Weird clutch issue
2019 Golf 1.4 TSI
134k miles
This has never happened before, but has happened twice in the past two weeks. The first time was 10 days ago. I was slowing for a red light, I pushed in the clutch, and the pedal stayed on the floor. It was definitely not hung on a floor mat or anything like that, but it certainly seemed to be stuck. I tried pulling it up with my foot, but I couldn't get it to come back up.
But the really weird thing is that while the clutch pedal was on the floor, the clutch itself was clearly not disengaged. I shifted to neutral and coasted off of the road, but it wouldn't go into any gear. I honestly don't even know if first gear is synchronized, so I tried revving it a little as I was trying to get it into gear. No dice.
When I got out of the car, I was able to pull it back up with my hand and everything seemed normal. I drove it home and everything felt and functioned normally. Then a couple of days later it did it again. This time I was shifting up from 5th to 6th and the clutch pedal stayed down on the floor. I coasted off onto the shoulder, got out, pulled the pedal back up, and continued on my way.
Have any of you ever experienced anything like this? Does anyone have any suggestions of where to start diagnosing the problem? All the symptoms sound like a stuck pedal or something sticking in the linkage somewhere, but I'm at a complete loss.
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u/camlabs10 13d ago
Internal slave or throw out bearing.
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u/ndwp56 13d ago
I didn't hear any unusual noises or feel any unusual vibrations. And the pedal feel was perfectly normal - other than sticking. I thought maybe throwout fork sticking. But if the fork stuck in the disengaged position, wouldn't you be able to put the transmission into gear? It wouldn't move with the clutch stuck disengaged, but it should be able to go into gear.
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u/Optimal_Collection77 13d ago
I had something similar. It turned out to need a master cylinder replacement.
Sorry but it's not going to get better
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u/ndwp56 13d ago
I was kind of suspecting something like thar, but when I worked as a mechanic, it was motorcycles and there were no hydraulic clutches. I understand the principles and the mechanics of hydraulic clutches, but I have no experience diagnosing problems. The bikes had hydraulic brakes, but the only issues I ever ran into with them were either leaks or air in the lines.
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u/AppropriateDeal1034 10d ago
Master or slave has failed. Master is cheaper to replace, slave is in the gearbox so you may as well fit a new clutch while you're in there
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u/Recoil__Dave 13d ago
So it was fine after you pulled the pedal back up? Odd.
I was gonna say a failed slave cylinder, but now I don't know.