Hi all, let me begin by saying that I did search the forum for clutch shudder and I guess I just didn't like the answers I was seeing, so I wanted to see if there are any additional thoughts.

I have an '08 Fit, manual, with 133,000 miles on it. I bought it used in 2013 with around 80K on it and I've really enjoyed the car (might be my favorite car of all time). I've kept up the maintenance -- 90% of it done by myself.

Since I bought it, it's occasionally had clutch shudder. (In case you're not familiar with this, it's when starting from a dead stop in first gear, let out the clutch at normal revs and it shudders the car/front end.) I usually noticed the clutch shudder in the winter time before the car fully warmed. This was always understandable/acceptable to me.

I recently moved to Charleston, SC. I'm experiencing my first summer (I wouldn't wish this on anyone :-). My A/C has to work OVERTIME to cool the car and I know there's a lot more load on the diminutive 1.5L. The clutch shudder is happening just about every time I start off now. The only way to "get ride of it," is to rev to 2,000-2,500 RPM.

So, I ask the community: is this just something that I have to live with? I'm not used to revving the engine that high on start. Any other thoughts, solutions, etc. Thanks for your insight.

 

Have you bled the clutch recently? This could be your clue right here:

"I usually noticed the clutch shudder in the winter time before the car fully warmed."

Fluid viscosity decreases with temperature. Your clutch delay valve (CDV) may be degrading and contributing to the problem as well.

 

You are right at the miles that we replaced our clutch.

My guess is that it's just time to replace. The clutch disc only has so much material and, once it's done, you run the risk of scoring the flywheel. Think of brake pads and rotors. Change the clutch (pads) early and you won't need a new/resurfaced flywheel (rotors).

Ours could have gone longer, but replacement fixed the shudder and there was an immediate improvement in shift smoothness.

I bought an Exedy OEM replacement clutch off Amazon and had a local Honda specialty shop do the install. They charged $500 labor to do the work.

 

Thanks so much for your reply. Would you even suggest replacing the clutch even though it's been doing it for nearly 50K? Like I referenced, it used to only be pronounced during colder weather before everything warmed up. I'm very gentle on my Fit, and especially the tranny. I always thought it was reasonable to get upwards of 200K out of the first clutch.

Any additional thoughts?

 

Just Googled this and saw how easy it is. Definitely trying the clutch bleed thing. Thanks so much for your reply!

 

We let our clutch do it for many, many miles before replacing as well. It's caused by hot spots on the flywheel and/or weakened pressure plate springs I believe.

Certainly worth trying bleeding the clutch line. Hope it works out so you can avoid a $650 clutch job.

 

That does make perfect sense about the hot spots and weakened pressure plate springs. I will definitely try the bleeding, but I'm probably just putting off the inevitable.

Question: when you had the clutch changed, did you have installed a new rear tranny mount?

Other than this, the car runs like it has half the miles it shows (everything else is up to date...plugs, coil packs, oxygen sensor, valve adjustment, and I'm religious about full synthetic oil changes every 5K). I love my Fit!

Thanks again for all the good information :-)

 

No new mount. Just the clutch and fresh transmission fluid. They are a Honda shop and use Honda fluids, so that's what went in. I had Amsoil in it prior.

We drive ours pretty hard. Live in the mountains and hold it WOT daily. Anything short of WOT and we're losing speed in some areas. Also, not the easiest on the clutch. Try to not abuse it too much, but we do a lot of back and forth between 3rd, 4th, and 5th just to take the kid to school. Been through tires and brake pads the most. Everything else goes the distance.

5k synthetic oil changes, valve adjustments, etc all been kept up to date here as well. At 190,000 miles it feels darn close to the same as it did new.

 

two things: this is a known issue in other mileage focused, low power, small cars... part of the issue is that manufacturers are putting very soft pressure plates on (so people don't have to work their left leg very hard) so they need slightly grippier clutch discs. this is just a slight imbalance and will shudder if not slipped at higher rpms, or at very low rpms (i slip mine right around 1k).

the other is that slipping at higher rpms helps to glaze the surfaces which will cause more shudder as time goes on. slip at low rpms at launch and do hard shifting with your clutch leg between gears - this will help "rough up" the surfaces a bit more and reduce the amount of glazing that's happened...

no great answers to this other than driving around it.

 

Clutch shudder: I've had it for about 80,000 miles now and many years in my 2007 Fit Sport. I've been driving manual transmission cars for 35 years. I do not believe it is the clutch approaching end-of-life. I also doubt it's a fluid issue. A failing clutch has 1 big symptom - it starts to slip under heavy load (uphill, too big of a gear selected, etc). A fluid problem generally just makes the pedal super-mushy. I also tend to typically launch at low RPM from a stop (maximize fuel mileage, minimize clutch wear). And I notice the shudder is absolutely worse in damp warm weather. When it's zero degrees and the dew point is -40.....the clutch engagement is super smooth. And, I agree with the previous poster - a good hard launch at 3000 RPM or some non rev-matched up or down shifts will generally make the problem go away for a week. This lends credence to the clutch surfaces glazing - made worse with any moisture. So when it starts bugging me....one hard uphill launch from a red light and some aggressive shifts will alleviate the symptoms - and it's an excuse for some fun driving. Almost 200,000 miles - original clutch is still OK.