNOT DUPLICATED THE PROBLEM IN THEIR SERVICE PROBLEM. TS
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
NHTSA source checks for this vehicle year
Checks are recorded separately for each dataset, not for the whole page. Dates use UTC. A missing check date does not mean no records exist.
Vehicle import recorded: Apr 28, 2026. This is the stored import date, not confirmation that every source was successfully refreshed.