Clutch pedal bracket broken after repairs, shop's fault?

Maintenance/Repairs
1

I have a 2007 Elantra with 165,000 miles. I brought it into the shop because the brakes were scraping, but they told me that in addition to needing front and rear brakes (& rear rotors), the front struts and rear shocks were shot. I believed it because I live in Chicago and the roads are pretty bad, and I’ve hit potholes now and then. I had all the work done (over $2,000). The car drives much better.

HOWEVER…upon driving the car home, I noticed something new. There is an audible CLICK whenever I release the clutch pedal. It never did this before the repairs, and it stuck out immediately.

I brought the car back to the same shop, they took a look and confirmed that a bracket around the clutch, visible from the interior, was cracked and this was causing the sound. They assured me it was safe to drive, but if I want to get rid of the click, the bracket would need to be replaced.

The issue is, they want to charge me for this repair. They’re telling me it’s entirely coincidental that this problem started immediately after their repair job. The guy actually said, “Maybe it started a day or two before and you didn’t notice it?” (No, definitely not.) They said my car has a lot of miles and a part just happened to go out at the same time as the other repairs, which are unrelated and would not cause this problem. I asked if it was possible one of their guys kicked it while driving the vehicle? They admitted this was possible but insisted, no, they wouldn’t have done that.

This certainly seems fishy. I could live with the click if necessary, but I don’t like it and on principle, I don’t think I should have to pay for the repair. What do you think?

2

Things Happen On vehicles with 165,000 miles. Sometimes even during repairs. Just like they said it is possible that it was accidentally done by a tech,but very unlikely. If you have no other reasons to doubt their integrity, I would drop it.

1 Like
3

I’d say it’s a coincidence. They wouldn’t have been working inside the car for these repairs except to test drive it. It’s possible it broke while they drove it but like was said, it’s an older car and things can break one after the other. Did they give you a price to change the bracket?

4

Could have been a lead footed mechanic, even so it would have broken sooner or later my guess. People do not break things intentionally.

5

When any type of brake work is finished I stand on the brake pedal for a few seconds and then feather the pedal for several seconds before test driving to hopefully find any problems before the car is delivered to avoid comebacks for brake problems and if the pedal bushings are worn out with resultant damage to the bracket I could crack the bracket. It could be that a determined effort to avoid one problem resulted in another. But if the bracket was worn it was due to fail.