Heavy Vibration when letting go of Clutch?

I had this happen this morning, I was pulling off from a stop light and as I was letting off the clutch I felt a heavy vibration in the car (Almost like my tires were spinning on some water or something).

But that def. wasn't it as I wasn't flooring it.

Was I maybe not giving it enough gas? The whole car shook a bit. I don't think the clutch was slipping (since I only have 10k miles on it). This is NOT my first manual...but you know how the clutch is in this thing. I probably wasn't giving it enough gas but i've never felt it shake like that before?

If the clutch was slipping it'd seem like the rpm's would just go up and nothing would happen. But it was def. a pretty intense vibration for a second or so.

Has this ever happened to anyone? Possible that I just wasn't giving enough gas causing it to kinda shake a bit?

I know this car has soft motor mounts...but surely not after 10k miles they'd be bad. I don't drive very intense or anything or dump the clutch...so I wouldn't think it'd be a warped pressure plate or anything.

for Reference this a 16' base Golf not a GTI.

If your clutch is like mine, the catch is almost all the way out. The few times I've stalled the motor, that's what it felt like. Don't be afraid to give it a little gas. Clutch failure needs either much more torque than stock or a lot of abuse. They aren't the best stock clutches, but they can endure enough to get you rolling.

Nothing to worry about buddy. Mine does it all the time. The vibration you are feeling in the pedal is the clutch making contact. But you will need to give the car more gas when slipping the clutch in the future, to prevent the whole car from shaking.

Mine is not a GTI it's a normal Golf...does that matter?

Im hoping im explaining it right, like the whole car vibrates (almost like your spinning your wheels on water) so it feels like it's slipping but barely catching like a gear almost?

When I did it...I think I was being a little lazy on the gas, but i've never felt it where the whole car shakes a bit.

Why exactly is this happening mechanically? Is the clutch bouncing off the flywheel or whats happening? Am I damaging the car? Why exactly is the whole car shaking....It scared me a good bit.

For reference if the clutch was slipping (Which would seem awfully unlikely) im guessing it would do something different. This golf feels like you need to give it a LOT of gas for it to be smooth (like close to 2k, maybe 1.7k or something). Any lower and it feels like shit, but also catches hard when letting out. It's very hard to get right.

This is referred to a clutch shudder or some say judder. Basically you're flywheel/pressure plate may have a few uneven spots do to overheating it at some point. So what ends up happening is when you're trying to engage the clutch, the uneven spots grab onto the disk before the majority of the surface. The vibration is just the flywheel/pressure plate slipping through that point where it grabs a tad. if you apply more throttle, the engine then overcomes those uneven spots so you don't feel it.

There is no real fix for this aside from clutch replacement. There are ways to burn the clutch that could reduce the shudder but I don't recommend that. Fins the sweet spot where it doesn't shudder, and try to minimize the amount you slip. My clutch does this as well, it has got a lot better since it was new but I found the sweet spot for it and its smooth every time.

I mean I don't consider myself a bad manual driver, i've had 4 manual cars. Or is it just something that happens to these cars?

Also ...like is it causing any damage? I imagine the shudder isn't good for the car....but am I messing up the transmission/engine? I hope not (Im OCD/paranoid about my car).

I feel like (at least in the golf) you need to really give it a decent amount of gas or it just isn't smooth. I also feel like the clutch grab point is a lot further down than Im used to.

It can happen to any car, some clutches can take severe abuse and some can't. VW isn't known for there strong clutches so have to be more careful with them. As for causing any damage, you won't. Only thing that may occur is premature wear on engine mounts and also the clutch itself. I wouldn't worry about it, just find the perfect spot where it does not shudder and it will be fine. It may go away over time as well.

I think that this isolated incident, barring really beating that clutch the day before or right before, is probably related to driver error directly related to the hydraulic bleeder valve delaying clutch initiation and an awkward engagement where you thought it should be in but it wasn't fully due to the delayed engagement of the bleeder valve. These cars are known for it, so I took mine out. I have a smfw and it is very pronounced if you don't really nail it by giving it higher rpms for the lighter flywheel (smfw and it's clutch built for it are built to take that as it's a different normal operation condition trait). The shudder is from a half engaged clutch that's taking too much power and slipping under high pressure but grabbing here and there, but not fully until the clutch is 100% let out.

Tldr engage faster and practice. Maybe remove the bleeder delay valve. No harm done, just don't gas it hard under these slipping conditions or else you might glaze over the clutch disc/flywheel which would be bad. It can seriously take it unless you are a real dumbass about it.

Enjoy! VWs are all about dramatic rewards from dramatic finesse.

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Dude dont worry this happens. Just means you had a slightly off engagement. My car has a dogbone insert and i get insane vibrations from anything but the most perfect engagements.

GolfWang said:

Dude dont worry this happens. Just means you had a slightly off engagement. My car has a dogbone insert and i get insane vibrations from anything but the most perfect engagements.

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On the whole car though? thats what freaked me out. Normally if it's bad i'll just get some vibration on the clutch pedal but this time the whole car felt like it was vibrating.

Also Erik: you say to engage faster, but doesn't the CDV sort of prevent you from doing that? Assuming were talking about a normal Golf here. I feel like if I try to quick engage then it bucks horribly. The CDV makes u have to slip it longer than i'd want to to be smooth.

Maybe I should just remove the damn thing...

It's more like an initially slow let off followed by the initial bite point which turns it into a faster "I'm done" kind of letting off initiation. You'll ultimately just have to feel it out. Our engines are heavier and can carry some more momentum, a smaller lighter engine is much more responsive to bungled shift attempts. And oh yes it's the whole car, you will feel it in your ass. The thing is strapped to the frame of the car after all. A dealership drive test will let you know if it's just a new type of shift engagement (and for me it was dramatically different from all other manuals I'd driven), or if something is wrong (probably not)

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Mercfh said:

On the whole car though? thats what freaked me out. Normally if it's bad i'll just get some vibration on the clutch pedal but this time the whole car felt like it was vibrating.

Also Erik: you say to engage faster, but doesn't the CDV sort of prevent you from doing that? Assuming were talking about a normal Golf here. I feel like if I try to quick engage then it bucks horribly. The CDV makes u have to slip it longer than i'd want to to be smooth.

Maybe I should just remove the damn thing...

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Whole damn car. In fact, MOST of the vibrations come from the REAR of the car when I don't hook it just right haha.\

Still, if you haven't done the CDV delete, I suggest it. As long as you have any skill with manual, more often than not the delete will improve engagement, not hurt it. The delay valve is literally the same concept as training wheels on a bicycle. You only need it for the first couple times you ever use it...