VUE Clutch Problem

[Maggie_124]

Hey guys, before I start complaining let me say that I have owned saturns for 8 years. I love the company and the cars. That said, I'm getting a little bit nervous about the 2003 VUE I bought in Oct of 2002. I've been driving the heck out of it (79,000 miles in two years) so I know a certain amount of wear and tear are expected. However, I have had the hazzard light break twice (pushed it right into the dash turning it off), the bearing in the right front wheel needed to be replaced, the rear hatch won't open (lock won't release) and now the clutch is not working right.

My biggest concern is the clutch. All of a sudden last night, the clutch pedal went straight to the floor with no resistance and I could not get it into gear. With the engine off, I can get it into gear no problem, then had to start it in gear to get into first, and reverse. I managed to get it home, but shifting was VERY hard, and I was scared to death I was just forcing it in and out of gear on the hour drive home and destrying the clutch. I didn't smell andthing burning when I got home. It was like the pedal didn't do anything to release the gear shift.

Now this is the second Saturn that has done this. The first one was an SL2 Sedan whose clutch died at 30,000 miles. That was covered under warrenty after a substantial argument with dealer (who I LOVE by the way, the service is always GREAT). They tried to say it was a wear and tear issue and not covered. The problem my husband and I have is that we have driven manual transmission cars for over 25 years and never had a clutch problem, across many manufacturers and several cars were over 150,000 miles, including our first saturn an sw2 wagon that went to 190,000 miles before we retired it. So we know how to drive a clutch.

Am I going to have to replace the clutch here too? If so, what does that say about the newer model Saturns? Why should a clutch break after only 79,000 miles when all my other cars (Volkswagon, Toyota, Chevy, BMW) have all gone much farther with out repair, and I have TWO saturns who have not??

Can you guys help? What kind of $$ am I looking at? I still have three years of payments on this truck and I really really love driving it.

[TheAntiBob]

Your clutch may need to be bled. The center release bearing is hydralic. Basicly it's like a small brake system with one piston that is inside the clutch housing to actuate the pressure plate for your clutch. If there is any other part failure that requires a transmission removal, the four cylinder Vue is not a difficult job for somebody that understands the proper method. What you need to observe is if there is any loss of hydralic fluid from the bell housing area or from any of the other clutch control components. In other words, is your Vue dripping anything?

There are no adjustments to the clutch with a hydralic center release. The only service features are the posibility of bleeding the circuit.

[IMkenNY]

The good news is: the clutch disk, pressure plate and flywheel (the expensive clutch parts) sound like they are still in great shape!

It sounds like you may be loosing clutch fluid , check the clutch fluid reservoir located near the firewall. If the fluid is low, the possible leak areas are the clutch master cylinder (often leaks into pedal area inside the Vue when this fails) the clutch slave piston (this is a bigger job since it requires you to seperate transmission from engine and when it leaks it will drip brake fluid where the engine meets the transmission) or the line in between the two.

[Maggie_124]

Okay, you guys have been very informative, but I cannot do any of the things you have suggested above. I am not mechanically inclined. Is this something that a local mechanic can do? or am I better off going to the Dealer?

Also, if I DO go to the dealer, are the repairs you suggested in the hundreds or thousands of dollars?

[Maggie_124]

Also, can I drive it to the dealer in this condition without causing even more damage? or do I have to get it towed??

[IMkenNY]

The one thing you can do is add fluid. If your not grinding the gears you can drive it to the dealer (you wouldnt want to ruin the gears in the transmission if its grinding)

[IMkenNY]

Im not a saturn tech but my guess is in the $350 area if they have to replace the slave piston which is the worst case senario. I would expect the clutch to last 150,000 miles on the average but as long as they have it all apart they may talk you into replacing the disk and plate replaced probaply bring up the repair to the $700 area

[Maggie_124]

The gears are not grinding, just VERY hard to get it into gear and shift between gears. The Tachometer says I'm not pushing it too low, or too high in any one gear, and once it is IN gear, the truck runs as normal. I'm going to take it up to Saturn in Warldorf MD (not my first choice, my first choice in the Saturn in Bowie,MD but that is an hour away, instead of a half hour, and i'm just too afraid to drive the clutch that long) today. I'll let you know what they say tomorrow. Thanks so much.

PS. I have nothing but good things to say about the Saturn dealer in Bowie, MD.

[IMkenNY]

The distance you drive your Vue isnt as big of a factor as the number of times you have to shift. Have you checked the fluid level? (it covered in the owners manual)

[Mistomax]

You shouldn't be doing any acute damage to the transmission by driving without the clutch. In fact, if you match the engine speed exactly to the transmission speed for the gear you're about to shift into, it will shift without any effort at all. This is what semi drivers do--they generally only use the clutch to start off. Of course, this is a lot easier with a non-synchronized transmission, but it is still possible with a little practice on a synchonized transmission, like that on the Vue.

[Maggie_124]

Well its in the shop. You gentlement were right. The slave cylinder and the clutch "pipe" (their term) need to be replaced. $835

How often do you hear of this problem happening, regardless of the car/truck? At what mileage?

[CaTiRo]

clutch problems vary depending on drivers. do you ride the clutch?

[Maggie_124]

Originally Posted by CaTiRo

clutch problems vary depending on drivers. do you ride the clutch?

Nope. Not that I know of. I've been driving manuals for over 20 years. Had three seperate cars by three seperate manufactuers, including an Chevy Geo, Toyota Tercel, and a Saturn SW2 wagon, all go over 150,000 miles with no clutch problems of any kind.

[silver_vue]

I had a clutch slave cylinder go bad on my ''01 SW2 at 22k miles. Fixed under warranty, which pleased me.
79K miles is a high enough mileage so that I personally would not be so upset over a clutch going bad. Chances are it's something in the hydraulics like the other posters mentioned. That repair cost should not be outrageous.

[scotted73]

When I sold my '96 SC2 in '02, at 125k miles, the only problem I had encountered was a broken .35 cent shift clip. The guy, who bought my car, autocrosses and couldn't believe that the original clutch was still in the car. He had owned several manual cars, and had replaced 3 clutches in his Mitsubishi Eclipse within 60k miles.
At 70k, I switched over to Redline Transmission fluid and noticed an immediate smoothness and response with the manual transmission.
http://www.redlineoil.com/default.asp

[Maggie_124]

Wow! I guess I was just lucky with the other cars. Wierd.

[jmcging]

I went 146,000 on the original clutch in my 94 SL2, and while I oculd tell it was starting to slip, it worked fine and all I ever did was replace the fluid at 100k "just because"

Want to get the same out of my 2004 Vue.

[OhioVueBoy]

My clutch is on its way out. I have almost 50K on my VUE, learned to drive a manual in it, tow with it, and do drive it hard, so I am not complaining about it going now. I am looking into a stage 1 or 2 from SPS for the extra durability when the time comes. Mine slips a smidge when you get on it if it is cold out, and earlier this year I had the freakish occurance of barely being able to push my clutch pedal down, which we think might be a bent finger on the pressure plate.
I know this is going to be an expensive repair, but alas, I am ready for it, and am looking forward to it in a strange way. Needless to say, I hope it makes it until at least mid May so I will be out of school.
~D.J.~

[cohocarl]

Originally Posted by Maggie_124

The slave cylinder and the clutch "pipe" (their term) need to be replaced. $835.

I have no idea what they mean by "clutch pipe". Anyone else have any idea what this "pipe" may be? $835 sounds kind if high to me.
I found this animation of how a hydraulic clutch operates on this link: http://www3.sympatico.ca/dhaughey/hydraulic1.htm
A clutch disengages the transmission from the engine, and instead of a rod or cable being used to push the clutch disk from the flywheel, many cars use a "hydraulic" clutch. There's really nothing hydraulic about the clutch, just how the clutch pedal transfers the "push" to the clutch plate. If the only thing wrong is a worn out slave cylinder, I can't imagine how it would cost $835.
Now if there's more repair to be done to say the clutch disk or throwout bearing.....ya, I could see it running into $$$$$$$.

[CaTiRo]

yeah my 00 honda si's clutch went out at about 40,000 miles and was replaced with an aftermarket stage 2 clutch. then at 58,000 miles my transmission went out. :-( the funny thing is my transmission was replaced and it costed a little over $800. i have to agree with cohocarl about the price being a little high. are you getting the work done at the saturn dealership? or by your personal mechanic?