[scratch113]

Just a slight aside to me selling my S4 - the guy I sold it to phoned me back today saying he'd had a smell of burning clutch when pulling away from the lights rather briskly. He was wondering whether I'd had the clutch changed in the 53k miles I'd had the car, which I hadn't.

He'd been a bit concerned and had phoned his local Audi dealer, who had said that the S4 should have an expected clutch life of only 30k miles! First I'd heard of it, and was sure I'd not had a clutch change slipped into the service I'd had done by my dealer at approx 33k miles without me noticing! He said he'd get back to his dealer and check the info, but if 30k miles is all you're meant to get out of a clutch on an S4, then
1). I was very lucky to get 53k miles with no problems,
2). I guess the clutch on the S5 is going to be a similar design, and
3). There are going to be a lot of very expensive bills after not many miles if this is true.

I hope the 3.0 TDi I've ordered doesn't eat clutches at this rate either, despite the even greater amount of torque it puts out.

I'm very skeptical of this, and wonder if the guy was just trying it on, but I was very careful and insisted on receipts for the sale, including the all-important phrase 'sold as seen', so anything going wrong is his look-out!

 

[chuckstyl5]

Well I hope the clutch is as good as my 2000 Jetta which still has 215,000 miles and still original clutch!!!!

 

[jeff_sc]

Well I hope the clutch is as good as my 2000 Jetta which still has 215,000 miles and still original clutch!!!!

30,000 miles seems ridiculous. I had to replace my clutch on my old Nissan 240SX after 60,000 miles, but only because my then blushing bride learned to drive a stick on that car. Why in the world would a clutch be expected to last only 30,000 miles?

 

[PeteA5]

probably Audi told him that so he would come in and spend some $$

 

[S5France]

30K Miles - what a stupid dealer - i don't think I've ever heard of anybody with any brand of car doing less than 60k miles with a clutch under normal wear.

My mother used to burn out her clutches in probably 50k miles simply because she left her foot on the clutch pedal permanently ( when driving or idling).

I have never taken a car past 100K miles, have always sold them before - the last 6 or 7 were new, half automatics, but never changed a clutch in my life....

 

[madmax]

Surely the life of a clutch depends on how you drive a car??
I was fortunate to go on the Audi Driving School day and when pulling away they tell you NEVER accelerate fully in first or second without fully releasing the clutch, otherwise you will burn it out. Seems obvious now.......

 

[Ianhp1]

Clutch life does depend on how you drive the car, but here's me experience...

I have an A6 2.7 bi-Turbo and after 2 years of stop-start traffic for an hour a day on the A14 to Cambridge (plus a lot of traffic light launches!), the clutch ended it's life at 55k miles... about expected for type of car and journey...

I fitted an RS4 clutch and lightweight flywheel and have done another 45k miles, no problem... although I have changed my driving style to look after the clutch a bit more!

 

[Ianhp1]

Driving to preserve the clutch:

Biggest thing that people forget is going down the gearbox (particularly in the diesel with that heavy engine) ...

Make sure you match the revs using the accellerator (a short blip) to avoid unnecessary clutch wear. By all means slow the car down on the engine, but not the clutch!!

Nowadays, drivers are actually taught NOT to go down the box until the car is about to stall... in other words slow down on the brakes and select the right gear when you need to accelerate... It goes against what I feel, but it does save the clutch.

Happy motoring!

 

[Pignpoo]

Talking about driving styles, if I am approaching a set of lights and see they are red, I knock it out of gear and coast up to the lights. That has got to save the clutch from wear and tear and doesn't labour the engine either.

 

[jeff_sc]

Talking about driving styles, if I am approaching a set of lights and see they are red, I knock it out of gear and coast up to the lights. That has got to save the clutch from wear and tear and doesn't labour the engine either.

Yes, but it does tax the hell out of your brakes because you get no friction braking from the engine. I was taught that the best techniques are those listed above: (i) stay in whatever gear you are in and brake, stepping down on the clutch only when you are about to stop to keep from stalling, or (ii) shift down gears as you slow down and match revs when you downshift as you would if you downshifted to accelerate ourt of a turn. The latter is a bit of a pain, but you get more engine braking for the buck.

 

[wrx_xb9r]

The USDM STi has a weaker clutch to protect the rest of the drivetrain. I made 42k miles on mine but had 25k+ miles at 80+ hp and 130+ tq. I have read where guys drag racing the car only get 10k. However drag racing is really horrible on the clutch. Same goes for the brakes. I made 45k on mine where a lot of guys did 10-20k before their pads were gone.

Wear rates vary heavily on your driving style and conditions.