2013 Leon 1.8 TSI manual - 20K miles and the clutch pedal is sticking!

[IansMusical]

Hi All,

Anyone experienced the clutch pedal sticking and needing to be physically raised again or it appearing to lag behind your foot or being difficult to press?

After some internet trawling it looks like this is a known issue across the VAG group, with possible causes being the slave or master cylinder through to needing a new clutch!

My local reputable garage tells me an OEM level clutch kit is £700 with a 6 hour labour time.

Given the car is out of warranty has anyone tested whether SEAT will pay for or contribute to the cost as this shouldn't be happening to a 20K mile car!?

Cheers,

Ian

 

[ukoldschool]

you are right it shouldn't happen to a 20,000 mile car...

however, it could well happen to a 5 year old car, especially if that car has done a very low mileage......

 

[Jay280]

I had a similar problem with my clutch at 7,500 miles. It was hard enough getting it replaced by seat under warranty at just over 12months old. So unfortunately think u have zero chance of a warranty claim over the 3 year period.

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[Sisqo_uk]

Yea think it’s a difficult one. Even with extended warranty I’m not sure if the clutch is covered. Especially if all or most of it needs replacing. If it was just the pedal. That might be ok. But I know clutch discs etc is not as it’s considered a consumable.



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[LouG]

Clutches are consumables, but still subject to manufacturing fault provisions. Does your clutch slip under load?

 

[IansMusical]

Thanks for the replies so far, appreciated.

@LouG I've not experienced the clutch slipping at all now or 3 months ago. What I'm seeing, not every time, is that if you change gear the clutch pedal hardly rises up again but it's in gear and I can accelerate. If I then tap the clutch it comes fully back up again. Unless there is a fluid leak I suspect there is nothing wrong with the clutch but as the slave cylinder is in the gearbox then it perhaps makes sense to replace it all while it's off the car.

Does anyone know if there are cheaper than £700 good clutch kits or maybe a more performance oriented one? I'd assume the DMF doesn't need replacing at 20K miles unless there's an issue with it?

 

[DEAN0]

Check the simple stuff first.
Clutch return spring and clutch delay valve.

 

[Hawkers]

I had to get my car recovered when the clutch pedal lost all pressure where the slave cylinder inside the clutch/gearbox failed and dumped all of its fluid. You would tap the clutch and it would drop to the floor and have to be raised yourself but you couldn't drive it as it just stalled and couldn't get it in gear.

 

[zedlor]

My Cupra needed a new clutch at 15000 miles. Master cylinder leaked and thermostat housing needed to be replaced as well. So it does happen, fortunately mine was covered under warranty because I'd only bought the car (second hand from main dealer) 3 months prior.

 

[LouG]

It sounds like the problem is in the master cyl, the returning fluid when the clutch is released seems to be bypassing the seals and not pushing the pedal back. But the seals are still able to pressurise the system when depressing the clutch.
That's where I'd start looking anyway.

 

[IansMusical]

Quick update: I called in at my local SEAT stealers (York) and they behaved like a true politician and told me nothing, denied everything but said they could diagnose the problem if I paid £75 an hour (and they wonder why we hate the main dealers!). They did say they could speak to SEAT on my behalf to see if there would be any good will, as the chap I spoke to agreed that clutch issues/sticking clutch pedals should not be an issue on a car with 20K miles.

Meanwhile my local reputable garage has taken a look at the car and discovered that the slave cylinder is interestingly on the outside of the gearbox! So that reduces the bill somewhat However, I know some Cupra guys on here say the slave cylinder is on the inside of the gearbox, so maybe this varies by sub model or model across the VAG group. I'm not sure which gearbox my 1.8 has but I assume it's the 6 speed MQ-250.

 

[DEAN0]

Strange - I thought all the VW manual 6 speed boxes in the MK3 leon ran a concentric slave cylinder/release bearing.
Not sure how you would mount that outside the bellhousing because it fits over the input shaft of the gearbox.
I wonder if they have seen the clutch delay valve and bleed nipple - and assumed that is the slave cylinder.

 

[Hawkers]

Slave Cylinder does look like it's outside of your clutch/transmission etc

 

[IansMusical]

Having now got the car back from the garage I can confirm that number 45 in the diagram above, is the slave cylinder that the mechanic showed me. It's definitely on the outside of the gearbox He also showed me a small cube of blue plastic that appeared to have a small brass inset with a hole in it. He said that came out of the slave cylinder! The slave cylinder wasn't cracked and there was no visible leak.

So far... it looks like that was the problem as the car is behaving now Thanks to everyone who contributed, much appreciated.