Clutch burned after 300 miles

[Yitzz]

So 3 months ago I traded in my 17 ex-t coupe for a 20 Si Sedan.
After 316 miles of light driving my clutch burned out. I know what you're thinking, but this is not my first manual. I've been driving manuals since my 1992 peugeot 106 (Google it).
I had the car towed into my local dealer and they determined that it was my responsibility for burning out the clutch..
Now mind you, this is in the middle of covid-19 and Honda declined to send out a specialist to look at the car. Rather, instead of paying the whole $2600, they're only charging me with $400 (this is also my 4th Honda in as many years, I leased a pilot and an odyssey as the fam wagon, so they where being courteous).
I know what you all are thinking, I'm an idiot that doesn't know how to drive a mani, but I promise I do, so please be easy on me. Even if I didn't drive 100% perfectly, it shouldn't die out after 300 miles! Driving instructors don't replace their clutches after 300 miles!
What else could this be?
What else should I look out for?
I have a feeling they're going to take me on a test drive when I pick up the car tomorrow, what should I pay attention to?
Anybody have similar issues?
Is there something else that would cause this issue?

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[EkSean]

Oh wow, that is very unfortunate. Unless they physically looked at the clutch, I’m not sure how they determined it was your fault. You should definitely fight them about covering it because it should not fail after 300mi of normal driving.

I’d be asking the dealership about who delivered the car or who did the PDI. Who ever that was might have beat the shit out of the car for the first couple miles.

I work at a Honda dealer and used to be a service advisor. Our rep would have gotten it covered either good will or warranty because that should not happen. Granted it was all normal driving done for the 300mi. I say get American Honda involved. No reason you should have to pay anything for that.

Wear items are just so difficult to get covered because...they wear by design haha but anyway, if anything you should pay for a diagnosis first, or agree to paying it. Have them diagnose why it failed and then they can say yes or no for covering it. Good luck man!

 

[Deleted User 1886347]

I have 10,900 km on my stock clutch. I had to relearn manual again since it had been 5 years since my last one. I’ve lost count how many times I mis-shifted, had poor timing, or just rode the clutch. I’ve learned a lot and dramatically improved since the beginning, though I’m not perfect still.
Mine shifts perfectly.

I’ve heard of people full on purposefully burning their clutches out and getting 10 times what you got, if not more.

Even if your manual driving wasn’t perfect, 300 miles on a clutch is not normal. There was something wrong with it, so maybe get that investigated. You shouldn’t have to pay anything out of pocket.

 

[MaxPower]

I agree with the other posters - there's no way a new clutch should burn out after only 300 miles. I've read a bunch of stories about failures on this forum, and I can't think of another instance quite like this. A total 6MT noob should get more mileage than that, even if he's riding the clutch constantly.

Out of curiosity: how did it fail? Was it slipping more and more over time? Did it fail suddenly/catastrophically?

 

[Deleted User 1886347]

I agree with the other posters - there's no way a new clutch should burn out after only 300 miles. I've read a bunch of stories about failures on this forum, and I can't think of another instance quite like this. A total 6MT noob should get more mileage than that, even if he's riding the clutch constantly.

Out of curiosity: how did it fail? Was it slipping more and more over time? Did it fail suddenly/catastrophically?

If it failed catastrophically, that should be all the more reason to point to a manufacture defect. It baffles my mind that Honda is actually blaming the OP for this, they should actually take the clutch out and figure out how it failed instead of pointing fingers at the OP before even replacing it. I get it’s a wear item and burnt clutches are typically from user error but this case is definitely an outlier.

He would of had to be seriously reckless with the car (redlining the car while riding the clutch constantly, which I don’t think anybody is that stupid). Even in that scenario, I seriously doubt it would burn out in that time.

 

[Cat Damon]

I have 10,900 km on my stock clutch. I had to relearn manual again since it had been 5 years since my last one. I’ve lost count how many times I mis-shifted, had poor timing, or just rode the clutch. I’ve learned a lot and dramatically improved since the beginning, though I’m not perfect still.
Mine shifts perfectly.

I'll go one farther than this and say my wife learned manual from literally zero knowledge on my 2017 Civic hatchback. She had some huge mistakes in the first year (drives perfectly now) but I just hit 60k on that car without a single issue. No way this is your fault.

 

[Acura_CSX_4eva]

Were you 'riding' the clutch by any chance without knowing? Some people don't know that doing this consistently by resting the foot on the clutch instead of the left foot rest will ruin it in no time. Another telltale sign is a burning smell. Believe it or not, there are folks who claim they know manual for years, but bad driving habits such as riding the clutch is something they still do =(

 

[wintercast]

There is no way you murdered that clutch in 300 miles. I am learning manual on my 2019 that had about 100 miles from the dealership, and i have put on another 500 or so (normally drive 90 a day, but covid has me working at home). In that time i have been learning on my car and i have made mistakes, mishift, bad timing etc and the car handles it like a champ and makes me still look good!

I would fight that - sure cost sharing is fine - but there is no way you killed a clutch in 300 miles.

 

[MaxPower]

If it failed catastrophically, that should be all the more reason to point to a manufacture defect.

Exactly, that's why I asked the question. Given the minimal mileage, I wouldn't be surprised if the clutch failed in a non-traditional way - i.e. something other than the typical progression from minor/infrequent slippage to severe/constant slippage.

Hopefully OP can fill in some missing details. I'm really curious as to what happened here.

 

[bbeem]

Should be warranty for sure. They were probably hoping you'd bite on their "generous" offer of 85% off. Hell a spec 2+ or 3+ and new CMC are under 1k$ and another maybe $500 to install vs $2600 at a stealership to install OEM pos. And if you have plans of tuning and bolt ons you'll want a better clutch anyway.

If you get them to replace it have them take pics for you, or better yet ask if you can have it or take pics yourself.

 

[Design]

This clutch has a tendency to exploit every single bad habit lol. Any pressure, however light, can lead to glazing very quickly. It's virtually impossible to burn through a clutch in 300 miles. Glazing however can feel like a worn clutch.

Regardless, be sure to request the parts back to rule out other concerns. GL.

 

[blitz]

Wow - this is a first time that I have heard of such a failure. This would appear to be a manufacturer’s defect, and not operator error.

Did the vehicle demonstrate any signs of improper operation prior to the noticeable failure? I can’t imagine the vehicle functioning properly with such a significant defect.

 

[Rustlinjimmies]

really hope OP updates us on what ended up happening because this is really not his fault. no clutch should burn out after 300 miles even abused clutches last longer.

 

[jtrader]

Is the car stock? Did you buy it new or are you the 2nd owner? Were you still in the break-in period?

 

[bugboy32337]

I wonder if they can download your ECU ... to see if you've been mis-treating the car.
I mean ... you're 300 miles short of the BREAK IN period.
I can't even imagine burning up a clutch, in 300 miles, keeping the revs below 4000.
Sounds to me, that the clutch engagement was not correctly adjusted.

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