Hi my mum has recently bought a 2021 Skoda Suberb Manual (diesel) after having to trade in her Audi A6. She’s found that she’s constantly stalling, or feeling she’s out of gear and after 40 odd years of long distance driving and no claims bonus- I’m not sure she’s the issue. I offered to try it and see if I could help with the issue (I drive a FordFiesta 1L Ecoboost Petrol) and potentially give advice if I find anything she’s yet to spot. In comparison, the Skoda has no feedback through the pedals (this is marginally better in Sport Mode) and no feeling of being able to find a biting point at all- overall a very flimsy feel. Driving very leisurely, it’s ok but the minute you ask something from it, it over-revvs, stalls, or generally struggles. Is this a normal thing to expect from the Skoda or is it an issue? Is it genuinely just both the drivers not being able to drive? I’ve driven a couple other cars in my time as a driver and none have felt like this! (Fiat 500, Audi A6 and a Ford Fiesta Petrol)

Where does the clutch bite, near the top?

As above.  Is the clutch bite quite high and can you tell if there is any slip?  Could be that the car was used around town and the clutch has had a beating.  There are a few solutions for the throttle pedal feel.  If you have access to VCDS or OBDeleven you can change the throttle profile to Audi.  This sometimes messes with other things so make sure you know how to get it back to normal.  The other fix is a pedal box.  This gets plugged inline with the throttle pedal cable (electronic not mechanical) and allows you to alter the application of power.  You don't get any additional power but it can transform how the car feels and I can definitely recommend it.  As it's not a performance mod, many insurance companies don't charge extra either.

2 hours ago, Gammyleg said:

Where does the clutch bite, near the top?

It almost depends what gear your in- sometimes is ok near the bottom, others it felt very high and therefore I ended up over revving by accident. Mum finds it incredibly easy to stall because you don’t get any feel through the pedal. With my Fiesta, my foot was practically sprung back in comparison. It’s really hard to tell where the biting point is as it doesn’t feel like it engages in the same way as a typical manual would for example doing a hill start- you have to pray for the best! I found myself constantly looking at the revs to see when I could change gear, and even then, that’s not always reliable.

 

Edit to add: I asked mum and she says: “It never bites, you just have guess” 

1 hour ago, MarkyG82 said:

As above.  Is the clutch bite quite high and can you tell if there is any slip?  Could be that the car was used around town and the clutch has had a beating.  There are a few solutions for the throttle pedal feel.  If you have access to VCDS or OBDeleven you can change the throttle profile to Audi.  This sometimes messes with other things so make sure you know how to get it back to normal.  The other fix is a pedal box.  This gets plugged inline with the throttle pedal cable (electronic not mechanical) and allows you to alter the application of power.  You don't get any additional power but it can transform how the car feels and I can definitely recommend it.  As it's not a performance mod, many insurance companies don't charge extra either.

See above regards to the clutch.

 

Thank you for your advice- I don’t have access/ any idea what VDCS / OBDeleven is! I’ll have a look but it sounds like the second option might be a better idea for the novice!

What’s the mileage? Hopefully it’s just a case of getting use to it

 

I think the test for testing if a clutch is bad is to pull away from 3rd gear, if it doesn’t stall then the clutch is bad

Just now, Danoid said:

What’s the mileage? Hopefully it’s just a case of getting use to it

 

I think the test for testing if a clutch is bad is to pull away from 3rd gear, if it doesn’t stall then the clutch is bad

 

This is one test but not necessarily conclusive.  Another test is to get up to a cruising speed (anything above 20mph) go into a highish gear for the speed and plant the throttle.  The rev should change in line with the speedo.  If it increases out of line with the speedo then it's slipping.

A diesel manual should be almost impossible to stall even if your are hard with the clutch. 

 

There is plenty of torque even at pull away & you should be able to drive completely from standstill just using the clutch (without touching the accelerator pedal).

 

The idle controller is very strong in a diesel.

 

 

I would say that your clutch is completely shot or you have problems with the DMF (flywheel).

You can test the flywheel by driving in gear.

Accelerate, no accelerator, accelerate no accelerator & if you hear a clanking each time the engine engages/disengages this is also a problem. 

 

 

Did you buy the car from a garage or private sale?

I'd recommend taking it back to the garage if you can.

Edited 26 July, 20241 yr by Gabbo