I recently took MY06 STi to the local dealership when my clutch pedal began to squeak. They told me my pressure plate needed to be replaced and they installed a brand new clutch as well.

4 or 5 days after picking up the car my clutch smelled like it was burning horribly. I let the car rest for about 4 hours then went for a drive and all was well. The next day when accelerating onto the freeway my clutch began to slip. I did a little test drive and it would consistently occur during quick acceleration around 4000 RPM - the clutch would slip a bit then catch again. The harder I acceled the more the clutch would chatter and buck.

I took the car back to the dealership and went on a drive with the technician that completed the previous repair. He said that it was common for all Impreza's (including WRX and RS) to have this issue when the pressure plate and clutch are replaced in a MT, but the original flywheel is left. They quickly agreed to replace the pressure plate and clutch again, along with the flywheel.

Is this normal?
Does this sound like something that is possible or are they just throwing parts at me because the repair was done poorly the first time?

Any input would be appreciated - it sounded a little odd to me but I don't know much about the pressure plate and how it interacts with the flywheel.

 

Check the rear axles! This is common. Sux they changed your clutch instead

Any time you change a clutch you get a new flywheel or resurface it. Did they even resurface it, sounds like they didn't.

 

I'm pretty sure they didn't even resurface the flywheel the first time - but now i get a new one so oh well.

What would cause the rear axles to slip like that?

 

Sometimes the rear axel or axles come out of the rear diff just slightly, but it makes it "slip" like a clutch would. I would ask to see you old PP and clutch. Ask if the resurfaced the flywheel, if they didn't they kind of owe you.

 

thanks for all the help...

When I got my car back they said the rear axle seals broke when they dropped the tranny (ya right) so they replaced them along with the clutch, cover, and flywheel - all brand new components.

The flywheel was never resurfaced or replaced the first time, the tech told me that was standard SOA procedure. Even though it is common to have issues they dont replace any other parts unless it continues to have issues after the first repair.

 

Glad it got fixed. Subaru never resurfaces flywheels. They only replace them when needed. Sounds like that was your problem to me.

 

they probably took your car for some fun and blew out the brand new clutch that they forgot to break in.