26K and clutch completely gone??
So I have a 03 1.8t Jetta, the only “mod” I have is a drop-in K&N filter. I recently lost the clutch entirely at 26K and had to get the car flatbedded to the dealership. So I am disapointed but confident that VW would make this right with such low milage. Let me go back a little ways. I felt my clutch starting to slip around 500 miles prior and took it in and they charged me 100 (which is normal) for a fuel injection cleaning, and then went to tell me that they would have to charge me $450 just to see if it was my clutch. That my warranty for my clutch had just finished after a year. Well, needless to say I went for info elsewhere and wanted to double check on the prices VW has given me. Make a long story short. I made a formal complaint to VW after being advised that my total for fixing would be 2100 dollars. This was for a pressure plate, clutch, flywheel and labor. After filing the complaint I was told that a sales rep. would take a look at the car because he was going to be in town. I received a call back from VW telling me that it was not possible for the sales rep. to make any decisions on helping me unless he could see the part, even though I was advised by VW to not start the work cause it would be more difficult to get VW to pay for it if work was already in progress. The sales rep. got to VW here in Greenville, NC and took one look at the car and told the service man. that if the part was faulty VW would pay for it, but if it was worn, then it would be out of my pocket. Keep in mind, no loaner car is available for me, just a discount on renting a car myself. So I am to guess that yes, they are going to see wear on the clutch(since I drove it after the slipping occured cause they tried to charge me 450 to tell me if it was my clutch). What are your opinions on this situation and what would you do in this same situation. Also, my car is leased, always get serviced on time and don’t race it in any way. Any info would help and let me thank you in advance.
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297 Said,
October 20, 2004 @ 1:54 am
26K and clutch completely gone?? – 2003 Jetta 1.8T clutch… the dealer should know this is a common issue for that model/year. At this point, the onus is on the dealer to determine the difference between defect and wear.
If the clutch is cleaved in two the argument should be in favor of a defect, though there are disreputable dealers who still insist the damage is from wear. Irregular wear patterns should also indicate a defect in the seating of clutch assembly (spotty contact). It truly depends on how the dealer sees it, and most dealers with a good rep will side with the customer.
Beck Said,
October 20, 2004 @ 2:39 am
26K and clutch completely gone?? – My brother’s Audi A4 1.8 Turbo Quattro had it’s clutch start slipping in moderate hills. He went to his dealer who immediately, without hassle, replaced the cretin clutch and my brother is now a happy Audi guy. Unfortunately, Volkyugo don’t work that way!. You will have to most likely fight hard to even get them and the dealership to admit that there is a problem with the car and that it’s not your fault. Volksyugo is EVIL!
Shomare Said,
October 20, 2004 @ 7:41 am
26K and clutch completely gone?? – Read my post:
The VW Experience.
Similar experience to yours. My dealer covered it but oonly after I told them I would seek lemon law status for the car if they did not.
Martin Berndt Said,
October 20, 2004 @ 9:53 am
26K and clutch completely gone?? – Thanks for the info, I am still waiting to hear back from the dealership. It surprises me that they have not prioritized my car considering the formal complaint. But I am slowly learning that it shouldn’t. So it is common for the 03 jetta 1.8t’s clutch to go out that early? Cause they swear that they don’t have barely any clutch problems coming into thier service department. Sorry just venting. So would it be smart for me to ask the VW dealer to keep my old clutch in case I want to take my matter further after replacing it if VW denies me help?
Beck Said,
October 21, 2004 @ 1:50 am
26K and clutch completely gone?? – Yeah, Volksyugos are just great cars! even though they can never match things like clutch service life that my Hondas and Toyotas that I owned, gave me. 175,000+ miles of continuous service with no problems ever! Never ever had to replace them actually. I sold the cars with mostly everything on them original and working. The AC even work perfectly on them after 10 years! My Passh@t’s AC system died at 2 years of ownership.
Shomare Said,
October 21, 2004 @ 7:08 am
26K and clutch completely gone?? – VwoA will deny you. They denied me on the day I picked my car up at the dealership. I had to laugh and didnt bother to tell them that the dealer had already repaired it.
If you have the clutch repaired at the dealer, I dont think that you will have a leg to stand on.
The clutch failure is not all that common. I think that there is a bad batch of parts and some of us got them. The guys on the Vortex (some of them) really beat on their cars. The 1.8T is known to have a fragile clutch but with normal driving, I think anything under 60K is inexcusable.
My advice is that if you have documented clutch problems, fight it out with the dealer. Tell them that you will seek lemon law. What this entitles you to varies state by state. In my case, I live in NY and they would have had to reimburse me with either a comparably equipped car or refund any and all money I had spent on the car.
Martin Berndt Said,
October 21, 2004 @ 8:56 am
26K and clutch completely gone?? – Good info, thanks. My only concern about the aftermarket clutch is that (even with the magnusson) if I have any more problems it might be another hassle trying to prove that my aftermarket clutch did not cause the problem. I have a really great freind who owns and operates a high performance shop. He was very honest with me when he told me that he would not advise me to let anyone but VW put in my clutch. Reason being he has changed them himself for freinds and didn’t know what he was getting himself into. He said that the clutch is complicated in comparison to the hondas and toyotas that he deals with. I just don’t know anyone that I would trust with the german car other than the dealer or affiliated mechanic. They have already started work on my 1.8 and actually should have it back on friday. I have asked them to give me the removed parts (of which they said would be no problem) so that if they try to rip me then at least I will have the proof to take it further. We will see, VW might make me eat my words, but going on the attitude and lack of understanding I would be surprised.
Shomare Said,
October 21, 2004 @ 9:52 am
26K and clutch completely gone?? – I don’t think you will get far with VWoA at this point. They told me that the would not cover it beyond 12K.
At this point save your recipts and parts (all of them) so that in the event of a class action suit (re: the clutches) you can try to get your money back.
297 Said,
October 21, 2004 @ 12:07 pm
26K and clutch completely gone?? – Yeah, it felt like a lot of 2003 1.8T clutches were dying prematurely, based on the number of folks who complained about it on Vortex.
Honestly, if VW refuses to repair it for free, I would either fight it, or if you didn’t want to bother, order a better clutch and install it for half the price. Shomare has shown that a dealer can and will go to bat for you if they’re willing to, but some people would rather just pay and be done with it.
If that’s your feeling on that matter, here are your options:
You can get the same OEM Luk clutch kit (dual-mass flywheel and clutch) that’s already in your car for $650 + shipping, or a slightly better/bigger clutch kit (Sachs VW VR6 clutch with OEM single-mass flywheel from Brazil) with a lighter flywheel (which might have a light chatter in neutral) for $400 + shipping from ECS Tuning.
Installations at a shop usually cost around $400.
You could also simply order the $600 Luk OEM clutch kit that goes in your car from them and have a VW dealer install it… though what they’ll charge for labor depends on their integrity.
297 Said,
October 22, 2004 @ 1:43 am
26K and clutch completely gone?? – Martin, the dual-mass flywheel and Luk clutch I posted about is the exact same clutch VW uses, it would have been a direct replacement, only you purchase it at a cheaper price from an online vendor.
If you wanted to make sure of it, you could get the part at Impex: Part No. 06A105264M, for a little more (~$700 shipped), then have VW install it and charge you just for labor (which should only be $400 or about 5 hours worth).
I have purchased OEM parts online from Impex or ECS, then taken it to VW to install. They don’t care in the least, since the part is clearly VW and is stamped with the VW part number.
YupOldBull Said,
October 22, 2004 @ 4:17 am
26K and clutch completely gone?? – What are you going to do at 52k when the replacement clutch fails? I would fight it.
Forget the $2,100 for the clutch. Here is what I would really be concerned about. ($11,500 to replace the 1.8t)
http://www.stahrinteractive.com/vw/viewthread.asp?id=2095
My Honda accord clutch went to 120k. My Volvo wagon clutch went to 150k. Your VW clutch went to 26k. Terrible.
Blown Jetta Clutch thread. Over 90 posts. Common problem.
http://www.myvwlemon.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000155.html
Here is an article on a guy that has no faith in his VW, but has a good backup plan!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6298605/
297 Said,
October 22, 2004 @ 5:39 am
26K and clutch completely gone?? – From what I remember on Vortex threads, the clutch problem was due to a bad installation.
Most 1.8Ts don’t have permaturely clutch failure. There’s nothing at all wrong with the clutch. Bad assembly batch for 2003 Jettas? Likely. Bad clutch? No. Bad clutch design? No, it was designed to be smoother and quieter, and it is both these things.
But if you’re really worried about it use other VW parts that have proven to stand the test of time, specifically the VR6 clutch and a lighter VW flywheel.
These are still VW parts, but from different (older) models like the sporty VW Corrado. The Sachs VR6 is an excellent clutch, and the single-mass VW flywheel matched to it provides for a better response. The trade is it’ll be a little louder at idle due to chatter, and it’ll be less smooth (the goal of the newer dual-mass design). It’s also a bit larger, meaning it is over-qualified to handle an unmodified 1.8T engine.
An added bonus is that this simpler design is cheaper, hence the sub-$400 price tag for this “”upgrade”".
And yes, it fits perfectly well in the O2J tranny, and in fact is easier to install because it’s a simpler clutch kit.
Martin Berndt Said,
October 22, 2004 @ 5:44 am
26K and clutch completely gone?? – So I got my jetta back today and let me tell you. First of all after they found out that we had made a formal complaint and have been working with a friend of the family (who owns a vw dealership elsewhere). He agrees that 26K is crazy. That it would be almost impossible for me to blow it that early.
My dealership swears that it was my fault and charged me not 2100 but 1728. 882 for labor. I am guessing that the price decrease was to try to “”draw”" our attention away from continuing with our fight. I do not take away the fact that my dealership was curtious but then again why wouldn’t they be. So I am taking my old clutch (of which I had them leave on my floor) to my parents friends dealership and his rep. is going to take a look. It should not have to be this difficult. One more thing, come to find out the sales manager at my dealership is a twenty one year old kid (who knows a hell of alot more than me and most I am sure). Just didn’t make me feel to confident that they would try or even think of trying to see things in the customers favor. I will keep everyone updated cause my parents are pissed and have a little bit of claut and are willing to go to bat for me and those others who have been ripped a new one.
297 Said,
October 22, 2004 @ 6:01 am
26K and clutch completely gone?? – How does the clutch look, anyway?
Got a pic?
YupOldBull Said,
October 22, 2004 @ 9:13 am
26K and clutch completely gone?? – Here is another theory.
And then we come to the “”silent recall”". While I agree that it can be used to upgrade parts on a vehicle ?ilently?during regular service (either with or without the customers knowledge)?.it may also have an ?vil side?definition. The ?ilent recall?can be ?hispered?to the Dealership by a MFG. rep. If a customer comes in and complains about a specific known or pre-discussed issue…..the dealership might be given the authority to fix the problem and the MFG? rep. will agree (in advance) to ?ork with?the dealership to cover a portion of the expense ?..Often the rep will agree to split the actual repair costs with the dealership. (Call it a sales policy allowance (SPA)?or goodwill?that? a joke!) If the customer doesn’t complain about ?ay?a “”clutch”" wear issue….the customer pays for the entire repair. Why send out a recall to 200,000 car owners when only “”maybe”" half (100,000) of them are bad!(?) And only 1% (1,000) of the half that are bad, will complain to the US dealerships. Like it wore out in 30k! And then the US dealerships only help half (500) of those that complain! (Usually just very good customers, the service managers priest, or those that threaten litigation!) And then the MFG and all the US dealerships split the costs on ?ust?250 clutches each. Going from 200,000 to 250 is pretty darn good! This saves the MFG and dealership a lot of money! And we, the customer, get to pay a lot of money!
Martin Berndt Said,
October 26, 2004 @ 5:23 am
26K and clutch completely gone?? – Well the clutch is working very well still (the new one) and yes I do have a picture of the old clutch and next time I go to Jacksonville,NC I am bringing it to my parents’ freind wo owns a VW dealership. I am not very engine savy so I can not gather anything from the old clutch except that it has wear in what looks to be a star pattern. There is black sut all over it but is not purple (glazed). I could send a pic if you could help me on understanding why it went bad so early.
rick Said,
October 26, 2004 @ 8:40 am
26K and clutch completely gone?? –
Did somebody say Purple Glaze?