When Do You Need To Replace A Clutch? Bad or Worn Clutch Symptoms

Is your car making weird noises coming from the shifter or transmission area that you think might be clutch related? Maybe you just want to know what the bad or worn clutch symptoms are so that you know when you need to replace your clutch down the line. In this article, I’ll also provide some tips to help you get the most out of your clutch and help it last longer.

Before I explain what the symptoms of a bad clutch are it’s first important to understand how a clutch works and what’s it’s purpose in your car’s drivetrain is.

How Does A Clutch Work?

The clutch or clutch disk in a manual car is an integral part of the drivetrain and is responsible for connecting the moving flywheel attached to the car’s engine to the car’s transmission to be able to provide power to the wheels. A clutch allows you to disconnect the flow of power from a car’s engine to the car’s transmission without needing to turn off the engine.

As you press the clutch pedal on a car the clutch disk is released from the flywheel and allows the flywheel to freely spin. When you let off of the clutch pedal the clutch disk is applied to the flywheel and power is restored to the transmission and wheels.

If you’d like to watch an animated video that explains in detail how a clutch works and how the different parts of a clutch interact with each other check out the video below.

What are the Symptoms of a Bad Clutch? 5 Common Symptoms

Replacing a clutch can cost a pretty penny which is why it’s important to know when your clutch needs to be replaced, or if you are looking at another problem with your car. If your clutch is

1. High Engine RPMs but No Acceleration

One of the main signs of a bad clutch is if you press the accelerator and your engine RPMs increase while in gear but your speed doesn’t increase. This can be a sign that your clutch is bad or is slipping and no longer has any clutch material.

Another potential solution to this problem is that you are just low on transmission fluid. Check to make sure that your transmission fluids are where they should be before jumping to the conclusion that your clutch is bad and needs to be replaced.

2. Grinding When Going Into Gear

If you hear grinding noises when shifting into the next gear this can also be a sign you have something wrong with your clutch.

If your clutch is not able to fully disengage from your flywheel when you press in the clutch pedal this can cause your gears to grind when shifting. This is likely an issue with the throwout bearing or clutch release shaft as

3. Noises From Clutch When Accelerating

If you hear a rattling noise when accelerating normally this is likely an issue with the clutch and or flywheel. As your clutch wears down and the clutch disk material wears down it won’t be able to maintain consistent contact with the flywheel connected to your engine.

When this happens you can hear noise from the shifter area when accelerating. This sort of noise can also be a symptom that your clutch needs to be replaced.

4. Clutch Pedal is Vibrating

If you feel a vibration when you press down on the clutch pedal this is usually an indication that you have a problem with your throwout bearing or clutch release bearing.

As your throwout bearing wears down sometimes it won’t be able to fully disengage your clutch from the flywheel resulting in vibrations and noises. You may even see your clutch pedal vibrating when you have it depressed.

5. Noises in Neutral, But Quiet When Pressed

While this is not technically an issue with your clutch, this noise indicates that there is an issue with your input bearing on your transmission.

Unfortunately, if you experience this sort of noise replacing your input shaft will require you to drop the transmission which will obviously be costly to repair.

How Can I Make My Clutch Last Longer? 7 Tips

If you are interested in what steps you can take to make the clutch on your car last as long as possible check out my 7 tips to make your clutch last longer.

1. Don’t Slip Your Clutch

Slipping your clutch is one way to quickly wear down the surface of the clutch rendering it useless. When you are not planning on using your clutch it’s best to rest your clutch operating foot on the dead pedal and not on the clutch.

Resting your foot on your clutch pedal while driving will cause your clutch to slip which can cause accelerated wear on the clutch material.

Slipping your clutch while first starting in first gear is inevitable, but after you get your car moving you want to keep the slipping of your clutch as minimal as possible.

2. Use Your Brakes

While downshifting through your gears as you bring your car to a stop can allow you to quickly accelerate if there is an out of control semi barreling towards you, doing so will also cause increased wear on your clutch. Every time you disengage and engage your clutch you take the chance of wearing it down slightly.

I’ve always thought it made more sense to use your car’s brakes to bring you to a stop and then switch into first gear when necessary. That way you don’t take the risk of prematurely wearing down your clutch. Brake pads are much cheaper to replace then replacing a clutch.

3. No High RPM clutch dumps

To keep your clutch lasting as long as possible you want to take it easy on your clutch which means no high RPM clutch dumps or hard launches. Every time you launch your car from a stop you are putting extra wear on the drivetrain of your car.

A lot of this wear and tear will show up by needing to have your clutch replaced faster than if you didn’t launch your car at high RPMs.

4. Don’t Hold In Your Clutch While Stopped

When you are stopped at a red light and not moving it’s best to shift into neutral until the light is green and you are ready to move forward. Holding in your clutch while stopped can put additional stress on your throwout bearing which is essential to your clutch operating properly.

If your throwout bearing fails you will need to replace your clutch assembly, so it’s best to shift into gear once you know you will be moving again soon.

5. Shift Quickly With Purpose

Shifting through gears with a manual transmission car can take some practice until you are used to how everything should feel and get the hang of it. When releasing your clutch you want to quickly let out the clutch once you are in gear to reduce the amount of time the clutch is between the depressed and pressed positions.

If you slowly let out of the clutch for each shift you will increase the chances of clutch slippage. You also don’t want to immediately let off of the clutch for each shift as this will cause your clutch to slam into your flywheel and set you back in your seat. You want to try to find a happy medium between slowly letting out your clutch and dumping your clutch.

Releasing your clutch quickly without causing your car to lurch forward or backward can take some time to figure out so don’t be frustrated if it takes you a while to be able to shift through gears smoothly. Ideally, you want to switch through the gears as smoothly as possible without causing your car to lurch forward or backward.

6. Don’t Lug Your Transmission

It’s important with a manual transmission to be in the right gear for the speed you are traveling, otherwise, you risk lugging your transmission and damaging your clutch. This means if you slow down you need to downshift to the correct gear for the speed you are traveling (the correct gear you should be in depends on your specific car and transmission) before accelerating again.

Otherwise, you will be in too high of a gear and your transmission won’t be able to effectively move you forward. This is known as lugging your transmission and can make your clutch produce some rattling noises and can accelerate the wear of your clutch.

7. Rev Matching

It’s best to try to match the speed that you are traveling with your engine RPMs before letting out your clutch and engaging it with your flywheel. If you’ve ever tried matching RPMs with your downshifts it can be a bit tricky. Some cars like the C7 corvette stingray have rev-matching built into the car which makes the task significantly easier. As with most things rev-matching will take practice.

How Long Does A Clutch Last?

How long a new clutch should last comes down to a multitude of factors, which is ultimately determined by how the car and clutch are used. Typically a clutch should last anywhere from 50,000-100,000 miles. However, there have been some instances where a clutch needs to be replaced at 30,000-40,000 miles.

A new clutch should last a few years before needing to be replaced. Obviously how you use the clutch will have an impact on how long the clutch will ultimately last.

I’ve heard of people having a 10-year-old car and never needing to replace the clutch. I’ve also heard of people needing to replace their clutch within two years of buying a car, so it really comes down to your specific car and how much the clutch is abused.

What Happens When A Clutch Goes Out?

If your clutch goes out you may not be able to operate your clutch at all or it may have trouble engaging with the flywheel attached to your engine. When the clutch went out on my car I pushed the clutch pedal to shift into first gear. At that point, the clutch pedal went completely to the floor and would not come back up.

If the clutch goes out on your car you still may be able to shift throughout the gears it just may just seem like your car has lost all power and will struggle to move on its own power. This is also the symptom of a bad or worn clutch.

How Do I Know If My Clutch Needs Replacing?

The main symptom of a bad clutch that needs replacing is that the car struggles to move on its own power. When a worn or bad clutch has worn down all of the clutch material previously attached to it then it will no longer be able to provide a solid contact to transfer the power from your engine to your transmission and onto your wheels.

How Much Does It Cost To Fix A Bad Clutch?

Replacing a bad clutch can be expensive because it usually involves removing the transmission to be able to access the clutch to replace it. As you can imagine removing a transmission from a car requires extensive time and labor (the cost to replace a clutch is going to be mainly the cost for labor).

You can expect to pay anywhere from $200-$1,000 for just the parts for a new clutch. The prices for a new clutch will be heavily dependent on the amount of horsepower the new clutch can handle. If you just want to replace your clutch with an OEM clutch expect to pay on the low end of that price estimate. If you plan on upgrading your clutch to one that can handle more horsepower expect to pay on the higher end of that price estimate.

A mechanic will typically charge upwards of $1,000-$1,500 to replace a clutch. This price is largely dependent on the time it will take for the mechanic to drop the transmission. Each car is different and can be tougher or easier depending on how the engine and transmission are situated on the car’s frame.

Bad Clutch Symptoms – Symptoms Of A Worn Clutch