First of i will start by saying hello.

Now down to the sticky bit i need help,my father who i should let you know is 95 yrs old in march bought a new fabia and has driven 1574 miles and the clutch burnt out,now im a truck mechanic and you dont need an engineering degree to know thats not right,so he took it back to the dealer he got it off his car being the second car bought off this dealer and the fourth skoda between us.

A mechanic did a test drive and said oh yes sir your clutch is gone we will fix that dont worry we will get you a hire car,ok good fast service i hear you say nope! its all down hill from hear i assumed at 1574 miles skoda will fix this has to be a fault,and yes the dealer rang my father to say your clutch has worn out on one side a rivet is gone so we will fit a compleat clutch and flywheel but your paying,as many his age would do he said go do it i need my car and paid 700 quid for the pleasure.

Now after he pays and gets his car back he tells me what he had to pay and im sure you can guess im not happy a clutch does not wear on one side and not the other,so i contact the dealer being calm and they tell me oh no thats just the way it is but after a lot of pushing from me agree to contact skoda uk.

A week or so later and many phone calls made by me to the dealer the say skoda wont pay its a clutch and thats that,now to me there is a fault and everyone i have spoken to have said some thing sticking in there thats up to skoda is it not?

I have now contacted skoda uk and am waiting to hear from them what i want to know has anyone else had this problem?

thanks

Well sorry to hear this, however could he have worn his clutch away ? He is 95 wow ! Not being ageist but you've got think is he riding he clutch? It is wear and tear sorry even at 1574 miles ? Yes probably haveou recently been in the ar with him ? Is he a good driver ? If h is well " trading standards"

i have his driveing is fine

its the fact that the clutch has only worn on the flywheel side,thats says to me the friction plate is sticking on the spigot shaft and not fully moving away from the flywheel when the clutch is depressed

i was thinking trading standards or watch dog

Trading standards and tell them you are on here that MAY help

ok thanks i will update this as things move on

1500 miles for a clutch - No way.

Send Skoda UK a link to this thread.

After all, current and prospective buyers are reading this.

I'm dissapointed in Skoda UKs response in this instance. Also can you name the dealer in case?

Before you go racing to TS, they will direct you to the Citizens Advice Bureau as it is highly likely to end up being a civil matter. That said the below link may provide you with some guidance. The Sale of Goods Act will provide you with some protection in this, in that you purchase something with the expectation that it will last for a "reasonable" amount of time. It does depend on how well you are able to represent the word reasonable.

http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/cgi-bin/glos/con1item.cgi?file=*ADV0046-1011.txt

Trading standards and tell them you are on here that MAY help

Membership of a forum doesn't dictate the response of TS, regardless of how good the forum! However it may have some further affect on Skoda UK.

I thoughy even though they are wear and tear clutches were covered for at least 5k.....

edit: and yeah go to skoda UK...

Before you go racing to TS, they will direct you to the Citizens Advice Bureau as it is highly likely to end up being a civil matter. That said the below link may provide you with some guidance. The Sale of Goods Act will provide you with some protection in this, in that you purchase something with the expectation that it will last for a "reasonable" amount of time. It does depend on how well you are able to represent the word reasonable.

http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/cgi-bin/glos/con1item.cgi?file=*ADV0046-1011.txt

Membership of a forum doesn't dictate the response of TS, regardless of how good the forum! However it may have some further affect on Skoda UK.

No not tell ts your on here , the dealership and let skoda UK know as well

Sounds to me its Ben slipping when pulling away, does he live somewhere hilly?

no no real hills

it was bought from john mullhollands in randelstown

im very let down by the whole thing this is the forth skoda we have bought new and could well be the last im sorry to say

Quote “I’m not happy a clutch does not wear on one side and not the other"

O yes it does/can.

I have replaced many a clutch on cars with approx 2000 miles and sometimes under.

It all down to the driver I am sorry to say and yes I have every sympathy for him.

Bless him at 95 I hope I am still driving.

It’s a sad fact that older people do have a habit of slipping the clutch.

It’s either down to their lack of hearing or simply forgetting.

In the past I have replaced a clutch and only charged them for the parts.

Simply because the warranty is only if a part of the clutch fails.

After another clutch burn out I resorted to charging properly for the job.

You cannot run a business on charity.

The only thing to do is ask for the Clutch assembly back.

Get it checked out by a professional mechanic and see what his remarks on it are.

If it is considered faulty then carry on with T.S or C.A.

Good luck and best regards to your 95 year old Dad.

Ray

Personaly as you say your father is a reasonale driver for his age I can't see how it can be anything other than a faulty clutch. If it was 10,000 miles the dealer might have a point but not less than 2k when a clutch is supposed to last upwards of 100,000 miles?

Maybe worth asking if they can provide instances where othe rclutches have worn out so soon due to driver error, or ask the same question of SUK or the local trading standards people.

good luck

Get him an auto ?

https://www.gov.uk/consumer-protection-rights

Umm.. Not sure what I would do if this was me... If you drive around with your brakes on I think they would last maybe the same amount of miles.. I think I would have my parent driving me places but secretly watching the driving like an hawk to determined my next step.

Welcome to the forum btw

Personaly as you say your father is a reasonale driver for his age I can't see how it can be anything other than a faulty clutch. If it was 10,000 miles the dealer might have a point but not less than 2k when a clutch is supposed to last upwards of 100,000 miles?

Maybe worth asking if they can provide instances where othe rclutches have worn out so soon due to driver error, or ask the same question of SUK or the local trading standards people.

good luck

indeed, my last manual was a grande punto deisel (1.9) it was remapped at 7k with 314lbs/ft of torque, then used and abused (alot of the driving was with learners) for 110k, and the original clutch still felt "as new" at these miles, light pedal, no difference in travel, no slip ect ect ect .. if a clutch is designed to last this long (running more torque than factory spec) surely it must be impossible to wear it out in 2k......

surely it must be impossible to wear it out in 2k......

Apparently not but if the 95 year old is riding the clutch and pulling away in wrong gear and slipping it, it would burn out very quickly and lets face it how many times have we seen how awful the older generation drive , I can see in myself that my driving skills are leaving me and I'm only 51

and I'm only 51

oh come on, you expect us to believe that :p

but back on track, id want them to show me the proof as i also don't think its possible if he drives how you've described

ive witnessed how garages are with people and some aren't just sexist but also ageist

Skippy, I too have seen this over the years on many vehicles. Assuming dad's driving is ok, your assessment is correct in my view. The clutch disc is likely to be slipping against the flywheel due to it being too tight on the gearbox output shaft splines. This may only occur when the engine and gearbox unit is hot. The clutch disc is likely faulty or the output shaft may be distorted. I've had all those things on customer cars over the years. Often this stiction will show up, as you probably know, with some form of stiff gearchange in the lower gears only, or is maybe only detectable in the lower gears when stopping with the car sometimes wanting to continue to 'power' slightly forwards in first or second gear in traffic until the brakes are applied, and breaking the the clutch stiction. It happens but is not common of course. Given a rivet was missing too, I'd be talking directly to Skoda UK and follow that up with a polite letter making all the relevant points. I personally would be surprised if after proper respresentation of the facts, Skoda didn't help out to some degree. After all, a clutch disc doesn't normally wear out on one side only does it so a fault is more likely than bad driving! Good luck!

Edited 1 February, 201313 yr by Estate Man

Skippy, I too have seen this over the years on many vehicles. Assuming dad's driving is ok, your assessment is correct in my view. The clutch disc is likely to be slipping against the flywheel due to it being too tight on the gearbox output shaft splines. This may only occur when the engine and gearbox unit is hot. The clutch disc is likely faulty or the output shaft may be distorted. I've had all those things on customer cars over the years. Often this stiction will show up, as you probably know, with some form of stiff gearchange in the lower gears only, or is maybe only detectable in the lower gears when stopping with the car sometimes wanting to continue to 'power' slightly forwards in first or second gear in traffic until the brakes are applied, and breaking the the clutch stiction. It happens but is not common of course. Given a rivet was missing too, I'd be talking directly to Skoda UK and follow that up with a polite letter making all the relevant points. I personally would be surprised if after proper respresentation of the facts, Skoda didn't help out to some degree. After all, a clutch disc doesn't normally wear out on one side only does it so a fault is more likely than bad driving! Good luck!

Easily the best and most sensible reply so far on this.