Team-BHP - Clutch pedal pressed, but unable to change gears

Quote:

Originally Posted by Akash_1806 (Post 5350786)

Thank you all for your inputs.
I believe gone are the days when clutch for diesel cars used to last for 2.5-3 lakh kms without much trouble.

No disregard dear friend but none of my cars have had a clutch that lasted more than 60k-80k at best, bumper to bumper traffic in Delhi also does not helps. On one of our particular car Verna Crdi 1.6 I had to get clutch replaced every 30k it used to become that hard, it almost broke my back and my leg was in constant pain, ended up upgrading two cars to automatic. It is extremely funny that I can run a marathon, can Leg press 120+ Kgs but the clutch I can not tolerate now.

That being said would highly recommend to change the complete assembly if you intent to use car for next 2 year plus,
I highly doubt if Nissan would entertain a warranty claim now, the shoddy practice of service centers to not accept any fault in the car is prevailant across brands, it is an achievement on its own when a service center agrees with you that is certainly a problem in the car. My brand new Glanza had fuel leakage when done full, while i had bought extended warranty and I approached service center within basic warranty period I was informed of a charge of Rs 2000 +GST for diagnosis, one quick chat with the SA that you guys recalled my car and changed the fuel pump under recall and it was zeroed.

My father drives a 2014 Renault Duster which has done around 220k kms. Till around 195k kms, it was perfectly fine, had only been serviced at the Renault ASC and was still on the original clutch (we don’t have a lot of city driving and most of our cars have clutches lasting 120k+).
What happened then was the same issue which you’ve described - the clutch pedal would go straight to the floor without any resistance and I wouldn’t be able to change any gears.
What then followed was a long ordeal through multiple components to try and narrow down on the offending part. We stopped going to the ASC (because of the ridiculous costs and general incompetence observed in previous visits) and went to our FNG who also happened to own a Duster.
Initially swapped out the Clutch and pressure plate, which seemed fine for around a couple of 100kms and then the issue came back, then swapped the master cylinder and slave cylinder which also didn’t solve the issue. Then we swapped the hydraulic line which finally resolved it.
So my advice would be if you’re going to swap other major clutch components, do not neglect the hydraulic line because that was the offending part in our case and it was unfortunately the last part we swapped out!

Hi Akash_1806, I have faced similar issue with my Swift where gear change from first to second wouldn't happen at all and vice versa although clutch pedal was getting depressed. I had to shift from first to third directly. Downshift was more difficult and it was a terrible inconvenience. Twice MASS changed the clutch plates (first time they billed, second time they did it for free) although I was convinced myself that there was no issue with clutch plate as I never felt any loss of power or acceleration. Anyway, the problem continued and I got fed up with MASS and went to a well known local garage in Kolkata ( Aloke Automobiles). They immediately found the issue that the clutch cable has gave in and needs to be replaced. So the cable and pressure plate were changed for around Rs 3500 and next day the car was absolutely fine. Since then it has been 3 years without any clutch issue. I would suggest if you can visit a good local garage and get the clutch cable inspected. Company Service centers may not pay attention to such requests. Keep us posted in this thread.

Have faced a somewhat similar issue with our Linea, only the clutch was hard and first gear would refuse to slot when engine was running. First thing, don't go replacing all components if not necessary.

- If there is no loss of power or a feeling of being lugged by the engine, then the clutch plates are good and do not warrant replacement.

- If clutch is getting depressed and not coming back, it may be a case of faulty Master or Slave cylinder or any of the hydraulic pipes that connect everything. Also make sure the Hydraulic fluid is changed

- If the gears are not slotting while the engine is running, but are slotting when engine is shut off, it is a clear case of worn clutch release bearing. In some cases, clutch bearing is sold separately. Some OEMs like Maruti sell the entire clutch set as a unit, so if the release bearing is worn, entire part (including clutch plates) has to be replaced. Our Linea had this issue since day one but it worsened progressively over 10 years and we replaced the clutch release bearing along with new clutch plates (Tata/Fiat sold them separately). Did not have to touch any of the pipes or Master and Slave cylinder as Fiat service mentioned. Everything worked fine after that, in fact the clutch was much much softer than before, really enjoyed the last two years with the car :)
Fiat asked about 25k for the changing everything while I got it done in 8000 Rupees.

I just stumbled upon this post and thought of sharing my experience.
Mine is a Creta 1.6 VTVT Petrol manual and i got the slave cylinder replaced under warranty at 18000 Km. In my case the clutch pedal became super light while changing gears .This happened to me while I was traveling. There was no difference in the performance of the vehicle and I could complete the journey.After consulting the folks on this forum it was concluded that the its the Concentric Slave Cylinder. I was planning to get the clutch plate as well but the ASC said the plates are fine.
In my case the whole clutch assembly was lowered and then the CRC was replaced. The older models had the CRC outside the bell assembly which takes very less time to replace.Its been 6000 Km after the replaced and so far no issues and i pray it stays like that

Quote:

Originally Posted by Akash_1806 (Post 5349742)

,

The main issue is that the clutch stays depressed and still the gears don't budge to move. If the cylinders are at fault then why didn't the ASC rectify the problem when it was mentioned within the warranty period before 80k kms were completed. This problem did appear at 70k kms and was highlighted to the service centre.
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The dealership service centers are generally just out to make a quick buck and won't even bother to try fixing things when they can just upsell an entire replacement job to the customer. Funny thing is they probably won't even change the parts even after billing like what happened to me with a local MCP hyundai dealership.

Either way, I had the exact same problem you are facing with my 2016 i20 at around 35-40k kms. The clutch would progressively get worse and finally just stop coming back up when being driven in bumper to bumper traffic or anything that requires heavy clutch use. Dealership service manager was salivating at a 45k repair bill. Took it to a reputed 3rd party garage. They fixed the clutch cylinder in 1 day for 2.5k inr and my car still runs like new to this day. If you find out that a dealership is scamming people, its best to avoid them completely instead of trying to plead/coerce them into doing their work.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Akash_1806 (Post 5349530)

Hello Everyone,

I am starting this thread due to a weird issue in my daily workhorse, 2014 Nissan Terrano XLD 85 which has now completed nearly 1,24,000 kms driven by me and my dad only.
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Thanks in advance
Akash

With someone in the drivers seat, do a visual check in the engine bay near the clutch yoke attached to the slave cylinder. See if pressing the pedal results in any movement there. If it does and you have hard shifting that means the clutch/pressure plates gone. If pressing the pedal doesnt result in movement of the yoke, points to either a swollen/faulty hose or master cylinder. Many a times clutch hoses routed close to "hot" parts tend to swell and do not transfer hydraulic pressure to the slave cylinder. Instead when you press the pedal it only swells the hose.
If its a faulty hose , you could save a lot of money.

Hi Akash_1806, If the problem of Gear shifting is specially in bumper to bumper traffic then most probably either the clutch needs to be replaced or the slave cylinder needs to be replaced.
Your vehicle should have a concentric slave cylinder (based on Google search) as shown in photo by BHPian Artyom, which is fitted in the bell housing. In that case it is recommended to replace both clutch set and slave cylinder, considering labour cost of part replacement.

Getting the entire job done in one go would be a better approach imho.

That would give you complete peace of mind for another 2-3 years based on your running.

If you decide to get the complete thing changed, please also check if the flywheel needs a replacement along with the clutch release bearing.

Hello everyone,

Thank you for all the suggestions, did a few checks as suggested by the members and figured out the following things-

1. Half clutch pedal goes empty and the other half operates as intended. The play in the pedal is of around 2 inches.

2. There is an oil leakage from near the pedal, that is the oil in the reservoir. Was cleaning the mats of the car and noticed it today.

3. In bumper to bumper traffic, after driving for around 10-15 mins if the clutch was kept pressed and I don't give a break to the clutch then the gears refuse to slot.

4. Shifting from Neutral to First and Reverse is comparatively tough from shifting to any other gear. In traffic when first gear doesn't slot, then I engage the second gear and with some extra throttle I move from standstill.

5. No loss in power and fuel efficiency. Drives totally fine, no lag, no delay, no weird noises. And for the fuel efficiency, it is around 15.5 kmpl in city and approx 18 on highways with AC on at all times.

Hi Akash_1806, Based on the points that you have noted, there seems to be a leakage at the clutch master cylinder or hydraulic pipe or oil reservoir (which is common with brake system). Due to this, the play in the clutch pedal can increase. If there is any leakage, oil level in the reservoir would have also gone down. Please check the oil level.
Oil bleeding of the system from master cylinder to slave cylinder can be done to check if the play reduces. If the play is observed even after sometime, then part affecting oil leakage needs to be changed.
Just to clear my understanding, is the issue that you are facing specific to bumper-to-bumper traffic condition as noted in point 3? Are you facing any issue in Gear shifting from Neutral to 1st Gear and Reverse in other conditions such as parking the vehicle?

Hello everyone,

Here is an update on the clutch issue. Yesterday, while going for some work to Delhi the clutch died and gears were stuck. Called my trusted FNG, mech said either of the cylinders have gone kaput.

He asked me to switch off the car, put it in second gear and bring it to him. I did and on inspection it was found that the master cylinder body had a crack from where it was leaking oil. Got a new Bosch cylinder which costed 4500rs and got it installed. Total cost including labour costs came around 7000rs.

As of now the car is running just like new without any hiccups at all. Took the car to one of the most jam-packed roads in Delhi (Sarita Vihar to Noida) and the car performed flawlessly. No more clutch sinking, smooth gearshifts and more than that I am relaxed after driving in bumper to bumper traffic with no aches and pains in my left knee.

Took a lot of time to diagnose the issue as everyone, the ASC, FNG(s) had a different opinion on the issue. Thanks to all the members for their suggestions and advice.

P.s.- Attached is the pic of the old master cylinder for reference.