Clutch Slipping!!

Da Moose

Member
Hi all,

Recently noticed my clutch is slipping, mainly in 4th gear during normal acceleration??
T32 150ps 6 spd manual with only 19763 miles completed.

Has anyone else heard of or experienced this??
 
Hi all,

Recently noticed my clutch is slipping, mainly in 4th gear during normal acceleration??
T32 150ps 6 spd manual with only 19763 miles completed.

Has anyone else heard of or experienced this??
Any signs of oil leak under engine/gearbox?
 
A few years back I had an extended argument with Gilders of Sheffield VW agents with a slipping clutch on a new T5 camper,
by default they always blame the driver. Mine had only done about 5k IIRC. I dont ride the clutch, I wasnt taught the
present-day method of holding it on the clutch at junctions. But you have no way of proving this to them, all they see is
a slipping clutch and a punter wanting a free replacement. Hope the warranty claim goes well for you
afro.gif

Cheers
Phil
 
Thanks for the responses,

I mentioned it on its first service a few weeks back, main agent (Cov Van Centre). Initially they wanted an up front £72 inspection fee but agreed to inspect and road test as part of the service/inspection. Guess what, no fault found.

First time it happened I drove back from friends in Reading up the M40, driving up the slip road at Coventry slowing down, the lights changed to green, in 4th back on the accelerator the engine revved and clutch slipped with a definite burning smell. Hadn't changed gear or touched the clutch for an hour previous!

Its my personal vehicle for which I am funding therefore never ride the clutch or drive like I stole it etc. Its a T32 (3.2 ton capacity?) Kombi with a RIB bed in the back! surely the clutch should cope an occasional camping trip??
I'm not even happy about having a newish vehicle spannered, will never drive the same in my mind.

So far checked fluid reservoir level and clutch pedal free play, hot and cold, seem ok.
Will check underneath for any signs of a leaking crank/gearbox seal failure, good call mmi.

Any tips on taking this further with VW etc
 
I have been in a similar situation, my gearbox (DSG) has been out twice under warranty (gave it back to me leaking oil the first time) and i dreaded it, it sounds and feels different since it was out but as i dont have any symptoms or exact problems there is nowhere to go with it
I currently have an open case with VWCC who make the right noises on the phone and sound sympathetic but what can either side do ? if it has to come out it has to come out, i would concentrate on getting them to foot the bill for a replacement clutch and ignore the threats they make to charge you, my local dealer said they were going to take the gearbox out (there suggestion not mine) and if no fault was found they were going to charge me £600 labour for remove/refit !! I basically told them to go F themselves and if they wanted to take it out they were responsible to put it back in

My advise would be to keep a detailed record of EVERYTHING, log all phones calls/emails/dates/discussions etc etc and if they give you the run around just ring VWCC and complain, they will then ring the dealer and lean on them to get it resolved, if you are still having issues after that i think a full frontal assault on VWCV facebook page will get their attention
 
Hi,

Slipping clutch resolved by VW!

I would like to update everyone who had taken the time to respond to this thread with the result,
a failed dual mass flywheel, leaking compound (most likely grease) onto the friction plate

As described my clutch seemed to slip intermittently? This Wednesday on my way to work it was slipping through 3rd and 4th gear. Arrived at work fed up, immediately called VW assist. Explaining to the operator the symptom she booked a VW tech and not AA/RAC to attend.

VW assistance arrived within 90 mins, test drove my T6 and without hesitation arranged a replacement vehicle and we delivered my vehicle back to the supplying dealer. The VW tech reported that he had witnessed the clutch fault and handed the vehicle over to a tech at the dealership with his report.

Collected my vehicle this Friday!!
** apparently when VW assist take a vehicle in? the dealer has a 48hr response/repair time**

New clutch and flywheel fitted all under warranty. Very happy with the result and timeline of repair.
 
Hi - just read this thread, and I'm experiencing EXACTLY the same thing: intermittent slipping in 4th gear usually when under some load, and when nowhere near the clutch pedal. Spoke the local VW garage, who said that clutches aren't under warranty because it's 'normal wear and tear' and may be due to 'how it's been driven'.

Mine is a 2017 T6 Cali Beach that has done 16K miles - gentle local driving or motorway. The clutch should absolutely NOT be failing. I'm very encouraged to hear that there was a solution to your problem - thanks for posting. I'll speak to the garage again, and report back - can't remember how long the warranty lasts, but I'm obviously very keen to get it sorted within that time frame.
 
Hello Everyone,

I have
Shuttle SE LWB EU6 150 PS 2.0 TDI BMT 6sp Manual

How many miles after should I change Clutch?

Thank You
 
F64C0060-CE61-4B39-93E9-EA16AC9A0415.jpeg I’ve got a 204 T32 4 motion that I bought new and is my every day transport, no load, just me in it. Clutch started intermediate slipping at 25 K, 18 months old. Long story with the most unhelpful dealer you could want to meet, soooo patronising. They eventually agreed it was slipping but would not cover it, 6 months or 6,000 miles warranty for clutches.
I had the use of a ramp so I did it on my own. Took me a while bearing in mind it is 4 motion, gearbox jack was a godsend.
Ended up being gearbox oil seal leaking .
Vw did well out of me doing their warranty work for free.
 
Hi had complete mass fly wheel and clucth done at 18000 miles.
had lots of clutch judder vw said cant find any problem ten minutes later told me the warranty will cover only fly wheel.
I had to pay for new clutch and bolts and oil seals took them 1 week to fix not very helpful
 
OK to update my previous slipping clutch from October 2018.
The dealer said the factory clutch failed die to grease leaking from the dual mass flywheel and all components were replaced under warranty at around 19,800 miles.

That new clutch lasted another 9,000 miles and a severe judder appeared when pulling away in 1st gear. I mentioned this during a Nox sensor recall and as I was still in warranty the dealer pulled the gearbox again.
This time apparently a whole new clutch and bolt kit because of a leaking slave cylinder.......??????

Now at 38,000 miles and out of warranty it is juddering again and 1st 2nd and 3rd gear changes are aggressive!

I know they haven't nailed the fault correctly and looking at VAN BUDDY's post a leaking oil seal would explain all.

It's not right but I'm gonna add a good quality 'Gearbox leak stopper' to my gear oil and monitor the judder.
 
  • Wow
Reactions: mmi
Maybe it’s the normal design for a power output shaft (In this case crankshaft) in the auto world. Many machinery applications have an oil thrower ring adjacent to the lip seal.
If the lip seal fails the oil thrower ring throws the oil off the rotating shaft and into a void where it can safely drain. This way the clutch or other equipment isn’t affected and there is an early warning of a seal failure from the drain hole.
Piss poor design.
 
I can sort of understand a misdiagnosis of slave failure but in my case clearly gearbox oil. You have renewed my anger in having to foot the bill, under warranty, for a VW failure.
Thinking of small claims court. Any time limit after the event ?
 
I can sort of understand a misdiagnosis of slave failure but in my case clearly gearbox oil. You have renewed my anger in having to foot the bill, under warranty, for a VW failure.
Thinking of small claims court. Any time limit after the event ?
I can understand your anger mate. Odd that a lip seal should fail so early.
Was the gearbox breather vent clear? Other than a bearing failure which you would have found, overheating and / or over pressure it’s hard to imagine what caused it.
 
There may well of been a bad batch of seals during this period or the seals not fitted correctly or even a lack of a breather on the gearbox?? more investigating to be done.

Van Buddy, at least yours is fixed. Mine is out of warranty now and the fault is returning again, so it looks like I'll be correcting the fault myself also.
NOT what I expected from the Volkswagen brand.
 
Mine was in warranty and VW all but refused to fix it, long story. Clutches are covered for 6 months/6k. I fitted a new clutch and seal. Still can’t believe I managed it on my own and it’s 4motion. That gearbox is ducking heavy.
 
I have this problem happened today on a dual carriageway, got very confused as mine's a manual and revved freely while in gear in fourth, then moved to fifth and it seemed okay and the moment had passed. It's happened a couple of times. It's a 2019 30k+ miles.

At the next junction I pulled away normally and short-shifted to fourth and accelerated hard and it was fine, no slippage at all, just slow acceleration as expected.
 
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I have this problem happened today on a dual carriageway, got very confused as mine's a manual and revved freely while in gear in fourth, then moved to fifth and it seemed okay and the moment had passed. It's happened a couple of times. It's a 2019 30k+ miles.

At the next junction I pulled away normally and short-shifted to fourth and accelerated hard and it was fine, no slippage at all, just slow acceleration as expected.
I seem to be experiencing this as well on my TSI. Has yours been remapped?
 
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