How long are people getting out of a manual clutch on their vRS TSi manual?

 

Looks like mine is starting to slip.  Only had the car for 4k miles and it's on 33k.   Quite shocked it would go at that mileage to be honest.  Obviously I don't know how somebody drove it before me but even if they weren't great that's pretty quick.  Previous cars have gone at more like 80k-95k and this car did about 1k a month prior to my ownership which I'd have thought was not around town.

 

Also, any ideas how much I'm looking for a replacement?    

 

Figured getting a manual would be cheaper long term than a DSG, however not if the clutches don't last!

 

I did 70K+ miles on my previous 2010 Mk2 VRS TSi with no hint of slippage. Current Mk3 on 27K with no issues.  Problem most likely the previous owner perhaps?  Some people can wear out a clutch in 10K or less. 

My 245 did 29,000 miles before trading it in last month and the original clutch was in good shape despite coping with 336bhp and 517nm of torque. Having said that I hardly ever tried to launch it away from traffic lights and avoided riding the clutch in traffic jams like some people do and 70% of those miles were motorway cruising.

1 hour ago, Alex-W said:

How long are people getting out of a manual clutch on their vRS TSi manual?

How long is a piece of string?

 

As per other threads, I've seen clutches last anything from 2_000 to 200_000 miles. How (style) and where (traffic) the car is driven is more important than how far.

it makes sense to get an uprated replacement. sachs performance clutch and fitting plus a replacement release bearing cost around a grand and took a day. 

is your car remapped? if not and you are thinking of it in the future don't replace with a stock clutch

@Alex-W do a search a previous member had a manufacturer defective clutch plate but be warned, he had to fight like F with SUK to get it paid for on warranty.

 

Found the link for you

 

 

Edited 28 January, 20206 yr by themanwithnoaim

Cheers, the issue is the 3yr skoda warranty ran out at the start of Jan.  

I've contacted the garage I got it from to see if they can help me out also, they've got Skoda dealers in the group so hopefully they can do something for me.

 

Got a quote from jkm, awaiting a couple more quotes.

Interestingly, spoke to Kate at JKM who said that the standard clutch is fine for stage 1, only if you want to go 2+ 

My car is stock but I may want to go stage 1 at some point.  No more than that though.

 

The upgraded clutch is also WAY more expensive and significantly harder pedal, plus less smooth in traffic, so tbh I can't see me having anything other than stock.

On the plus side, I dusted off the 'spare' car today.

The 20yr old one that started first time despite not being used for weeks and, well, 'just works' as the manufacturer once marketed..  

 

 

1 hour ago, Alex-W said:

Cheers, the issue is the 3yr skoda warranty ran out at the start of Jan.  

I've contacted the garage I got it from to see if they can help me out also, they've got Skoda dealers in the group so hopefully they can do something for me.

 

Got a quote from jkm, awaiting a couple more quotes.

Interestingly, spoke to Kate at JKM who said that the standard clutch is fine for stage 1, only if you want to go 2+ 

My car is stock but I may want to go stage 1 at some point.  No more than that though.

 

The upgraded clutch is also WAY more expensive and significantly harder pedal, plus less smooth in traffic, so tbh I can't see me having anything other than stock.

 

I take it then you purchased the car from a non-franchised dealer? Well that rules out any goodwill. And I assume you didn't purchase an extended warranty - well that excludes claiming then.

 

How long ago did you purchase the car? The only option remaining of others covering the repair would be if the failure occurs within the 1st 30days since purchase but after that, because it's a wear and tear item, my gut feeling is the garage would say the fault wasn't present at time of purchase. If it's only started to slip after 4000 miles, that'd back up the garage's opinion that the clutch was good when you purchased it.

 

33k isn't premature for a clutch - all depends on how the car was treated before you bought it - that's one of the pitfalls of buying a used car.

 

If it turns out the Dual Mass Flywheel is problematic, that's a different matter and you could claim against the supplying dealer if the car was purchased less than 6 months ago. 

Edited 29 January, 20206 yr by Guest

You're correct, non franchised dealer, bought 7 months ago.  

Although they are part of a group that has two Skoda dealers within it.

 

 

'standard clutch fine for stage 1'

no its not, it might be ok for a while but it will slip. have a venture onto the golf r forums where stock clutches with no remap start to slip.....

Are they the same clutch?  Presumably if not, they're interchangeable?

As said above the mileage is virtually a red herring......

 

5000 miles through central London and anyone could wear a clutch out.

 

5k up & down the M6 and there should be no wear.

 

And obviously the driving style, heavy starts, riding the clutch at lights etc etc.  Get it changed and look after it, it will last you forever...!

Surely it would depend on how and where the car is driven. As mentioned above, if you're doing a lot of city, slow and stop start traffic that would wear it out 'quicker' than if you're just up and down the motorway. Same as if you live in a place where hill starts are needed a lot, or if you're towing something with a bit of weight were moving away takes a bit of effort for the car.

 

Giving it beans down the back roads.......unless you're doing silly speeds or your route has come tight bits, you wouldn't really need to change up or down a lot. The main bit of road I drive on mainly uses 3rd, occasionally 4th.

 

Only clutch I've ever changed is the one on my track bike. However, I'm glad it's my track bike because the springs are heavy duty and after a day riding, my left forearm is ruined. On some of the more extremely tuned cars I've watched videos of, they need an uprated clutch, which quite often leads to either them or the reviewer commenting on it's heaviness. I wouldn't fancy a heavy clutch (car or bike) on any of my dailies.

 

Question, would upgrading the fluids and replacing the clutch line be of benefit?

As members have stated, a lot depends on driving style and roads you mainly drive on. My last car, a 2011 Octavia VRS TSI was sold at 104k miles, still on the original clutch. I bought the car on 30k miles. At around 60k miles I had it stage one mapped. When I did sell it there was not a hint of the clutch going wrong. So a standard clutch can last a fair while even when mapped, if you don't abuse it too much.

I'm being told mixed things about whether I'm likely to need a new DMF.

I've been told it's very likely I'll need one and that is very unlikely.

 

That may just be an indicator of places tenancy to be cautious or not.

 

Thoughts?  

What’s the slipping like?

 

DMF used to be really bad but these days much better.

I only noticed it in 6th, maybe 5th.

Foot down on the motorway, generally on a bit of an incline and it starts slipping.

 

Also, the day before I noticed that it slipped when a had to get a wheel up a kerb from being static and started smelling....

 

So, basically, it's only presently slipping in situations where it's trying to use max torque.  Don't notice in other gears.

 

The DMF adds £600 to the price if that needs doing so it's pretty significant, however it sounds very much like whether it needs doing is down to different people's judgement and approach. 

6 minutes ago, Alex-W said:

I only noticed it in 6th, maybe 5th.

Foot down on the motorway, generally on a bit of an incline and it starts slipping.

 

Also, the day before I noticed that it slipped when a had to get a wheel up a kerb from being static and started smelling....

 

So, basically, it's only presently slipping in situations where it's trying to use max torque.  Don't notice in other gears.

 

The DMF adds £600 to the price if that needs doing so it's pretty significant, however it sounds very much like whether it needs doing is down to different people's judgement and approach. 

 

If it is slipping that easily then it needs to be fixed.

 

Unfortunately as others have said mileage is irrelevant, it is how much the clutch is used (or abused). 

Drive in a city and lots of use, but cruise on a motorway and little use.

 

Or if you live somewhere stupidly hilly, have you ever hired a car for a week in Maderia ?

 

A knackered clutch if left will damage the DMF too.

 

you can get a DMF and clutch bundle for a fair amount less than a clutch and a DMF separately.

 

All you can do is find a good independent and get prices for one/both.

15 hours ago, Alex-W said:

I'm being told mixed things about whether I'm likely to need a new DMF.

I've been told it's very likely I'll need one and that is very unlikely.

 

That may just be an indicator of places tenancy to be cautious or not.

 

Thoughts?  

Well, you can't say either way until you split the engine and box, then inspect the DMF. My advice would be to budget for both but note that you may well not need the flywheel unless it's already noisy.

26 minutes ago, SurreyJohn said:

have you ever hired a car for a week in Maderia ?

 

 

As it happens, yes.  

They gave me a 1.0 or 1.2 petrol corsa, the guy was trying to talk me into upgrading to a diesel as it'll handle the hills better.   My view was it's not my car or clutch so I couldn't care less if it struggles or not.

I have to admit, I was shocked by the incline of some of the hills (we went right up to that cafe/viewing point at the very top, that was actually in the clouds).    

And yes, I did smell clutch on a few occassions....  

 

I don't really know why they stocked unsuitable cars at the hire car place... not my problem but they must have had hefty maintenance costs.

 

4 hours ago, Alex-W said:

 

As it happens, yes.  

They gave me a 1.0 or 1.2 petrol corsa, the guy was trying to talk me into upgrading to a diesel as it'll handle the hills better.   My view was it's not my car or clutch so I couldn't care less if it struggles or not.

I have to admit, I was shocked by the incline of some of the hills (we went right up to that cafe/viewing point at the very top, that was actually in the clouds).    

And yes, I did smell clutch on a few occassions....  

 

I don't really know why they stocked unsuitable cars at the hire car place... not my problem but they must have had hefty maintenance costs.

 

 

Just chop the cars in on the mainland after 6 months & let unsuspecting 2nd owner foot the bill.

My vrs tsi 2014 has done 95k of which last 10k were with a stage 1 revo remap. Clutch (genuinely) still feels like new

Edited 6 February, 20206 yr by octaviavrs4

9 hours ago, octaviavrs4 said:

My vrs tsi 2014 has done 95k of which last 10k were with a stage 1 revo remap. Clutch (genuinely) still feels like new

 

Just to be clear, have you owned the car from new? ( i.e. how old is the clutch? ) 95k is impressive if it's the original clutch with that amount of power going thru it.