IRL

I've had the car only a few months and bought it CPO. Its a 2006 911S. I took it into service when it was clear the clutch was going bad. Sure enough, they are replacing it, under warranty. My fear is my driving habits were involved - a bad clutch seems highly unlikely otherwise. Its my 3rd porsche and i drove my last (944) over 100K miles, so think i know what i am doing.

Would anyone suspect my driving habits on a car with such low miles to be a factor, or just bad luck? I've never taken a class and was self taught to drive a stick.

ADias

Possible? Yes, due to horrible clutch treatment, possibly by the previous owner? Only you know if you abuse/slip the clutch.

IRL

had not thought to implicate the prior owner. that actually makes more sense! thanks - my conscience is almost clear.

IRL

would be interested - if anyone cares to share - ways to abuse the clutch on these vehicles. again, i ran up 100k+ miles on my last one but would like to avoid an expensive repair on this one. What for example does it mean to "slip the clutch"?

ADias

You are obviously an experienced manual tranny user. Slipping means just that - accelerate while clutch is touching but not fully engaged.

IRL

well i dont do that....

alexb76

How much is cost of replacement? Do you also have to do flywheel?

atr911

I'm having my clutch done at the dealer while I type. The pressure plate failed and the other dealer I called (largest dealer in Canada) immediately pinpointed the plate after I described the events leading up to the failure.

I believe that this is a reasonably common issue and although in my case it was a complete failure, partial failure will result in low pressure application and eventually premature failure due to wear.

I am assuming that this is what was found when the car was pulled apart otherwise they would not have covered the part. I know my dealer actually had to send pictures out to prove that the clutch had lots of life left (54,000 KM/ 34,500 Miles).

Ended up changing the pressure plate, clutch disc, release bearing and even flywheel. They also found a faulty slave cylinder. Almost $4K!!

tpenta

Well, it is interesting that this is the third bad clutch-related thread in the last 2 weeks (mine being the first one).

I was told by the mechanic that they they've been "getting a lot of these at around 40k miles".

I am sure driving habbits play a bit role. For instance, my car's previous owner commuted from Orange County to downtown LA everyday on the 405. I would go nuts driving stop-and-go with this car every day.

Having said that, my last 5 BMWs all had near or above 100k miles and I don't ever remember replacing a clutch.

Is it possible that parts/workmanship/engineering may also be at play here?

Just a thought.

-T

Edgy01

I routinely get 100,000 plus on a Porsche clutch. It's is all about HOW you drive. Suspect the PO abused it. I'm sitting at 48K now and anticipate good wear for a long time.

winkingchef

Want to abuse your clutch?
Stoplight drag races.

Hella-Buggin'

Mine was just replaced at 31k. I blame the PO. I even got a ride along with a local DE instructor to have him critique my clutch work. He said I drove fine. I could improve on my smoothness a bit and consistency but there was no way I burnt the clutch in 5k. All in all it cost me $1800 and the dealer replaced a few other things while under the knife that were covered under warranty. There was a PCA 20% ecoupon going on. Not sure if it's still available but it saved me $200 on parts.

RonCT

When you got the car CPO'd what were the read-outs from the DME? Over-revs would certainly tell you how abused the car was if you see lots of 3+ over-revs. Of course it's possible to burn a clutch without blowing shifts or constantly bumping the rev limiter...

atr911

How would bumping the rev limiter affect the clutch wear? Unless you're simply implying that someone who over-revs and hits the limiter probably can't drive well and (probably) abuses the clutch.

Just not sure that over revs have a direct co-relation to excessive wear on a clutch.

I still think that faulty pressure plates account for some of the early wear although poor driving habits are more likely overall. The dealer and a reputable Porsche gear box specialist have confirmed that it's fairly common (as far as automotive component breakage goes).

RonCT

If somebody is dumping the clutch, abusing the car, banging off the rev limiter all the time, missing shifts and causing range 6 over-revs, it might explain driving habits and why a clutch needs to be replaced at only 30k miles. If you are investigating why, then this is one area where you can easily explore - just look at the DME readout. Of course the car may have been babied and it's a mechanical defect.