I have a 2014 Forester that had an apparent that appeared to have a failure of the clutch safety switch, located under the clutch arm (is that what you call it?), It was replaced, worked for two weeks, and stopped working, which you can tell because the car won’t start without frequent pumping of the clutch till it decides to “catch”. So that switch was replaced with a factory switch (first one was aftermarket and therefor suspect)- but it does not work either. What else in the chain is suspect here?
Are you adjusting the switch correctly?
Tester
The starter solenoid contacts are probably worn, cycling the ignition to the start position repeatedly will usually get the starter to operate. You can get the same results by pumping the clutch pedal.
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Thanks, it is something my mechanic had considered. Switch has been adjusted from here to Tuesday. First step now, jumper the switch to take it our of the running before proceeding further. Could be something else in the ignition circuit he thinks.
It could be that the clutch itself could be causing this problem. The throwout bearing rests on a guide sleeve which rides on an aluminum snout on the transmission. That snout protrudes out over the mainshaft and with wear the snout can become damaged. That in turn allows the guide sleeve to hang up at times and can affect clutch pedal operation. Detecting this can sometimes be very difficult.
Some replacement clutches may come with a stainless steel sleeve which fits over the transmission snout and prevents this problem. In other cases the sleeve must be purchased separately. At this point and if the clutch is working fine otherwise I would be hesitant to recommend a fishing expedition involving transmission removal and clutch replacement.
I might ask how much free play is in the clutch pedal and about how far off of the floor is the clutch pedal when it starts to engage?
Below is a pic of the sleeve. (Sleeve on the right) This issue has been around forever and a day.
