# Clutch dead at 41k miles?



## lbkNhubert (May 18, 2017)

I learned on a manual and other than one automatic during college years that's all that I have driven. The Jetta TDI that the Cruze replaced was well over 100k miles and on its original clutch. The problems began on the way back from a road trip when I noticed that the pedal would depress more than normal before the clutch engaged. By the time that we got home from the trip it could barely be shifted. I assume the clutch is shot, but 41k seems extremely low for it to have gone out. I did notice any slipping when it was in gear, it just was difficult to get into gear. Finally, the pedal was not returning from the floor, it had to be pulled back out manually. Thoughts?


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## johnmo (Mar 2, 2017)

The clutch itself is probably OK. It sounds like a master or slave hydraulic cylinder failure. I don't remember the exact warranty limits, but at 41k miles you're probably still covered by drivetrain and if not, I'd still take it to the dealer and plead the case.


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## lbkNhubert (May 18, 2017)

Thanks, looking into having it towed to the dealer today, will keep you posted.


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## oregon_rider (Jul 21, 2017)

I just double checked parts listing. It has a master and slave hydraulic cylinder on the parts list..

Most likely it has lost fluid due to seal failure in either master or slave. Easy to fix. 

If dealer tries to charge you any up front fee for diagnostic etc I would politely decline and say " let's call gm customer care to talk to them...". This is covered under you mechanical warranty. I think we have 5 years and 60k miles.

Jeff


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## lbkNhubert (May 18, 2017)

oregon_rider said:


> I just double checked parts listing. It has a master and slave hydraulic cylinder on the parts list..
> 
> Most likely it has lost fluid due to seal failure in either master or slave. Easy to fix.
> 
> ...


Thank you for the reply. It just left on the tow truck, hoping that it is a warranty repair. Will see if I can get reimbursed for the tow, but not going to hold my breath on that.


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## oregon_rider (Jul 21, 2017)

lbkNhubert said:


> Thank you for the reply. It just left on the tow truck, hoping that it is a warranty repair. Will see if I can get reimbursed for the tow, but not going to hold my breath on that.


 Yeah - next time you should call chevy roadside assistance first. If you are within the powertrain warranty you are also covered for emergency towing to the nearest chevrolet dealer.

Good luck with it. Probably more time waiting for parts than anything else. There is a really remote possibility there might be a problem with the pressure plate - but I really doubt it. I have replaced a few clutches in other vehicles myself in the past... and master and slave cylinders too... _long_, _long_ ago...

jeff


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## Blasirl (Mar 31, 2015)

I would call Chevy Roadside assistance anyways, just to see if the company that towed is part of their network. 
5yr/50,000 is what I think your powertrain warranty is. To be sure log into my.chevrolet.com


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## oregon_rider (Jul 21, 2017)

Blasirl said:


> I would call Chevy Roadside assistance anyways, just to see if the company that towed is part of their network.
> 5yr/50,000 is what I think your powertrain warranty is. To be sure log into my.chevrolet.com


 I just looked up the powertrain warranty and it is 5 years/60k miles.

jeff


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## MRO1791 (Sep 2, 2016)

My Dual Mass flywheel died at about 12k miles. When they replaced it, they also replaced the clutch and the master and slave cylinder. These were all new part numbers, meaning there was a design update. Concur with clutch hydraulic problem in your case. Did you notice any additional noise or vibration?


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## btaito (Jul 1, 2019)

Haha That's crazy. Mine just went to the floor on Saturday and it has 48k. Clutch was fine I'm pretty sure at this point it is slave cylinder. Had it towed to dealer under the free GM roadside assistance to the dealer as I was stranded with my son at a parking lot. Glad I checked the forums here. Its Monday and I'm still waiting to hear back from the dealer. If I knew they weren't going to call back on Saturday I would've asked for a loaner. Had to drop my kid off at Daycare on the Harley. (He didn't mind it though).


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## mcorr2016 (Jan 31, 2018)

This is my very first post here, so hello everyone! My slave cylinder went out on my gen 2 diesel last fall at 38k. I got the run around from one dealership saying slave cylinder was not covered under powertrain warranty, and quoted me $1400 for the work. I had to go to another dealership to get the work done under warranty. They bled the system and called me in saying the issue was fixed, before I could even leave the parking lot the clutch was back to the floor. Then they installed a new clutch master cylinder, this fix lasted about 50 miles before it left me stranded again. They finally installed a new slave cylinder and it has worked perfectly since, I am now at 56k. I was without my car for a month while it was in and out of the shop, but at least it was free! The transmission must be removed to access the slave cylinder which I suspect why the dealership I went to was hesitant to fix the slave cylinder first.


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## btaito (Jul 1, 2019)

It says right on the GM warranty page that slave cylinder is covered lol. They told me it was covered by warranty but an elbow and hose going to it weren't covered and it was 100.00 for parts since GM was covering labor already (you can buy the slave cylinder for 55.00...). Don't understand how the master and slave are covered but the line connecting them isn't lol. I really don't want to deal with replacing all of it so I'll probably just end up paying them and seeing if I can get a reimbursement from GM in case the line is covered.


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## MRO1791 (Sep 2, 2016)

btaito said:


> It says right on the GM warranty page that slave cylinder is covered lol. They told me it was covered by warranty but an elbow and hose going to it weren't covered and it was 100.00 for parts since GM was covering labor already (you can buy the slave cylinder for 55.00...). Don't understand how the master and slave are covered but the line connecting them isn't lol. I really don't want to deal with replacing all of it so I'll probably just end up paying them and seeing if I can get a reimbursement from GM in case the line is covered.


Modern Clutch Hydraulic systems are pre assembled, bled an filled. The line is already connected between the master and slave cylinder. It sounds like you have a dealer scam attempt there.


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## oregon_rider (Jul 21, 2017)

The slave cylinder should be considered a wear part and easily replaced. It seems crazy to me that the transmission needs to be removed in order to replace this part... 

But after replacing my cabin air filter - I guess I shouldn't be surprised....

jeff


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## Barry Allen (Apr 18, 2018)

mcorr2016 said:


> The transmission must be removed to access the slave cylinder


Oh, that's just amazing engineering. That's wonderful news to hear.


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## Cruze70 (Aug 28, 2014)

Hope it gets fixed under warranty. I have 105k miles on my clutch and it isn't showing any signs of needing to be replaced. The 2007 dodge caliber I had prior I traded in with 173k on the original clutch. I drive a ton of highway, but live in Philadelphia. So the clutch gets a lot of use. My last 3 chevys all had st least 127k on the original clutches when I traded them in.


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## califlady2018 (Jul 20, 2018)

lbkNhubert said:


> I learned on a manual and other than one automatic during college years that's all that I have driven. The Jetta TDI that the Cruze replaced was well over 100k miles and on its original clutch. The problems began on the way back from a road trip when I noticed that the pedal would depress more than normal before the clutch engaged. By the time that we got home from the trip it could barely be shifted. I assume the clutch is shot, but 41k seems extremely low for it to have gone out. I did notice any slipping when it was in gear, it just was difficult to get into gear. Finally, the pedal was not returning from the floor, it had to be pulled back out manually. Thoughts?


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## califlady2018 (Jul 20, 2018)

My transmission had to be worked on when I had 42,000 miles


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## lbkNhubert (May 18, 2017)

The original post should say that I did NOT notice any slipping while it was in gear. The dealer says that it's being handled under warranty, but I have no further details. I have to follow up with GM to see if I can get reimbursed for the tow.


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## btaito (Jul 1, 2019)

GM should cover the tow. I called the number in my manual because its still under 5/60 warranty. I just got the car back today. The parts that weren't covered were Actuator Pipe and Elbow. Apparently there is a tech bulletin out suggesting that these parts be replaced. The bulletin on the invoice says PIP5558C. Says its a revised part. Part numbers for these two were 55572350 and 55505687. 31 and 67 dollars for them. Hope this info helps anyone else that might have the clutch pedal lose hydraulic pressure and go to the floor.


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## lbkNhubert (May 18, 2017)

The latest is that the master cylinder is on backorder, no eta. Going to wind up in a dealer-provided rental car for who knows how long. As long as they cover the repair and the rental, everything will be ok. I still need to follow up on getting reimbursed for the tow.


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## oregon_rider (Jul 21, 2017)

oregon_rider said:


> The slave cylinder should be considered a wear part and easily replaced. It seems crazy to me that the transmission needs to be removed in order to replace this part...
> 
> But after replacing my cabin air filter - I guess I shouldn't be surprised....
> 
> jeff


 I signed up for an an account on alldatadiy.com - this gives book hours for each task - instructions for each task, etc. I double checked number of hours to replace clutch slave cylinder and it is 7.9 hours.... yikes!!

jeff


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## lbkNhubert (May 18, 2017)

Car is back. Master cylinder was replaced under warranty. Now arguing with GM over towing reimbursement. I telephoned the dealer and asked who to have tow it, used their recommendation. GM is saying that since I did not call GM Roadside assistance the tow will not be reimbursed. Disputing that, will see how it goes.


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## oregon_rider (Jul 21, 2017)

lbkNhubert said:


> Car is back. Master cylinder was replaced under warranty. Now arguing with GM over towing reimbursement. I telephoned the dealer and asked who to have tow it, used their recommendation. GM is saying that since I did not call GM Roadside assistance the tow will not be reimbursed. Disputing that, will see how it goes.


 Good to hear you are back on the road.

Good luck with that. how much was the tow?

jeff

p.s. Just thinking they may have hard rule on towing reimbursement (instructions to rep on customer care line) . But maybe they have more flexibility to throw a couple of free oil changes your way (or service discount) - just throwing out a possible alternative that will get you "something"....


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## lbkNhubert (May 18, 2017)

Good thoughts re throw-ins. The tow was a bit over $200.


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## lbkNhubert (May 18, 2017)

Clutch just went out again, in the middle of a road trip. Sweet.


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## lbkNhubert (May 18, 2017)

This time the clutch release elbow and pipe were replaced, per the service adviser. Will see what is on the paperwork and if anything else was done. I'm concerned that the problem will recur, as the failure felt to me like a loss of hydraulic pressure. Perhaps I don't understand what these particular parts do. My worry is that the slave cylinder may be faulty, but good enough to hold for a while after the system has been reassembled/refilled, and that it has not been replaced because it is a difficult job. Hopefully that is not the case.


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## lbkNhubert (May 18, 2017)

The clutch went out again tonight. I limped it home, will call the dealer tomorrow.


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## lbkNhubert (May 18, 2017)

Got the car back yesterday. This time the slave cylinder and a few other components were replaced. Hoping that this takes care of it once and for all.


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## MRO1791 (Sep 2, 2016)

lbkNhubert said:


> This time the clutch release elbow and pipe were replaced, per the service adviser. Will see what is on the paperwork and if anything else was done. I'm concerned that the problem will recur, as the failure felt to me like a loss of hydraulic pressure. Perhaps I don't understand what these particular parts do. My worry is that the slave cylinder may be faulty, but good enough to hold for a while after the system has been reassembled/refilled, and that it has not been replaced because it is a difficult job. Hopefully that is not the case.


Seems almost certain it was always the slave cylinder, and the were just throwing other parts at it hoping to avoid replacement of the slave cylinder. It's also frustrating that GM has to know there is a weakness with the clutch hydraulics, and theat slave cylinder... But still they are not telling the dealerships to replace it. That and the crazy inability to get parts. I'm still waiting for an EGR cooler for one of mine. It's been months. GM has really been going downhill lately.


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## BodhiBenz1987 (Jan 13, 2018)

lbkNhubert said:


> Got the car back yesterday. This time the slave cylinder and a few other components were replaced. Hoping that this takes care of it once and for all.


Hope that is the end of your troubles. It's ridiculous that you had to get stranded three times for them to fix it ... especially since it sounds like it should have been fairly obviously the slave cylinder to begin with. Like MRO1791 said, it feels like GM is in a slide lately. I'm clouded by my own experiences which have been, from my first oil change to now, horrendous. It's a shame because the car has been terrific in spite of it all, and I think they built some other nice models too ... but even if I had a gas model, I wouldn't trust GM any farther than I can throw them to take care of it.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Seems like the slave cyl is becoming quite the common failure on Gen 2 manuals. Shame they still can't get a manual transmission right after having so many issues with the Gen 1

Hopefully this is the end of your issues. I sold my 12 after being tired of dealing with it. 

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


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## lbkNhubert (May 18, 2017)

Thanks everyone. Hopefully this is the end of the issues. I put about 1500 miles on the car over the weekend, and so far, so good. The miles primarily were on the highway so I didn't do a lot of shifting. Here are the notes from the service ticket (slightly edited for brevity):

Verified clutch pedal is on floor; open a new case
Wanted to replace clutch actuator
R/R trans and found actuator was leaking
Replaced actuator
Reinstalled trans assembly
When I tried to install elbow pipe assembly, the actuator pipe came loose from clip and released back into trans assembly
I tried using a pic (sic?) to get pipe to clip back into place/would not clip back into place!!!
Removed trans and inspected clip and actuator
Ordered and replaced actuator and clip
Noticed that this clip was of a different design than the factory clip, the original factory clip is different than what SI shows in the illustration
Also noted that the clip fastened from the inside of the trans (as) compared to the new clip (which) fastened from the outside/a design change?
Nowhere in SI shows of this!!
Reinstalled trans and related parts, bled clutch system and road tested/ok

Keeping my fingers crossed that the system is fixed for good now. It definitely sounds like GM has changed things around a bit but not kept their dealers and service departments apprised.


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## plano-doug (Jul 1, 2015)

lbkNhubert said:


> It definitely sounds like GM has changed things around a bit but not kept their dealers and service departments apprised.


That may be more a matter of how well the info gets disseminated within the dealership rather than the factory not informing the dealer. Seems like I've read too many posts about having to inform the service writer or mechanic of what's already in their inbox from Detroit.

In my fantasy, that's what Monday morning staff meetings are for 

Seriously, I would expect things like TSB's and other noteworthy items to get presented to the service department team on a periodic basis. The discussion doesn't have to get into the technical nitty-griity; just mention that there's a new fix for xyz problem, which many folks in the room have probably already encountered.

Doug

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