Clutch Dies In Bay Bridge Backup
08-08-2004, 05:13 AM
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Clutch Dies In Bay Bridge Backup
During Saturday's 16 mile backup, I had a sudden clutch hydraulic failure. In the distance of about a mile of the final stop-and-go driving, the clutch had to be pressed further and further down to operate.
When the car was in gear, it wouldn't come out of gear; when it was in neutral, it did not want to go back into gear. Finally, the clutch pedal went all the way to the floorboard and stayed there. I was able to manually pry the pedal up twice and this gave me just enough additional operation to get the car off the road. The fluid reservoir was found to be empty.
I'm having the car towed to a Honda dealer rather than merely adding fluid and possibly risking additional damage and getting into a warranty hassle. The car had been running fine until yesterday's incident and had a dealer engine oil and transmission fluid change last month.
Any speculation about what caused such a sudden failure? Any other clutch/transmission areas that should be checked for consequential damages while the car is on the rack?
When the car was in gear, it wouldn't come out of gear; when it was in neutral, it did not want to go back into gear. Finally, the clutch pedal went all the way to the floorboard and stayed there. I was able to manually pry the pedal up twice and this gave me just enough additional operation to get the car off the road. The fluid reservoir was found to be empty.
I'm having the car towed to a Honda dealer rather than merely adding fluid and possibly risking additional damage and getting into a warranty hassle. The car had been running fine until yesterday's incident and had a dealer engine oil and transmission fluid change last month.
Any speculation about what caused such a sudden failure? Any other clutch/transmission areas that should be checked for consequential damages while the car is on the rack?
08-08-2004, 12:52 PM
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That just shouldn't happen to a car less than one year old!!
Since you lost hydraulic fluid, I would want to know where it went. If your slave cylinder failed and the fluid ended up on your clutch plate I'd ask for a new clutch plate - I don't think dousing a clutch plate in hydraulic fluid would be a good thing for it's long term health. If the clutch plate is dry I can't think of anything else that might have been harmed. If the hydraulic fluid ended up on anything painted, it will (or at least hydraulic fluid used to) do a very good job at removing paint. Once again, find out where it went so that you can make sure they put it right - no reason to ask for it to rust out later on because of this!
Let us know what Honda says - I've also got an MY04 and am interested in what happened so I might be able to prevent it on mine.
Good luck!!
John
Since you lost hydraulic fluid, I would want to know where it went. If your slave cylinder failed and the fluid ended up on your clutch plate I'd ask for a new clutch plate - I don't think dousing a clutch plate in hydraulic fluid would be a good thing for it's long term health. If the clutch plate is dry I can't think of anything else that might have been harmed. If the hydraulic fluid ended up on anything painted, it will (or at least hydraulic fluid used to) do a very good job at removing paint. Once again, find out where it went so that you can make sure they put it right - no reason to ask for it to rust out later on because of this!
Let us know what Honda says - I've also got an MY04 and am interested in what happened so I might be able to prevent it on mine.
Good luck!!
John
08-10-2004, 10:45 AM
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Originally Posted by energy88,Aug 8 2004, 08:13 AM
During Saturday's 16 mile backup, I had a sudden clutch hydraulic failure. In the distance of about a mile of the final stop-and-go driving, the clutch had to be pressed further and further down to operate.
When the car was in gear, it wouldn't come out of gear; when it was in neutral, it did not want to go back into gear. Finally, the clutch pedal went all the way to the floorboard and stayed there. I was able to manually pry the pedal up twice and this gave me just enough additional operation to get the car off the road. The fluid reservoir was found to be empty.
I'm having the car towed to a Honda dealer rather than merely adding fluid and possibly risking additional damage and getting into a warranty hassle. The car had been running fine until yesterday's incident and had a dealer engine oil and transmission fluid change last month.
Any speculation about what caused such a sudden failure? Any other clutch/transmission areas that should be checked for consequential damages while the car is on the rack?
When the car was in gear, it wouldn't come out of gear; when it was in neutral, it did not want to go back into gear. Finally, the clutch pedal went all the way to the floorboard and stayed there. I was able to manually pry the pedal up twice and this gave me just enough additional operation to get the car off the road. The fluid reservoir was found to be empty.
I'm having the car towed to a Honda dealer rather than merely adding fluid and possibly risking additional damage and getting into a warranty hassle. The car had been running fine until yesterday's incident and had a dealer engine oil and transmission fluid change last month.
Any speculation about what caused such a sudden failure? Any other clutch/transmission areas that should be checked for consequential damages while the car is on the rack?
- Jeremy (jnn4v)
08-10-2004, 04:08 PM
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Just got the car towed into Annapolis Honda this morning (Tuesday). The Service Advisor seemed perplexed about this type failure.
Am heading to California Wednesday morning, so won't know anything until next week.
Am heading to California Wednesday morning, so won't know anything until next week.
08-11-2004, 06:48 AM
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Originally Posted by energy88,Aug 10 2004, 07:08 PM
Just got the car towed into Annapolis Honda this morning (Tuesday). The Service Advisor seemed perplexed about this type failure.
Am heading to California Wednesday morning, so won't know anything until next week.
Am heading to California Wednesday morning, so won't know anything until next week.
- Jeremy (jnn4v)
08-18-2004, 04:09 PM
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For all those patiently waiting, here is the diagnosis.
The Honda tech found that the clutch bleed screw was loose (less than even finger tight) and was apparently the source of the leak. He said this was the first time he had encountered this. I can only surmise that the car left the factory this way. Mine was a relatively early production model (#422) and maybe the assembly line was still getting its act together. I doubt that the bleeder screw could have been tampered with while parked due to its location.
Now that the screw has been tightened and fluid added, the car seems to shift better- the notchiness in 1-2-3 is a whole lot less and I've been able to hit R on the first attempt. The car also comes out of 6th easily now after cruising. I guess that air in the system during the slow leak contributed to the foregoing issues.
For better or for worse, the car now seems to have more clutch free play at the top (the first 1 inch of about 5 inches of total pedal travel). I don't know if this is normal or not.
I'm going to check the fluid reservoir everytime I check the engine oil to be certain that the bleed screw was the only leak.
The Honda tech found that the clutch bleed screw was loose (less than even finger tight) and was apparently the source of the leak. He said this was the first time he had encountered this. I can only surmise that the car left the factory this way. Mine was a relatively early production model (#422) and maybe the assembly line was still getting its act together. I doubt that the bleeder screw could have been tampered with while parked due to its location.
Now that the screw has been tightened and fluid added, the car seems to shift better- the notchiness in 1-2-3 is a whole lot less and I've been able to hit R on the first attempt. The car also comes out of 6th easily now after cruising. I guess that air in the system during the slow leak contributed to the foregoing issues.
For better or for worse, the car now seems to have more clutch free play at the top (the first 1 inch of about 5 inches of total pedal travel). I don't know if this is normal or not.
I'm going to check the fluid reservoir everytime I check the engine oil to be certain that the bleed screw was the only leak.
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08-18-2004, 04:19 PM
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Originally Posted by energy88,Aug 18 2004, 07:09 PM
For all those patiently waiting, here is the diagnosis.
The Honda tech found that the clutch bleed screw was loose (less than even finger tight) and was apparently the source of the leak. He said this was the first time he had encountered this. I can only surmise that the car left the factory this way. Mine was a relatively early production model (#422) and maybe the assembly line was still getting its act together. I doubt that the bleeder screw could have been tampered with while parked due to its location.
Now that the screw has been tightened and fluid added, the car seems to shift better- the notchiness in 1-2-3 is a whole lot less and I've been able to hit R on the first attempt. The car also comes out of 6th easily now after cruising. I guess that air in the system during the slow leak contributed to the foregoing issues.
For better or for worse, the car now seems to have more clutch free play at the top (the first 1 inch of about 5 inches of total pedal travel). I don't know if this is normal or not.
I'm going to check the fluid reservoir everytime I check the engine oil to be certain that the bleed screw was the only leak.
The Honda tech found that the clutch bleed screw was loose (less than even finger tight) and was apparently the source of the leak. He said this was the first time he had encountered this. I can only surmise that the car left the factory this way. Mine was a relatively early production model (#422) and maybe the assembly line was still getting its act together. I doubt that the bleeder screw could have been tampered with while parked due to its location.
Now that the screw has been tightened and fluid added, the car seems to shift better- the notchiness in 1-2-3 is a whole lot less and I've been able to hit R on the first attempt. The car also comes out of 6th easily now after cruising. I guess that air in the system during the slow leak contributed to the foregoing issues.
For better or for worse, the car now seems to have more clutch free play at the top (the first 1 inch of about 5 inches of total pedal travel). I don't know if this is normal or not.
I'm going to check the fluid reservoir everytime I check the engine oil to be certain that the bleed screw was the only leak.
John
08-22-2004, 08:01 AM
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Did you see if the leaked fluid caused any additional damage anywhere on the vehicle?? As someone else said, you should check and make sure that the corrosive fluid that leaked out did not do any additional damage.
08-22-2004, 05:01 PM
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"Did you see if the leaked fluid caused any additional damage anywhere on the vehicle?? As someone else said, you should check and make sure that the corrosive fluid that leaked out did not do any additional damage."
So far the reservoir level is holding steady which indicates that it was probably only the bleed screw that leaked. Although I haven't been able to get under the car yet to do a thorough inspection, a quick visual check of the rear bumper, tail pipe, muffler, etc, indicates no underside splash damage (I was only going about 10 mph during the failure, so blowing fluid was not likely a problem). The Honda tech indicated that the only clutch fluid traces found were around the bleed screw. Hopefully the slave cylinder has the proper metallurgy to avoid corrosion. The floorpan may be another story and only time will tell.
So far the reservoir level is holding steady which indicates that it was probably only the bleed screw that leaked. Although I haven't been able to get under the car yet to do a thorough inspection, a quick visual check of the rear bumper, tail pipe, muffler, etc, indicates no underside splash damage (I was only going about 10 mph during the failure, so blowing fluid was not likely a problem). The Honda tech indicated that the only clutch fluid traces found were around the bleed screw. Hopefully the slave cylinder has the proper metallurgy to avoid corrosion. The floorpan may be another story and only time will tell.