clutch gone at 20000 miles

[Ellsbells]

Hi, Hope ive posted in the right place :lol:

Just after a bit of advice please,
I have a 2009 citroen berlingo car with 20000 miles on the clock and the clutch has gone, I have had the car just 12 months and have done 6000 motorway miles in 12 months so I do not think that it is my driving, as you can imagine I am certainly not happy about having to fork out £600 to replace the clutch with such low milage.

Has anyone else had the same problem? or could it be how the car was driven by the previous owner, (the car was a disability car with 14000 miles on the clock).

Any advice would be greatful as im unsure if it would be worth trying to speak to citroen about longevity and failure of the part with such low mileage on the clock.

Ellen

[evdama]

I think you have answered your own query ,Ellen.
If its plain old wear,then previous owner is highly likely to be the cause of the trouble.


As an ,abiet tenuous, comparison,I sold my 2010 van this year with 27K on the clock and the clutch was fresh as a daisy ,despite running maximum gross weight up steep country tracks twice a week

Even within warranty,Im not sure Citroen will be too interested as it is a 'consumable' part,like brakes linings and tyres.
If its caused by other mechanical failure and you have a FSH then you may have a remote chance but dont raise your hopes too much.

Sorry..

[taxi]

As Evdama rightly says, remote chance- but if you don't try then you don't get, I would approach Citroen just in case. You might be surprised. If on finance you could ask the finance company for help / advice ( long shot, I know ) best of luck.

[grafixbyjorj]

My second clutch failed after about 20k, original one did >100k and the third one now has >100k on it. The early failure was replaced by my garage as a warranty on the replacement.

Is it the friction plates worn out or the usual lifter thrust bearing failure? I think the lifter thrust bearing (which is what went on all my clutch failures, the two on my current vehicle and one on my previous Berlingo) wears faster if you sit with your foot on the clutch in traffic instead of engaging neutral, but even so 20k is very short life when I get 100k+ doing central London multi-drop work.

If it's the lifter thrust bearing, you have more of an argument for a warranty claim than if the friction plates are worn out.