Clutch Slipping at 14k Miles

[Ryan94]

Title sums it up! Emira is in for its 2nd year service, and i'd put a note regarding issues with 1st/2nd gear (lock out adjustment didnt work) and another gearing issue - dash would register the wrong gear i.e. went from 5th to 4th, yet the dash displayed 1st gear, hit redline and then went up to 4th gear over the next second or two (to clarify i was 100% in 4th, and didnt move the gear while the dash adjsuted the gears shown) This has happened 4/5times!

Dealer is saying the clutch is very heavy and bite extrememly high, and that the data has been sent over to Lotus HQ for review. Any thoughts onto whats happening to it? Isnt tracked, and gets the odd spirited driving day.

Cheers,

 

[MiamiBlue]

Your symptoms are not of a slipping clutch. Is it slipping in gear in addition to the issues of it showing the incorrect gear and lockout issues?

Definitely sounds like a fault rather than a wear issue. Warranty should cover it. The car is designed to be driven hard and tracked. So even if you had (and many of us do) shouldn't cause this fault.

 

[geoffbland]

dash would register the wrong gear i.e. went from 5th to 4th, yet the dash displayed 1st gear, hit redline and then went up to 4th gear over the next second or two (to clarify i was 100% in 4th, and didnt move the gear while the dash adjsuted the gears shown) This has happened 4/5times!

I can see that there may be a fault with the sensors that detect what gear you are in - so incorrectly showing 1st gear when you had 4th selected. But then it is very weird that it then hit redline - if in 4th gear the revs should be low and should be sensed as such and shown on the dash as low. Unless there some weird software that some adjusts the display of revs for the gear selected - I would have though the rev count would come direct from the ECU? I would love to know what is causing these symptoms - it sounds very strange.
I agree with MiamaBlue - what you describe doesn't sound like anything to do with the clutch.

 

[Ryan94]

Your symptoms are not of a slipping clutch. Is it slipping in gear in addition to the issues of it showing the incorrect gear and lockout issues?

Definitely sounds like a fault rather than a wear issue. Warranty should cover it. The car is designed to be driven hard and tracked. So even if you had (and many of us do) shouldn't cause this fault.

I've not noticed it slipping, but i'd put a disclaimer in that im not experienced/knowledgable enough to know if it was or not

What i do know is that ive stalled the courtesy emira twice as the clutch/bite point was wildly different from what i was used too

I can see that there may be a fault with the sensors that detect what gear you are in - so incorrectly showing 1st gear when you had 4th selected. But then it is very weird that it then hit redline - if in 4th gear the revs should be low and should be sensed as such and shown on the dash as low. Unless there some weird software that some adjusts the display of revs for the gear selected - I would have though the rev count would come direct from the ECU? I would love to know what is causing these symptoms - it sounds very strange.
I agree with MiamaBlue - what you describe doesn't sound like anything to do with the clutch.

Maybe not, but the main dealer has definately flagged the clutch as being way too heavy, and the bite point extremely high

I reckon it incorrectly showing the gear is a seperate issue to the clutch, but the going off the feel from the 2025 Emira i have as a courtesy car, the clutch/throttle feel is vastly different when id assume they should be pretty similar

 

[geoffbland]

I reckon it incorrectly showing the gear is a seperate issue to the clutch, but the going off the feel from the 2025 Emira i have as a courtesy car, the clutch/throttle feel is vastly different when id assume they should be pretty similar

From the test drive V6, to a car I tried and to my car - yes, all very similar in my experience.

I've not noticed it slipping, but i'd put a disclaimer in that im not experienced/knowledgable enough to know if it was or not

I had my clutch go and start slipping a couple of times on my old Evo 7. You would probably notice it if the clutch really was going I would have thought - it's hard to miss.

It'll be interesting to find out what the dealer says is the problem here.

Also, which dealer do you have it in at?

 

[Kimmax]

there may be a fault with the sensors that detect what gear you are in

There is no sensor, just math. It calculates the gear by comparing speed and rpm.
However he says the rpm went to redline before showing the correct gear, so maybe bogus camshaft crankshaft sensor?

 

[Whitey]

To test for slipping clutch, drive the car in a high gear, ie 4th or above at fairly low revs, find an incline, and then press the throttle. The car should just accelerate normally, but if the clutch is slipping you will see and hear the revs rising, but the car won’t pick up any speed, or possibly accelerate much more slowly than it should.