Is it just me or is this excessive?

[bustaphur]

Hi everyone,

I have a 2002 Vue, Standard transmission. Bought it new, first year of production.

In late 2005/early 2006 (sorry, can't remember exact date) I had to replace the clutch. I didn't think anything about it--clutches are mechanical and they go out.

In September 2007, I had it in for maintenance and was told I needed to replace the clutch again. I was surprised, but had them go ahead and replace it.

In November 2008, I noticed that the clutch was slipping. Brought it in twice, was told both times nothing was wrong.

Friday night, my Vue left me on the side of the road. Had it towed to the same dealership that had replaced the last two clutches--and found out it closed over the last week. Sent it to the next closest dealer; they called Saturday morning and told me it needed a new clutch.

Now, I've driven standards for 15+ years and until the first clutch in the Vue went out, I'd never had to replace one in any car (including a previous Saturn SL-1). I live in Atlanta and I drive a lot, so I was willing to accept that the first one could go from normal wear and tear. Had a bit more trouble accepting the second one went (especially since it was just over a year old at that point), and I'm REALLY having a problem accepting that I need a third clutch in four years.

Any ideas?????

[twosaturns]

I would agree that is excessive. I have an '04 VUE w/ 61K on the original clutch.
have you ever asked to see the old clutch?
a few things could be going wrong; worn pressure plate, worn clutch disc, bad throwout bearing- all these or some of these things could be called a 'bad clutch'. or the flywheel wasn't refinished, or was contaminated.
with so many replacements, they NEED to look for a root cause; it is just bad customer service to keep throwing parts at it. you'll need to be patient w/ them, because they'll just tell you it's your bad driving habits.
hey, and welcome. you've got a pretty good little truck there, stick w/ it.

[Growser]

Lots of transmissions in a short period of time, but what is the mileage between the clutches and what is your mileage now?

[bustaphur]

Mileage now is 112 K,

When it was replaced in 2007, mileage was around 100K... Don't remember what it was the first time around...

[silversurfer13]

yea I know too about ATL driving so take some milage off there for premature worn out clutch, but even in that traffic..lots of stops and gos..you should at lease get 100k-120k on the original clutch..hhhmmmm somethings funny

[Tom92SCm]

Yeah, something isn't right.

Could be the driver- just because you've been driving a clutch for 15 years doesn't mean you've been doing it correctly. Hard to say over the internet, that's for sure.

What exactly is the VUE doing when you take it into the shop?

[bustaphur]

In November, I could feel and hear the transmission race after shifting. I would also get a hesitation when starting from a stop in 1st gear.

Friday night, the clutch wouldn't allow me to engage it. It went in gear and stayed there (4th gear to be precise). Even the tow truck driver couldn't get it to disengage...

Talked to Saturn customer assistance today. Playing the waiting game while they "investigate". I'm afraid that they have me by the short and curlies since there's no one around from the 1st dealership anymore.

[OhioVueBoy]

You need to differentiate between what is exactly breaking... no way should it be going through a pressure plate or clutch disc in that amount of time if you are not abusing it.

It sounds like your master or slave cylinder went Friday, and not the clutch.

The hydraulics of it are more apt to die than the physical clutch... a few of us have been through this. I was actually the first or second on here to have a complete hydraulic failure.

Are you frequently downshifting to slow down or holding the clutch in when at a stoplight?

~D.J.~

[bustaphur]

I don't downshift to slow down, but I do downshift as the RPM's and the speedometer drop (usually downshift about the same time that I would upshift if I were trying to go faster). I only hold the clutch at a stop if I'm on a hill.

I've now moved it to a second garage to see if they can figure out the problem. I was told earlier today by Saturn that I "press the clutch too hard" and that I shouldn't be taking it all the way to the floor (which is interesting, because the owner's manual clearly states that I should push the clutch to the floor when shifting--I checked, pg 104-105 of the 02 Vue manual). You called it twosaturns!

I've asked repeatedly for them to tell me what has happened, the only thing they will say is that I need a new clutch. If I need a clutch, fine, I need a clutch. But tell me why the thing keeps breaking after a year and a half.

I'd also like them to explain why I was told in Nov. that everything was fine (when it clearly was getting ready to go out on me again). But since that dealer has closed down, I'll probably never get the answer to that question.

[twosaturns]

it's just the way dealers are, blame the customer.

as ohiovueboy said, it sounds like the slave cylinder. clutch failure is usually slippage, not failure to disengage; unless the throwout bearing failed, but knowing these transmissions, I'd be more apt to say slave cylinder.
the 'racing' you state 'could' just be the nature of the beast. the electronic throttle is designed to 'float' the revs when the clutch is pressed to make it easier to shift. some don't like this design, I've gotten used to it.

[PortugalFocus]

It really could be multiple type failures. Maybe a clutch failure the first time, pressure plate the next. The last time definitely sounds like slave cylinder failure, which could have leaked, wept fluid on the clutch and p/plate and burned the clutch up in a heartbeat. Sounds like multiple failures, but something isn't right to me.

[Gerry Proctor]

You're being jerked around by poor customer service and maybe incompetent technical work. If the new shop won't tell you anything more than "You need a new clutch" then you may need to talk with the manager and tell them you need someone competent to explain the nature of the diagnosis of what went wrong and what their solution is. Clearly, just thwowing in another clutch is just going to bring you back there sooner than you should have to.

Saturn customer assistance shouldn't be written off. While you may need a new clutch/hydraulics yet again, it was their retailer, closed or not, who put you in this condition.

I don't believe for a minute that you contributed to this failure.

[runerx]

My VUE (03) just turned 100k and still is on the original clutch, but is on the
2nd slave cylinder. The failures could be related spilled fluid and such. When I had the slave replaced at 42k, I should have had the plates replaced also. I now have a shudder when it's cold that I'd be willing to bet is due to fluid getting on the pressure plate. I've had two transmission related failures so far, the slave cylinder, and then the end broke off the shifter cable while it was still under warranty. I'd ride out customer service you might get something.


Dave

[bustaphur]

The independent garage was able to fix it. Apparently the issue was that the Saturn garage didn't shave down the clutch plate properly either time they changed the clutch. Only one side of the clutch pads was completly missing--the other side that they did shave properly, still had plenty of pad left.

Lesson learned--question EVERYTHING when multiple failures on the same part happen.

[twosaturns]

The independent garage was able to fix it. Apparently the issue was that the Saturn garage didn't shave down the clutch plate properly either time they changed the clutch. Only one side of the clutch pads was completly missing--the other side that they did shave properly, still had plenty of pad left.

Lesson learned--question EVERYTHING when multiple failures on the same part happen.
then it's like I said, they didn't resurface the pressure plate. I'd bytch to saturn about that. just like brakes, you should NEVER replace a clutch w/o resurfacing the flywheel. the clutch plate will just glaze over and won't grab.
dealers suck, stick to independents.

[bustaphur]

You will never believe this. Three weeks ago, the clutch (the one just replaced in January) went again. This time, the independent garage replaced the clutch pads and plates, the flywheel and the master cylinder (took 2.5 weeks for them to do all of this). When I picked the VUE up, the mechanic insisted that I take him for a drive so he could see for himself that I don't ride the clutch (I think he was really disappointed to admit that I don't).

If everyone had listened to me earlier I might not have gone through 4 clutches in such a short period of time. :upset:

[xtremeranger]

wow...thats crazy......My ford ranger had about 130kish miles on it when I replaced it. And even then the ONLY reason I replaced it was because I had to rebuild the ENGINE! I replaced it with a 5 spoke carbon material "racing" clutch....needless to say it only lasted about 12k miles as my daily but it was an AWESOME clutch.....instant engagements....I replaced that one with a factory type....

Anyway, there is no way you should have to go thru that many in that amount of time.....when you say they "go"...what exactly is it doing?