Can this be right? Silly short C1 clutch life

[andmcit]

My sister's hubby has asked me for advice as I'm the resident sad petrolhead!

Basically his ma has a near new (as makes no difference) Citroen C1 which she bought
at very low miles (about 6k). When she bought it apparently it had already been fitted
with a replacement clutch!! Now showing 36k the clutch pedal has got heavy to the
point she's finding driving uncomfortable and has been told by the local Citroen dealer
that it needs ANOTHER clutch fitting - something to the tune of £1000!

This all sounds bizarre for someone that's used to clutches lasting anywhere from 80k
miles to 130-140k!! It seems the clutch/gearbox is conventional and not the flappy
paddle variety. I recall Chris Light on the old forum mentioning hideous clutch lifespan
on the C2 but had it down as an isolated case. Are the new variety of Citroen clutches
made with non harmful to the world congealed sawdust!!?

Andrew

[jonathan_dyane]

I have heard it said that the C1 clutch is very short-lived. God know's what they make them out of; last week as I was dropping a fresh engine into my BX, a neighbour wandered along and told me he'd just been helping a friend reline the clutch on an ancient sports, and apparently the clutch was (literally) constructed from wine bottle corks. I commented that it sounded like clutch relining must be a fairly frequent occurrence with this system, and he replied that the guy trialed the vehicle, and had had it for some years, and he'd done 60 000 miles since the last reline!

[andmcit]

This sounds crazy - the car is designed for life in a City environment, yet has a clutch that's made from recycled
yoghurt pot foil tops? It sounds very much like the goods are defective and not fit for purpose even if the failure is
to a so called service item.

So this is progress is it - we've got superglue that can't stick in case our fingers get stuck together or someone's
face get stuck to the back of a bus, with brakes and clutches lined with a material that lasts shorter time than
the sunny spells between the current conveyor of "summer showers"!

Andrew

[jonathan_dyane]

Has to be a design fault, the Japanese usually do better...

[onthecut]

Assuming the metal bits of the clutch disc are conventional, I'd have it relined by a specialist with a lining of my choice. Mind -- which bits are we actually talking about --- a worn lining wouldn't necessarily make the pedal go heavy ?

Mike.

[ThwartedEfforts]

Clutch in wifey's C1 juddered and felt short-lived from brand new.

[citroenxm]

C1 petrols are NO WHERE NEAR anything mechanically French related - Only the Diesel ones!

Its pure Toyota, so prehaps a stint on toyota sites might see if their version suffers the same!

Paul

[Peter.N.]

Hi Paul

If you look on 'Honest John's' forum you will find that most modern cars have a short clutch life, certainly compared to XMs where 200-300k seems to be the norm for 2.1s anyway. DMF's can fail at anything from 30-60k and often do. I don't know how they get away with it.

Like your website

Peter

[demag]

I think this is fairly normal Andrew. But I think the stealers usually fit new DMF's as well, as let's face it they're a load of kak as well aren't they! Multipla's are the same. The forum is full of clutch woes! Mine is very low on the pedal. It's got full FSH 88k but has towed. I think I will be changing it next year. Some of the lads have bought fast road clutches from CG Motorsport which are said to be excellent. I see they also do them for Xm's.

[andmcit]

So a new clutch required on a nearly new car is now acceptable these days!?
I'm not buying it and in truth would never literally either! I don't know the model
or age of this C2 but guess from yearly average that it's around 2 years old and
certainly I've only known specifically about it in the past 6 months and understand
it's well loved. Surely to God there's an accepted/expected mileage for a clutch way
past 30odd k miles; supercars exempted!?

What I would say about a 200k mile 10-15+ year old car on an original clutch is the
renewal job could very likely be a right git as most things will have been fusing itself
together having been untouched for all that time! Maybe the new stuff is designed to
last shorter lengths of time with clutches as they're being so damned clever with DSG
and flappy paddles etc?

Andrew