Teufel

So my GF bought a 2004 TSX used last year in August. She's had some intermittant electrical issues, but for the most part the car runs great. Her rotors are warped and need shaved, but nothing major..

Until Saturday. The clutch burned out just a little over 36k miles. Now she's been driving stick for 7 years, and is quite experienced at it. Is it possible that this clutch could have burned out after 36k by just normal wear and tear? Something doesn't seem right. The dealership just told her it was normal wear and tear.

Any advice, because, I don't understand how a clutch can go sooooo soon. She doesn't drive teh car "hard" and is a very passive driver. How can something like this occur?

JTso

iTrader: (2)

Since the car was purchased used, the previous owner could have ruined the clutch prematurely. What are the symptoms?

Teufel

Well, actually, some more stuff has occurred since I posted this earlier. It was bought at an Acura dealership through their certified preowned program. We're checking all of the documentation tonight to see what the results were. I'm guessing the previous owner drove the car pretty rough, and then sold it.

The symptoms were npt getting the car to get into gear. At the very end, you could smell the clutch burned.

aaronng

Sounds like the clutch did not have sufficient travel to disengage since you couldn't get it into gear. That means when the clutch pedal was pressed fully to the floor, the clutch friction plate was still slightly in contact. I hope that Acura fixes it under warranty.

Brandon24pdx

Could be wrong, but I doubt the dealership would give you a new clutch under warrantee 36k miles later. Yes, you can kill a clutch (especially a light duty OEM) in 36k miles. No, It probably wasnt your girlfriend's fault...the original owner was probably such a dipshit that you're lucky it lasted that long. Im sure the whole clutch assembly will need replacing, and the flywheel will need to be resurfaced to get rid of the scarring and burning. In fact, make them show you the flywheel. If there is fractures or cracks, it's junk too. (A competent technician would look for this...sometimes "competent" is asking too much tho...)

afici0nad0

ya, previous owner may be the contributing factor to your clutch.

holding hills, downshifting w/o blipping, etc...

Teufel

Well, after getting the clutch replaced by a 3rd party (her uncle owns a transmission shop), the car wouldn't start. So he sent the car to Acura to get fixed. Acura has had it for over a week now, and says that the car needs a new transmission.

Now, what would you say is the best way to get acura to say that maybe the clutch dying WAS a result of a faulty transmission?

tsxflexer

I had a clutch go on my civic at about 30K miles. And my cousin at around the same time had his go at 36K. The clutch disc is basically a giant brake pad so they dont last forever. I live in a very hilly region of PA so the clutch on our cars wouldn't last as long as a clutch say out in CA. I replaced the stock clutch setup with an ACT setup and when I sold my car with 112K miles on it, the clutch still grabbed like a beast. I hope ACT comes out with a clutch for the TSX cause ill be the first to buy it.

As far as the car not starting after the clutch change its up in the air. As long as you can shift through the gears while the car is off, I dont think your tranny is causing the car not to start.

Teufel

Here's the story in my GF words

November 18, 2005 - Bill and I decide to go to the movies to see Harry Potter. On the way over, Bill notices my clutch is slipping, but I assured him that I called my pops, and he made an appt to take my car to Albert's to take a look at it (and get my brakes fixed - finally). The movie was to be followed by fun at Shawn and Kristin's in Downingtown. Car gets worse as we drive down 202 and 30. Take 2 turns off of 30 to get to Shawn's. We're 600 ft away from Shawn's parking lot. Car STOPS. Gas pedal goes down, tachometer goes up, odometer stays in place.

November 19, 2005 - I call Acura to ask if this will be covered. Did I mention I have 36000 miles on the car? I'm pretty sure it's the clutch, but they won't be able to tell if it's covered under warranty until they look at it. Get it towed to Acura.

Nov 22- Find out I need a new clutch. Not covered. Estimate $1400.

Nov 23 - get it towed to my uncle's trans shop in Langhorne.

Nov 28 - Ordered clutch from Acura. About to fix it. Uncle asks if I ever noticed any clicking before. Nope. Ok. $800 estimate. Should be ready tomorrow.

Nov 29 - Everything's done. Need to take it out for a test drive, but can't get it started. What's the Navigation System code and radio code? Got it. Still can't start it. Towed to Acura down the street from uncle's shop. Write angry letter to Acura. "How the hell could I burn out a clutch in 18000 miles???? Its not like I'm new at this... Certified Pre-Owned MY ASS!"

Nov 30 - Still not ready.

Dec 1- Need to order Power sensor (?). Should be ready tomorrow. (But hey, it's covered by warranty!)

Dec 2 - Still not ready. Thought they were done. Started it and it was fine. Started it and it was fine. Started it and tried to drive it out of the garage - died. Should be ready tomorrow.

Dec 5 - Call Acura. They never call back. Call my uncle who says he'll call Acura. Never calls back.

Dec 6 - I get a call from my uncle who tells me that that clicking I heard was my transmission. I NEED A NEW FUCKING TRANSMISSION! Now, luckily, this is covered under warranty. My car won't be ready for another week or so.

Now... I have a question. Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't clutches and transmissions directly fucking related??? Could a bad transmission have been related to my clutch going?? i don't know honestly. I'm wondering if I have a case to make them pay for everything?

joerockt

Your uncle is a tranny guy, can't he tell you if the bad tranny was directly related to the clutch?

Teufel

He already said it was. Its Acura that is the probem

superchg

The clicking noise may have been the input shaft bearing in the transmission gone bad. I doubt that would have caused the clutch to fail but aggressive driving by the previous owner could have been the reason for both the worn out clutch and tranny needing to be replaced.

joerockt

Ok, so have him go to the dealer and make the case. If they know he's a mechanic and can explain it in a mechanic's way, they might actually buy it.

fuckleberry

Ask uncle ?