Clutch Slipping with Stock Tune

Hey all, long time lurker. Few questions on my slipping clutch.

Background: Bone stock, no tune, 17 GTI Sport. Currently 27k highway miles, driven spiritedly. I’m 43 with 500k+ miles driven with 3 pedals. Only 1 valet and the dealer has driven the car besides me.

Problem: around 23k, clutch started slipping where you would expect to see it, tall gears at highway speeds. First instance was the first cold (30 ish) morning of the year. Couldn’t replicate the next day even by flooring it in 6th going 60. It’s progressively gotten worse. Now can’t give it more than 50% go pedal in any gear without slipping. It has been stupid cold as of late.

Took it into dealer after first slip. They wanted to tear into it on my nickel, saying the clutch is worn out and no warranty coverage. I walked, called VWNA and got the same story. Talked to regional VW rep and same story. They won't warranty a wear item.

Questions: What are the chances VW warranty takes care of this once they open it up? Could there be something else failing to cause the slippage? Will taking it to a different dealer help or are all warranty items covered by the same regional rep? Thinking RSR clutch if I have to replace, but I’m kinda stuck going through dealer on the install. Any chance the dealer will install parts I hand them (assuming they don’t warranty once it’s apart)?

Thanks.

Probably won't warranty a clutch especially since you are at almost 30k. If you were at 5k or 10k maybe a shot. I believe the only way they will cover it if it was something else causing the problem. IE: rear main seal leak perhaps.

Good luck

Edit: Alot of dealers will not install non-standard parts. Plenty of other great Indie shops will do it though. If you can still drive your car I would recommend piecing together a clutch and taking it to an Indie shop and have them install it and save a bunch of money over having the dealer do it.

Damn, that sucks. I went through a clutch replacement on my stock 2017 at 500 miles lol so I know how you feel. Basically, wear items like the pressure plate are warrantied for only 1 year/12K miles. Still, they can do a one time sympathy repair (which many do agree to on a newer car) but its at their discretion. If the dealer/VWoA rep aren't asses, they could agree to change the DMF under warranty (since it is considered a powertrain part), have you pay for the clutch of your choice, and install that with the new DMF. Only cost to you would be the RSR clutch but you'd get a new flywheel + labor for free.

Since they did not change my DMF and I still don't like the feel of the clutch, this is what my dealer agreed to do in my case. So, as long as I go to them before the 5 year powertrain is up, I would only have to buy the clutch of my choice and they'll throw it in with a new flywheel (if I still want a DMF, which I do). Seemed like a reasonable solution for me and the RSR hybrid clutch fits the bill on what I plan to do with the car anyway.

Ask if they can work something like this out. All it would take is some hot spots on the flywheel to show it needs replacing (flywheel is NOT considered a wear item per VWs warranty, don't let them tell you otherwise). I would never advocate anyone do this but I once heard someone say that a few more launches and 6th gear WOT pulls aren't great for flywheels but make sure to talk to the service manager or shop foreman first or find a friendlier dealer who may be more willing to work with you.

Problem: around 23k, clutch started slipping where you would expect to see it, tall gears at highway speeds. First instance was the first cold (30 ish) morning of the year. Couldn’t replicate the next day even by flooring it in 6th going 60. It’s progressively gotten worse. Now can’t give it more than 50% go pedal in any gear without slipping. It has been stupid cold as of late.

Doing this tall gear hwy stuff and not down shifting (especially in the cold) is what helped cause the slipping clutch to begin with. 500k miles on a standard did not help you. lol...

Thanks for the replies. I understand the wear item stance. But there is no way that a non-tuned car should be doing this at this mileage. Frustrating.

I'd love to go to an indie shop, but no way to warranty anything. And there's no way I'm paying for a weak ass stock clutch from the dealer.

Service manager at the dealer said he wanted to work with me, but he's at the mercy of the regional rep. Is that correct? Rep is new and seemed to be a bit of an ass. Dealer would only commit to giving me a deal on labor.

Good call on the flywheel. Although service manager said he rarely replaces them with a clutch.

bigred said:

Doing this tall gear hwy stuff and not down shifting (especially in the cold) is what helped cause the slipping clutch to begin with. 500k miles on a standard did not help you. lol...

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Doing it one time to see if it's slipping did not kill my clutch.

bigred said:

Problem: around 23k, clutch started slipping where you would expect to see it, tall gears at highway speeds. First instance was the first cold (30 ish) morning of the year. Couldn’t replicate the next day even by flooring it in 6th going 60. It’s progressively gotten worse. Now can’t give it more than 50% go pedal in any gear without slipping. It has been stupid cold as of late.

Doing this tall gear hwy stuff and not down shifting (especially in the cold) is what helped cause the slipping clutch to begin with. 500k miles on a standard did not help you. lol...

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I agree and have seen this on here consistently. Lot’s of high gear high load in 5th-6th killing clutches. No clue why people do it?

A stock car should be able to go WOT in 5th or 6th...it's clearly a weak clutch as we know they have done since the MK5. I wouldn't limit yourself to the dealer unless they do give you a good deal on labor. Definitely get an upgraded clutch, good excuse to get stage 1.

zrickety said:

A stock car should be able to go WOT in 5th or 6th...it's clearly a weak clutch as we know they have done since the MK5. I wouldn't limit yourself to the dealer unless they do give you a good deal on labor. Definitely get an upgraded clutch, good excuse to get stage 1.

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It's unnecessary to go WOT in the high gears.

Car is limited to 124 mph stock, you can get there in 4th in the manual.

But yeah, the clutch actually is weak, not trying to refute that

Dealer threw out cutting their rate to $100/hour for about an 8 hour job. I have no idea if that's a good deal or not.

It's not. Find an Indy. $500 is fair.

TJ10 said:

Dealer threw out cutting their rate to $100/hour for about an 8 hour job. I have no idea if that's a good deal or not.

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That's called a fleece job maybe try another dealer? I went to one that I didn't actually buy the car from.

Maybe the mileage on yours turned them off as 20K+ in a year is a decent amount? I would expect them to work a bit more with a someone who bought a new car, left it stock, and had a clutch go in under a year. I'd be pissed. Free labor at the least as a gesture for buying a new car from them isn't unreasonable to expect imo.

TJ10 said:

Dealer threw out cutting their rate to $100/hour for about an 8 hour job. I have no idea if that's a good deal or not.

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Good lord they are charging 8 hours of labor. Ya go somewhere else man, especially if they are not going to cover labor.

Thanks for all the replies.

Def go somewhere else. My stock clutch failed at 10k miles on a stock car. Now have 13k on my SRE and don't have to worry about slipping in the cold, especially when in a low gear on the highway and passing.