Clutch slipping in 4-5-6 gear any ideas?

[IronS4]

I was just driving aggressively and as soon as i hit forth gear it shop up to 7000 rpm without any acceleration, shifted up and did the same. I have 34,000 miles on my car.

[AudiNFS]

Could be a worn clutch, which means time for a new clutch.

[IronS4]

at 34,000 miles? that seems a little ridiculous. i mean i did it twice because i couldnt beleive what was happening. When i got out of the car it smelled like burnt clutch but damn i thought it would have taken alot longer. I havent even beat on it.

[IanVr6]

Last time I went autocrossing I slipped my clutch really bad in 1 and 2 gear trying to launch.

I'm not expecting it to last long. Oh well.

[AudiNFS]

Could be possible they put a weak clutch in this model line.

[CBRmatt600]

I had clutch slipping issues on my B7 A4, pretty early on in it's life as well. I thankfully haven't experienced anything other than pristine operation from the clutch in this S4, but I always know in the back of my head that Audi has had an issue with weak clutches in the past. I'm not sure how you drive but I've honed my skills a great deal since owning this car and have gotten to the point where I can perfectly rev match every down shift, and never have any harsh starts. There was a bit of a learning curve with this clutch as it can be a bit finicky when starting from a dead stop and shifting from 1st to 2nd. Even after coming from another Quattro car and driving a manual since I was 16, I still had some seriously hard and jerky shifts when I first started driving the S4. I have since adjusted and can drive it as smooth as butter now, but I definitely would not say that this manual is an easy one to drive. Every person I have witnessed driving a B8 S4 for the first time has jerked it around and had jarring shifts as well, even very seasoned drivers.

[audienthusiest]

could flywheel issues too.... make sure wen your shifting (assuming manual) that you are only on the clutch in and out of gear and not "hovering and covering" cuz it damages ur flywheel... on that note flywheels are more expensive then clutches and because (in b5s and 6s anywayz) the clutch adjusts hydraulically rather than by wire your transition will push ur burnt to sh*t clutch into the flywheel and burn the sh*t out of it...

i would have it checked out.... i ended up needing a new flywheel cuz i drove mine 5000 miles with a bad clutch and fried my flywheel.... jus my 2cents but wat do i know

[tribe]

What is strange is that it slips on 4-5-6? doesn't slip in the lower gears?

[essfour]

I had a similar issue earlier this month. wWhen you push the clutch in to change gears does it begin to feel stiff towards the bottom end of its throw? If you feel something like this it could be an issue with the throw-out bearing causing you the inability to fully disengage the clutch eachtime you shift, the slipping then, would be caused by overheating...

This happened to me 2 weeks ago, I have 30,112 miles on my car... The dealer replaced the throw out bearing, pressure plate, and clutch under warranty.. this completely erradicated the issue and it has been perfect ever since.

Definately have it checked out, good luck

[richib86]

I'd check for a leaking input shaft seal. I was dripping gear oil onto the flywheel causing a lot of slip. Id throw it up in the air. You'll see a little bit of gear oil accumulating at the bottom of the bell housing

[Stereodude]

What is strange is that it slips on 4-5-6? doesn't slip in the lower gears?

Not really. The highest gear is the most likely to slip because the transmission / drivetrain presents the most resistance / highest load against the engine's torque in 6th. This is due to the gearing. 1st gear is the easiest to turn because the gear ratios are the highest (in terms of multiplying the engines torque). 6th is the hardest because the gear ratios are the lowest. The reason why most people don't notice slippage in high gears is they're usually not driving WOT at peak torque in 6th gear.

[EXRS4]

What is strange is that it slips on 4-5-6? doesn't slip in the lower gears?

If it is slipping in the higher gears, my guess is its not the clutch plate but likely the throw-out bearing

[ENV²]

Porsche is known for clutches that typically last 30-40k miles.... wondering if we have the same deal now lol

Doesnt matter anyway. as soon as I need a clutch im getting upgraded.

Richi: is the new clutch doing its job?

[richib86]

yup the clutch is great, bites like theres no tomorrow, and besides some expected chatter its very easy for DD use

Porsche is known for clutches that typically last 30-40k miles.... wondering if we have the same deal now lol

Doesnt matter anyway. as soon as I need a clutch im getting upgraded.

Richi: is the new clutch doing its job?

[tribe]

Not really. The highest gear is the most likely to slip because the transmission / drivetrain presents the most resistance / highest load against the engine's torque in 6th. This is due to the gearing. 1st gear is the easiest to turn because the gear ratios are the highest (in terms of multiplying the engines torque). 6th is the hardest because the gear ratios are the lowest. The reason why most people don't notice slippage in high gears is they're usually not driving WOT at peak torque in 6th gear.

It makes sense. I drove manual all my life but was lucky (or too slow) to not slip any. I had a motorcycle that slipped from 1st though so that's why I was wondering

[Skidrowe]

In my WRX, I started noticing my clutch slipping in 4th and 5th gear when I would give it gas to go up a hill or accelerate on a freeway on ramp at about 70k miles. It turned out to have hot spots/glazing on the flywheel, but they also said my throw-out bearing was bad so that they could get the extended warranty to cover the labor and bearing. I still had to pay for a new clutch and flywheel. In the end, I'm not sure whether they were doing me a favor to save me on the cost or whether they were telling the truth and the throw-out bearing is what caused the issues.

My S4 clutch has a bit of chatter when releasing the clutch at the top of the pedal if I hover for a second while giving it a little gas. It's smooth though with a quick release. I have a little over 6k miles on the car.

-Skid

[evanstonjohn]

I hope not, my 2001 A6 with 140k miles still has the original clutch with no problems was hoping for this one to last that long, and I taught my 15 year old daughter to drive stick on that car too.

Porsche is known for clutches that typically last 30-40k miles.... wondering if we have the same deal now lol

Doesnt matter anyway. as soon as I need a clutch im getting upgraded.

Richi: is the new clutch doing its job?

[jdwk]

No it is definitely not normal for a clutch to go that early in its life on any car. In 16 years of driving manuals I've never had to replace a clutch and a few cars were well over 100k miles and some substantially modified. My father has 240k on his Acura CL and no plans on replacing the clutch. Could a new one offer more bite? Probably. And chirping the tires on upshifts is no longer a possibility, but it holds any gear just fine.

Rev matching makes a world of difference, and something every manual driver should strive to master. Also, double clutching will save your synchros.

For what its worth, I thought the 2011 S4 I test drove was one of the easiest manuals I've driven. Heel and toe setup was very comfortable, and the clutch engagement was very progressive and right in the middle of the pedal travel unlike most older Audis I've driven where only the upper half of the throw is useful. I didn't even have that awkward feeling you get when you drive a new car and get back into your old car. It is what pretty much sold me on the S4.

[Stereodude]

It makes sense. I drove manual all my life but was lucky (or too slow) to not slip any. I had a motorcycle that slipped from 1st though so that's why I was wondering

My last manual 2002 Maxima SE 6MT (RIP 11/30/2011 ) went its whole life on the original factory clutch ~150k miles. The clutch would still hold peak torque at WOT in 6th.

[handruin]

My last manual 2002 Maxima SE 6MT (RIP 11/30/2011 ) went its whole life on the original factory clutch ~150k miles. The clutch would still hold peak torque at WOT in 6th.

I'm not yet convinced that the 6th gear WOT test really works. Most cars are at a lower RPM (1800-2500) when in 5th or 6th gear where torque likely isn't as plentiful unless you're a diesel. In your Maxima, your peak torque is 246lb.ft @ 4400 RPM. Depending on the gearing ratios, I would guess you would have to be well into the 110-120MPH range or higher to get to that RPM range. My current TL-S doesn't see max torque until 5K RPMs (256@5000) and I'm somewhere around 2500 RPM @~80MPH. If I were to get to 5K RPM in 6th gear...I'm guessing it would probably be in the 130-140MPH range? That isn't really feasible to test.

[handruin]

For what its worth, I thought the 2011 S4 I test drove was one of the easiest manuals I've driven. Heel and toe setup was very comfortable, and the clutch engagement was very progressive and right in the middle of the pedal travel unlike most older Audis I've driven where only the upper half of the throw is useful. I didn't even have that awkward feeling you get when you drive a new car and get back into your old car. It is what pretty much sold me on the S4.

When I test drove the 2011 S4 6MT, I also felt the transmission and clutch were very nice. The one noticeable thing was the heavier weight of the clutch pedal in comparison to my current TL-S. When I got back into my car to drive home, my clutch pedal felt very light in comparison.

[Vogz]

I'm not yet convinced that the 6th gear WOT test really works. Most cars are at a lower RPM (1800-2500) when in 5th or 6th gear where torque likely isn't as plentiful unless you're a diesel. In your Maxima, your peak torque is 246lb.ft @ 4400 RPM. Depending on the gearing ratios, I would guess you would have to be well into the 110-120MPH range or higher to get to that RPM range. My current TL-S doesn't see max torque until 5K RPMs (256@5000) and I'm somewhere around 2500 RPM @~80MPH. If I were to get to 5K RPM in 6th gear...I'm guessing it would probably be in the 130-140MPH range? That isn't really feasible to test.

Torque output alone doesn't determine load on a clutch. For example a clutch would see lots more load from full throttle application in 6th gear @ 2000rpms in the S4 than it would from full throttle load in 1st gear @ torque peak.

When a clutch starts to wear out and slip it will always do so at high throttle settings in high gears before it does in lower gears.

[Stereodude]

I'm not yet convinced that the 6th gear WOT test really works. Most cars are at a lower RPM (1800-2500) when in 5th or 6th gear where torque likely isn't as plentiful unless you're a diesel. In your Maxima, your peak torque is 246lb.ft @ 4400 RPM. Depending on the gearing ratios, I would guess you would have to be well into the 110-120MPH range or higher to get to that RPM range.

Well, what Nissan claimed and what the dynos really showed didn't exactly Jive. Torque was pretty flat and full strength before 3k RPM up past 5k. 3k RPM in 6th is 90MPH, so it's testable on the freeway if you've got a little space.

[IronS4]

Thanks everyone for the input. I haven't been able to replicate the problem again but it does bang when I put it in 1st and let the clutch out half way. It's going to the dealer next week for the 35k service so they are gonna check it out.