5 COMMON SYMPTOMS OF A BAD CLUTCH DISC -

If you drive a car with a manual transmission, also known as a stick shift, especially if it has higher mileage, you may experience problems with a bad clutch disc.

The clutch disc is a part of the clutch set that causes friction between the flywheel and the pressure plate and produces the necessary grip that helps move the car.

This plate gets worn out over time (usually after 200000 kilometers or 120000 miles or more) and starts causing problems. The final result of this problem is that the car is undrivable. The engine runs, but you can’t move the car anywhere.

Hopefully, the symptoms we’re going to show you will help prevent that and spot the problem on time.

Besides this website, you can also watch videos on our YouTube channel, where we have many car-related videos that may help with maintenance, driving, etc.

SYMPTOMS OF A BAD CLUTCH DISC

1. THE REVS SUDDENLY GO UP

The first symptom you’ll probably notice is a sudden rise in revs while driving.

What happens is that everything is normal while driving, the revs are stable, and all of a sudden, the revs go up for no apparent reason.

This happens because the clutch disc is starting to slip.

2. LOSS OF ACCELERATION

The slipping of the clutch disc will cause a loss of acceleration and overall engine power output.

This is barely noticeable at the beginning of the problem.

But later, as the clutch disc gets more and more worn out, when driving and especially when accelerating, you’ll hear the engine revving and running normally, but the car will move more slowly and in a more sluggish manner.

3. A BURNING SMELL WHILE DRIVING

Besides all the previous symptoms, you may also notice an occasional smell of burning while driving.

This is a specific, strong smell, very much like when the brakes heat up.

At first, the smell will appear only occasionally and when the clutch disc is under more strain, like when driving uphill.

Later, as the clutch disc gets more and more worn out and starts slipping more, the smell may appear more often.

4. A JERKY AND JITTERY CLUTCH RESPONSE

Also, you may notice that when releasing the clutch, instead of the car moving smoothly, you may get jittering and shaking.

It much resembles a bad clutch pressure plate problem, but there is a slight difference since the jittering is not that intense.

The cause of this is weakened springs on the clutch plate.

If you want more information on how to use the clutch on a manual transmission car, click here.

Also, if you have a car with a dual mass flywheel and are experiencing these kinds of problems with the clutch pedal, read this article.

5. THE CLUTCH SLIPS

The last symptom of a bad clutch plate, and this is when you should stop driving the car, is that the clutch slips all the time, even when there’s no load.

Driving in this case is almost impossible. On uphills or under load, driving is not possible at all.

Finally, when the clutch disc totally fails, the engine will be running, but when you shift into gear and release the clutch, the car will not move at all.

CONCLUSION

All of these problems are caused by either worn-out friction material or bad springs on the clutch disc.

Simply, material fatigue kicks in, and besides this, replacing the clutch disc is considered regular maintenance.

The best time to solve this problem is when you notice the occasional slipping while driving. If you solve the problem, you’ll avoid the car totally breaking down in the near future.

At this point, you have more than enough time to solve the problem and avoid total breakdown.