# Clutch Pedal Problem... Again!



## mjp (Jun 7, 2012)

In March of 2013 the clutch pedal return spring (#17 in image) snapped in half in my 2012 Cruze Eco. The dealer ended up having to replace the entire pedal assembly. It was covered by warranty, which I expected. They also put on those dealer accessory pedal covers. Not sure why... I didn't ask and I don't like them.

Anyway, 28,000 miles and 15 months later (last week) the clutch pedal becomes loose while I'm driving. Like it moves side to side (in addition to moving front to back) when I press it down. Obviously this is not normal, but it is still functional. As I'm switching gears, I press the pedal down and hear a click and the engine light comes on, but the car still drives fine. When I get to work, I feel around and discover the neutral safety switch (#15 in image) has come away from the pedal. So, now that I've turned off the car it won't start again since it doesn't think I'm pushing in the clutch pedal. I realize I can move the switch back into its proper position and get the car started, though I have to be very careful pushing the clutch pedal down so the switch stays in position. Later on, I drive the car home and, of course, the switch comes out of position again. The next morning I put it back in place, press the pedal down and both tines break off the switch! Now I have no way of starting the car and must have it towed to the dealer.

It's been at the dealer for a week now. I had it towed last Wednesday morning and they didn't even look at it until Thursday afternoon, then promptly shut down until Monday. I find out Monday that a whole new pedal assembly must be ordered and installed. My service guy tells me that GM will cover half of the cost, which I don't think is good enough. Yes, I am out of the bumper to bumper warranty (42k miles) but either their part was bad (again) or they installed it incorrectly. As far as I can tell, neither of these problems should ever happen during the life of the car.

I don't know what I'm trying to accomplish with this rant. But has anyone ever had anything similar happen to them?




http://www.tonkinonlineparts.com/images/parts/gm/fullsize/1003231P04-002.JPG


----------



## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

My old Commodore had an adjustable bolt from the clutch pedal to the MC. For some reason the bolt was alloy and it broke in half. I went to the Holden dealer to buy a new bolt which had an eye on one end. I was told I would have to buy a complete new MC kit which had the bolt as part of it and wanted $90 plus installation costs. I went to my local workshop and he made me a new one out of steel for $10 including fitting. Only for the fact that the Commodore was such a reliable car normally GMH nearly lost a customer over such a petty thing. Fortunately the Commodore did not need to have the clutch depressed to start and I started it in 1st and did clutchless changes to go up through the gears and drove it to the workshop so no towing involved.


----------



## Blue Angel (Feb 18, 2011)

My clutch spring broke last fall; driving to work I heard a loud snap and felt parts hit my shoe, looked down once stopped and the broken spring was sitting on the floor mat. I drove to work and back, and other than the clutch effort being lighter than normal everything was fine.

Once at home I poked around under the dash and hood, determining that the pedal assembly replacement would be a rather large and complicated job. Instead of allowing the dealer to take half the car apart (I don't trust other people working on my car), and not willing to do that much work myself, I found a hardware store spring that was almost exactly the same size as the OE spring. Replacing it was interesting since there's no room to work and you can't see what you're doing, but I ended up fixing it for about $3.

The new spring is not quite as stiff as the OE spring, but it works and is holding up well so far. Oh, and the spring only came in a 2 pack, so for $3 I can fix it twice if it breaks again. 

The spring holds the clutch pedal "up". Since the car has a cruise control defeat switch at the top of the clutch pedal travel, driving without a spring in place (or a spring that's too soft) may allow the clutch pedal to move or vibrate when hitting a bump in the road, allowing the cruise control switch to be triggered and the cruise to be defeated.

Not a huge deal, but it could be a safety issue and is definitely frustrating; my '01'Saturn would cancel cruise control when hitting large bumps or expansion joints. I suspected a poorly adjusted brake light switch but never had a chance to look into it to see what it really was.


----------



## iTz SADISTIK (Apr 6, 2014)

Message these guys and have them get involved. View Profile: Chevy Customer Care - Chevy Cruze Forum : Chevrolet Cruze Forums


----------

