If you take excellent care of your car, truck, or utility vehicle’s clutch, you should get at least 100,000 miles out of it. DOC Auto can adjust your clutch every 6,000 miles to help extend its life. We will also inspect the clutch to see if any of the internal mechanisms need to be replaced. Despite our best efforts, there will come a time when you will need to replace the clutch. Here are signs that this time is now.
A Soft Clutch Under Your Foot
The clutch may start to feel soft underneath your foot if it is going bad. It may not give you the resistance that it normally does, and it may sink to the floorboard and never catch. A spongy clutch needs to be looked at immediately to see if rebuilding the clutch will solve the problem or if the clutch needs to be replaced. We can do that here at our shop.
A Higher Catching Point
Aside from softness underneath your foot, the clutch catch point will also change if the clutch is going bad. In most cases, the catch point when you shift the gears will get higher than where it used to be. This can be frustrating because your muscle memory remembers the catch point in a certain place. A malfunctioning clutch will change the catch point.
Hot or Burning Odors
Another sign that your clutch is going out and needs attention is hot or burning odors coming from it. This is a symptom of a slipping clutch that is not remaining engaged. This not only overheats the clutch and makes it smell hot, but it also causes the problems we are going to talk about next. You need the clutch to remain engaged until you release it.
Problems Shifting Gears
An engaged clutch is one that is transferring the power from the engine to the transmission. This allows you to shift the gears seamlessly and gives power to the drive train. If the clutch has slipped, you will have problems shifting the gears and they may grind. You may also have difficulty getting your automobile into gear out of neutral if the clutch is gone bad.
Acceleration Hesitation
Finally, one last sign that the clutch was not able to transfer the power to the transmission is acceleration hesitation. This is an indication that the drivetrain does not have power and is not turning the wheels.
Call DOC Auto in Fredericksburg, VA, today for a clutch inspection if your vehicle is having any of the problems listed above.