Audi: New A3.. juddering clutch pedal

Ray,
Sounds to me like a warped pressure plate or malfunctioning/damaged clutch.
It might also be an oil leak onto the clutch plate - and the oil is burning
off after the clutch slips for a while.
It's still covered by warranty - what does the dealer say...."they're all
like that"?
BTW, I think by "bite" you are referring to "point of engagement"
Cheers!
Steve Sears
1987 Audi 5kTQ
1980 Audi 5k
1962 and '64 Auto Union DKW Junior deLuxes
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"eko" <net> wrote in message
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eko wrote: 

Warranty should cover that, it's not normal behaviour.

- Yak

"Steve Sears" <on.ca> wrote in message
news:HgRUb.16528$bellglobal.com... 
clutch. 
burning 

Thanks Steve, much appreciated. I have it booked in at the dealer for this
Monday, so I'll print out your reply and show it to them.. hope they can get
it sorted out. Just drove back from the city and each time I had to move
off from a stand still the thing would be juddering like crazy. I'll let
you know what the dealer says.

Yes, I think "point of engagement" would be what I was trying to say.

Thanks again.

...Ray
ekoSheren inc. awaits..
http://www.k-chan.net/TekBoy/




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"Michael Burman" <invalid> wrote in message
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insight 

Thanks Yak. I do believe any repair should be covered by the warranty here.
Have an appointment with the dealer on Monday, so will see how it goes.

Thanks again.

...Ray
ekoSheren inc. awaits..
http://www.k-chan.net/TekBoy/




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"Steve Sears" <on.ca> wrote in message
news:HgRUb.16528$bellglobal.com... 
clutch. 
burning 

Well, visited the dealer and had one of the guys take a quick look at it.
First he mentioned that I shouldn't have the clutch on the "point of
engagement" so much, as it'll wear down the clutch parts themselves. That's
true I guess, though I did point out that I only have the clutch in this
position when preparing to move off from a red light, for example, and for
no more than perhaps 10 seconds. Do you guys drive like this?

Maybe I'm just a terrible driver, but this is how I drove my Peugeot 206 for
5 years, and no broken clutch there.. or perhaps I was lucky?

Anyway, he continued to say that the clutch was absolutely fine and I had
nothing to worry about. So now I just leave her in neutral when at a stop,
then only engage first when it's time to move off. This way, I never even
get near the "point of engagement" as I'm applying power when moving anyway,
so I guess it "eliminates" the juddering issue.. :|

But is this guy missing the point? Or am I mistaken?

...Ray
ekoSheren inc. awaits..
http://www.k-chan.net/TekBoy/




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In message <4028d595$0.0.1>
"eko" <net> wrote:
 

No way! This will cause the clutch to overheat and wear out. The
clutch should only ever be fully engaged or fully disengaged other than
for the second, or so, that it takes to get the car from stationary, up
to a road speed that matches a low sutainable engine speed in your
lowest gear. Even on a hill start, it shouldn't be necessary to have
the clutch slipping for more than a second.
 

In my view, you have been driving incorrectly. Have you ever been
taught how to drive properly with manual gearbox?

--
Peter Bell (Note Spamtrap - To reply, replace 'invalid' with 'bellfamily')

"Peter Bell" <org.uk> wrote in message
news:earley.fourcom.com... 

Thanks for the advice Peter, I guess I've been driving badly in this sense
then. Last couple of trips, I've done exactly what you said and only
everything seems to be fine.

This isn't a forum to ask about driving techniques (basics?), so I'll
apologise to all now for my next question. In a traffic jam, would you
normally hit neutral every time the car needs to stop? I used to hold the
clutch on the "point of engagement" with no power and holding the brake
waiting for the car in front to move.
 

Yeah, my bad. It's embarrassing, but I'd rather be told now than have a
smoking clutch. I guess I got lucky with my previous car then.

Thanks!

...Ray
ekoSheren inc. awaits..
http://www.k-chan.net/TekBoy/




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X-no-archive: yes
"eko" <net> wrote in message news:0.0.1... 

Personally I prefer the term "biting point" to describe the moment when the
clutch kicks in. :-)

In my A3, you wouldn't be able to hold it at the biting point without power.
If you do, it will engage the anti-stall mechanism and apply a small amount
of power to prevent a stall.

When I was taught how to drive, I was taught that when you arrive at a red
light, you selected first gear and waited. While I dont do that now, I
usually arrive at a red light and select neutral and engage the handbrake if
necessary. However, if the lights are about to change I'll keep it in
first.

HTH