I have a 2007 Suzuki Swift that has done about 6000 miles and has developed an occasional clutch judder.
It happens when the vehicle has not been used for some hours, or overnight, but the fault disappears quickly. My suspicion is that the rear engine oil seal is letting-by, and the use of the clutch burns off the small amount of oil.
The car has a 3 year warranty. The main dealer wants a £91 'inspection fee' which would be refunded if any fault is found that is covered by the guarantee.
As the fault is intermittent, should I risk paying the fee, or leave it until it gets worse and there is no question of a fault?
Also, say the car was left on the Dealer's forecourt overnight and was vandalised, would the Dealer be liable to pay for the repair?
Edited by rtj70 on 15/12/2008 at 20:19
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As long as in 12 months they dont say "you've driven it whilst faulty, its down to you now"......
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I'd expect any possible fault to be investigated cheerfully and quickly without any money changing hands. The car is covered by warranty so insist its booked in and checked, otherwise find another dealer!
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Is it only when the car is cold? I ask because my Charade does it if I pull away with low revs when cold ( usually first 100 M ) but quickly clears. Ive driven quite a few newer cars with clutches like this.
My mums Hyundai Coupe has had a judder on the clutch since new but only when pulling away with low revs when cold. Its now done over 3 years and 39k.
However, if you feel its a real fault and not just an annoying characteristic, find another dealer - £91 to drive a car down the road and perhaps stick it on a ramp is half an hours work at best, so a rip off.
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Could be just a bit of surface rust building up on the flywheel or splines (you can often see this build up on brake discs very quickly).
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The main dealer wants a £91 'inspection fee' which would be refunded if any fault is found that is covered by the guarantee.
So that's Suzuki Swift crossed off the list.
Very difficult to justify not getting another Honda Jazz.
Edited by Bill Payer on 15/12/2008 at 20:46
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There is an old thread on here about clutch judder when starting from cold. The feeling seemed to be that it was condensation. Our Yaris certainly does this for the first two or three changes.
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If it's any consolation, I've also got a Swift ('56 reg, about 13,000 miles) with exactly the same problem. I too have contemplated going to the dealer about it but, short of leaving it with them overnight, I can see no way of demonstrating the problem to them. Searching this (brilliant) website (long time lurker, first post!) has indeed shown it to be a common problem with various makes - especially Vauxhall, it would seem. I've only seen one other complaint from a Swift owner (unless you're also 'Steve41065 on the Suzuki4U forum!). I'm afraid to admit that i'm inclined to live with it - slipping the clutch and using more revs than I would normally do when starting from cold seems to 'work around' the problem.
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Did you try with a different dealer? I had a different problem in my Suzuki Ignis, one dealer wanted £35 to "inspect" but other dealer checked it for free.
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If it's any consolation I've also got a Swift ('56 reg about 13 000 miles) with exactly the same problem. I too have contemplated going to the dealer about it but short of leaving it with them overnight I can see no way of demonstrating the problem to them.
This is what the dealer has suggested, but I might leave it for a while and see what develops; I don't want to be told that they can't find anything and be presented with a £91 bill!
Or I might try a different dealer.
Thanks for all the replies. It seems this is a common problem.
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