Clutch Slipping after 4 months

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James P

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Hi All,

Has anyone had any issues with the clucth slipping on their A3? I noticed this within a few months of buying the car, particularly when in 'Auto' or 'Dynamic' Drive Select mode. RPM would shoot up at around 2200rpm without the corresponding increase in road speed.

I've booked into my local Audi centre on Wednesday for three days for the gearbox to be removed and the clucth assessed. I'm told it won't necessarily be covered by warranty.

I do a relatively long commute to work (80 mile round trip) on A-Roads with minimal traffic. Car has almost 7,000 miles on the clock.

Any advice or similar past experiences would be appreciated.
 
Audi service guy said if the clutch is found to be 'burnt' it may not be covered. Not sure what that means- but will be fighting my corner if they don't cover it.
 
Thats ridiculous. Regardless of how you drive the car it should definitely be covered under warranty. I can see how they could class a clutch as a "wear and tear" item but to not cover it under the warranty, especially being only 4 months in, is absurd.
 
They will be able to tell if its had hard launches and if it has they will say that is the cause and is wear and tear (an M3 clutch pack on a e46 m3 in S7 gearbox mode would last 4/5 launches before te clutch was knackered) so that's what they will try and say is wrong I'm guessing
 
I can certainly see your point, in an M3, but not in a 1.6TDI. You'd need to be pulled by a few more horses to get a hard launch, unless the clutch is made of Wensleydales finest.
 
If you check the warranty Ts & Cs you'll see that clutches aren't covered at all, as they are classed as wear and tear items (the friction plates at least). That said, I would expect Audi to take care of you on this as it is such a new model and you haven't had it long!
 
Hmmm I've noticed on mine if the road is a tiny bit damp/wet its easy to get the wheels spinning a bit if you try and accelerate too quickly. Could it be something like that you are experiencing, and possibly the traction control kicking in?
 
Get ready with a strong letter of complaint to Audi Customer Services and/or Financial Services if the car has been purchased through them if they decide this is out of scope for warranty cover. It'd take some pretty shoddy driving to burn a clutch in 7000 miles.
In 26 years of driving I've only ever had one clutch need replacing and that was on a car with 89,000 miles on it.
 
Unfortunately, many components are excluded from the 3 year warranty, but Audi never market that. There's a document on their website outlining the details.

http://www.audi.co.uk/content/dam/a...ingProducts/warranty-terms-and-conditions.pdf

I've had numerous issues with the clutch on my A4. They did some work in the first 6 months, but then when further problems became apparent after 18 months they wanted me to pay. It was only a small judder when the car was really hot so I've just lived with it. However, if they ever did work like this I the future, I'd want a written guarantee that any clutch work (or other consequential work) would be covered for the full 3 years.

It's a fair point about clutches being open to abuse, but I think they're firmly in the minority. Hold your ground with the dealer - it's up to them to prove its been abused. Ask them to retain all parts because you may wish to have your own independent inspection done if the results are disputed.

Also, don't forget your statutory protection under the Sale of Goods Act. Would a normal person reasonably expect a clutch to last longer than 3 years? If so, regardless of warranty, you'd stand a good chance of winning.
 
Last edited:
James P said:
Hi All,

Has anyone had any issues with the clucth slipping on their A3? I noticed this within a few months of buying the car, particularly when in 'Auto' or 'Dynamic' Drive Select mode. RPM would shoot up at around 2200rpm without the corresponding increase in road speed.

I've booked into my local Audi centre on Wednesday for three days for the gearbox to be removed and the clucth assessed. I'm told it won't necessarily be covered by warranty.

I do a relatively long commute to work (80 mile round trip) on A-Roads with minimal traffic. Car has almost 7,000 miles on the clock.

Any advice or similar past experiences would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

I noticed this today on my car. Mine is a 1.2 TFSI. I am not sure if the clutch is actually slipping as I don't feel a loss of power. The revs shoot up a bit around 2k rpm in 4th under full throttle just before going up a hill but during the climb the car pulls. Think this could be some sort of overboost limiter on the turbo?

Car is a 16 plate with 9300 miles on the clock.
 
I have this occasionally on my 3 month old a3 stronic with just over 1000 miles on, but I am not convinced if it is clutch slip in my case as it does not happen all the time - I drive mostly in auto (drive select) and it seems as if it is because in that mode it changes up gears at low revs and it seems as if the car is on occasions temporarily in the wrong gear for the wrong speed/load? If I am using the paddles and in manual (m) it seems ok
 
mistac said:
I have this occasionally on my 3 month old a3 stronic with just over 1000 miles on, but I am not convinced if it is clutch slip in my case as it does not happen all the time - I drive mostly in auto (drive select) and it seems as if it is because in that mode it changes up gears at low revs and it seems as if the car is on occasions temporarily in the wrong gear for the wrong speed/load? If I am using the paddles and in manual (m) it seems ok
Click to expand...

Is it similar to this?




I should say I have a manual transmission.
 
Nonsense, they changed the clutch pack in my grandparents DSG A3. The car I believe had approximately 10-12k on the clock, it was making a whine when pulling off occasionally.. they ordered a clutch pack for when it was stripped, 3 day job and it had a new clutch in. From what I can understand the technician could not tell me what was wrong with the clutch as it is a sealed unit and is sent off to Audi, if the clutch is at fault then they replace it.
 
James P said:
Hi All,

Has anyone had any issues with the clucth slipping on their A3? I noticed this within a few months of buying the car, particularly when in 'Auto' or 'Dynamic' Drive Select mode. RPM would shoot up at around 2200rpm without the corresponding increase in road speed.

I've booked into my local Audi centre on Wednesday for three days for the gearbox to be removed and the clucth assessed. I'm told it won't necessarily be covered by warranty.

I do a relatively long commute to work (80 mile round trip) on A-Roads with minimal traffic. Car has almost 7,000 miles on the clock.

Any advice or similar past experiences would be appreciated.
Click to expand...


My current car.. (as i wait for my s3)
Is a 2016 vw polo gti 1.8tfsi 195ps and my clutch had to be replaced at 5k!

Completely slipped itself to ****!

Vw initially told me its not covered and all the blah blah...

But I was highly ****** off with the dealership and in the end after 2 days of moaning they caved in and replaced it!!

But now at 10k and ive noticed sometimes the clutch has slipped when parking up...... but hey ho its going to be part ex'd in feb!
 
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