[timsemeryuk]

Hello,

2016 focus RS with 48k miles. I drive average, not really hard on the car. Only a few launches.

I was driving on the freeway today and a few cars braked suddenly. I switched lanes, downshifted into 3rd and then full throttle to speed back up / pass. Car accelerated for a few seconds and the clutch slipped / revs climbed. I re - engaged the clutch, put it into second, back on throttle but had the same issue. Eventually the clutch engaged and everything was fine. After I got off the freeway the car drove around fine and I couldn’t replicated the issue. The bite point on the clutch is now further to the floor, but not by much. Clutch pedal doesn’t have a satisfying engagement anymore and it just feels like I’m pressing a brake pedal.

Is my clutch just wearing out? Maybe I didn’t fully release the clutch pedal? Definitely stank like clutch.

Has anyone else had this issue? Thank you for your help.

 

[big jim]

not trying to be sarcastic...but i think you answered your own question...??
loss of power under heavy acceleration is usually the tell-tale sign

 

[timsemeryuk]

Lol yes this may be entirely true, I think I’m mostly curious if people have experienced clutch slip around 50k miles / when would clutch slip?

The other issue for me was the clutch pedal feeling completely different after this happened, maybe there’s an issue with the pedal / slave?

 

[lucky phil]

Hello,

2016 focus RS with 48k miles. I drive average, not really hard on the car. Only a few launches.

I was driving on the freeway today and a few cars braked suddenly. I switched lanes, downshifted into 3rd and then full throttle to speed back up / pass. Car accelerated for a few seconds and the clutch slipped / revs climbed. I re - engaged the clutch, put it into second, back on throttle but had the same issue. Eventually the clutch engaged and everything was fine. After I got off the freeway the car drove around fine and I couldn’t replicated the issue. The bite point on the clutch is now further to the floor, but not by much. Clutch pedal doesn’t have a satisfying engagement anymore and it just feels like I’m pressing a brake pedal.

Is my clutch just wearing out? Maybe I didn’t fully release the clutch pedal? Definitely stank like clutch.

Has anyone else had this issue? Thank you for your help.

Yes. Clutch slip manifests itself in initially in high gears at peak torque when the clutch is under peak load. You can usually initiate slip when the clutch is on the way out by doing a fast shift into third gear at maybe 2500-3000 rpm and go WOT as soon as the clutch is engaged. At higher rpm in lower gears they generally hold ok but at peak torque in higher gears at lower engine speeds they let go. If you keep your foot into it when it slips it will hook up again as the clutch temp rises. When it's really worn it just wont hook up again under those conditions. If you nurse it you can probably get quite a few more miles out of it.

Ciao

 

[ControlNode]

How low were your RPMs when you were WOT in 3rd that you were able to then go to 2nd and be "on the gas" for a while waiting on it to grab?

 

[timsemeryuk]

Yes. Clutch slip manifests itself in initially in high gears at peak torque when the clutch is under peak load. You can usually initiate slip when the clutch is on the way out by doing a fast shift into third gear at maybe 2500-3000 rpm and go WOT as soon as the clutch is engaged. At higher rpm in lower gears they generally hold ok but at peak torque in higher gears at lower engine speeds they let go. If you keep your foot into it when it slips it will hook up again as the clutch temp rises. When it's really worn it just wont hook up again under those conditions. If you nurse it you can probably get quite a few more miles out of it.

Ciao

This makes sense, this is pretty much exactly the situation that happened. Thank you for your help! I’ll be looking into getting it replaced.

How low were your RPMs when you were WOT in 3rd that you were able to then go to 2nd and be "on the gas" for a while waiting on it to grab?

I was at highway speeds and slowed down quite a bit but didn’t realize how slow I was actually going. When I got into 3rd to speed back up I was right at 2500, the clutch hooked and about 3200 it slipped and shot up to like 4000. As it slips I start to go uphill over a bridge so the clutch is slipping and I’m slowing down. I realized I could’ve just gone into second so next I try that but same exact situation happens. I retry second gear and it finally works and I’m able to pass the slow cars ahead.

I was able to go from third to second mostly because I should gone straight to second and made a mistake but also slowed down on the uphill part.

What lucky phil described above is pretty much what happened so it seems like my clutch is wearing out. The pedal feels terrible now.

 

[BigFatFlip]

I was driving on the freeway today and a few cars braked suddenly. I switched lanes, downshifted into 3rd and then full throttle to speed back up / pass. Car accelerated for a few seconds and the clutch slipped / revs climbed. I re - engaged the clutch, put it into second, back on throttle but had the same issue. Eventually the clutch engaged and everything was fine. After I got off the freeway the car drove around fine and I couldn’t replicated the issue. The bite point on the clutch is now further to the floor, but not by much. Clutch pedal doesn’t have a satisfying engagement anymore and it just feels like I’m pressing a brake pedal.

Based on the conditions you've described, this sounds to me like you may have "glazed" your clutch/fly wheel.

A clutch and flywheel behave a lot like a brake pad and rotor. In certain conditions, you can get it hot enough that the pad/clutch material can leave deposits on the rotor/fly wheel and smear it across the face. This layer then creates a slippery smooth surface, making it feel like you have a worn clutch at times and work fine most of the time.

In certain occasions, you can simply continue driving and let the glazed layers wear away over time. You can also take it to a shop to get the clutch and fly wheel resurfaced, but in most occasions, the best fix is to just replace it since it takes about the same amount of work.

 

[RSt~n~peace]

Hello,

2016 focus RS with 48k miles. I drive average, not really hard on the car. Only a few launches.

I was driving on the freeway today and a few cars braked suddenly. I switched lanes, downshifted into 3rd and then full throttle to speed back up / pass. Car accelerated for a few seconds and the clutch slipped / revs climbed. I re - engaged the clutch, put it into second, back on throttle but had the same issue. Eventually the clutch engaged and everything was fine. After I got off the freeway the car drove around fine and I couldn’t replicated the issue. The bite point on the clutch is now further to the floor, but not by much. Clutch pedal doesn’t have a satisfying engagement anymore and it just feels like I’m pressing a brake pedal.

Is my clutch just wearing out? Maybe I didn’t fully release the clutch pedal? Definitely stank like clutch.

Has anyone else had this issue? Thank you for your help.

The RS has a self adjusting pressure plate. What you described can happen and not be an issue, although it’s pretty annoying/unnerving. If it happens again, fully depress the clutch pedal a couple times while in neutral and see if it resolves the issue.

 

[axelr]

Hello,

2016 focus RS with 48k miles. I drive average, not really hard on the car. Only a few launches.

I was driving on the freeway today and a few cars braked suddenly. I switched lanes, downshifted into 3rd and then full throttle to speed back up / pass. Car accelerated for a few seconds and the clutch slipped / revs climbed. I re - engaged the clutch, put it into second, back on throttle but had the same issue. Eventually the clutch engaged and everything was fine. After I got off the freeway the car drove around fine and I couldn’t replicated the issue. The bite point on the clutch is now further to the floor, but not by much. Clutch pedal doesn’t have a satisfying engagement anymore and it just feels like I’m pressing a brake pedal.

Is my clutch just wearing out? Maybe I didn’t fully release the clutch pedal? Definitely stank like clutch.

Has anyone else had this issue? Thank you for your help.

Your slave cylinder may be failing. If you feel anything different in the pedal, and in particular if it’s no longer smooth, it’s not the clutch but the actuation mechanism.

The problem is it’s so much work to replace the slave cylinder (about 8-10 hours) you better do the clutch while you are at it, in only adds perhaps 1/2h on top of the slave cylinder work alone.

It will not get better. The pedal will get crunchy and then go to the floor and you’ll be calling roadside assistance. Don’t ask me how I know: