'09 ACR - Lost my clutch today...

[Martin]

I remember other people complaining about losing their clutches on '09 cars, and you can add me to the list... I was out driving through the mountains and having some fun, and all of a sudden my clutch pedal went limper than a 90 year old after a few too many drinks (sans ****** I might add...).

Kudos to the guys who designed these transmissions - I managed to drive about 70 miles and was able to easily shift without a clutch. Just popped right into gear without much drama as long as I was paying attention to what I was doing. By the time I got to an area where I knew I'd have to come to complete stops for traffic signals, I remembered someone mentioning that if you pump the pedal like crazy, it sometimes comes back. So I experimented for a while, and I did get my clutch back by the time I had to really use it.

So, I've got to decide whether to bring it to the dealer to bleed out the clutch (I suspect that's what needs to be done) or just do it myself. I think I might just let them do it. Hopefully this also solves the crappy clutch feel that I've been griping about since I bought the car. The pedal just had never felt quite 'right' and maybe having the pedal go completely limp is a sign that there's been entrained air this whole time.

 

[fastmd]

I think mine is about to go, 500 miles.....

 

[eucharistos]

take it in (under warranty) so there is documentation in case something else related comes up

my $0.02

 

[BlknBlu]

Keep us posted on what the root cause to the issue is. So far so good with mine with 250 miles.

Bruce

 

[bushido]

Sounds like the clutch slave cylinder went out..

 

[Martin]

I "think" the slave is still OK and this is just some entrained air in the system... I'm definitely going to make a Dr. appt. for the car and have them take a looksee, but from what I can gather at this point, everything seems to be working OK.

Normally, when someone would have complained about the symptoms I saw today, I would have asked if they accidentally had their foot on the clutch pedal while they were driving and maybe they got things heated up too much. I'm a purist, though, and like to drive barefoot - so I know where my feet were

I'm pretty sure this is a case of air in the system and a good bleed with DOT 4 will solve the problem. I just want to make sure the dealership will do as good a bleed job as I would have done... I have issues with anyone messing with my car other than me.

 

[bushido]

I "think" the slave is still OK and this is just some entrained air in the system... I'm definitely going to make a Dr. appt. for the car and have them take a looksee, but from what I can gather at this point, everything seems to be working OK.

Normally, when someone would have complained about the symptoms I saw today, I would have asked if they accidentally had their foot on the clutch pedal while they were driving and maybe they got things heated up too much. I'm a purist, though, and like to drive barefoot - so I know where my feet were

I'm pretty sure this is a case of air in the system and a good bleed with DOT 4 will solve the problem. I just want to make sure the dealership will do as good a bleed job as I would have done... I have issues with anyone messing with my car other than me.

Pop the hood and check to see if there is any fluid leaking around. If not, then it's probably the air in the system like you said..

 

[Martin]

Popped the hood, got under the car, and looked around. Everything is dry. I'm pretty sure it's one of those 'new car' gremlins that seem to happen during the first few thousand miles I'm still going to try and get it bled out because it was enough of a pain to drive around with no clutch that at least I want to get it on record that it went ****-up on me (sorry for that description). So far, my only big gripe about this car is that the clutch doesn't feel right, so maybe this will help to get it right...

Big question is how they could have gotten the GTS clutch so perfect and been so far from the bullseye on the Gen IV clutch. Seems like a good engineering design, but when put to normal useage, it's just not right. Otherwise, the car kicks a$$.

 

[red heat]

I remember other people complaining about losing their clutches on '09 cars, and you can add me to the list... I was out driving through the mountains and having some fun, and all of a sudden my clutch pedal went limper than a 90 year old after a few too many drinks (sans ****** I might add...).

Kudos to the guys who designed these transmissions - I managed to drive about 70 miles and was able to easily shift without a clutch. Just popped right into gear without much drama as long as I was paying attention to what I was doing. By the time I got to an area where I knew I'd have to come to complete stops for traffic signals, I remembered someone mentioning that if you pump the pedal like crazy, it sometimes comes back. So I experimented for a while, and I did get my clutch back by the time I had to really use it.

So, I've got to decide whether to bring it to the dealer to bleed out the clutch (I suspect that's what needs to be done) or just do it myself. I think I might just let them do it. Hopefully this also solves the crappy clutch feel that I've been griping about since I bought the car. The pedal just had never felt quite 'right' and maybe having the pedal go completely limp is a sign that there's been entrained air this whole time.

lost my clutch on the race track after 1500 miles. so f__kin mad..... cost me abou 400 in towing.

 

[jk]

You have headers? Same thing happened to mine. Fluid was boiling due to proximity to exhaust. A little heat tape around the line and a cable tie to pull it way from the exhaust and no more problems.

 

[Viper X]

The clutch pedal engagement "felt" crumby when I picked up my 09 ACR. After bleeding it shortly after I got the car new, the clutch pedal "feel" became very good for a twin disk. I've bled it a couple more times as a precaution and have now gone 9600 miles and no had issues.

I do "****" the Motul RBF 600 fluid out of the reservoir every other track event (with a Mighty - vac) but the feel is now and has been very good since the first time I bled the slave.

Dan

 

[Martin]

I'm hoping it's just some air bubbles - that's what it feels like. Ever since the first time I drove the car, I thought the clutch had the worst feel of any car I've ever owned - seems like it engages at the wrong region of the pedal travel. That, combined with the electronic throttle control, has me constantly making crappy shifts. It seems like I just started to get the hang of timing the clutch just right, and then it went out on me

I'm going to bring it down to the shop and have them bleed it out with DOT 4. Hopefully that fixes the dead pedal and also makes the clutch feel a bit more normal.

 

[wikkid]

Sounds like the clutch slave cylinder went out..

I agree, i dont think your problem has anything to do with bleeding the clutch. That should never happen with so few miles on the car. I would be pissed to say the least. Definately back to the dealer..

 

[swexlin]

Agreed. Same thing happened to me on my former Ford truck, and it was slave cylinder. Not to say that it might not need bleeding as well, but definitely a warranty issue for the dealer to fix.

 

[Lawrenzo]

I'm hoping it's just some air bubbles - that's what it feels like. Ever since the first time I drove the car, I thought the clutch had the worst feel of any car I've ever owned - seems like it engages at the wrong region of the pedal travel.

I sold my Gen 4 about 3 months ago and recently took part in a drive study that included a new Viper(and a ZR1, Porsche Turbo and Audi R8). I was amazed by how bad the clutch felt in their brand new Viper. My 2008 felt much better, although it had 9,000 miles on it.

The other participants trashed talked it as well, and one even refused to drive it on the second go-around

 

[toomanymodz]

My 2006 clutch went out the first week (pedal to the floor). Dealer replaced the slave.

My 2008 clutch also went out the first week. I just didn't want to believe that it was a another slave issue. It was a hot day in Florida so I suspected the fluid in the system was boiling. I replaced the factory fluid with ATE 200 Amber (same as Superblue). It has a very high wet and dry boil. Waaay better than the OEM fluid they put in there. The clutch has been fine ever since.

 

[ACRsnake]

You have headers? Same thing happened to mine. Fluid was boiling due to proximity to exhaust. A little heat tape around the line and a cable tie to pull it way from the exhaust and no more problems.

Any pix of the line?

 

[VIPER GTSR 91]

On my 09 ACR also at about 500 miles, the pedal was mushy but only after driving it for a few miles. Dealer replaced the master slave, fluid, etc. under warranty and no more problems since.

 

[slowhatch]

You have headers? Same thing happened to mine. Fluid was boiling due to proximity to exhaust. A little heat tape around the line and a cable tie to pull it way from the exhaust and no more problems.

Yup, i remember on my buddies LS2 GTO with longtubes; You'd make 2-3 pulls in the car and the clutch would get soft, eat the floor, and the car refused to shift. The master cyl for the clutch and the lines sat so close to the longtubes it would just cook the fluid as soon as you started getting aggressive with it. Fluid would be tar black every month or so, so he just got into the habit of changing it often.

 

[ACRsnake]

any pix i looked yesterday and can't find anything ?

 

[Getnlwr]

It might be a little while. This thread you're asking for pictures from is 3 years ago.