Hits

Having experienced a problem with clutch judder, I checked the FAQ and found that it was indeed a known problem. I am surprised to see that no-one else has posted a message regarding this.
Having carried out the advice in the FAQ (full blown start) and still experience the problem from time to time. I do a lot of town driving and the problem occurs when running cold and hot.
My dealer said that this was common throughout Turbos and is even experienced on the Legacy. The cause has been put down to the special compund used. The only solution he could offer was a Kevlar Clutch plate (?) which retails at approx £600. Can anyone offer any alternative/cheaper advice.

nigel

I also have the same problem. I work in Sweden and until the new year my car sits at home. When I come back to England every month for a quick weekend in blighty the clutch judder is an absolute *******. I just put this down to the car being stood unused for long periods. I too have read the FAQ and tried a full bore standing start (actually several just for the fun of it) and found it only hepled marginally. I also thought it was only a problem when the engine was cold. On the RAC Rally however it started doing it when hot equally as bad. I also had the clutch pedal go completely to the floor and only by stopping, putting my foot under the pedal and lifting it back up and trying to pump it a bit did it return to normal. It's never done it before or since and all the fluid levels were correct.....Strange indeed.
I hope a change of fluid will cure that but I'll still be left with the judder. I'm hoping that daily use here in Sweden might help but I tell you what, it's f#%&ing cold here so I guess time will tell.

Hits

Unlike yourself, I drive my car daily (lucky me) and have never had a problem with the clutch pedal that you describe, just the juddering. The problem is intermittent, but if very few drivers out there are suffering from it, I will go back to the dealer and get them to check to make sure all is OK.

Stuart Knight

iTrader: (2)

My MY94 WRX suffers cluc judder very badly, especially when hot. However it has gone to the garage today for a Group N clucth from PTS as it started to slip as well. Will let you know what its like next week.

robs

Mine's bad too...on a MY94. The dealer said it was a common problem and a characteristic of the car!! How much is it for a replacement clutch anyway??(A standard one that is?)

robs

Mine's bad too...on a MY94. The dealer said it was a common problem and a characteristic of the car!! How much is it for a replacement clutch anyway??(A standard one that is?)

robs

Mine's bad too...on a MY94. The dealer said it was a common problem and a characteristic of the car!! How much is it for a replacement clutch anyway??(A standard one that is?)

robs

Mine's bad too...on a MY94. The dealer said it was a common problem and a characteristic of the car!! How much is it for a replacement clutch anyway??(A standard one that is?)

robs

Mine's bad too...on a MY94. The dealer said it was a common problem and a characteristic of the car!! How much is it for a replacement clutch anyway??(A standard one that is?)

robs

OOPS!!
Apologies for repeating myself...must have been too much Speckled Hen!

ALANB

Does anybody know if the uprated clutch in the STi is prone to the same problem?
I haven't seen any indications by STi owners saying they do...

Mike Scott

To Nigel, re: clutch pedal sticking down...

I've not got my Scooby yet (should be picking it up on Wed 23rd - great Christmas present :-) but I've been driving a Lancia Integrale for 5 years and it, too, suffered from clutch judder when starting off in first gear. This lends credence to the claims that it's a necessary evil in current performance 4WD vehicles.

Now then, about that clutch sticking down. I had exactly the same experience in the Integrale. It happened several times and I managed to get it back up by hooking my toe under it. Usually you could hear hydraulic fluid squirting around when this happened. However, one time the pedal came back up and then wouldn't go down again. The problem? The slave cylinder failed (actually it broke it's mounting at one end, probably because I was trying to depress the clutch and "free" it :-).

I thought you'd like to know in advance so that you can have it checked before something more nasty happens. It seems that the plunger in the cylinder can get gunged up with grot that makes it stick down. Of course, the Scooby clutch may be altogether different.

DavidLewis

Until Saturday, I never experienced any clutch judder on my 3000mile MY98. Until, that is, I was showing my father how quick it could go from a standstill (something I hadn't tried up until this point) Now after burning the clutch on the start, I have clutch judder. :-(

[This message has been edited by DavidLewis (edited 21 December 1998).]

abetts

I get slight clutch judder on my STi version III if I haven't used it for a few days. It goes away after a few miles.

ChrisH

I had clutch judder appear from about 4000 miles in my Cat, this occurred while both hot and cold. This gradually got to the point at 5400 miles so the car was totally undrivable, a technical guy from Subaru came and took it for a test drive and couldn't believe how bad it was. So in it went to the garage and upon replacing the clutch, we discovered it to be faulty. Looking at the friction plate only the outer 4-5mm had actually been used, this had been worn smooth the inner surface was perfect still. Basically this was caused by a faulty pressure plate (my guess) was replaced by warrenty anyway. Since then I do not get judder in the slightest.

Another customer destroyed his clutch in 2 days of owning the car, the entire friction plate was smooth and his was juddering like crazy. So it could be you have just down lots of dodgey starts, ie high revs and side stepping or you have been holding the car on the clutch on a hill instead of going to the handbreak, either one will result in a glazed clutch and consequently judder. The hill holding is a major burner of clutches in Impreza's.

Hope this is of some help.

Chris.

nigel

Ok get this. Credit where credit due I say!
I just happened to be in my local Subaru dealer (AJ White , Blackburn) on Dec 23. I mention the clutch judder to see if they have any experience or solutions. They say that they know it is a problem and will change it at the next service in Feb/March. I tell them it will have to be July because the car will be abroad. "Oh I'm not sure if we can do it on waranty then because of wear and tear", they tell me. So what did they do? Gave me a Legacy to play with, kept my car,put a new clutch in, washed it and gave it me back 24hours later on Christmas eve. Now that's what I call service. If any of the people at the garage read this, you were brilliant.

Anders

Spend £1600.
22B clutch version 2 does not judder as much.
I hope it lasts!

dice

I own an MY99 which has been juddering since around 3000km. It mainly happens in the first few minutes when the clutch is cold. This leads me to think I have glazed/melted the outer surface of the clutch.

Silly thing is, I get around the problem by feeding a few more revs which probably further melts the clutch.

adrian

I have a MY98 saloon and get cluthch judder but only when the car is cold, when it is warm up its OK, currently I am doing about 25,000 miles a year of mixed driving(with th occassional full bore starts just to show some BM drivers what a real car is all about) so it is not a major problem.

abanks

It also happens on my WRX STi IV, only when cold, and goes away completely after driving a few km.

Dealer said it's normal, and showed me another car doing the same. He said it was the material the clutch is made of.

Mark B

just taken delivery of my 95 wrx, and I have judder in first and reverse. the garage said that I had an organic clutch, and this was common with this type. Doesn't bother me anyway, the car is just sooooo great

allan..

Why does this judder occur. Is it a symptom of hydraulic clutches or turbo's or is it a poor subaru design. Can anyone address this issue? Also I would like to hear if there is anyone out there that does NOT experience juddering?

Hits

Good point allan. A lot of us seem to have the same problem. It appears that it is down to a problem with the clutch. Any solutions ?

ChrisH mentioned that he got his replaced on warranty and gave a fairly good explanation of the prob - faulty pressure plate. I am going to address it with my dealer at the next service.

Neil Scott

I mentioned my clutch judder to my dealers service dept today and they said it was common on the turbo cars and was caused by weak diaphragm springs. They are going to change it at the next service although the replacement clutch is not different to the existing one so it could be the same.

TonyNesta

I have also experienced some judder on my MY98 - but only when starting from cold and after sitting in traffic - its fine the rest of the time. I have heard that there is a known problem with MY98 clutches, and that dealers will replace it under warranty, providing the car hasn't covered starship mileages. My previous car, a Celica GT4, covered over 85k miles on the original clutch and never juddered, so I don't think its a common problem for all 4WD cars.

TonyNesta

I have contacted my dealer today about replacing my clutch, and they say they will do it, but would be wary of someone coming in with a higher mileage (I have 10k) ie. they might try and say it was wear and tear.
If you are experiencing this problem, get it booked in NOW!

Hits

Just phoned a local dealership and the 'official' line is that the Clutch warranty is 1 year/20,000 miles. They are fine about replacing my clutch (11 months/10,000miles). They have also confirmed that the problem is due to the pressure plate creating high spots.
I'll post a reply after I have had the new clutch fitted to let you all know if it has made any difference.

fmimpreza

Got the same problem with MY 98 (43000Km), but only when cold.
My Dealer told me that it is a common problem on MY98 and if it is'nt getting more severe i had to live with it. :-((

boltona

I also get slight cold clutch judder on my Terzo. It is intermittent and disappears very quickly when the car warms up.
What is worse is a strange 'fading' effect I am getting more and more often. Sometimes, particularly after a fast run followed by heavy braking, the clutch pedal feels light, and engages/disengages a lot closer to the floor. Anyone else get this?

I'm going for a 1 year service (it'll be at about 12000 miles following Catalunya) in early May (car will be 1 yo on May 22) and will definitely ask them to look at it. It'll be nice to say that I know they have had a technical bulletin about it

JohnS

iTrader: (1)

Andrew,

I got my clutch replaced FOC on my Terzo a few weeks ago. I just mentioned in passing that I experienced judder when cold - it wasn't too bad, and I could drive round it by using a few more revs when moving off.

Anyway, I got it booked in for a check-up, and they removed the gearbox to look at the clutch. Found high spots on the plate and some eneven wear, so they replaced it with a new item

My car had just done 10k at the time, and is coming up for 1 year old.

It's much much better now, and driving is a much smoother experience.