The saga of the clutch and flywheel...

Have you ever been cruising down the highway and needed to downshift for a quick burst of acceleration say to change lanes or pass somebody, then out of nowhere you hear the engine rev up, yet the car does not seem to go anywhere, on top of that you start to smell something that appears to be burning. Well my friend you have just experienced clutch slip. My STi had a stock clutch and flywheel for the first 30K miles of its life. Around 29K I noticed the clutch slipping slightly, over the next few months it got worse and worse until I could not push the throttle passed 10-20% in 4th, 5th, and 6th gears. It was time for a new clutch. You ask yourself why is the clutch gone on only 30K miles? Well first I am a fairly aggressive driver and I engine brake excessively. 2nd, there was a recall on the stock clutch. I asked Subaru about the details of the recall but they would not tell me anything.

Around a month ago I dropped the car off at the Auburn, WA. Subaru dealership where I bought the car. I told them my clutch was slipping and I wanted them to verify that was in fact the case (I was also having oil burning issues, more on that in a later post). They claimed my clutch was fine. Since this was a dealership I believed them and went on my way. Over the next few weeks it became apparent that something was in fact wrong. I researched into the problem but all symptoms pointed to a failing clutch. I decided to try another dealership in Tacoma, again, I dropped the car off and told them exactly what I had told the dealership in Auburn. They said it sounded like the clutch and they would look at it. I dropped the car off the following week for a full two day visit (try being without your car for two full days, it's brutal). After the mechanic drove it for one minute he informed me that the clutch was in fact bad and because there was a recall I’d be getting a new clutch and flywheel free of charge. After waiting two days I finally received the call saying she was done and ready for pick up. Not two hours later I was down there picking her up. The new clutch grabs much more than the previous one. I am one happy camper (for now).