Did the valet just ruin my clutch?

[303mike]

Hi everyone,
Please use this video as reference:

View: https://youtu.be/f-4TOezciS0

I picked up my FiST last night from airport parking. I immediately noticed a jitter in the clutch pedal. It is noticeable on pickup just before the transmission engages fully. So, starting slowly from 1st gear, it feels normal until just before you would take your foot off the pedal. Is this something that will go away over time like a glazed brake rotor, or is it something that will be there until fixed? Dumb question time: can you resurface a clutch? Lastly, I only have 21K miles on the car. What is the typical lifespan of a clutch in these cars? Mine is used for normal commuting.

Thank you for your advice!
Mike

 

[303mike]

If you can't hear the video, after parking the two valets have a conversation including "I see all that smoke that's coming out," that he took the steep incline in 3rd gear instead of 1st, and "that's why it smells weird."

 

[J.andretti93]

Yeahh they literally admit going up the hill in third gear.
They admit smelling and seeing the smoke.
They admit how they should have driven it, but did not.
Perfect example of why I hate and stay away from Valet parking, personally.
Sorry to hear about your issues brotha.

 

[Capri to ST]

If they did fry your clutch that's probably not something that will go away on its own. I don't think that you can resurface a clutch, I'm not positive, but I have never heard of that being done. As far as the normal lifespan of a clutch on this car, it obviously depends on how the car is driven and the skill level of the driver, but I have heard of a number of people getting over 100,000 mi out of the original clutch.
Good luck, and I hope yours is okay, that's got to be upsetting.I also avoid valet parking, and basically the only people besides me that drive my car are mechanics that I trust.

 

[dhminer]

Damn. I’d get in touch with the valet company, ASAP. Maybe they’ll get you a new clutch but not likely. Start the convo immediately though, don’t wait for it to completely fail.

 

[NOVA_Ranger]

They WOULD be fixing that, with everything being on video like that. Sorry you have to deal with this BS.

 

[303mike]

Thanks for the support. I've left a message for the owner of the garage and for my Ford service advisor to get their advice. I'll update this when I hear from them.

 

[D1JL]

My first job after getting my driver's license was as a parking valet.
I will NEVER allow a valet to drive my car.