Done nearly 2000 miles now. The other day I had a car full of luggage and 4 people. I reversed about 4 times during the afternoon for various reasons, and every time the clutch smelt like it was burning badly???

 

Mine did this a lot too.

In the end I replaced it? -shrug-

 

but its brand new? I'm presuming it was cos i had so much weight in the car, but still. Think I'll ring the dealer on thursday...

 

When you take reverse, first set in neutral, then wait a few seconds, choose reverse and when you start driving, DO nOT push your accel. and completely let go of the clutch pedal, reason : when you drive , are you step on the clutch and acc. the same time, I'm certainly not !!!!

 

I've had three Scoobs, and they have ALL warmed their clutches when, for example, reversing into a car parking space up even the most moderate of slopes. I've come to assume it's a normal feature

Phil

 

Ed, I reckon your new STi and mine are just about the same age give or take a few weeks. I also get that clutch burning smell. The dealer and Subaru France assure me it's normal. The only way I've found to avoid it is to keep the revs below 3k. For me it's not that easy to do (um...bad habit from a former car) especially when I have to reverse out of my garage and up a slope.

Side note: whilst driving back from Provence today (432km of heaven) my wife noted a burning smell from time to time. As I explained to her, that wasn't clutch burn but crotch burn from those admiring my Swissol'd STi scooting past them