It is at all abnormal for a 2017 WRX clutch to be affected by the cold when the car is this young? I bought it in June of 2016 and it has nearly 22,000 miles on it. The clutch is being sluggish in this cold weather and is noticeably slow in returning, but it engages/disengages normally. I am of the understanding clutch fluids absorb water like brake fluid and that can freeze/gel in the lines and result in a sluggish clutch pedal. Should I request a fluid flush at the dealer under warranty? Edit: I should add the pedal was sluggish even after the car was at normal operating temp(~190). It was slightly better than what I started the engine this morning, but it never fully returned to normal during the 40 minute trip.
I would say something is amiss... I have 3 5spd subarus and no problems with cold and clutch operating normal. When the trans fluid is cold shifting gears takes more effort until it warms up
So this is somewhat normal? This is my first Subaru with a manual gearbox, but not the first time I've driven one in the deep cold. I've lived in MN all my life and feel like we've had colder winters before and none of the cars with clutch pedals I've driven in this kind of cold ever exhibited symptoms with the clutch pedal itself. Sure, the shifter felt heavy and thick feeling trying to shift, but the pedal always came up as normal. I went back to the garage to check on the pedal and now it returns with the same usual speed as before. I suppose the chill air moving through in the engine bay may have had something to do with it? If it comes up again, I'm going to take the car back to Walser.
I've had 4 manual Subarus. The only one that exhibited that sort of behavior was my 1999 RS when the slave cylinder was failing.
Yep, gonna take it in on Thursday. In the garage, the clutch pedal doesn't stick. Drove about 20 minutes down to Rosedale to pick up my wife and when I pushed in the clutch to get off 35w, it definitely was slow to return. Just hope they won't tell me it is normal cold weather behavior.
i have a 2017 wrx daily driven, this is it's second winter and my clutch does not do this. take it in, better safe than sorry.
Sounds like possibly some water in your fluid could be causing issues. Let us know what they find since its under warranty.
I understand the 2015+ WRXs have a shared brake/clutch fluid reservoir, so would it stand to reason that if clutch fluid is contaminated, so would be the brake lines? My brakes work just fine. Then again, brakes do heat up more than the clutch so any water there might not be as affected by cold temps.
Correct. For instance on my 02 wrx when I had not changed fluid for awhile and had some water in it. Brakes were very sketchy when it was cold cold out until actuating them a few times then they would be fine till it sat again. Once I replaced fluid this issue went away. That does not mean that is for sure your issue but something to possibly mention for them to check out when its at the dealer.
Thanks. Is it unusual for a 1.5 year old car to have contaminated fluid so soon? I don't track the car nor do I drive it hard. Everything is stock, save for a few cosmetic mods. 90% highway driving which includes sitting in traffic. I understand brake fluid is naturally hygroscopic and will get water in it over time, but would that suggest there may be a compromised seal somewhere?
Old school trick, if you have an old flood light you can stick under the engine, tranny, on the ground at night. It adds enough heat to keep things smooth. I do not have the luxury of a heated garage so I do this from time to time when it gets below zero temps. You'd be surprised on how much it heats up the engine and keep your fluids smooth.
Well, the trip to Walser was wasted time. They found nothing wrong and could not replicate the problem, having driven it on the freeway for a few miles. It just wasn't cold enough for the pedal to act up. One thing that did make me wonder was the service tech I talked to stated the clutch and brakes fluid reserviors were separate, despite what I had read online. The service manager who drives a STI drove my car and stated himself that it isn't abnormal for a car to drive differently in the cold and his car exhibits something to the same effect on very cold days. I don't know what to make of it.
The brake fluid reservoir is vented to atmosphere, thus brake fluid picks up water vapor from the air over time. Have you looked in the owner's manual to see if it shows a separate clutch fluid reservoir? If it is separate I assume it would show it as a fluid check location along with the oil, trans, diffs, brake, etc. Every owner's manual I have ever looked at will show these locations as check/fill locations for the user. I wonder if the car would have exhibited the symptoms if you could have left it overnight to cold soak before the tech drove it in the morning.
I actually tried the cold soak test myself by leaving it out on my driveway overnight on one of the colder nights we had. Clutch pedal did feel a little stiffer going in and out, but it wasn't till I took it down to work that the pedal exhibited issues of a sluggish return. I think the service tech thought I was nuts when I told him the lengths of which I went to in my attempt to diagnose the issue. Looking in the manual, it clearly shows and states the clutch and brake share the same reservior. It was the same reservoir I saw myself before taking it in and the service manager himself said the two are separate. Maybe there is an internal partition, but the manual states both brake and clutch use the same fluid and fill from the same cap. That would make me think the two are linked and share from the same reservoir, going by my logic. I may go for a 2nd opinion. Since this is something that I believe should fall under warranty work, which dealership do you folks recommend? I live in Fridley, but really don't care where I go so long as service is good and the folks are trustworthy.
Service writers have not necessarily been techs in a past life and there have been more than a few times I have been given a load of bull crap from one. I think most are awarded their position based on people skills (both interacting with the customer and the techs) rather than their mechanical/technical proficiency. Might want to do a little more internet sleuthing or spend a little money getting an opinion from a good transmission shop.
Thanks. Yes, I may very well take it to JMA since they are in my area. I may wait a couple weeks till my wife's broken toe heals in case I need to leave my car there. Been having to be the sole driver for the past 2 weeks since she broke her toe on her right foot and can't drive.
Update. I was contacted by the service manager and they will do a one-time goodwill complimentary clutch fluid service, authorized by SoA. My question with this is, since the clutch and brake have a shared reservoir, would this be a wasted service to just flush the clutch? Should both brake and clutch fluids be flushed at the same time?
Did the issue get better with today's warmer temps? And yes, I would expect if it is a shared reservoir that the whole system, clutch and brakes all have to be bled to get rid of all of the old fluid. Maybe that is what it involves on this car and they just don't explain it thoroughly when referencing the service being performed. I don't think it would be too much to ask to speak to the tech doing the work for a few minutes to get clarification on this. In my mind I would feel better with that than going by what the service writer "thinks" is going to be done.
Yes, no problems with today's warmer temps. Pedal function was completely normal. I guess I'll see what they plan to do and discuss it with them when I take the car back. Apparently there is a recommended brake/clutch flush at 30k miles. Unless we get cold again this winter, I am pretty sure I'll hit the 30k mark by this time next year and can see if their complimentary clutch service worked.
Figured I'd put an end to this story. I had Walser do the clutch service and after talking with them about it, they agreed the brakes and clutch are sharing a reservior and any water contamination in one would likely affect the other, and only flushing one side won't get rid of the issue completely. But they said SoA only authorized the clutch service, so that was the best I was going to get. I had it done yesterday and today, the pedal seemed to be normal with the sub-zero temps, leading me to think perhaps it was water in the fluid. Now that has me wondering about the brakes. As a side note, the techs did screw up replacing the intercooler and I ended up with a boost leak. Got that fixed today. Moral of the story, I don't trust dealerships to do a job to the fullest especially if it is under warranty. Might as well go to an independent shop like JMA and pay those guys for their expertise. Gonna take my car to them later to check for boost leaks and an estimate for having a j-pipe and tune done.
Based on the forecast for Monday and Tuesday you'll have opportunity to check out if this solved the issue. Last time I had brake fluid flushed at the Ford dealer, the reservoir cap was off and sitting on the cowl under the hood. This @h!t happens everywhere, and you're best off doing what you can yourself or at least examining the work you pay someone else to do.
One would think from a liability standpoint. A shared system reservoir requiring a flush authorized by SOA would require a complete fluid replacement on all parts connected to the system. 15 min of time to crack 4 bleeders... What a jip! Stealership!
I figured dealerships still got paid doing warranty work and that cash came from SoA. I'm sure it's all the same across the brands - when under warranty, do as little as possible to get the car past the coverage period, then actually try to fix the issue at full profit. I was actually pretty close to buying a Golf R, but then an acquaintance who worked on VW cars talked me out of it with plenty of horror stories.
There is most likely a new car purchase in my somewhat near future, and a Golf R is (was?) on my short list.
Despite the reliability issues of VW, the Golf R was very nice and felt much more upscale than the WRX. But the guy who talked me out of it said VW has a way of making cheap feel like quality. I had contemplated getting on the list for a Focus RS, but with the head gasket issues they've been having, I'm glad I didn't go there. I do really like a hatchback and was pretty bummed they dropped that body style in the 2015+ WRX line.
I do simple things like oil changes and brake pad replacements, but anything more advanced and I lack the tools and know-how for it. That and this should be a warranty fix so let them deal with it. I am also a wimp and hate working on my car in the cold.
I have read nothing but the highest of praise for the Golf lineup in virtually all forms of automotive media.
I don't think you have to sit on the door sill with the door open so you can see when you are backing up.
Bug, Jetta, Rabbit, Scirocco....I had em in the late 80's early 90's. Think the early 5mt is made of glass? " Farfegnugen" my A$$... never again
My dad was a Volkswagen "collector" when I was little. At one point there was one of each listed (minus Jetta) in the driveway at the same time, plus a pair of buses, a squareback, and a Karmann Ghia.
