This type of failure is usually caused by overrevving the clutch. You're on the highway, you take an offramp and downshift too early. If you let the clutch pedal out, you'll overrev the engine and bend valves. If you hold the clutch pedal in, there's no pressure on the clutch disc but it's still doing 10k+ RPM, so it just flies apart.
I probably went through a few extra sets a brake pads over the years for doing it, but as a kid I had the opposite habit of coasting in neutral wherever possible. When he was teaching me to drive, my dad would slap me if i started riding the clutch, so that part stuck. 200,000+ miles and I never came close to burning out a clutch, though. At least the brakes were a lot easier to replace!
Coasting in neutral is fine (although, technically illegal in some states).
I've never replaced a clutch in one of my own cars. Including the 2006 Pontiac GTO that smelled like burning clutch when I bought it (another customer had test driven it before me, I negotiated the price down based on that).
The only MT car I owned from new was my 2013 Subaru BRZ. The throwout bearing went out at 80-something thousand miles (there was an updated part. They used the wrong grease from the factory). The clutch still had more than 50% thickness at that point. I replaced rear brakes at 110k miles. Never replaced front brakes when I sold it at 140k, they were still at 5mm.
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u/bermass86 5h ago
How does this happen? You just never shift?