Clutch Pedal has gone harder to press

[barrypatrick]

I have a rover 75 cdti Club SE 2004 model which i have owned for nearly 2 years. I am delighted with the car in every respect but over the past few months the clutch has become stiff/harder to press. There is no slipping and no problem selecting gears, all seems fine except that after driving around towns etc the bottom of my foot aches. In fact I now tend to wear heavy shoes with a thick sole just to counteract this. I recently mentioned the problem to my local Rover dealer who does my (expensive) servicing and he said that to find out the cause of the problem the clutch would need stripping down which is a major job and on average!! the cost would be about £800 and maybe even 4 figures! When i bought the car the deal included a 2year Gold RAC warranty as Rover had just gone belly up and this is still valid until June this year. However,my local dealer suspects this would not cover the cost of the repairs. Quite honestly I dont know whether to just live with the problem, assuming it doesnt get worse or is it likely to fail in some way? or do I go ahead with the repairs and test the warranty when the bad part/s are identified. Has anyone else had the same problem, any input would be appreciated. I will of course get another quote and finally does anyone know of a good Rover repairer in my local area Liverpool/Cheshire

[Keith]

The costs are primarily time related so shop around, you did not mention mileage but from your description I think you should PM Jamie (Biker in a suit) as he has a theory about the symptoms you describe and is looking for a guinea pig

[Kandyman]

Hi There barrypatrick

Welcome to the forums, sorry to here about your problem, I drive a auto myself but i do hear a few of the manual drivers have the stiff pedal syndrome.

Lets us know how you get on withy the fault finding.

[steveseeney]

I could have written this post myself, a week ago I bought a 54plate cdti tourer with 30k miles. The car is everything I could wish for except the clutch, on the test drive I thought it was a bit heavy (Ialso test drove another with 28k which was worse) but now having used it for the rush hour commute for a few days my left foot is really aching and getting through the gears is a real chore. gear change is fine and clutch is smooth and bites mid pedal just very heavy and slightly creaky. I have searched the forums but not come up with a definate solution other than replace the clutch inc slave and master. My warranty will not cover wear components such as a clutch unless it has a mechanical failure and I really don't want to pay for a new clutch on a car of this mileage.

[barrypatrick]

I have a rover 75 cdti Club SE 2004 model which i have owned for nearly 2 years. I am delighted with the car in every respect but over the past few months the clutch has become stiff/harder to press. There is no slipping and no problem selecting gears, all seems fine except that after driving around towns etc the bottom of my foot aches. In fact I now tend to wear heavy shoes with a thick sole just to counteract this. I recently mentioned the problem to my local Rover dealer who does my (expensive) servicing and he said that to find out the cause of the problem the clutch would need stripping down which is a major job and on average!! the cost would be about £800 and maybe even 4 figures! When i bought the car the deal included a 2year Gold RAC warranty as Rover had just gone belly up and this is still valid until June this year. However,my local dealer suspects this would not cover the cost of the repairs. Quite honestly I dont know whether to just live with the problem, assuming it doesnt get worse or is it likely to fail in some way? or do I go ahead with the repairs and test the warranty when the bad part/s are identified. Has anyone else had the same problem, any input would be appreciated. I will of course get another quote and finally does anyone know of a good Rover repairer in my local area Liverpool/Cheshire I forgot to mention my mileage is 36k and thanks guys for your responses. My clutch also creaks as per steveseeneys, looks like steve and I are in the same boat. Unless it gets any worse I will probably just put up with it and invest in some heavy boots.!!

[Rich]

My clutch pedal is equally as heavy, so much so that you get cramp sitting in traffic some times.

The calf muscle on my left leg is three times the size of my right leg...

I've had the car two and a half years now, REALLY still annoys me :(

[martin1973]

Had my 04 since 11k now has 55k and clutch has always been heavy, sometimes (more recently) gear change can be a bit stiff but hasnt really got any worse over the last couple of years. Ment to be big job and big bucks if and when the clutch does go :(

Someone on the other forum got a quote of £800 and £550 from Mr Clutch think that was for a V6, wouldnt pay main dealer labour prices (you could always get oem clutch if really that bothered and get an independant garage to do the work, that would save a few £££) other option is look at someone like www.warrantywise.co.uk and maybe take out a second warranty which covers the clutch, again only likely to pay out once its failed altogether, but would save money in the long run, and cover for other items.

[martin1973]

rough idea of cost of premium cover
http://www.warrantywise.co.uk/?p=premiumCover

6mth £216
12mth £282
24mth £516

wear and tear £56.40 extra
abs £9 extra
air con £9 extra

Sat in a traffic jam on the M6 naked through no fault of your own and a big hairy trucker sat in the other lane blowing you kisses.... priceless

[Mike]

Biker in a Suit is the guy to speak to

hth

Mike