My son's '17 fit had to have the clutch replaced for the second time (it has 5500 miles). the first time Honda indicated it might be a faulty clutch plate and gave him @$400. This time the cltch pressure plate throwout bearing AND flywheel were replaced.I'm not an expert mechanic but have been around cars and done some major work on my civic but I have never heard of a flywheel needing replacement in such a short period. Any thoughts?

 

Not knowing what the first "clutch job" entailed they might have just slapped a new disc in there and called it fixed? The proper way would be to replace the pressure plate, thow out bearing, disc, resurface or replace the flywheel and replace the thrust bearing in the flywheel. Obviously what they did the first time didn't work or sorry to say that the driver needs to stop riding or slipping the clutch. If it was a Honda dealer they're going to replace the flywheel if it was burnt from the clutch? That's a realistic assumption based on how few miles before replacement. An independent shop might send it out to be resurfaced? The dealer isn't equipped to save you money and send a part out to a machine shop for resurfacing and tie up a repair bay for a day or two? This time they're doing it the proper way. They're also looking at it from a liability standpoint and replacing a worn/damaged component with a new OEM, not something remanufactured by an independent subcontractor Hope that helps?

 

That does seem like a really short timeframe. One of two things: bad clutch management and money shifts, or perhaps just a car that should have been caught in QA cycles and should be thoroughly reviewed for more issues before the warranty expires.

 

First job done at 2000 miles -- clutch pressure plate and throwout bearing replaced. No flywheel -- wondered if the first job was a bad install caused flywheel to damage clutch etc. I know Honda will never admit if so -- should have asked for parts back!

 

It's a pretty straight forward repair. Was the disc worn and slipping? Meaning if you stepped on the accelerator the RPM would go up, but the car wouldn't speed up or was it really grabby but the clutch held to the disc fine? If I were to guess on the second replacement I would say it was because the flywheel wasn't replaced or resurfaced and the clutch didn't bed in properly? Another remote possibility was oil or some other contamination on the disc, pressure plate or flywheel during the replacement? As to the first that sounds like driving habits or abuse whether from the driver or maybe even whoever had test driven the car before purchase? If the next one wears out rapidly, buy an automatic