Having been at a wedding near Teweksbury over the weekend (- amasingly it still went ahead) and driving through some fairly deep water (centre of the wheel depth) I parked up & came back to the car a couple of hours later to find that the clutch wouldn't dissengage :eek:

The general concensus was that water had got onto the plates & they had rusted together.

I eventually managed to get it dissengaged by cranking it in gear with the handbrake on full, there was a loud 'BANG' and it started working again & seems to be working fine (have done about another 800 miles since).

I was abit surprised that the clutch would be so easily affected, as I have driven 'lesser' cars through deeper water without an issue.

Anyone else had similar issues?

didn't you see the row of "premier" cars by the railway line? mercs, beemers, all flooded. I am guessing the lower ride hight was causing issues in the deep water.

didn't you see the row of "premier" cars by the railway line? mercs, beemers, all flooded. I am guessing the lower ride hight was causing issues in the deep water.

Saw plenty of 'Total losses' around the place - dread to think what the clean up bill is going to be.

I didn't think the Octy was 'that much' lower, but obviously even afew millimetres will make quite a difference - was just glad i got them separated as skoda were quoting

i am fine, work in Tewkesbury, live in Cheltenham. I think the only way i got home on friday was by hitting a lake/puddle far to quickly and getting the octy aqua-planning!

We came across exactly that same problem some months ago on a VRS. The owner had driven through a puddle on the way home a short way from home, went out to it the follwing morning and the clutch wouldn't disengage. We had to be fairly brutal with it, we started it in gear and took it for a drive.

Had the exact same thing happen to, dear wifey decided to go boating in it then wouldn't engage reverse after she left it while at work. I was worried and asked around, the garage i use for my other car said it can and does happen, they felt it would be ok if driven carefully for a while.

On the grounds Skoda have just quoted me

Did the same on a 98 Impreza Turbo about 7 years ago - pedal to the floor wouldnt come back up - so I wrenched it up by hand and had 18 more months trouble free motoring!!

I wouldn't worry about it - stuck clutches do make one hell of a noise when you "release" them. If it appears to be working fine then just keep an eye on it for a while.

This happened to my golf when I got stranded in Hull, was just over a foot of water and badly affected it, it was really stiff and gratey, so much so, I had to abandon the car for a few hours to dry out. Was ok again within a few days after a well earned rest and a huge bang as it came loose again!

Old thread revival, but it happened to me today, exact same cicumstances. I did the same "fix"started engine in first gear until free.

I had to drive back through the same "puddle" on my way home too, so might be stuck again:(

I'm guessing the new compounds like brakes are semi metallic as they can't use asbestos any more.

Due to that when they get wet they are going to stick to the metal surface.