# Gen2 - 6 speed Diesel clutch problem



## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

I would start with the dealer. It's a KNOWN issue and they have several TSBs on it.









Clutch is stuck to the floor


2018 Chevy Cruze diesel sedan 6mt I'm on vacation in Vermont and this morning the clutch goes all the way to the floor and sticks there. I cannot shift into gear. Yesterday I noticed the clutch was "erratic." First thing in the morning it seemed like the takeup point of the clutch was very...




www.cruzetalk.com


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## irishmadeincanada (12 mo ago)

jblackburn said:


> I would start with the dealer. It's a KNOWN issue and they have several TSBs on it.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks! I saw that post too a couple days ago. I have a doubt about the issue reported by OP because my clutch is not "slowly returning" or stucked there, it's not engaging at all, the clutch is free and has not resistance at all. 

Do you still think this is the same issue?


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

irishmadeincanada said:


> Thanks! I saw that post too a couple days ago. I have a doubt about the issue reported by OP because my clutch is not "slowly returning" or stucked there, it's not engaging at all, the clutch is free and has not resistance at all.
> 
> Do you still think this is the same issue?


Given that it came and went several times, yes, I think it's likely debris is just jammed in the orifice.


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## Barry Allen (Apr 18, 2018)

Better pray you are still in the powertrain warranty. Otherwise it's about a USD $2,500 repair.


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## irishmadeincanada (12 mo ago)

Barry Allen said:


> Better pray you are still in the powertrain warranty. Otherwise it's about a USD $2,500 repair.


 4 months left to it. But the guy at the dealership told me the clutch actuator is covered under this warranty but not the clutch master cylinder. The car only has 35k miles


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## Barry Allen (Apr 18, 2018)

irishmadeincanada said:


> 4 months left to it. But the guy at the dealership told me the clutch actuator is covered under this warranty but not the clutch master cylinder. The car only has 35k miles


Did the clutch master cylinder break? If the slave cylinder broke, you shouldn't need to replace the master unless something in that is also broken.

If the slave cylinder broke and somehow also damaged the master cylinder, they owe you that to as "other parts broken by the warrantied part." When the slave cylinder failed on my car the clutch plate was contaminated with hydraulic oil. Parts were $347 and the dealership was trying to double-bill the labor (bill GM for the warranty repair and also bill me for the same labor) but they eventually covered everything under warranty because the damaged clutch was caused by the failure of the warrantied part.


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## irishmadeincanada (12 mo ago)

Barry Allen said:


> Did the clutch master cylinder break? If the slave cylinder broke, you shouldn't need to replace the master unless something in that is also broken.
> 
> If the slave cylinder broke and somehow also damaged the master cylinder, they owe you that to as "other parts broken by the warrantied part." When the slave cylinder failed on my car the clutch plate was contaminated with hydraulic oil. Parts were $347 and the dealership was trying to double-bill the labor (bill GM for the warranty repair and also bill me for the same labor) but they eventually covered everything under warranty because the damaged clutch was caused by the failure of the warrantied part.


I'm "scared" to bring my car to the dealership with this hope that the repair is going to be covered under warranty and then it's not and have to be force pay full price for parts and labor because the car is dismantled in their shop after their investigation.

I have no money issue, I totally can afford it. I just hate to pay more for something I can easily get cheaper. It's not a premium I can justify with a better service or anything else... I own a Lincoln SUV and whenever I go to the dealer, I receive premium service with a Lincoln brand courtesy vehicule. I mean, it's not like if they are paying for me or anything, but I get something back. My Lincoln is still fully covered by the warranty but still. Anyway, that's not the point! What I meant was I don't mind paying but now it's literally a basic mechanic job.

I would even do it myself but I don't really have time and some comments scared me a bit. I read that you need some specific tools to do the job, for example for the portion near the pedal. Not 100% sure on the bleeding part too. Therefore, I don't want to break anything or make it worse and ending up paying more than it would have cost me in the first place.


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## Barry Allen (Apr 18, 2018)

irishmadeincanada said:


> I'm "scared" to bring my car to the dealership with this hope that the repair is going to be covered under warranty and then it's not and have to be force pay full price for parts and labor because the car is dismantled in their shop after their investigation.


There is very little risk that the repair is the master cylinder. Given the TSBs on the issue and the widespread failures of everyone else with this vehicle, it's about 99% certain it's a warrantied item (the slave cylinder) and will be covered.


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## Barry Allen (Apr 18, 2018)

irishmadeincanada said:


> I'm "scared" to bring my car to the dealership with this hope that the repair is going to be covered under warranty and then it's not and have to be force pay full price for parts and labor because the car is dismantled in their shop after their investigation.


If the failure IS the master cylinder, the dealership can diagnose that without disassembling the transmission for a huge repair bill. The failure should be obvious there (fluid leaking from the master cylinder on the firewall) and they wouldn't do anything with the rest of the transmission.


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## irishmadeincanada (12 mo ago)

Barry Allen said:


> If the failure IS the master cylinder, the dealership can diagnose that without disassembling the transmission for a huge repair bill. The failure should be obvious there (fluid leaking from the master cylinder on the firewall) and they wouldn't do anything with the rest of the transmission.


Correct me if I'm wrong but, is the slave cylinder located inside the transmission? (see the attached pdf named "CLUTCH HYDRAULICS 2 - DELTA 2", part is called cylinder actuator (number 2 on the drawing))

Also, there is a TSD regarding this problem (or similar) stating some debris could cause the issue. I was thinking, if there are debris inside a close circuit, it means something crumbles slowly inside... probably something like the master cylinder parts? This is only a reflexion I had while trying to figure out what the problem could be.

I had an appointment this morning at the dealer that I cancelled yesterday because I had a talk with my mechanic and he said that he almost never saw a clutch related problem that was covered under warranty and according to him, it's most likely the master cylinder that is causing the issue.

I was going to drop my car to him, although he can check my car only on the 9th of January.

What do you think?


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## Damtheman31871078 (Jul 6, 2020)

irishmadeincanada said:


> Correct me if I'm wrong but, is the slave cylinder located inside the transmission? (see the attached pdf named "CLUTCH HYDRAULICS 2 - DELTA 2", part is called cylinder actuator (number 2 on the drawing))
> 
> Also, there is a TSD regarding this problem (or similar) stating some debris could cause the issue. I was thinking, if there are debris inside a close circuit, it means something crumbles slowly inside... probably something like the master cylinder parts? This is only a reflexion I had while trying to figure out what the problem could be.
> 
> ...


I had a similar issue with my Chevy Cruz diesel six speed manual where the ended up being burst. They said it had air in the system so they bled it because when I would pump the clutch it would get pressure and then it would just stay on the floor after a couple shifts. Well, it went completely out on me in Denver, Colorado and I am from Louisiana I had to float my gears all the way home. I never granted the only time it sucked was if I had to come to a complete stop I would have to put the car in first gear with the engine off start the car, and it would lunge forward so that was the only stress and gas I put on my motor long story short it was the slave cylinder it was defective and this was happening to me at 38,000 miles-ish. It’s located in the bellhousing of the transmission it’s gonna cost around $4000 if that’s what it is unless the prices come down that’s what it cost me.


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## Barry Allen (Apr 18, 2018)

irishmadeincanada said:


> Correct me if I'm wrong but, is the slave cylinder located inside the transmission?


Yes.



> if there are debris inside a close circuit, it means something crumbles slowly inside...


From the EU and UK recalls, the seals on the slave cylinder deteriorate and shed debris into the hydraulic circuit, causing the issues of the orifice clogging and also the slave cylinder failing to function at all. This also has the potential to cause problems with the ABS system, because the recall in the EU/UK replaces the ABS proportioning valve and a complete flush of the brake system, but in the USA you can go screw yourself because GM doesn't care.



> I had an appointment this morning at the dealer that I cancelled yesterday because I had a talk with my mechanic and he said that he almost never saw a clutch related problem that was covered under warranty and according to him, it's most likely the master cylinder that is causing the issue.


I have $100 that says your mechanic is wrong in their diagnosis.


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## Barry Allen (Apr 18, 2018)

Damtheman31871078 said:


> $4000 if that’s what it is unless the prices come down that’s what it cost me.


Why was your vehicle not covered under warranty? Your mileage was low - did it age out first?


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## Barry Allen (Apr 18, 2018)

irishmadeincanada said:


> I was going to drop my car to him, although he can check my car only on the 9th of January.


How much time is left on your powertrain warranty? You're going to fiddle away while Rome burns...


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## irishmadeincanada (12 mo ago)

Barry Allen said:


> How much time is left on your powertrain warranty? You're going to fiddle away while Rome burns...


Little over 4 months


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## Barry Allen (Apr 18, 2018)

irishmadeincanada said:


> Little over 4 months


I'll mark my calendar for January 10th and get back to you with my Venmo so you can send me the $100.


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## Barry Allen (Apr 18, 2018)

irishmadeincanada said:


> I had a talk with my mechanic and he said that he almost never saw a clutch related problem that was covered under warranty


LoL you should point your mechanic to this site for the people who all have the same problem.


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## Damtheman31871078 (Jul 6, 2020)

Barry Allen said:


> Why was your vehicle not covered under warranty? Your mileage was low - did it age out first?


It was 10 miles outside of bumper to bumper . And the slave wasn’t covered under power train


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## Barry Allen (Apr 18, 2018)

Damtheman31871078 said:


> It was 10 miles outside of bumper to bumper . And the slave wasn’t covered under power train


The slave cylinder IS covered under the powertrain warranty.










If you had your work done at the dealership, you need to go get your money refunded.


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