Bandrew92

Okay so I have a 2013 s4 with 11300 miles on it. I never fully understood the concept of a clutch "slipping" , I've been driving manuals my whole life without issue and I've read many articles on clutches slipping but I still felt the need to post this for self assurance. So all in all my clutch seems to be working fine, the car is still very new. It shifts smoothly throughout all the gears and I understand the general mechanics of a clutch and whatnot but it seems that when I'm really getting on it and accelerating quickly ( and only when I'm really hammering it) and shifting at rather high RPMs when I go to let out the clutch, usually like 2-3rd gear and get back on the gas it seems like the gears haven't fully engaged, or it hasn't completely "grabbed" and then after a second or two its back to feeling fine, I'm not sure I'm understanding what's happening , maybe it's just because I haven't fully adjusted to this car yet since I've only owned it for about a week? And it's my first awd so something is different, I'm not sure but I really hope my clutch is t already starting to give out, I was talking to a buddy that bought a pre owned BMW and his clutch went out at 15k miles, if anyone does think this is a bad sign, what else are some bad signs that the clutch would be getting worse or going out?

ob_1jr

it sounds to me that you need to adjust some to it. It sounds like you are getting on it again before the clutch pedal is released. You will know when the clutch slips. You will see the RPMs go up and the car will not be going anywhere.

Now it isn't totally out there that the clutch could be going out. Since you have owned the car for only a week, someone else owned it before you and could have beat the car hard or may not have known how to drive a standard and burned up the clutch.

DrGP

I as well as others have had clutch issues. On my 2010 with 20k+ miles, on 2 occasions when shifting 1/2 WOT, starting from 5mph, the clutch just stayed on the floor when I lifted my foot. Engine revved, but car went nowhere. Smell of burning clutch material was evident. Car was very hard to shift smoothly for a while. I assume it took some time for the residual clutch material to burn off of the flywheel. After a week or so, all returned to normal. Your situation does seem a little different. Have you had your car from new? I subsequently leased a 2014 and was afraid to do the same launch with it. I now have a 2011 with 50K miles and definitely don't want to over stress the clutch assembly based on my previous experience.

Bandrew92

I think ob1_jr nailed it, I was actually suspecting that myself. Seeing as I have no other clutch issues I believe this May be the problem, the clutch is pretty sensitive all the way up to full release and I think I just need a little more adjusting to this baby. I'll follow up on this if there's any more abnormalities but let's hope it's just me accidentally riding it out too long as I get back on the gas

DrGP

I don't agree but hope I am wrong. I've been driving MT cars for over 48 yrs. I think I know how to shift by now. And all MT cars have their little idiosyncrasies that the owners need to adapt to. But after initially launching the car, there is not much adapting that one might have to do. Yes, its always possible to miss a shift or do not do proper footwork with the clutch. But this clutch assembly has been a issue for some with these cars.

TinS5

I believe this is an Audi issue in general. I've had this happen to me on my previous B8 S5 and on my current B8.5 S4. I agree with ob_1jr; I think the trick is to release the clutch pedal prior to getting back on the throttle. However, sometimes this still doesn't guarantee it won't slip 100% of the time.

With all of my previous cars, it wasn't ever an issue. It seems like these higher performance Audis are so much more sensitive to this.

I really hate it. To take it easier on my clutch, I've resorted to doing less hard straight-line acceleration runs and have taken the fun to the turns

DrGP

I've taken the same aproach. Very wary about shifting 1/2 WOT.

BokiNYC

Ah, I'm so relieved, been driving stick shifts for last 25 years and this is the first car I've been having issues shifting with - I'm so glad I'm not alone. I think I'll have to swap the stock set up with something with lightweight flywheel and stronger pressure plate/disk to see if the issue gets resolved or at least becomes less of an hassle. Anybody from here done this and can comment on the improved shifting?

DrGP

Check on AZ

strat10

One thing that I learned on driving this car hard. Make sure that the clutch grabs completely before flooring it. Do not get on it while the clutch is engaging. It just takes a bit of an adjustment in the way you drive.