GT clutch, blown up after 11 months. No warranty.

[DIB_GT]

Hey Y'all,

Long time lurker here, I have a 2015 base GT with PP and Recaros being the only options. It's completely stock aside from the Mobil One full synthetic I use, and a pair of Michelin PSS's on the rear.

A couple of weeks ago I was coming home from Whataburger, with a freshly made patty melt, when my clutch stuck to the floor after a shift from 2nd to 3rd. There was a terrible grinding/screeching sound and my clutch would not disengage as I limped it back home where I ate my then-cold dinner.

I thought for sure my clutch had grenaded, but upon examination the next morning my clutch wasn't slipping at all and the sound was gone. It was driveable by starting it in gear, I just couldn't disengage the clutch. After searching the forums I thought it may have been a clutch line or slave cylinder issue, so I took it to the dealership with that in mind.

Nope, clutch was sitting cockeyed. I figured my throwout bearing was bad at that point and I'd be covered. Wrong again, Ford declined my warranty citing hot spots on the flywheel and pressure plate. I asked the dealership for the pictures they sent ford, they sent me cell pics instead because the ford pics "were on an SD card". There was no pic of the flywheel and the pressure plate was mostly obscured.

I have close to 150k miles put on my last 3 vehicles(all stick) and have never burned up a clutch. I'm having trouble believing this story, especially after only 17k miles and how many blown clutches I've seen here. It's going to cost me north of $2k to fix with labor and the McLeod RXT kit I want to replace the old P.o.S.

Am I screwed here? I've always been a Ford man, but this is my first experience with Ford Service. I'll be sure to look at GM's offerings too the next time I want a new car. :frusty:

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[paul123]

what causes fly wheel hotspots? Are they uniformly distributed around the flywheel? Dealer offer any explanation ? Nothing suspicious about the transmission before the failure?

 

[347CobraII]

Looks like disc came apart then clutch slipped after that causing hot spots.

 

[ridenfish39]

And another one. Makes you wonder how many people this has happened to as only a small percentage of owners post on forums. I don't get how they can deny warranty on that obvious failure, but Ford will try and get away with anything. Sorry to see this OP, hopefully someone higher up will approve the warranty repair.

 

[347CobraII]

And another one. Makes you wonder how many people this has happened to as only a small percentage of owners post on forums. I don't get how they can deny warranty on that obvious failure, but Ford will try and get away with anything. Sorry to see this OP, hopefully someone higher up will approve the warranty repair.

Lets not over think this about internet and owners that don't post. It always leads to 100% of all cars fail

Clutch is in grey area did it fail because of part issue? Did it fail because of driver? We really don't know but manual trans cars are slowly going away. Or we go to automated manual trans that controls clutch and shifting.

 

[Mustang_Owner]

If the clutch breaks, they don't want to cover it. There is no way a broken clutch in pieces is normal wear and tear. How much are they trying to rob from you for the repair? I wonder how many GT MT-82 owners have had some cheap Chinese defective clutch material break and warranty denied their claim. I wonder if a class action lawsuit is in order for all of the people who had to pay for their own clutch repair out-of-pocket.

 

[Jewishthunder]

I would get the territory rep for ford involved and see what you can do to escalate. You have the right for them to come out and review your claim. That's obviously not wear and tear, and even though the clutch is a wear item, that was a catastrophic failure.

 

[DIB_GT]

Paul123 - I had absolutely no problems with the car before this, aside from SYNC bluetooth issues.

I contacted Ford Service today an got my case escalated, I should hear from the area rep by the end of tomorrow. I also posted my 3rd pic to [MENTION=7992]FordService[/MENTION] on twitter, if the others who've had this failure of service do so maybe we can draw some attention without a class action ordeal.

 

[VinnAY]

I would get the territory rep for ford involved and see what you can do to escalate. You have the right for them to come out and review your claim. That's obviously not wear and tear, and even though the clutch is a wear item, that was a catastrophic failure.

I think you're spot on there, catastrophic failure like that is far beyond wear/tear.

 

[SoCalTim]

I think you're spot on there, catastrophic failure like that is far beyond wear/tear.

What he said.

 

[GT Pony]

This same clutch disk failure has been seen many times now on just this chat board. Makes me think there must be some kind of defect going on with the friction disc that allows it to come apart under normal driving conditions.

Hot spots were probably created after the clutch disk came apart and the clutch started eating itself alive because it wasn't fully disengaged anymore when the pedal was all the way up and parts were continually rubbing together.

 

[paul123]

... Ford declined my warranty citing hot spots on the flywheel and pressure plate ...

Factory defect can result in clutch failure, but there are still plenty of ways that a driver cause what they describe as "Burst or broken clutch driven plate facings" :

http://www.autoclutch.co.nz/causes-of-clutch-disc-failure-xidc87938.html
Causes of Clutch Disc Failure
...



If you end up out of pocket, I would consider aftermarket.

I am not endorsing this kit per se, but looking at photo, it appears to have more clutch material than the OEM. Stage-3 may mean the clutch peddle gets heavier, so you will need to research that if that is of concern.
http://www.americanmuscle.com/exedy-mach500-stage3-grooved-1114gt.html
Exedy Stage 3 (616 Ft-lbs)
Great Driveability - Smooth Engagement
Organic Compound Disc
Includes Slave Cylinder/Hydraulic Throwout Bearing, Alignment Tool and Pilot Bearing

Alternatively you can buy a ceramic clutch disc (e.g. McLeod RXT), just keep in mind, that they are more expensive, and probably not ideal for stop & go traffic.
http://www.americanmuscle.com/2015-mustang-clutch-kits.html
2015-2016 Mustang Clutch Kits

 

[FordService]

Paul123 - I had absolutely no problems with the car before this, aside from SYNC bluetooth issues.

I contacted Ford Service today an got my case escalated, I should hear from the area rep by the end of tomorrow. I also posted my 3rd pic to [MENTION=7992]FordService[/MENTION] on twitter, if the others who've had this failure of service do so maybe we can draw some attention without a class action ordeal.

Thank you for being proactive and contacting the CRC, DIB_GT! Please, stay in contact with your CSM.

Deysha

 

[OEMRadio]

This is disappointing.. Ford shot me down on my GT500.. with 2500 miles on it.. and I have a 100k extended warranty THROUGH Ford n it.. gave me the middle finger.. and said I have to pay.. hope they fix it for you..

 

[paul123]

This is disappointing.. Ford shot me down on my GT500.. with 2500 miles on it.. and I have a 100k extended warranty THROUGH Ford n it.. gave me the middle finger.. and said I have to pay.. hope they fix it for you..

what is the GT500 OEM clutch technical specifications? Chances are its an organic material clutch, optimized for street use, but vulnerable to heat:

http://www.americanmuscle.com/choosing-clutch.html
An organic clutch will stand up to hard use, but it won’t be able to take repeated abuse because it will overheat.

this much power can easily cook a clutch:

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2013-ford-mustang-shelby-gt500-test-review
2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500
Displacement:
355 cu in, 5812 cc
Power: 662 hp @ 6500 rpm
Torque: 631 lb-ft @ 4000 rpm


You install another OEM or go aftermarket?

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