[Barry Allen]

and with these problems, any profit on a car is probably gone with one warranty job to fix any clutch issue (or DMF in my case).. the profit margin is pretty small to begin with.

Tough stuff. Notably, the EU and UK treat it as a safety issue and have a mandatory safety recall because it affects braking components. Safety recalls don't have anywhere that the manufacturer gets to argue about profit and say "Oh, it only affects a few cars we sold and we don't want it to cut into our profits." 100% of those cars are recalled in the EU and UK, period. Imagine if GM argued that they shouldn't have to replace the defective key cylinders in the old Cobalts because "The profit on those cars was so low..." [that we should continue to let people die instead of doing the recall]

GM pockets like $20,000 for every Escalade, Suburban, and huge Bro-dozer diesel dually 4x4 Truk-Nutz pickup sold. Use some of that profit to pay for the recall of the defective stuff they sold.

Notably, it's weird that ONLY the slave cylinders in the manual transmissions paired to the Diesel engines in model years 2016-2018 are failing. Those are the years of Opel/Vauxhall cars recalled. That whole thing points to a batch of transmissions made specifically for those cars (the transmissions must be made with specific gear ratios and final drive ratios), so whatever company supplied the slave cylinders for those transmissions must have a bad batch for 3 straight model years. Other cars with that transmission don't have this problem, so it must be something specific to THOSE SLAVE CYLINDERS for three years running that is the problem. How about going after the parts supplier for that? The transmission of my car was assembled in Austria, and I assume all the other 6MT transmissions come from that same plant. It's got to be one part supplier giving defective parts. Have them pay for it.

 

[Barry Allen]

Hey Barry, just to be clear here, you mention from your sources that "Notably, it's weird that ONLY the slave cylinders in the manual transmissions paired to the Diesel engines in model years 2016-2018 are failing"

Are you saying this issue is not happening to regular gasoline vehicles with the 6 speed? I thought your car was regular gas as well and not diesel?

My car is a 2018 Diesel 6MT.

I honestly don't know if the slave cylinders on all cars are failing. It's entirely possible that the gasoline models have the same or similar failures. Here are two interesting things:
1. Only the Diesel models in the EU and UK are on recall, but I believe that's because only that 1.6 Diesel engine in the Opel/Vauxhall models is paired with the M32 gearbox. It's possible gasoline engines in the EU/UK have different transmissions and that could be the reason none of them are on recall.
2. The explanation on the TSB in the USA is that gasoline cars with the problem of the clutch pedal sticking to the floor get a new slave cylinder because the replacement updated hydraulic pipework in the TSB will not connect to the original slave cylinder. It requires an updated part. The TSB claims the replacement hydraulic pipework will connect to the original slave cylinder in the Diesel transmissions... HOWEVER, that's exactly the opposite of what I experienced with my car. The TSB fix caused problems for two more weeks of the dealership trying to diagnose the problem. The technician finally claimed that the replacement hydraulic pipework was not making an adequate connection to the original slave cylinder and thus it needed to be replaced to work.

I'm skeptical and I think that it was simply a failing/failed slave cylinder and the dealership was possibly making an excuse as to why the $490 repair that I paid for out-of-pocket did not fix the car. I had walked in the door and told them the slave cylinder was failed because you could step on the clutch pedal and the car wouldn't go into gear. Stepping on the clutch pedal was not actuating the clutch, period. They insisted that the repair on the TSB was the problem, I told them they were wrong, they did the TSB fix anyway, and it was still broken after they claimed they fixed it.

 

[Barry Allen]

Hi everyone,

It's my turn this morning. Clutch pedal get stuck to the floor. Cruze 2017 LT 76400km.

Wish me luck

God help you. If you still have powertrain warranty coverage, that's your best chance.

 

[Barry Allen]

I guess so. It's supposed to be 6y 100000km.

Gasoline or Diesel engine?

Per the TSB on the clutch pedal sticking to the floor, the gasoline cars get an automatic warranty replacement (if under powertrain warranty) of the slave cylinder and all the redesigned hydraulic pipework that goes with the clutch.

Diesel cars have it worse because if you're past the B2B warranty they expect you to pay for the TSB repair that might not even fix the problem. It's like $500 US, so is that maybe $800 of your colorful Canadian dollars? If your car is a Diesel engine and you then have the separate, somewhat-related problem of the transmission not going into gear when you step on the clutch, they might diagnose the failing or failed slave cylinder and give you the huge warranty replacement job - but then it's a battle to get them to refund what you might have paid to have the TSB performed on your car to not fix the problem.

 

[Barry Allen]

Since you're The Flash, can you go back in time to tell me not to buy this car? Lots of problems since Day 1.

I'd tell myself as well. I could have done what normal people do and buy a Honda Civic, but NOPE, I had to absolutely buy a car made in Ohio so I could "buy American."

 

[Barry Allen]

It is a gasoline engine. I should be fine then? What BST exactly? I have seen several of them.

This one: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2018/MC-10143774-9999.pdf

Walk into the dealership with a copy of this in your hand. Point out to them that the fix includes replacing the slave cylinder, and that is (presumably) covered under the powertrain warranty. Is Canada different in warranty coverage? This should be 100% covered.

 

[Barry Allen]

Also covered are any actuators directly connected to the transmission (slave cylinder, etc.).

That's a BINGO! Do not sign any paperwork where you pay them anything. They owe you this repair, gratis.

 

[Barry Allen]

Have you ever by chance had your clutch fluid flushed/bled since you owned the car? I have a 2016 gen 2 with no issues as of yet. As I have mentioned in other threads, I have purged/bled my clutch fluid three times this year since it is such an easy task. Suck out old fluid from clutch bleeder valve while refilling the master brake cylinder. Either I am **** lucky or the purging/bleeding of fluid is definitely mitigating it/keeping it at bay so to speak.

If he’s getting the repair for free, why bother trying to prevent the problem? ¯\(ツ)/¯

 

[Barry Allen]

Of all the threads I have read regarding this issue, I still can not determine what this "debris" looks like that is being shed. It must be awfully large pieces to plug up the orfice tube completely. If the fluid was just "dirty" I cant see how that would plug the line causing the fluid blockage. Is it something that is gelling up so to speak over time. I don't think anyone really knows honestly.

GM technical at HQ knows. The earlier TSBs instructed technicians to bag the removed parts with fluid samples and return those for examination.

One part of the tube has a small metering orifice. I don’t know how small - I haven’t seen it. This orifice prevents the clutch pedal from hammering back to the top of its stroke if you slip off the pedal or release it too fast. The orifice acts as a fluid dampener. That’s what gets clogged.

 

[Barry Allen]

Hopefully GM will acknowledge the problem and issue a recall.

Absolutely never! Recalls cost money and if they can save a dime by ignoring the problem they will do that. There are so few manual transmission Cruze sedans and hatches in North America that GM can skirt by with relatively few problems reported. They'll just hope that the majority of cars age out of warranty coverage and then the problem is your problem. "More than 60,000 miles? That's just wear and tear and you must pay to maintain your car!"

Maybe there is a way to know if the clutch will go bad.

You have the opportunity for the mechanic to inspect the clutch when they take the car apart for the warranty repair. Ask them if it's possible for them to replace the clutch if it shows wear, and you pay for the parts and maybe some of the labor for that job while they have everything taken apart. If you ask, maybe they will work with you on that.

Is it using the same reservoir as the brakes? One of the caliper jammed this summer. It took a lot of force to push it back in when replacing the rotor. I wonder if it may be related.

That's a definite maybe. The safety recall in the EU and UK (Opel and Vauxhall vehicles) is a mandated safety recall. The debris in the hydraulic fluid can damage brake parts. The recall in Europe is a replacement of the slave cylinder, hydraulic pipework, and some brake parts that include the ABS control valve. I guess the debris can deteriorate brake parts and cause brakes to not function properly, so that's a huge safety issue.

 

[Barry Allen]

They also had to replace the clutch and pressure plate because the brake fluid has leak all over it and damaged it.

WOW! You got the Ferrari of clutch jobs! Nice!

 

[Barry Allen]

It's been a couple of days driving my "new" car and I must say it does not feel the same at all. There was definitely something wrong from the factory.

I had that same feeling after my car was repaired. It was like the abrupt change to having a firm clutch pedal was jarring, and it made me think there was a problem that had been slowly getting worse for months and that I only noticed it right at the end when the clutch went VERY soft.

 

[Barry Allen]

2015... a car this new

That's a 6-year-old car. It's not new.

 

[Barry Allen]

I own a 2017 Cruze with only a little over 25,000 miles. My powertrain warranty runs out Oct 2, 2022. My clutch pedal has been sticking about an inch and a half from the floor since early July. I have been to a dealer who says they ordered parts for it at the very beginning of August. (Cost me $149 for the service call ) I have a trouble ticket in with Chevy but the lady that has my case hasn't responded for about two weeks even after I talked to two other people at Chevy who said she would contact me that day. I'm ready to get my congressman and Pittsburgh TV news involved. Half the time my clutch is fine and the other half of the time it gives me trouble like making me pull it up with my foot. I'm worried that the clutch doesn't completely engage when the pedal sticks and I am going to have a burnt out clutch pad by the time this ever gets fixed (assuming GM even honors their warranty instead of pushing me past Oct 2 and saying I'm out of warranty).

They owe you a replacement of the slave cylinder.

PIP5558C Chevrolet Technical Service Bulletin

PIP5558C Chevrolet Technical Service Bulletin

www.tsbsearch.com

And a refund of the service call.

 

[Barry Allen]

Update to the above: The GM representative was off sick and did call me this morning when he got back to work. The parts are on order and he has already requested that the parts be shipped asap as they are all on backorder. GM seems like they are on the ball. He assured me my car would be taken care of.

As long as the problem is diagnosed and is in the computer for repair while the warranty is in effect, it's covered by warranty.

I discovered this when I had a CEL come on while I was out-of-town. I phoned my dealership service guy on Friday and set it up to be looked at, but I pointed out that the mileage on the car was going to roll over past the warranty because I was going to use the car for the weekend before I got it to him on Monday afternoon. He got the mileage entered into the computer and told me that tip - as long as the work order is open (not closed out) while the warranty is in effect, it's covered. After they did the repair on my car (replaced a sensor) he kept the ticket open another week just to make sure I could drive the car and nothing else happened with it going bad again.

 

[Barry Allen]

My powertrain warranty runs out Oct 2, 2022

My only other suggestion to you is that if the parts haven't arrived to repair your car, you drop it off at the dealership on September 30 and leave it with them. You should get a loaner car from them. If the balk, you can explain that you have to leave it with them so that it's in their hands while still under warranty.

 

[Barry Allen]

Interesting idea. GM has told me that it will be covered under warranty whenever the parts arrive. Do you still think I should do that?

Absolutely. If you leave the car with them BEFORE the warranty expires, with a known problem diagnosed, and with an open work order in the computer, what possible explanation would they have for not honoring this as a warranty repair?

 

[Barry Allen]

I'm just hoping everything holds up.

Mine broke a second time after just 20 months and 22,000 miles.

Save your paperwork. You get a 24 month unlimited mileage warranty on the part installed, including the labor. If it breaks again within 2 years, they replace it again.