Previous/current owner abuse.
A friend has a VW Up with 16k
miles on the clock and has just had to replace the clutch at a cost of £500.
Is there a problem with this car?
Yes, it needed a new clutch...
Previous/current owner abuse.
16k miles seems very very low for the clutch to have gone. I'd imagine you'd have to seriously try and kill a clutch that fast - and
probably do other damage in the process.
Petrol engine I'm guessing?
I've replaced several badly worn clutches over the years , my belief is some drivers don't know how to use a clutch correctly. Ive lost count of the times I've seen the tips of the diaphragm fingers and thrust bearings fail due to the driver"riding " the clutch . Biggest cause is the driver sitting in traffic holding the car on the clutch. It maybe how they are taught to drive? I had one customer who was lucky to get 6 months out of a new clutch , probably 4000 miles, he even friction welded the thrust bearing to the clutch cover on his Austin Maxi.
You dont say how old the car is, or the type of driving, as said, its more likely to be driving style, riding and slipping the clutch will drastically shorten its life.
quote:as I remember, the maxi was very strange for clutches, one of the few cars you could replace it without taking the engine or gearbox out.
Originally posted by rusty nuts
I've replaced several badly worn clutches over the years , my belief is some drivers don't know how to use a clutch correctly. Ive lost count of the times I've seen the tips of the diaphragm fingers and thrust bearings fail due to the driver"riding " the clutch . Biggest cause is the driver sitting in traffic holding the car on the clutch. It maybe how they are taught to drive? I had one customer who was lucky to get 6 months out of a new clutch , probably 4000 miles, he even friction welded the thrust bearing to the clutch cover on his Austin Maxi.
When the driver welded the thrust bearing to the cover I had to smash the cover to pieces to get at the clutch. The AA report said that the engine had siezed solid .
quote:
Originally posted by rusty nuts
Biggest cause is the driver sitting in traffic holding the car on the clutch. It maybe how they are taught to drive?
Bad driver habits. I had a customer who would wear out clutches every 3,000 miles as regular as clock work.
My cars 18 years old, its a SEAT Cordoba, I've had it 11 years & no clutch change yet, its done 80k miles & there was 38k on it when I
bought it.
I think you guys are right, they teach differently now days, i passed my test in 1990 but my dad taught me in my 1978 Mini 1000 to begin with. Taught
me lots that little car.
My wife passed her test 12 years ago & used to ride the clutch all the time, when we moved in together & I started looking after her car, I
gave her some re-training :-)
My son is learning & the instructor has told him when he changes gear it should take a minimum of 3 seconds ? I have no idea why but hey,
it's not our clutch.
The car was brand new and neither of the drivers had ever had to replace a clutch previously.
It seems that the Up has had some poor press regarding clutches and gearboxes
Some cars can be weird. I got my mk4 Mondeo with 19k on the clock. The clutch started to slip a bit at 50k and as I've generally got a pretty
good track record with clutch life I was surprised it was slipping so soon.
The car has now done almost 90k and the clutch is no worse.
Stu
quote:
Originally posted by Andybarbet
My cars 18 years old, its a SEAT Cordoba, I've had it 11 years & no clutch change yet, its done 80k miles & there was 38k on it when I bought it.