UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

Hi everyone!

My 6C GTI Polo has a manual and about 62k km (38.5k miles) on the clock and the clutch is slipping frequently in higher gears. It pretty much only bites at the top of the pedal.
My last car had the same clutch for almost 200k km (125k miles) and no issues! I don't think it's my driving style as I mainly do highways and I'm always gentle with my car when cold.

My other car is an Alfa Romeo 2000GTV, trust me, I know mechanical simpathy!
I even revmatch most downshifts

Anyone else with this issue?

My VW dealer says it's time for a replacement. Thats about 1000€ or more... Every 40k miles? Does this seem at all normal?

The OEM part will wear out just as fast... Might as well go with an aftermarket clutch upgrade?

Mine has started to slip at 23k miles.

The 1.8 tsi has a decent amount of torque for a petrol (albeit turbocharged)

I'm going to fit an is38 turbo so fitted this below.

Whats a good replacement clutch kit?
Do I need to worry about anything else, like pressure plates or different oil?

My car will stay mostly stock, power-wise.

Thanks

Shark00n wrote: ↑Fri Feb 14, 2020 4:23 pm Whats a good replacement clutch kit?
Do I need to worry about anything else, like pressure plates or different oil?

My car will stay mostly stock, power-wise.

Thanks

The sachs organic replacement seems to be a fairly reliable upgrade and also RTS clutch seems to be alright aswell

This is for the manual obviously as the DSG is completely different issue.

Mine is ok after around 61kkm.

Got quoted 2100€ from VW to fix it.

Flywheel and clutch kit at 1300€, rest for smaller parts and labour.

What the... at less than 40k miles?

Can it be something wrong with the cluth assembly? I read a few more Polos having the same issue.

My car has a 5 yr warranty I'm still inside it. It can be dismissed as wear and tear but I struggle to figure why...

Thats not right. I would look for warranty repair. No clutch should fail below 100km no matter how you drive.
The dealer will say anything to make it look like it's your fault but you just gotta stand your ground and request
that they change it under warranty.

Given that you’ve covered more than 38,000 miles I would be amazed if any garage would accept that as anything other than normal wear.

I’m not doubting your word but It would be impossible for you to prove to the garage that your driving style is clutch friendly.

I don’t know where the figure of 100k, 62 or so miles quoted further up the page came from, apologies if I’ve missed something.

Just to add my thoughts - I have to agree with Ricmondo, that although 38k is low mileage for the pressure plate to have worn out, it is possible as I've seen clutches wear out in less than 15k miles when poor driving technique has been used. Whilst I don't doubt the OPs driving style as it sounds like he/she does everything possible to be mechanically sympathetic, the only way to confirm if its worn or whether the clutch failure is caused by something else such as a manufacturing defect or pressure plate contamination, would be to have the clutch removed and inspected. Normally a dealership would do this on the basis that the owner agrees to pay for this and if its found to be manufacturing failure etc rather than wear and tear, this would then be out through as a warranty claim. Of course the risk of this is that if a warranty claim is rejected, the owner is left with a big bill inflated by dealership labour rates. Like Ricmondo I've never heard of any manufacturer or garage agreeing that all clutch failures below 100K miles must be a manufacturing defect and not normal wear. Ultimately contentious repairs under warranty are the call of the manufacturer as the dealer doesn't want to be left with the bill of the manufacturer says no.

By all means push as hard as you can for a warranty repair or at least a goodwill contribution but unfortunately I wouldn't bank on it

Just a small update.

Clutch stopped slipping after one or two thousand km. It was probably a manufacturing or surface defect that luckily went away. Happily driving since



Car's now approaching 100k km (60k miles) and I feel like the clutch bite point is starting to come up a bit. So I'll probably have to think about changing it soon. Will probably go with OEM parts for a stock pedal feel as I have no power upgrades made to the car.

Wondering how have your clutches been after these years.
Has anyone had to change theirs yet?
How many km/miles have you gone before replacing it?
Did you go OEM or aftermarket and are you satisfied with your decision?


When I do go thru with that service. I'm also thinking of taking the opportunity and upgrading the stock open dif to a Quaife QDF13R LSD. Anyone care to tell me how that would be a bad idea?

Thanks!

Currently at just over 72k miles and the clutch is holding perfectly fine, the bite is higher when compared to 21k miles when I got the car but that was bound to happen.

The flywheel however....

The damping on the dual mass is pretty much gone. Get a slight rattling noise at idle and light shaking on first start which quickly subsides. But pulling away can be very noisy and re-engaging the clutch if done quickly will lead to a nice CLACK of I assume the two masses crashing together.

Getting it replaced sharpish with a Sachs SRE performance organic clutch and new Sachs DMF. Suspect the dogbone mount is also knackered so changing that for a Vibra Technics one. Parts total just shy of £1200 delivered plus 4-£500 for fitting.

I'm contemplating getting the 034 rear main seal upgrade fitted as a "while you're in there" job at £130 + delivery as I've had to change pretty much all of the other oil seals on this engine.

Currently no power mods but I plan on changing that as well.

I was planning on getting the 1M Leon Cupra R brakes I've been sat on for some time sorted and fitted but that will have to wait again after this dent in the wallet

Sachs SRE clutch kit from Darkside Developments for those that are interested:
https://www.darksidedevelopments.co.uk/ ... -tfsi.html

Bepis wrote: ↑Tue Oct 24, 2023 7:04 pm Currently at just over 72k miles and the clutch is holding perfectly fine, the bite is higher when compared to 21k miles when I got the car but that was bound to happen.

The flywheel however....

The damping on the dual mass is pretty much gone. Get a slight rattling noise at idle and light shaking on first start which quickly subsides. But pulling away can be very noisy and re-engaging the clutch if done quickly will lead to a nice CLACK of I assume the two masses crashing together.

Getting it replaced sharpish with a Sachs SRE performance organic clutch and new Sachs DMF. Suspect the dogbone mount is also knackered so changing that for a Vibra Technics one. Parts total just shy of £1200 delivered plus 4-£500 for fitting.

I'm contemplating getting the 034 rear main seal upgrade fitted as a "while you're in there" job at £130 + delivery as I've had to change pretty much all of the other oil seals on this engine.

Currently no power mods but I plan on changing that as well.

I was planning on getting the 1M Leon Cupra R brakes I've been sat on for some time sorted and fitted but that will have to wait again after this dent in the wallet

Sachs SRE clutch kit from Darkside Developments for those that are interested:
https://www.darksidedevelopments.co.uk/ ... -tfsi.html

isn't a darkside tax thing in UK?

amer6R wrote: ↑Tue Oct 24, 2023 7:34 pm isn't a darkside tax thing in UK?

Can't say I've heard the term other than referring to Darkside Developments or fitting car tyres onto a motorbike.

Bepis wrote: ↑Tue Oct 24, 2023 7:04 pm Currently at just over 72k miles and the clutch is holding perfectly fine, the bite is higher when compared to 21k miles when I got the car but that was bound to happen.

The flywheel however....

The damping on the dual mass is pretty much gone. Get a slight rattling noise at idle and light shaking on first start which quickly subsides. But pulling away can be very noisy and re-engaging the clutch if done quickly will lead to a nice CLACK of I assume the two masses crashing together.

Getting it replaced sharpish with a Sachs SRE performance organic clutch and new Sachs DMF. Suspect the dogbone mount is also knackered so changing that for a Vibra Technics one. Parts total just shy of £1200 delivered plus 4-£500 for fitting.

I'm contemplating getting the 034 rear main seal upgrade fitted as a "while you're in there" job at £130 + delivery as I've had to change pretty much all of the other oil seals on this engine.

Currently no power mods but I plan on changing that as well.

I was planning on getting the 1M Leon Cupra R brakes I've been sat on for some time sorted and fitted but that will have to wait again after this dent in the wallet

Sachs SRE clutch kit from Darkside Developments for those that are interested:
https://www.darksidedevelopments.co.uk/ ... -tfsi.html

Brakes before power, that's smart.

What discs are you going to use with the cupra brakes?

Regarding power, was reading about the ABT power chip. Supposedly developed with VW and didn't void warranty when installed. Uplift to around 230hp but pretty pricey. Couldn't find any user experiences

Shark00n wrote: ↑Tue Oct 24, 2023 9:07 pm Brakes before power, that's smart.

What discs are you going to use with the cupra brakes?

Regarding power, was reading about the ABT power chip. Supposedly developed with VW and didn't void warranty when installed. Uplift to around 230hp but pretty pricey. Couldn't find any user experiences

Either plain Brembo discs or Tarox C83 or F2000
https://www.tarox.co.uk/product/front-t ... 18-wheels/
https://www.tarox.co.uk/product/rear-ta ... ted-discs/

Or if the budget allows
https://www.tarox.co.uk/product/front-t ... r-bespoke/

Not really the best comparison but ABT did the mapping for the GTi 230