Intermittent 1st Gear Shudder

[Matt-78]

Hey guys and girls! I bought a 2014 FiST back in June and I have been loving it. I bought it with 66k miles. It was very clean, but you never really know how it was driven by the prior owner.

I'm experiencing some intermittent 1st gear shudder right near the point of final engagement. Only in 1st and not all the time. I'm imaging I'm only noticing it in 1st due to it being amplified stating from a stop. It only starts to happen after I've been driving for while and everything gets hot, especially in stop and go traffic. If I don't have too far to go or the weather is cooler sometimes it won't happen at all. Once it starts to happen, I can make it worse and more noticeable if I let the clutch out slowly. If I just give it a bit more gas and let the clutch out quick I don't notice it. I can feel it in the seat and my passengers can feel it when it happens. It doesn't make much noise though. The only time I've been able to hear anything is if I have the window down and I'm driving next to a wall or concrete barrier, at which point is hear a shh—shh—shh—shh sounds as the disc spins. Like a damaged spot in the friction disc or something that rubs in certain points as it spins around. Clutch does not slip at all in gear. Not a bit. And it drives great other than that.

I'm not sure if I have a leak that is getting oil on the clutch surfaces or if the surfaces are damaged due to heat or glazing that gets worse once it gets hot. What does everyone think? I would like to think I have good clutch technique as I've had a few without issues. I'm think it may be from the previous owner or just a faulty part. Thanks in advance for your help!!

 

[Bretley]

I've always had this happen if I don't rev it high enough from a stop. Usually like to rev to 1500 and it engages much smoother. Also your fluid may need to be flushed. The brake and clutch use the same resivoir. I just flushed mine at 38k and noticed a slight difference in feel.

 

[Matt-78]

Thanks Bretley. I had thought about doing this first just to see if it helped. But the fact that I hear a sound that matches up with the feeling makes me think it isn't quite that simple. But I could be wrong.

 

[rpt50]

I've had several manual transmission cars do this in the past, and my son's hyundai (116K miles) is doing it now. I've always assumed it had to do with a combination of a worn clutch and worn/weak motor mounts. I sure would like to hear some good info on this, as my son's car is getting bad enough that we need to address it soon.

 

[foodtruck]

I have exactly the same issue, with same symptoms. I started noticing it maybe around 20k km..

I don't think it's worn or burned clutch because I'm pretty sure I was careful with it the whole time. I also don't understand why would it only behave like that when warmed up, if it's a permanent burn spot? When it happens, the clutch engagement begins to feel distinctly.. less tactile. I also noticed that the engagement clunks get more pronounced at the same time, so maybe it's connected somehow. The helicopter rattle in neutral also intensifies.

I'm at 60k km now and both shudders and clunks aren't getting any worse. It definitely helps if you're a bit more aggressive with the take-off! Maybe it's just the car letting you know it had enough of your granny shifting and it's time to throw it around.

 

[Matt-78]

This is exactly what I'm experiencing, except I don't have any "helicopter rattle".

 

[foodtruck]

Could be very possibly unrelated; these cars make a lot of curious noises If you decide to take it to service, I'd be very curious to find out what's the diagnosis.

 

[A7xogg]

engine mounts are flexing is a good possibility. when you upgrade mounts you wont believe how much stock mounts flex.