Clutch Life Expectancy

Rackstar

Looking for some advice please.

I've got a Kia Cee'd 1.6 Diesel. It's 2 years old with 70,000 km.

The clutch is slipping. I made the garage aware of this before the car was serviced last week. When I got it back they told me that I'd have to pay for a new clutch and labour to fit it. I pushed them and they agreed to check with Kia if it could be done under warranty. They have come back to me and want to get the car in now to check the clutch. They will replace FOC if the clutch is faulty but if it's just wear and tear it won't be covered.

How will they tell if it's wear and tear or if it's an issue with the clutch? (Is this a fob off and they'll just tell me it's wear and tear?)

I've been driving for 15 years and covered 450,000km without previously having to replace a clutch. I don't ride the clutch or abuse cars.

Is it reasonable for a clutch to need replacing after 2 years and 70,000 km?

galwaytt

...fwiw, my SO-in-law, 08 Agila: 2 clutches in 80k miles.

Me?, 139k miles on the same clutch so far (Audi TT).

....mightn't be the car................

Long Gone

How long is a piece of string ? Depends a lot on driving style. If you have a tendancy to let the clutch slip, hold the car with the clutch instead of the handbrake or burn rubber when you pull off then obviously your clutch wear out quicker.

Stop start city driving will wear it more than if you spend all your time on a motorway.

On average and with reasonable driving you should get at least 50,000+ miles out of a clutch.

ianobrien

Rackstar wrote: »

I've been driving for 15 years and covered 450,000km without previously having to replace a clutch.

Is that all on the one clutch in one car or across multiple clutches in multiple cars?

OP, you are not alone in burning out clutches on modern diesels as I've smelt and heard the abuse people are giving modern diesels. They are driving them like small petrols (bit of throttle off the line & slipping the clutch) when it's not needed.

As an aside, my max/min records stand at 4.8 miles to burn out a clutch, and putting 250k on another without burning that out (changed car) so driving styles determine clutch life.

bazz26

A clutch is classed as a wear and tear consumable component, however if there is evidence that it has prematurely failed as opposed to excessive wear then the manufacturer should cover the cost of replacing it. The problem with getting the main dealer to disassemble it and examine it for signs of either excessive wear or premature failure is that if it is found to be excessive wear then you have already spent money at that point and the clutch is out. Either way the dealer will end up getting the job really.

The other problem I see is that it is normally recommended to replace the flywheel along with the clutch as you already have the gearbox out, etc so it is cost effective to replace both at the same time. Now if the manufacturer may not cover the cost of replacing the flywheel if they deem it is not defective and may only replace the defective parts.

mickdw

If you don't generally burn clutches, it's likely there is another issue causing the clutch to slip.
See if you can hammer a good deal with garage re stripping cost if you do need to pay.
Also get contact details for kia warranty department just in case dealer would try to pull a fast one by charging you and also claiming it off kia. I've seen it happen.

greasepalm

2 years on a diesel clutch i would argue your case.

corkgsxr

Far too many variables to say

Hachiko

Rackstar wrote: »

Looking for some advice please.

I've got a Kia Cee'd 1.6 Diesel. It's 2 years old with 70,000 km.

The clutch is slipping. I made the garage aware of this before the car was serviced last week. When I got it back they told me that I'd have to pay for a new clutch and labour to fit it. I pushed them and they agreed to check with Kia if it could be done under warranty. They have come back to me and want to get the car in now to check the clutch. They will replace FOC if the clutch is faulty but if it's just wear and tear it won't be covered.

How will they tell if it's wear and tear or if it's an issue with the clutch? (Is this a fob off and they'll just tell me it's wear and tear?)

I've been driving for 15 years and covered 450,000km without previously having to replace a clutch. I don't ride the clutch or abuse cars.

Is it reasonable for a clutch to need replacing after 2 years and 70,000 km?

not the clutch, the driver.

jimgoose

Hmm. Had the clutch rebuilt a few months back at 143,000 miles. It had been slipping very slightly for years, particularly in the wet for some reason, at take-off which I put down to a slight kink in one of the plates. You could "spin it out of it" by increasing revs slightly as the clutch dropped. Then it started to produce a very slight whine when disengaged, the first signs of release bearing trouble, so a clutch-kit went in and job-jobbed. This is in a two-ton, 3-litre Jaaag which wouldn't give a clutch the easiest time of it, although it is a pretty strong unit.

Rackstar

ianobrien wrote: »

Is that all on the one clutch in one car or across multiple clutches in multiple cars?

OP, you are not alone in burning out clutches on modern diesels as I've smelt and heard the abuse people are giving modern diesels. They are driving them like small petrols (bit of throttle off the line & slipping the clutch) when it's not needed.

As an aside, my max/min records stand at 4.8 miles to burn out a clutch, and putting 250k on another without burning that out (changed car) so driving styles determine clutch life.

200k km in one turbo diesel Focus and 100k km in another turbo diesel Focus.

The rest was split between 2 petrol cars.

ford2600

Rackstar wrote: »

200k km in one turbo diesel Focus and 100k km in another turbo diesel Focus.

The rest was split between 2 petrol cars.

Try honestjohn parkers etc or google make/model/year and clutch trouble.

I've put 300000 miles on a passat and clutch is still fine. Bad habits really effect lifespan but from what you have said that doesn't seem to be the case.

Vicxas

I got 105,000 miles out of my Corolla's clutch, and it was abused before i bought it.

So I guess it is down to driving style.

Alanstrainor

Often wonder about mine, I think it was changed at 80,000 miles or so, approaching 130,000 now! I don't abuse the clutch on mine, but who knows what previous owners did. I reckon I'll be good for a long while yet though.

biko

Was driving a Insignia 141 yesterday (rental) and the clutch gave up. Can't remember mileage right now but it wasn't all that much.

Summer wind

My crv had 123,000 miles done when I traded it in and the clutch was perfect.

Rackstar

Had the car in the garage today. Apparently oil was leaking from the gearbox and contaminated the clutch. A seal has been replaced and oil is no longer leaking. Drove car home this evening and the clutch is no longer slipping.

The dealer is sending photos off to Kia in a hope they will authorise clutch replacement under warranty.

Should I be expecting a new clutch?

bazz26

Similar thing happened my car back in February, VW covered the cost of a new gearbox, clutch and DMF. The 3 year warranty only had two months to run at the time. If the clutch was slipping then the plate was more than likely damaged and imo should be replaced.

Rackstar

bazz26 wrote: »

Similar thing happened my car back in February, VW covered the cost of a new gearbox, clutch and DMF. The 3 year warranty only had two months to run at the time. If the clutch was slipping then the plate was more than likely damaged and imo should be replaced.

Great, thanks for the info!

mickdw

Rackstar wrote: »

Had the car in the garage today. Apparently oil was leaking from the gearbox and contaminated the clutch. A seal has been replaced and oil is no longer leaking. Drove car home this evening and the clutch is no longer slipping.

The dealer is sending photos off to Kia in a hope they will authorise clutch replacement under warranty.

Should I be expecting a new clutch?

I wouldnt be expecting or accepting anything less.
We know the oil reached the friction surface so imo there should be no option but to replace the clutch.

bazz26

I'd be concerned about the condition of your flywheel too if gearbox oil was leaking. Gearbox oil managed to leak onto my flywheel too which began to cause a slight judder through the clutch as well as the clutch starting to slip. Normal practice is that when replacing the clutch then it is best to replace the flywheel too as you already have undergone a labour intensive job, so if they are replacing the clutch then imo they should examine the condition of the flywheel while they are it.

Rackstar

Hopefully they replace it without a fight. Will make sure they look at the flywheel as well.

greasepalm

getting lost here gearbox oil leakage is usually from input shaft inside bell housing so gearbox out and would have to replace whole clutch kit? did they and not said?
external drive shafts leaks are usually shafts out to replace seals.

robtri

biko wrote: »

Was driving a Insignia 141 yesterday (rental) and the clutch gave up. Can't remember mileage right now but it wasn't all that much.

when i worked in rental trade, i seen one person burn out clutch in 39 miles!!!!!

and I have seen same make and model do 100,000km plus in 18 months and be perfectly fine...

Rackstar

greasepalm wrote: »

getting lost here gearbox oil leakage is usually from input shaft inside bell housing so gearbox out and would have to replace whole clutch kit? did they and not said?
external drive shafts leaks are usually shafts out to replace seals.

They took out the clutch and gearbox to inspect. i saw on the mechanics report that oil had leaked from the gearbox onto the clutch, the report said that a seal was replaced to stop the leak and photos were taken to send to Kia. No parts were replaced apart from the faulty seal. They are sending the photos to Kia in the hope they'll replace the clutch under warranty.

greasepalm

arseways of doing it lol remove gearbox twice,wonder who pays ??

Rackstar

greasepalm wrote: »

arseways of doing it lol remove gearbox twice,wonder who pays ??

Crazy alright. Service manager told me that morning that they had a clutch in stock when i dropped it in.