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Old 13th July 2018, 15:00   #16
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Re: Drove through water. Now, I cannot engage the clutch with the engine running!

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Originally Posted by AutoSphere View Post
I am not sure if the Honda City has a cable operated or Hydraulic operated clutch?
It's hydraulic, and the cylinder was replaced with the clutch barely couple of months ago.
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Old 13th July 2018, 15:08   #17
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Re: Drove through water. Now, I cannot engage the clutch with the engine running!

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Originally Posted by //HB View Post
It's hydraulic, and the cylinder was replaced with the clutch barely couple of months ago.
Yes, you have mentioned it earlier and apologies for not reading your post carefully.
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Old 16th July 2018, 10:21   #18
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Re: Drove through water. Now, I cannot engage the clutch with the engine running!

An update for anyone who may find themselves in the same predicament: Pumping the clutch while rocking the car back and forth helped get the car out of gear and free the stuck clutch, no issues after that. Thanks once again to all who contributed on this ! T-BHP saves the day.
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Old 16th July 2018, 10:48   #19
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Seems more of rusting issue on the exposed parts of drive train and gear cables due to combination of water and then non use for five days. Try and get all gear box cables and hydraulic clutch plus pivot shaft lightly oiled.
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Old 16th July 2018, 15:05   #20
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Re: Drove through water. Now, I cannot engage the clutch with the engine running!

The clutch plates stick, its normal, especially if they develop rust on the surface. A permanent solution would be to take the clutch out and remove rusting on both the flywheel and the steel plates. I have been facing this with my RD 350. I am convinced that it needs new plates.

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Old 23rd September 2021, 20:47   #21
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Re: Drove through water. Now, I cannot engage the clutch with the engine running!

Posting in this old thread since I'm facing a similar issue. Due to some personal work, I was forced to drive on 20th September, a day when Kolkata received record rainfall and virtually the whole city was waterlogged. Few times, I was forced to drive through fairly deep water, almost touching the underbody (2013 2nd gen Swift). During the day, I came across a stretch which seemed deeper than usual to me, so I parked by the road and used an acquaintance's TUV for the rest of the day. The car was parked for a couple of hours, and when I finally came back, water has crept close to the tires, although that area was not waterlogged.

To my horror, after I cranked the engine, the car would not slot into gear, any gear. I was able to slot into gear when the engine was off, but when it was running, I simply was unable to move into any gear. It was already around 6 PM, and I was not sure how long it would take for a recovery truck to come, since there was major waterlogging all over the city, and I was not even sure if the service centers were open. Out of desperation, I tried to crank by keeping the clutch pressed and the gear in first. To my surprise, even though the C pedal was pressed, the car lunged forward. Tried it again and to keep the engine from stalling, I held the key in the ON position. The car crept forward and to my surprise, it started working normally. I was able to drive home without any issue. The clutch also behaved normally and although I crossed few more waterlogged stretches, I didn't face any issues.

Sadly, this evening (the car was not used on 21st and 22nd), when I was going for a drive, the same issue cropped up again. The car will not slot into any gear, the only additional thing I noticed is there is a grinding noise when I try to engage reverse (with the clutch pressed), while the rest of the gears remain 'unslottable' as before. Since I would be driving into a wall in my parking, I cannot use the same trick which worked for me previously.

Since the car behaved normally while driving home on 20th, I assumed it was some temporary issue, but now it seems I was mistaken. Is this a serious clutch issue? Even though the car returned to normal on 20th, why is this occurring again? Tried rocking the car as advised in this thread but sadly, this also did not work.

Please advice about what should I do about this. The car has ran problem free till now and this is the first issue I am facing.
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Old 23rd September 2021, 21:13   #22
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Re: Drove through water. Now, I cannot engage the clutch with the engine running!

^ If there is enough rust , clutch won't release by normal rocking and may need to be opened up. Since the assembly is old enough, it is perhaps time for a clutch overhaul and certainly replace the flywheel as well. They are inexpensive.
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Old 23rd September 2021, 22:11   #23
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Re: Drove through water. Now, I cannot engage the clutch with the engine running!

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Originally Posted by Kosfactor View Post
^ If there is enough rust , clutch won't release by normal rocking and may need to be opened up. Since the assembly is old enough, it is perhaps time for a clutch overhaul and certainly replace the flywheel as well. They are inexpensive.
Pardon my ignorance, but what do you mean by clutch overhaul (other than replacing the flywheel which you mentioned)?

Also, is there any way other than opening up the clutch? Although I am yet to have a bad experience from Maruti (all routine service), I'm skeptical about how MASS will handle a vital part like a clutch, hence my reason for asking if this can avoided somehow.

PS: The clutch was performing absolutely normally till 20th (almost 43k KM), and I did not get the slightest hint of slippage or any other symptoms of a bad clutch.
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Old 23rd September 2021, 22:28   #24
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Re: Drove through water. Now, I cannot engage the clutch with the engine running!

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Originally Posted by avi_swift View Post
Pardon my ignorance, but what do you mean by clutch overhaul (other than replacing the flywheel which you mentioned)?

Also, is there any way other than opening up the clutch? Although I am yet to have a bad experience from Maruti (all routine service), I'm skeptical about how MASS will handle a vital part like a clutch, hence my reason for asking if this can avoided somehow.

PS: The clutch was performing absolutely normally till 20th (almost 43k KM), and I did not get the slightest hint of slippage or any other symptoms of a bad clutch.
We do not know what all parts are rusted inside the bell housing, there is quite a bit of things to dismantle before getting to the clutch. So anytime you open it up, best to replace the clutch assembly, flywheel, release bearing, slave cylinder etc.

Since the original set lasted for 9 years, it's worth it.

You maybe able to release the clutch by pulling the car a little bit using another vehicle , but since your concern is if it repeats later, may as well dismantle and replace things as needed.
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Old 23rd September 2021, 23:17   #25
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Re: Drove through water. Now, I cannot engage the clutch with the engine running!

I had the same problem with Ford Figo TDCI. Exactly as mentioned in the OP. I had to turn off the engine and slot it to the 1st Gear and then turn the engine on to drive it straight to the service center. They could not decipher the reason and lubricated the gear cable and box.

Last week when I highlighted the same issue to them, they opened up the clutch assembly and mentioned that it need to be replaced. The car is driven only for 18K KMs and I feel it is too early for the clutch to burn out. Approached Ford however they denied warranty, also a good will warranty of helping out with 50% coverage. I have now gone ahead and agreed to pay for the replacement however not very happy with how Ford handled the issue. Few pics of the clutch and flywheel below. What been told by few people is that, there is rusting due to water getting into the assembly and could be that the car has been water waded.
Cost: 22K including labour and tax.
Attached Thumbnails
Drove through water. Now, I cannot engage the clutch with the engine running!-img20210917wa0015.jpg  

Drove through water. Now, I cannot engage the clutch with the engine running!-img20210917wa0014.jpg  

Drove through water. Now, I cannot engage the clutch with the engine running!-img20210917wa0013.jpg  

Drove through water. Now, I cannot engage the clutch with the engine running!-img20210917wa0012.jpg  

Drove through water. Now, I cannot engage the clutch with the engine running!-img20210917wa0010.jpg  

Drove through water. Now, I cannot engage the clutch with the engine running!-img20210917wa0011.jpg  

Drove through water. Now, I cannot engage the clutch with the engine running!-img20210917wa0008.jpg  

Drove through water. Now, I cannot engage the clutch with the engine running!-img20210917wa0007.jpg  

Drove through water. Now, I cannot engage the clutch with the engine running!-img20210917wa0006.jpg  

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Old 24th September 2021, 17:59   #26
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Re: Drove through water. Now, I cannot engage the clutch with the engine running!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kosfactor View Post
We do not know what all parts are rusted inside the bell housing, there is quite a bit of things to dismantle before getting to the clutch. So anytime you open it up, best to replace the clutch assembly, flywheel, release bearing, slave cylinder etc.

Since the original set lasted for 9 years, it's worth it.

You maybe able to release the clutch by pulling the car a little bit using another vehicle , but since your concern is if it repeats later, may as well dismantle and replace things as needed.
The MASS guy also seemed to think that it might be rust.

They managed to start the car using the reverse gear, so I had a short drive today, but I could not go to MASS because they said it will take more than 1 day and I have to go out of Kolkata for around a week. I will take the car for clutch inspection after I return. The car is running absolutely normally now with no signs of a worn clutch, but this was the case when I managed to start the car on 20th as well. Will update this thread as what was the reason for the clutch to stick.
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Old 24th September 2021, 18:09   #27
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Re: Drove through water. Now, I cannot engage the clutch with the engine running!

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Originally Posted by avi_swift View Post
Please advice about what should I do about this. The car has ran problem free till now and this is the first issue I am facing.
It can be a simple case of clutch wire loosening, and hence the clutch is not disengaging fully (and hence you can't change the gears while engine is running).

I encountered this issue in my earlier car a couple of times. With experience I am cautioning you - go to the nearest service station and get the clutch wire changed. Most probably, it is going to break soon. I don't think there is any serious issue with the clutch assembly itself.
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Old 5th October 2021, 23:44   #28
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Re: Drove through water. Now, I cannot engage the clutch with the engine running!

Just wanted to drop a thank you note for having this post here. I faced the same issue with my VW Vento as I drove through flooded roads last sunday evening. Car would not slot into first gear or reverse. Let it be for 48 hours and tried slotting into first and second gear without turning on the ignition. I was able to put first and second gear. Left the car with ignition turned on for 20 minutes. Then tried to put into first gear and voila! it worked . Drove fine without any issues after that. Thanks Team-BHP and @Throttlehead. I felt I should add to this thread cause this is a common problem that many may face during heavy rains.
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Old 9th October 2021, 19:14   #29
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Re: Drove through water. Now, I cannot engage the clutch with the engine running!

Quote:
Originally Posted by avi_swift View Post
To my horror, after I cranked the engine, the car would not slot into gear, any gear.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kosfactor View Post
We do not know what all parts are rusted inside the bell housing, there is quite a bit of things to dismantle before getting to the clutch. So anytime you open it up, best to replace the clutch assembly, flywheel, release bearing, slave cylinder etc.
I delivered the car to MASS on Tuesday 5th October. A surprise was in store for me as they said the clutch is a 'consumable' and is not covered by insurance. I always assumed that these kind of things are covered under insurance, so showed my insurance papers to the SA and he added that even the engine is not covered But he said that I can purchase additional cover for the same when it's time to renew the insurance. Till now, I always went with the default option with which Maruti called and had no idea that these are treated as add-ons. I must correct this in Feb 2022 when my insurance will be up for renewal.

Now as to the clutch itself, they replaced the below parts.

Drove through water. Now, I cannot engage the clutch with the engine running!-img_0044.jpg

Drove through water. Now, I cannot engage the clutch with the engine running!-img_0045.jpg

Drove through water. Now, I cannot engage the clutch with the engine running!-img_0046.jpg

The final bill

Drove through water. Now, I cannot engage the clutch with the engine running!-img_0047.jpg

I specifically told them about changing the flywheel as advised by Kosfactor but they told that its in good shape and need not be replaced. On asking as to what was the reason for the clutch to stick since there was not much rust on the replaced parts, they said that the bearing input shaft (the 3rd picture) was broken, hence I could not slot into gears when the engine was running. The C pedal is razor sharp now and the car feels brand new with the replaced clutch parts.

I always try to follow the best practices for driving like not riding the clutch, not resting my hand on the gear stick, shifting to neutral at red lights etc. Also I don't drive to work, so probably more than 50% of the distance covered is on highways. Due to these factors, I always assumed my clutch will last a long time, so its quite a bummer that it had to be replaced at 42.5 k KM (The speedometer console was changed when the car was at 2.5k KM).

Also, I am very pissed at Maruti. I always baby my car, and the first time I was forced to wade through some water, I ended up with this. I know common sense says that we should not drive through water, but as I mentioned before, my work was unavoidable. And even then, I ensured never to drive through deep stretches' and used an acquaintance's TUV for the really tricky areas. The deepest waters which my car passed on 20th was touching the underbody. As it is, Maruti is wanting in many areas like quality, safety, technology etc. and their only plus point is reliability. So I'm quite shocked that a car with no signs of a worn clutch (or any other problems) had to have some parts replaced after some driving through underbody deep water. I assumed this level of water will be safe for a Swift but if I am forced to do this again in future, I must be more careful.
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Old 9th July 2022, 16:15   #30
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Re: Drove through water. Now, I cannot engage the clutch with the engine running!

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Originally Posted by humyum View Post
You have driven through deep waters haven't you? and you have shifted gears while going through the water right?

Water has entered your clutch assembly and flywheel & clutch are stuck together. You need to leave your car alone for a day or two, let it dry inside and then go for a blip on the highway. Everything will be fine is how I see it as of now.
Today I did exactly what you have described (i.e. Driven through deep water and shifted gear midway) and landed into problem - Gear shifting ok when car not powered on, but unable to slot into any gear when engine powered on.
I was mulling over prospect of towing car to service station but decided to check on the web first and stumbled upon your post. What a relief to know that I haven't broken anything .
I waited for couple of hour but to no avail. Slotted the car into 4th gear, turned the ignition key to give a jerk, voila, the clutch got freed from flywheel. Turned ignition on and gears are slotting fine.
Do I need to do anything more to avoid potential problems as I have to go on long drive soon. Thanks.
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