Hi,

Driving around 8 months ago in some torrential rain, the clutch started slipping on the car. That’s it I thought but half an hour later it was fine. I just put it down to some water ingress into the clutch maybe. It continued to be fine for some months and one day out of the blue it started slipping again, and lo and behold half an hour later it was fine again. It did it again a month or so again and then today it started slipping again but on the run up the road from the supermarket I hoofed it in third and forth and it was fine again. Total mileage between first occurrence and now, minimum of 10,000 miles so it’s clearly not a worn out friction plate as it would have just died long ago.

In between the first instance and now I did think the clutch had failed completely but turned out to be the master cylinder which has been replaced. The is a squeaky noise as I depress the pedal however, a bit like a squeaky door hinge. Pedal feels ok although perhaps a smidgen heavier than otjer cars I’ve driven.

Any ideas?

I’m tempted to bang a clutch in it when my mechanic gets back offf holiday in a couple of weeks as it’s done 210,000 and I believe it’s never had a clutch.

So next question. According to my parts suppliers and also checked with euro car parts, they are only listing a normal clutch kit as they are saying it’s a solid flywheel? It has stop/start facility. Is there any way of checking?

I’m tempted if it’s a DM to throw a conversion on it due to the cost of the flywheel and clutch otherwise on such a high miles and ageing car.

Any thoughts or help welcome. I can supply reg. or chassis number if needed.

Thanks

On 17/09/2025 at 06:11, capriman said:

That’s it I thought but half an hour later it was fine

How much was it slipping for this half an hour.?

On 17/09/2025 at 06:11, capriman said:

started slipping again, and lo and behold half an hour later it was fine again

So does it slip for half an hour or do you just not notice it half an hour later when you drive it again?

Slipping for half an hour will roast a clutch.

On 17/09/2025 at 06:11, capriman said:

Total mileage between first occurrence and now, minimum of 10,000 miles so it’s clearly not a worn out friction plate as it would have just died long ago.

Really depends how much it actually slips. I've had a slipping clutch for 10,000K before. Only slipped under hard loads bit was fine if you babied it a bit.

Can you describe what happens when it's slipping??

On 17/09/2025 at 06:11, capriman said:

I hoofed it in third and forth and it was fine again.

One would think that would make it slip alot. Can you elaborate on what happened and what you observed as a slipping clutch?

It sounds a bit like the throwout bearing / slave cylinder isn't releasing properly. That may cause intermittent slipping.

Try lifting the pedal with your foot next time it slips.

On 17/09/2025 at 06:11, capriman said:

The is a squeaky noise as I depress the pedal however, a bit like a squeaky door hinge.

Like a single squeak as you press it or a squeak that cycles due to engine rotation. Need a bit more detail.

If its a single squeak it may be just a sticking thrust bearing as mentioned above

If a constant squeak due to engine rotation it may be a dry thrust bearing.

You may be able to lubricate the sticking bearing (spray something on the shaft it slides along) but if its a buggered bearing probably wait for it to get worse then replace along with the clutch plates

Thanks for the reply.

Ok this all started back in February. I was driving in monsoon like rain with lots,of flooding and the clutch was slipping in third and forth gear between 2000-3000 rpm where the most torque is but once the clutch actually grabbed it would drive fine. Once it was cruising or didn’t really force the acceleration it drove fine. I was on fast A roads so limited gear changes necessary. The car is high miles and has never had a clutch and the pedal is right near the top so I know it’s not got a lot of life in it.

Anyway, a short while later I joined the motorway and gave it some heavy throttle up the slip road and it didn’t slip. It then didn’t slip again for a month or two. This same scenario has now played out 4 times since. It will slip in third and forth under fairly robust acceleration but then is fine a while later, sometimes it will sort itself while being driven and other times it seems better after being left overnight.

I’ve never got it to slip in first or second gear.

The squeak is only as the pedal goes down or up, it’s a function of the pedal movement, not a rotating squeak.

My guess is the clutch is well worn and just sometimes something in the actuation is sticking just enough to allow the clutch pressure plate to not quite exert enough pressure to clamp fully.

Does that help any more?

Superb 1.6TDI:

5 speed manual is with single mass flywheel - longlasting and clutch needs replacement with high mileage

6 speed manual is with dual mass flywheel - typical problems, like rattle noise etc

14 hours ago, capriman said:

My guess is the clutch is well worn and just sometimes something in the actuation is sticking just enough to allow the clutch pressure plate to not quite exert enough pressure to clamp fully.

Agree.

I'd run it for a bit until your mate gets back from holidays at least. Id just replace the clutch when it starts to slip regularly under normal driving.

Next time it slips, try lifting the pedal a bit. Might do nothing but may allow it to release the throwout bearing a bit more

Thanks both. The fact it’s a solid flywheel means the job comes in at around £400 which is far better than the alternative! Given the age and mileage of the car it’s the difference between being a viable repair and binning the car.

I’ll monitor it but looking to get a new clutch in before the really bad weather sets in. Thanks again.

Can I bump this guys?

Update. Got a clutch and a slave. Was going to have the. Fitted today but my mechanic has injured his arm so said he could only do the slave.

Now the clutch has started slipping more and more often to the point it acts up Most days now but it’s still not acting like a worn out friction plate! An example… pulled off a roundabout the other day and once I engaged third it slipped fairly badly so I backed off the traffic ahead and let the revs drop right off to about 1400 way off turbo and floored it, and as soon as the low torque kicked in about 1700 rpm it slipped but not quite as bad, repeated again and only slight slipping, by the 4th time no slipping at all. Approached next roundabout and had to use the clutch and again it slipped but after 3 or 4 eases off on the gas and accelerations, the slipping vanished.

Had new slave fitted today and it’s still the same.

The car has had a new master about a year ago.

Now I know it’s due a clutch as it’s done 226k miles and never had one but I’m now concerned that I replace the clutch and I end up destroying it because somehow the clutch isn’t deactivating properly.

Someone help please as it’s now driving me to distraction!

P.s: it’s a 5 Speed green line so will have a solid flywheel.

Thanks in advance