Clutch issues

[OldSchoolCamaro]

Mine has been smelling of burning on numeous occasions and has stuck half way up at least once that I know of. I took one of the shop guys for a ride today, since they said they couldn't duplicate the issue and suspected I was driving too aggressive. I told them it started smelling bad when i backed it out of the drive this morning and when I pulled into their service lanes (very small incline).

The guy just seemed mad before he even got in the car. I pulled out of their shop and rev'd it up to about 2500 rpms and dropped the clutch. The tires squealed a little bit. Instantly clutch burning fumes filled the cabin and I left off the accelerator and just eased the car around the lot. The guy from the dealership basically told me that I was driving too aggressive and the car wasn't meant to be driven that way. Any time I was aggressive in driving, I should expect the car to act/smell that way.

So, if 2500 rpms is aggressive driving, I wonder what this guy would tell someone who has taken their car to the track? Is it just me or do dealers automatically assume we can't drive a stick? This is supposed to be a high performance car, but they are telling me that GM does not expect us to drive it no harder than a 90 year old lady would if she was on her way to Sunday church.

So what if I had a Z06 or ZR1? Am I able to drive them aggressive at all or does that also void their warranty too?

My salesperson was supposed to talk to them again about my issue and seems to agree with me as he has had vettes for 30+ years. I am trying to stay calm, but spending $40K + upgrades, just makes me a bit sick to think I might have a car that compared to a mustang, is a wussy car.

[jnm2003]

I flush my reservoir with GMs Super dot 4 brake fluid about once a week because i do aggressive driving (using the rangeracceleration method). I will do this until i get a separate reservoir for my clutch fluid. Ever since i started doing the flushing i have helped my burning clutch problem/ clutch pedal sticking to floor/and helped with smoother shifting. I dont feel like having to fight with the dealers until I know that all the dealers know that we have a problem with our clutches. I dont want my car up there with a bunch of idiots tearing it apart trying to figure out we have a bad slave cylinder issue, or the stock camaro clutches suck!, or whatever the problem ends up being! All i know is flushing my fluid has helped tremendously with my clutch problems!!!!! Just incase anyone is interested!

[2SSmeCamaro]

only clutch issue I have is the way it sounds...gees, its so loud compared to other cars i have driven. Sounds scratchy,I can hear a pop every time I engage it, and no sh*t I can hear the gears moving around.......maybe thats just how it was built.

[jnm2003]

Originally Posted by 2SSmeCamaro

only clutch issue I have is the way it sounds...gees, its so loud compared to other cars i have driven. Sounds scratchy,I can hear a pop every time I engage it, and no sh*t I can hear the gears moving around.......maybe thats just how it was built.

change your tranny fluid to mobil 1 synthetic ATF fluid! It helped tremendously with my tranny noise!

[O2BQIK]

Originally Posted by OldSchoolCamaro

Mine has been smelling of burning on numeous occasions and has stuck half way up at least once that I know of. I took one of the shop guys for a ride today, since they said they couldn't duplicate the issue and suspected I was driving too aggressive. I told them it started smelling bad when i backed it out of the drive this morning and when I pulled into their service lanes (very small incline).

The guy just seemed mad before he even got in the car. I pulled out of their shop and rev'd it up to about 2500 rpms and dropped the clutch. The tires squealed a little bit. Instantly clutch burning fumes filled the cabin and I left off the accelerator and just eased the car around the lot. The guy from the dealership basically told me that I was driving too aggressive and the car wasn't meant to be driven that way. Any time I was aggressive in driving, I should expect the car to act/smell that way.

So, if 2500 rpms is aggressive driving, I wonder what this guy would tell someone who has taken their car to the track? Is it just me or do dealers automatically assume we can't drive a stick? This is supposed to be a high performance car, but they are telling me that GM does not expect us to drive it no harder than a 90 year old lady would if she was on her way to Sunday church.

So what if I had a Z06 or ZR1? Am I able to drive them aggressive at all or does that also void their warranty too?

My salesperson was supposed to talk to them again about my issue and seems to agree with me as he has had vettes for 30+ years. I am trying to stay calm, but spending $40K + upgrades, just makes me a bit sick to think I might have a car that compared to a mustang, is a wussy car.

Man. Our stories couldn't be more similar. Don't give up...take it to another dealer if you have to. And please call GM to let them know you are having this issue (the dealership sure won't)! They will continue to blame it on the owner's driving ability until enough of us complain about it. 1-800-222-1020.

[Michael_Js]

Wow, changing the fluid that often to avoid the issue is extreme! My Stillen appt got moved to 4/14, so I'll be bringing mine to the dealer - for a few days - on the 15th. My service guy already said they'd take a look at it.

[OldSchoolCamaro]

My dealer called back and after speaking with regional GM rep, they are going to swap my clutch out as a courtesy since I am still in the first 12 months and they are giving me the benefit of the doubt. Clutch arrived, but still waiting on some other part that is on national back order.

Hopefully they will be done by the time I leave for C5fest.

[AWS-GTAW]

550 miles now burning smell is getting much better, still in the breakin procedure so i driving like a pusssy.

[jnm2003]

Originally Posted by AWS-GTAW

550 miles now burning smell is getting much better, still in the breakin procedure so i driving like a pusssy.

Change the oil and drive that car like it's meant to be and how u would want it to run in the future! After 200 miles I drive it like I wanted bc that's what I paid for! My truck has 140000 miles don't smoke,no problems, I did the sane thing with it!
I took my car to the track less than 700 miles and ran a 12.82 at 110mph with only borla mufflers and lowered rear tire pressure, stock oil changed! other than that stock! Grow some b*llz back where that pu**y grew (jus messin so no offense) and teach that car at an early age how u want it to act. Like when u get a new gf u show her how u like it at the beginning!

[O2BQIK]

Originally Posted by OldSchoolCamaro

My dealer called back and after speaking with regional GM rep, they are going to swap my clutch out as a courtesy since I am still in the first 12 months and they are giving me the benefit of the doubt. Clutch arrived, but still waiting on some other part that is on national back order.

Hopefully they will be done by the time I leave for C5fest.

They replaced mine too...no change in my case. I'll be interested to see whether it helps yours or not.

[crazyd]

I am getting the same thing on my clutch i will report it monday to dealer it has happened a few times just under dead stop launch clutch pedal stuck to floor and burnt clutch let off throttle cluch slowly comes back up all under launch not normal driving. SO high RPM's/ I can do it when first 5 min of driving still will do it.. SO fluid getting to hot not sure this is case at least on mine and the guy that started this post

[Moorepheus]

Well guess what? My baby has 1300 miles on her and for the first time the clutch stuck half way back up shifting from 1st to 2nd. The car was cold (42 degrees out last night) and I was not pushing it. I also did not notice any burning clutch smell befor hand. It has not done it the rest of the day, I have been driving her all around town.

[2Fast4Mu]

So I'm very new to this thread, but I did read through it all. I too have been having similar issues. I'm right at 10,000 miles and I'm still smelling my clutch from time to time. Likewise, my clutch is sticking every now and then and sometimes it slips.

Awhile back I found this link either on this forum or somewhere else (sorry, don't remember)

http://www.rangeracceleration.com/Clutch_Care.html


I admit that I didn't really know to check my clutch fluid or what to do about it. After reading the article and watching the video, I checked my fluid and it's pretty dark. I'm debating right now whether to change the fluid myself or just to take it back to the dealership, tell them about it, and see what they have to say. Fortunately, my dealership has always been pretty nice to me -- so I may have better luck than some here.

Any of the more knowledable people here want to give me some advice on what to tell the dealership (sorry, I'm more of a motorcycle and computer guy than a car mechanic guy lol)?

Dan

[crazyd]

Remember most of the clutch sticking problems happens during launch when you just start to roll then pop the clutch it will get stuck. take it up to about 4-5 and let it up slow just to you start to roll then launch it