I've driven a stick car on and off since 1967, including a 1965 VW bus (driver's test on it), a classic MGA that needed to be double clutched on occasion, a 124 Fiat Spider, and various other clutch cars including Toyotas, Mitsubishis, and Nissans. This Mazda was bought second hand from a relative who maintained it impeccably. It was fun to drive until very suddenly it wasn't. I was 50 miles from home and it was oddly a little hard to get into reverse. As I pulled onto the busy 2 lane in each direction road, it suddenly refused to go into any gear, the clutch pedal went down to the floor, and thick, extremely smelly, black smoke poured out from under the car. I managed to get it to roll into the middle suicide lane. A good Samaritan pushed it to the shoulder at great personal risk, despite me begging him not to. I won't even get into the hours long wait for the insurance to get a tow truck or the closure of the only entrance to route 80 anywhere (thanks GPS). This adventure started around 3PM and we didn't get home until midnight. The icing on the cake was we accidentally left the courtesy light on in our Toyota, so the battery was dead the next morning. You did say no limit.

Mazda is blaming wear and tear and misuse of the clutch. I have been driving manual cars for 30 yrs. This is outrageous that I have a warranty and it is clearly under the 3yr and 36,000 mile warranty and they are telling me its not covered. My haven't even had my car for 2 yrs. How is this even possible? I would understand if I was just learning but I am not. Mazda is ripping me off and not taking care of its customer. How can a clutch fail at 22,000 miles unless there was a problem in the first place. Mazda is horrible. I thought I could count on having a reliable car. My husband and I are the only ones who drive this car and he has 30 yrs experience also. What's the purpose of having a warranty if you can't use it.