I have owned a 96 VW Golf for about three years now and have gone through 4 clutches. The first time I had it replaced, I didn’t trust that the repair shop had done a good job, brought it back and had them redo it. That wore out within about 8 months, so I brought it to another place altogether.
At the second place they said the clutch wasn’t even really worn out, but the fly wheel had not been properly machined, and since they had it apart they put in a new clutch anyhow. Now, just under a year later it is starting to slip again on steep hills.
I know the first thing people are going to say is that I drive it badly, but I have never owned a vehicle with an auto transmission and have never replaced a clutch before owning this car. I have been very gentle with it and can drive it around fine as long as I don’t try any steep hill starts and accelerate gently.
Has anyone heard of this recurring problem? I know how to drive my car and I am not wearing these clutches out this quickly. Thanks in advance for any insight.
Have your mechanic check the clutch cable.
It’s self adjusting and it needs to be “reset” if it’s been mishandled by the mechanic who put in the first clutch. Otherwise, the clutch will slip and wear prematurely.