[Sideways]

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

Exactly my question: will a couple of bad shifts and a joyride make the clutch from being PERFECT to being finished?


So a couple of drag launches will finish a perfectly working clutch then?

I'm just trying to understand.

No, even a couple of drag launches will not fry the clutch. Clearly a manufacturing defect.

[yzfrj]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

You're probably looking at dealer-performed repairs on that door, subsequent to damage during transport/testing in dealer's hands. Insist on a fresh paint job till you are satisfied.

I don't think it is something the dealer did. The sales rep was a very nice guy, he gave my dad a call as soon as the car arrived, so my dad saw the car as soon it was unloaded from the truck with all the dirt properly in place. So it rules out the possibility it was done in transit and the car was ready the next day so don't think they scratched it and repaired it.

Anyways, dad is a peace lover and he would rather keep quiet than shout on the dealer. I told him we can take it up. Dad said, its just a small thing so just leave it like that. Also the paint job most dealers/body shops does sends shivers down my spine. The thought of re-pain Vs ripples, ripples wins hands down.

Sorry all for being OT.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by yzfrj

I don't think it is something the dealer did.

Could have also happened at the dispatch end - transporter may have done a quick repair job., let's drop this discussion.

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by coolmob

now the car is in such a condition that its almost impossible to chnage the gears.

That is not just a WORN clutch plate. Something else is amiss if gears are hard to change!
With a worn clutch plate gear changing remains normal.

[SirAlec]

c'mon man.! clutch of any given vehcile lasts for 60k kms easily. unless its used for drifting.

I guess its a case of 'chidiya ka baitna hua aur dali toot gai'

also to add to that. 8k is ridiculous.

Problem can be the settings of clutch. or gear linkage

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by anupmathur

That is not just a WORN clutch plate. Something else is amiss if gears are hard to change!
With a worn clutch plate gear changing remains normal.

Very true - I missed that point. If the gears are sticking, the clutch is not disengaging when the pedal's pressed. A burnt clutch will not move the car but then the gears will not stick.

Broken clutch plates/springs, yes

as I mentioned earlier? Only a visual inspection after disassembly will bring out the truth...

[condor]

@Coolmob : did you get the smell of something burnt when you got the car back ?

That should have set you off even before you started from the hotel.

[coolmob]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Highly, highly unlikely. The valet has to keep working at his job, and he can't drive more than a few metres within the hotel compound with the handbrake engaged. That can't destroy a "perfect" clutch. If he went out of the hotel compound with the car to intentionally burn out the clutch, he'd have been out looking for another job. And his exit/entry from the hotel compound would have been recorded on the surveillance cameras and the gatekeepers' record books. Check this info from the hotel to confirm that the car never left the compound.




7000 km of extended misuse/abuse can lead to clutch burnout, not 50 metres of doing whatever at all. Broken clutch plates/springs, yes, but burnt out plate, absolutely NO.

@ coolmob: Will you say it on oath that your friend NEVER ripped his car?


You're probably looking at dealer-performed repairs on that door, subsequent to damage during transport/testing in dealer's hands. Insist on a fresh paint job till you are satisfied.

yes i am willing to say on oath that the car was never ripped. for drifts or drags or anything of that sort. even i am completely amazed at what happened and how! i mean if u would have driven the car before and after the incident it felt as if it was a different car..

moreover my friend was not alone, he was with three more guys and it all happened in front of their eyes, even they were shocked at that time as to what had happened.

the car has been through highways, crowded areas and normal driving and everything else in between.

i can say it all coz he is a very dear friend of mine and its like we are almost brothers.

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by condor

@Coolmob : did you get the smell of something burnt when you got the car back ?

True. A badly smoked/burnt clutch would smell for at least 3 or 4 hours.

[simply_sunny001]

Even if the clutch is slipped few times,it starts smelling and the guy hasnt mentioned that clutch smell was there when the valet driver brought the car.

And i dont buy the opinion that Valet drivers do this intentionally,never

why would they unless untill they hate you personally.Though i understand completely that nobody will drive our cars the way we do.its human tendency nothing much.

And if someone is so very possessive of a car they should never give it to Valet and park themselves rather than creating a ruckus at the hotel and more

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by coolmob

he is a very dear friend of mine and its like we are almost brothers.

Maybe the jockey revved the engine to 5k rpm and dropped the clutch on it, and something broke inside - the clutch may not have been smoked. A 'post mortem' at the workshop will tell the truth.

@ coolmob: OK - since you want to help your friend, do the following:
A. Ask to check the hotel gate records and surveillance tapes of that day and time - confirm that the car was not taken out of the compound. Go up to GM level if need be to get access to these records. A lot of noise in the lobby over this issue usually helps get a quick hearing.
B. Also check surveillance tapes from parking areas to see if you can identify your friend's car being misused by the valet jockey.
c. Keep the hotel in the loop about the high repair costs that are being estimated.
D. If the hotel refuses to cooperate, write a letter to the local police station and send it by registered post.
E. Based on this police report, talk to your insurer about an insurance claim for the repairs, since according to the owner this is not routine wear-and-tear but malicious damage.

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by simply_sunny001

And if someone is so very possessive of a car they should never give it to Valet and park themselves rather than creating a ruckus at the hotel and more

I'd go with that!
Never ever have I given my car to a valet. Often it has meant cancelling or going elsewhere!
Ditto Service Centre's pick up and drop facility.

[gd1418]

Now let me try to understand your explanation.

Originally Posted by Bass&Trouble

Very possible.

Here are a few easy steps to achieve it.

1. Go to JW Mariott in a slightly old and confusing car. Something like a Sierra will work best.

You've given an explanation of what happened to you and the fact that you owned a Sierra that must be quite old though well maintained. Here it is a SX4 that is fairly new with 7K on the odo.

2. Drive up to the upper lobby entrance and give the car to a valet.
3. Sign the tag that relieves the hotel of all responsibility with respect to parking/ driving your car.
4. After a few minutes, ask for the car.
5. Observe, as the valet driver comes up the ramp with smoke fuming out the bonnet.

The Taj Palace ramp here in Delhi is not as steep as that of the JWM in Mumbai.

There, you now have a car with a fried clutch. And an even more fried owner who's both angry and embarassed at the spectacle but can't do anything about it.

This, btw, has happened to me. With the Sierra. The bloke started the car and drove it up in 3rd gear.

[coolmob]

Originally Posted by simply_sunny001

Even if the clutch is slipped few times,it starts smelling and the guy hasnt mentioned that clutch smell was there when the valet driver brought the car.

And i dont buy the opinion that Valet drivers do this intentionally,never

why would they unless untill they hate you personally.Though i understand completely that nobody will drive our cars the way we do.its human tendency nothing much.

And if someone is so very possessive of a car they should never give it to Valet and park themselves rather than creating a ruckus at the hotel and more

for one thing its not a question of being possessive. lets say u go to a supposedly world class place to have a good time, pay through your nose, and when u come back what to u find..... some of their inexperienced staff messed up with your car. that is not possessiveness, its gross negligence on their part.

moreover i never said that he hated my friend or his car or was hell bent on destroying it or using it for roaming around the area, the main point is someone failed do his job properly in return causing problem to a person without any reason.

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by gd1418

Now let me try to understand your explanation.

LOL. gd, does it make sense now?
Never did never will!
Enough people have said the same on this thread.