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Clutch judder - any solutions?

Clutch 
71K views 122 replies 43 participants last post by  diadulia 
#1 ·
Hi,

I have a 2012 petrol 1.8 EX GT. It's done about 17600 miles. Over a year ago we noticed a judder on the clutch, particularly in 1st and 2nd gears and on hill starts. Honda did what was described as a repair (replacing a screw or 2) and things were better for a few months. Then it started happening again and they replaced the clutch and flywheel in Feb 15 (just before the end of the warranty). OK for a few weeks and then, the judder is back. It's not constant which makes it easy for them to say there's nothing wrong, but I've never owned a car that does this.

I've read lots of posts about clutch problems but has anyone actually found a permanent solution to the clutch judder that doesn't involve buying a different make of car?! I'd be really grateful if anyone can tell me of any success stories so I can suggest that to Honda.

Thanks.
 
#2 ·
Hi,
I have 2013 petrol 1.8 and that problem happened on my car also. It started when the car had 20000km on clock. The juddering was stronger and started to be annoying when outside temperature dropped to about -3*C. Honda service told me that it was burned clutch (don't know how to say it in English correctly, hope that you understand). That was really strange as I'm not a person who burns the clutch, no racing, no half-clutch long starts. They replaced the clutch anyway on a warranty. Juddering went away, summer began so no low temperatures. That winter car has about 50000km and the problem happens accidentally. From time to time you can feel juddering but it's not that strong - I can live with that for the time being.
Oh and it happens only on warm engine. When it's cold everything is fine.


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#5 ·
I hope not !
 
#4 ·
My car also suffers from this. It's quite a mild judder, but is noticeable and happens on an intermittent basis. Yesterday, I was driving in heavy traffic in London and it was happening quite badly in conjunction with a very notchy gear change - the engine was warm so it doesn't seem to be related to that.
 
#6 ·
get this occasionally on a "cold start" with my 1.6 diesel
 
#7 ·
So this seems to be getting worse for me. Getting it more regularly and it's definitely more prominent when there's people in the car and you pull away on a hill. Car is out of warranty at the end of this year so i'll be taking it down to the dealer to have a look at - as the OP says it's difficult as it's an intermittent problem.
 
#8 ·
On the Jazz it was found to be high spots on the flywheel, mine had the problem in cool damp conditions. Make sure they fix it as with mine, they said all of them are the same, so I traded it for the Civic. Go onto ClubJazz or The Fit forums and print off some of their posts and take them in with you.
 
#9 ·
Thanks Paul. With yours did they only look at the flywheel after reproducing the fault whilst driving? It's that bit that i'm concerned about as they could just turn around and say they can't find anything.

The dealer's asked me to leave the car with them for the day to diagnose the fault. I'll see what they come back with.
 
#10 ·
They kept it overnight and then told me that it was normal on the Jazz. I opened the glove box and produced the forum posts and they placed me on file for clutch problems after the warranty period being as they couldn't find fault at the time. I don't think they would have played ball after the warranty as they seem to change their staff yearly. It never got resolved which is why I would advise you to keep at them.
 
#11 ·
Hi guys,

wanted to raise this again - i seem to be getting clutch judder now most mornings on my 2014 august tourer... its just at pull off for about 2 minutes in the morning.. once the car warms up its gone..

I've emailed the Honda dealer to seek their opinion on it..

Car will need to be left overnight to diagnose..

Some say its probably moisture on the clutch...

Anyone any more opinions on it?

Cheers,
Mick
 
#12 ·
I had the same problem on my 1.6 diesel, after 2 years of complaining to the dealer it was finally fixed by changing the duel mass flywheel. The dealer stated that they had not heard of this problem but when they contacted Honda UK they were told to replace the DMF without seeing the old one.
 
#13 ·
My 2011 Civic did it after being parked at the airport for 2 weeks in July. It cleared itself after 5 minutes of running, so it isn't limited to cold weather. I do think it is moisture/condensation on the clutch plates.
Ducati bikes used to fail completely when it rained as the clutch wasn't in a sealed housing.
 
#14 ·
So had it at the dealers for a week and they couldn't find the issue.. Even had a Honda rep in who drove it.. He recommended tighten the engine mounts.. I re created it pulling away from the dealership.. Very dissapointing.. He said to report back if it gets worse... Which it seems to have.. Happened at a junction this morning pulling out and could have been quite dangerous if a car was coming... I'll be back onto garage tomorrow
 
#17 · (Edited)
Hi Mick.
I have a very distinctive clutch judder in my 15 1.6 diesel, especially when cold. I met a Honda rep and he seen no problem with it. This was of course when the engine was warm after a few miles. When cold the car is horrible taking off in first gear!! In 35 years of driving I have never had such a grainy clutch!! I even hear a squeak every time I press the clutch pedal!
Did you ring Honda Ireland or go through the dealer. As the Honda dealer is 50 miles away could a dealer closer to me take on the repair if needed?
 
#18 · (Edited)
Hi Mick.
I have very distinctive clutch judder in my 15 1.6 diesel, especially when cold. I met a Honda rep and he seen no problem with it. This was of course when the engine was warm after a few miles. When cold the car is horrible taking off in first gear!! In 35 years of driving I have never had such a grainy clutch!! I even hear a squeak every time I press the clutch pedal!
Did you ring Honda Ireland or go through the dealer. As the Honda dealer is 50 miles away could a dealer closer to me take on the repair if needed?
I left my car in for a week and they said they couldn't re create it.. Even though the day I collected my car it happened to me.. Happens every day on drive off for me now.(morning only) . In fairness the garage had a Honda rep drive it.. He suggested tightening the engine mounts but sure that was obviously pointless..

They said to monitor it and let them know.. Garage phoned last week and I told them no improvement.. If anything worse. They got onto honda Ireland and they said to replace the disc etc..

I don't think you'd need to go through the dealer you bought from but might be easier..

You probably would need to leave in overnight so they can drive it cold..
 
#20 · (Edited)
Bought a brand new Civic in back when the 15 plates came out and it suffered from horrendous clutch judder. Garage agreed and replaced clutch, it was ok for a while and then just got worse.

Anyway.....being a loyal Honda customer I got so exasperated that I took a £3400 hit and bought a replacement car thinking that my clutch issues were just down to bad luck.

The bad news is I wouldn't say the replacement car has that great a clutch either. I haven't even bothered complaining this time.

After 5 brand new Honda`s over the last 10 years I wont be buying another.

The clutches are garbage..... and on top of that the 1.6 diesels seem to have have this weird dip in power thing going on. My first 1.6d car had it, this car has it, and the courtesy car I had the use of had it.

Honda have lost the plot, next stop BMW for me.

Ohh..... I forgot to mention the weird plasticy resonating noise that frequently comes from the engine when starting from cold. God knows what it is but it sounds bad.
 
#21 ·
Mine has the clutch judder when cold and also the dip in power as described by jamesaberdeen73. This is my 2nd 9th gen and I also had two 8th gen (all diesels) and they all had the clutch judder thing when cold. I guess it's a design feature!
 
#25 ·
hi folks,

I had my Tourer serviced this week and the clutch was replaced. So far no slippage or judder in the mornings. The garage were a bit slow to reveal what they had done but i think it was most of the clutch.. at least the disc and some other part which the service manager said was essentially a new clutch...

After ive driven the car for a few weeks ill report back again

Cheers,
Mick
 
#26 ·
I have a 1.8 petrol and have had it in the past. It seems the Civic is quite renound for it.

The dealership told me the only solution was to replace the clutch and flywheel, however advised against this on cost not least of which because the judder usually clears itself.

I asked about getting it done under extended warranty, but they said the trouble there was the strip down and rebuild was (I forget exactly) something like a £500 job and even then there was no guarantee Honda would accept a claim as they required photos and would only pay out if there was no sign of wear or other causes. The problem here being that you either had to pay for the strip and rebuild if Honda rejected the claim, which might leave you without a car for days whilst they decided, and meant a £500 bill for them simply to check it with no resolution, or stump up the rest for a clutch replacement yourself. The overall implication being that in the latter case, you might as well just have opted for a clutch replacement and paid for it from the start, even if you didn't need one!

So basically the options are leave it to resolve or accept the cost of fitting a new clutch even if the car doesn't need one, and the fact there's no guarantee the new clutch won't judder in the future anyway, putting you back exactly where you started between a rock and a very expensive hard place.
 
#27 ·
I find that the 'judder' is gone after a couple of starts from cold, then goes away and stays away. It's an irritating phenomenon I have rarely had on any car, and I've had some naff vehicles, and never a car from new like the civic, but once it's gone that day of using the car it's gone. It would put me off buying a 2nd hand one in case unscrupulous sellers warm them up if the issue gets well known. Who knows if it's a precursor to early failure or will it just judder on forever?
 
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