Sticky clutch?

[Love_iTT]

I took some clients to lunch today and as I was about to arrive I changed down from 6th to 5th, still a little way to go to the entrance so kept the power on but the clutch failed to engage, horrible smell from the clutch as if it was slipping (engine reved but no engagement) I pressed the clutch pedal again and all was fine but I felt a little concerned as to why it should happen

Is there any known issues with clutches on the B7? I will be mentioning it to the dealer anyway just to cover myself but I thought I would ask on here first. The car has only just covered 2000 miles now and I was doing less than 60 when this happened so needless to say I'm a little concerned.

Could it just be that it's still new and the clutch is a bit sticky?

Any help much appreciated.

Graham

[theaxe]

Not sure if this is relevant but from another thread:

No, not necessarily ... it happens on any gear change. What seems to trigger it is how hard and how fast you depress the clutch. The faster and harder you do it, then harder it becomes ...

Saint, sorry to hear about your clutch issue. I hope it is not this but on the earlier cars there is a known issue with the clutch vacuum assist line which controls clutch actuation. As the line collapses, it squeezes off the vacuum at the same time as you're depressing the pedal. This causes the pedal to go stiff.

You can test for the problem by letting the car sit at idle and then press the clutch repeatedly as fast as you can. If the pedal stiffens, you have the issue.

I would avoid driving too spiritedly unless you get audi to check it and ensure your car has the more updated vacuum line. If this isn't the problem, it would be interesting if you report back with details.

Best of luck.

Alex

[alex_123_fra]

Was just about to post that from the original thread but you beat me to it axe .

Graham, your car would appear too new for the vacuum line problem but you never know. They should certainly check it and give you an explanation as to why your clutch should be behaving like this after only 2k miles.

Good luck.

Alex

[Love_iTT]

Thanks for your early replies chaps, I'll speak to the dealer and try to find out what's going on and report back.

Cheers, Graham

[audijohn]

Graham, get the car checked over, If the clutch slipped and gave a burning smell it should be investigated.

[r4fdud]

yes i have experienced this especially whe driving hard...actaully my b5 did the same thing once

[berry100]

Just brought this thread back to life!!!

Changed from 4th to 5th this morning at no great speed and there was no gear engagement till i depressed the clutch again.........and got the horrible clutch slip smell....

[W8PMC]

A chap over on the TT-Forum is about to have his 4th Clutch fitted as they've all failed to date & it now appears it must be a hydraulic system issue rather than the clutch itself, as his current replace is for a clutch that didn't even cover 100miles.

Also a chap at VMAX recently was having clutch issues & rested his car for a while.

TBH to date i've had no problems & at VMAX i did some very hard launches. That said, i've missed 2nd gear a few times when changing quickly, but i think that's more user error.

[richmay76]

Hello (sticks hand up at back)

I had the vacuum assist line (in fact the entire clutch assembly) replaced last week. However I'm sure it's showing signs of returning to it's old behaviour (clutch becoming heavy and smelly, refusing to engage, throttle full on and looking like a complete numpty at the lights) so may get it checked over again. Initially the dealer had no idea, or pretended to have no idea (I suspect the former) about the clutch issue. I insisted that they go and get one of the guys from out back to have a look. Hopefully not the same guy who neglected to adjust the exhaust clamps post clutch fitting and expected me to drive home with extra SoundFX.

[berry100]

Mine checked by Audi, no visible faults, and not seen any signs of it since.

Maybe just a one off, as there's been no signs of clutch slippage previously......

[t_urbo]

If the clutch is smelling that much then its slipping big time, get it looked at asap as it wont take long to burn out.

Remember if its not the clutch itself at fault then your going to have some heavy wear on it which audi probably wont give a toss about.

Usually it will only stink if you do heavy standing starts.

[tomyeh]

i had the same problem yesterday when i changed down from 6th gear to 5th gear, shifted down and stepped on the throttle hard and realise the clutch wasn't engaging then quickly changed back to 6th. That smell was really terrible. just done over 2200km now.... should i get the car checked?

[binder]

I have had the smell and always on a change down. I think I must be a bit heavy handed on the change down. Possibly because when I learnt to drive it was a case of using engine braking to save the brakes and a bit of that must still be in my memory!!!

[richmay76]

I always 'engine brake' - surely that shouldn't be a problem... going to get it checked and replaced again. Anybody with this issue should do the same asap.

P.S. Anybody else here got their car from Finchley Road Audi?

[alex_123_fra]

Disappointing to hear about all these clutch problems. Has anyone had their clutch replaced and how much was it roughly?

I have to say I never 'engine-brake' as I don't like the stress it places on drivetrain components. If driving spiritedly, I tend to blip the throttle to avoid it (heel and toe or otherwise). Brakes (discs and pads) are usually much cheaper and less hassle to replace, so I don't really see the benefit of engine-braking.