Hi there,
I have a 2003 Accord LX with the 2.4L 4-cylinder and 5-speed manual transmission. It's got about 155,000 miles and the original clutch.

I know that my clutch is nearing the end of its life. The takeup is more vague than it used to be and I sometimes have to fight it a little to get the shifter into gear. I'm wondering what will happen when my clutch finally kicks the bucket? I was told by an uncle that when the clutch finally fails it won't be dramatic, it'll just stop being able to go into gear. He was saying that there was no reason to rush getting the clutch done, I might as well wait it out as long as possible. Is this true?

I got an oil change at a transmission shop today and was asking about clutch replacement. The guy said I should replace my clutch right away. He said I don't want the clutch fail on me because when it does it might break other things. He specifically mentioned that it often messes up the flywheel, and said it'll only be more expensive if I wait and the clutch going messes up other things. I have a feeling (I'm hoping) that he was just trying to sell me on getting the clutch done at his shop. Anybody have any insight into this?

He also quoted me about $1900 to replace the clutch which I think is very high. I had another mechanic in the past quote me $1200. Thoughts?

Thanks!!

 

When the clutch has minimal friction material remaining, you can put the car into gear, but the car will not move when you release the clutch pedal.

I noticed my engine rpm would raise when I hit my gas pedal but no increase in speed. I thought that I had some time to correct this, but within a week, my car wouldn't move in gear and got me stranded on the side of a freeway in Houston. My flywheel didn't need replaced when this happened to me.

Shop around to see what different shops would charge to replace the clutch.

 

It all depends on how and where you drive. I have put 250k on a Honda clutch but I was driving long distance highway miles. If you drive in the city with lots of stop and go then the clutch will wear faster. Under normal driving conditions a clutch usually last 150k to 170k. All the above assumes you don't drive with your foot on the clutch pedal and/or aren't downshifting to slow all the time, and of course aren't racing, otherwise the clutch will burn out faster.

That being said the mechanic was correct in stating that you don't want to ruin the flywheel. As far as hurting anything else the mechanic was blowing smoke.

If you are having trouble shifting a 50/50 blend of BG SynchroShift II/Honda MT fluid will almost always cure poor synchro meshing, thus smooths out shifting. If the clutch is not fully disengaging then it is and issue with the fluid, master or slave cylinder.

 

Yeah, thoughts.

A. I've a 235,000 on my original clutch and it's very solid. But that's because I learned to drive on a stick shift.
Suggest getting the clutch fluid replaced ... hoping you can avoid the clutch replacement. Best.
B. Not dramatic failure, you'll have a few days. symptom will be you can have the car in 2nd gear, hit the gas hard and the rpm's go to the moon and the car barely accelerates. In details different than your uncle said, but he's right that it's not going to leave you on the side of the road initially, but will in a week.
C. Yes, unless you want distance reliability on your side. If you're driving to Denver, from where-ever, get new clutch done first.
D. Clutch failure won't break other mechanical things.
E. quoted price seems high vs. my neck of the woods only. Are you in Houston? On these cars I think shop has to unbolt hood, remove/lift engine/tranny, separate them, replace clutch components, bolt engine and tranny back together, lower and connect engine/tranny/axles, and re-attach hood. A major job. My son had this done at local Honda dealer for maybe $850 in small-town northwest about a year ago ('86 Accord vintage; old = simpler?).

Hope this helps you ...

 

Thank you all! Great info and very helpful.

I think my next course of action will be to make sure the MT fluid is fresh and mix in some of that SynchroShift stuff. That seems beneficial to my high mileage transmission regardless of clutch issues.

I'm in the northeast so I believe things in general are more expensive, but I'm sure I can get the price closer to $1000 by shopping around a bit. I know the mechanic who quoted me $1900 saw a young kid and figured why not.

One more question: Turtlehead you said I should be careful not to ruin the flywheel. How will the flywheel be harmed in the process of the clutch going? Or more appropriately, how can I avoid hurting the flywheel as I proceed?

Thank you again!!

 

The flywheel can get "heat marks" on it from the slipping clutch. If they get too bad then they will not come out/off when the flywheel is turned - which should be done when changing a clutch.

However, I would not worry too much about that as a new one can be had for less than ~$60 retail.

 

Keep in mind there's 2 different things that can happen as the clutch wears out.

As they have said, the clutch disk wears down until it begins slipping. But I think with Honda you might be able to figure out how close you are. As the clutch wears down, its hydraulic system auto-adjusts by allowing the piston to retract further & further inside the slave cylinder. Until it runs out of room & bottoms out inside the slave cylinder.

If you don't know where the slave cylinder is, have someone pump the clutch pedal while you watch the lever moving (between the bellhousing & the radiator). Then have them leave their foot completely off the clutch pedal. Push the throw-out lever towards the clutch slave hydraulic cylinder. There's a spring inside that cylinder to gently push out, but you are trying to see how much room there is. If you cannot push the piston into the slave (or if you can only push in a couple mm), then you don't have much clutch left.

At first I said there's 2 different things...
As the clutch friction disk wears out & gets thin, it can also get uneven, warped, or goofy in some way. That gives you a shuddering engagement rather than a smooth engagement of the clutch. You might have to change a clutch for this reason, even if the disk has enough thickness.