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My mechanic couldn't believe what he saw either, the clutch plate was worn all the way down to the rivets. And it left marks on the pressure plate (second picture). Please ignore the rust, it set in after a few days left exposed in the humid weather up here in the Northwest. I didn't pick up the car rightaway.
I will be sending these photos to Acura. I know they are not responsible for this kind of clutch failure since it's well beyond warranty, I do wish that they would know it happened. I have owned many MT cars, this is the first time I have to do a clutch job at under 50k miles; and it's a Honda, for goodness sake. Even my older Jetta lasted 'til 100k. I am not too happy about this, to be honest, but the rest of the car is nice enough.
I also have to give CMarr Automotive in Seattle a big kudos for doing this right, being incredibly responsible and charged me much much less than what it could have been at the dealerships. Nice work guys, thank you.
Even if she did a tiny little bit, that's a lot of wear for barely over 40k. I would contend that, for a modern Honda, that it would take a lot of serious abuse to wear out a clutch at under 100k.
I am also not a fast and furious driver, I don't drive hard at all and I've never taken this car to the track. Oh well, at least it looks like I am not the only person that encountered this.
clutches are like brakes---they are expendable items, and as such it is extremely difficult to get satisfaction from a manufacturer on premature wear. Sometimes dealers will take "good will money" that they have at their disposal (dealers who have performed well in sales) and put that towards a 50-50 settlement on a new clutch.
But still I would be as discouraged as you over a 40K clutch failure. It's just so hard to "prove" what happened unless you can see broken parts in the clutch.
Was the flywheel "burned" at all? Any oil leakage? Any leakage from the clutch slave cylinder? Complaints of hard shifting in the past? Excessive wear on the throw out bearing collar? Damage to the flywheel pilot bushing? Any binding, signs of wear, bending, of the transmission input shaft? ---- all these might be tell-tale signs of why the clutch failed.
I have seen a little "buzz" an TSX clutch issues, but I never did see anyone getting a free clutch out of it.
My suspicion is that the clutch may not have been well-matched to the car, but it's very hard to get any tangible info.
I am age 55, drive normal and have not had a speeding ticket in 15-years. I've driven manual transmission cars since I was 16; I do not ride the clutch, I do not race or hot-rod, and I live in Miami where there are no hills. I do live in an urban area with a lot of traffic.
This is my 3rd Honda with a manual transmission and it blows my mind that a clutch could fail after 28k miles. Worse of all, my lease expires in exactly 60-days.
I appreciate the posts in this forum. I will see the service manager face to face this afternoon; you've given me some ammunition.
I recently had the third gear synchro go out on me and took it to the dealer. I've never had to replace a clutch in my life let alone have a transmission REBUILT, and this is my baby (not a scratch/dent on her, I keep this in mint condition), and definitely DO NOT race it.
I got a call from the dealer telling me my clutch was gone, and that they could replace it for $700 since the transmission was out. I fought it, called Acura Corporate, but they were of no help. The clutch was fine when I dropped the car off, but reading this thread scared me into saying yes. Anyway, dealer changed their story and told Corporate it was 25% worn, and that they only SUGGESTED I replace it (*AFTER* replacing it, of course), and that I was responsible for the charges. Long story short, I paid $400+ tax at the end of the day for a clutch replacement I don't even think I needed.
Here's the problem I'm having now though: the clutch pedal feels WAY off, it feels very light (no feedback), and the engagement point feels too close to the floor. I assume it needs to be adjusted (though the dealership said they need to "test drive" my car first, and I'm sure they'll say it's normal). Keep in mind I consider myself a pretty good driver (doesn't everybody?) and have NEVER had to replace a clutch in my life, so this is new to me. Is it normal to fall to the floor so easily after these repairs? Also, clutch engagement has always been 2"-3" off the floor on this car prior and on my other cars...when they inevitably say it's normal, I can tell them to think again and adjust it, right?
I sure hope those guys fix it properly for you!!
The shifter has even popped out of gear a few times (this is new to me), but maybe it's the rebuilt transmission breaking in...it shifted real clunky in the beginning but has progressively gotten better.
After reading around a bit, I'm thinking (hoping) there's just air in the system. Wish me luck!
I still consider my 06 tsx new even with the almost 100,000 problem free miles. I am very protective of where I park, wash it often and it is garage kept. I make sure the maintenance is done.
I initially took it in to the dealer and they replaced the slave cylinder (warranty repair) but that did not fix the problem. I just had the clutch, PP, T/O bearing, and Flywheel replaced for a whopping $1500. I went to pick it up yesterday, the clutch is extremely light and releases to high of the ground....this is not normal and they say it is..i do not agree, and they say there is no adjustments?
Secondly, I drove off the lot with it, took it out on the highway and it started making a turbine noise over 65mph...i took it right back and it is back in the shop....has anyone had these problems? The car was pretty much perfect before I took it in...now it feels like a completely different car. I am really disappointed with the service...any suggestions would be welcomed!
Within an hour of arriving they had diagnosed that the clutch had to be replaced...I assume they had to take it off and look at it within that time. For $1600 in labor you have to wonder how many hours it took them to put the new one on?
'04 TSX 6M 40k miles.
Started acting funny a couple days ago - today it started slipping badly when accelerating or climbing steep hills. Dealer (Piazza Acura in Concordeville, PA) will look at it Mon or Tues.
I'm right at 95,000 - and like nj2 - no negatives to date.
Any available feedback on V-6/4-cylinder clutch system differences appreciated.
best, ez....
Agree (Gen7 Accord in garage). Not quite 'abandon hope all ye that enter here (but close).
ez....
From what the service guy said, it's a lot of work, and they use 2 guys. Piazza Acura in Concordville, PA. They did give me a loaner for the 4 days the car was in the shop - had a winter storm which delayed getting parts for a couple of days.
The only addition was a 4-wheel alignment, saying it was necessary when the transmission is removed. Add on another $100 for that....
To say I am unhappy is an understatement.
I drive an '08 TSX which has this dead clutch issue at 50,000 miles. My commute is 25 minutes each way, mostly highway miles. Other than a big trip (4,000 miles), this is the commute this car sees daily. I have a 4-cylinder Jeep at 227,000 miles with stock clutch (but bad synchros).
I can not fathom having a clutch go at 50k on an Acura. Not to mention the rear brakes were replaced about 20k miles ago, which I thought was odd. I really believe the hydraulic clutch system is the problem, and owners are being footed the bill ($2100 in my case).
I chose this car new from the dealer for my company car and was considering buying it after the lease. Not any more...
I own a 06 6MT tsx, bought new 11/17/06. Have driven it 42 states and numerous trips from NC to NJ and back. Replaced the original michelin tires at 74,000 miles (they all measured 4/32 then) We now have almost 50,000 miles on the Yokahama tires (recently measured at 6/32) We still have the original brakes-measured 8's in front and 6's in rear and still have the original clutch with no problems with that. The car has almost 124,000 problem free miles. Love it.
The dealership treatment (Piazza Acura in West Chester, PA) was absolutely shabby, outside of their grudgingly giving me a loaner while repairs were made. When I showed up at 5 pm to pick up the TSX, there was absolutely no one available to answer any questions. They were more concerned that I wasn't going to put more than $2500 on a credit card and pay the rest in cash or check than whether or not I was happy with their service. Was I wrong in expecting to get my questions answered promptly and honestly? Having to take the car back a 2nd time to rebleed the clutch line didn't help matters.
Had to call a couple of times the next day to get any questions answered and the informed opinion of the service drone was that the problems were the fault of the driver. I've had manual transmission cars for 35 years, and this is the first premature failure of a clutch I've experienced. 40k on a modern car is ridiculous - my crappy Saturn's clutch was still going strong at 97k when I sold that.
Got a ridiculous "well, if you're new to using a manual transmission, you can really wear out the clutch..." excuse but no warranty coverage from Acura.
Given all my previous experience with Honda manual transmissions, there is definitely something wrong with the clutch system in the Acura. The TSX is the only one of my honda cars with a hydraulic clutch system rather than a mechanical clutch but I don't know if that's the underlying cause.
Basic fact is that it's obviously a manufacturer's problem if clutches are failing at 50K in normal use even if it's the customers who are footing the bill.