iclick

I've had my 2013 C6 now for one full month and there is a tad over 1k miles on the clock. When I introduced myself and this car here shortly after buying it I mentioned a couple of issues, one of which was clutch shudder that was quite noticeable taking off from a dead stop. I noticed it from the first time I engaged the clutch in the dealer parking lot, and since the car had four miles on the clock when purchased I doubt if abuse is the cause. Three forum members indicated that they had the same problem and it went away after a few hundred miles. When I use this term I mean that the disks feel like they are not perfectly smooth (i.e., warped) and that engaging the clutch causes shudder as the high and low points in the disk(s) repeatedly go through their engagement cycle.

Well, the shuddering continues unabated, or if it has decreased it hasn't done so very much. It's not like I don't know how to shift a manual tranny, as the last seven cars I've owned over the last 31 years have been sticks, including two C2's, and never have I experienced this before in five new cars. I've found that giving it more than what I would consider ideal RPMs prior to clutch engagement helps, but I don't want to go through life with this car using abnormal techniques to achieve smooth operation.

My hope was that the presumed imperfection in the disk(s) would smooth out in time and the shuttering would go away, but now I wonder. Does anyone have any experience with this syndrome and some idea about when it will go away, if ever?

ldepalma

I have the exact same problem. I bought my C6 base new on 2/7/13. One the first day I noticed clutch chatter (correct technical term for it) when pulling in my garage. It only happens from a very low speed and only in 1st gear and it doesn't happen all the time. My thinking is just likes yours that there must be a warp on the clutch disk somewhere. I have 1900 miles on it now and it's still there so the rest of forum members who said it would go away in a few hundred miles were wrong. Of course it's under warranty but still it should not be doing this from the factory. I had my C5 for 6 years and never had a problem with the clutch at all....

RO55

Why not just take it to Dealer to fix if you are unhappy with it?

iclick

That's it, as mine doesn't do it every time either. I'm familiar with the term "clutch chatter" but didn't use that term because in my case there isn't any noise associated with it.

I did and the tech said that he noticed "a little" shudder but it wasn't bad. I didn't press the issue on that occasion (last week) because I still had hope that it would break itself in and smooth out. It may in fact do that eventually but Idepalma has indicated that his hasn't after 1900 miles. The dealer is 35 miles away and I'll be bringing it in probably next week, at which time I'll bring up the subject again. This time I will suggest taking him for a quick demo ride.

ldepalma

I will when I get some time off from work in a week or two. I don't have any other complaints outside the minor detail with the clutch. How's your Vette? Any other issues?

Delbert

When I first started driving my 2010 the clutch
was horrible. I don't know how many times I
killed the engine on dead starts. I thought
surely something was not right with this clutch!
After about 2,000 miles or so, things started
improving. It took quite awhile before the
clutch smoothed out & became responsive.
I suspect you are probably experiencing the
same thing I did & you just have to give it
time to break!

goober51

This may sound crazy, but I just bought a new C6 M6, and I have found it is much easier to use clutch w/ my left shoe off..It is much more touchy than my C5 that I sold. No shudder though. ( I will post pic of car later)

AORoads

and if I might suggest, you drive it first and show the tech your technique, and then let the tech drive it. tell us what happens. if you ask me, I know what I'd like to happen.

iclick

They did a lousy job of cutting the carpet in the cargo area and it'll have to be replaced. The car should not have left the factory like that, and although the flaw is minor it shouldn't fly on a $50k car.

It pulled to the right from the beginning. They checked alignment and several areas were out of spec, but it still pulled. They swapped the wheels/tires with a new car on the lot and the pulling seems to be gone, or at least is less that it was.

Two days after I bought the car I was riding and noticed a really alarming noise upon normal acceleration at around 2500 rpm. It sounded like an exhaust pipe or muffler touching the frame when the engine torqued over. I went home, shook the tailpipes, and didn't hear any contact--so I took another ride. It was fine for a short time, then the noise recurred. I took it home, jacked the car up, and found that where the exhaust pipe curved upward over the axle the clearance from the frame was very small on the right side (~¼"). There was a tell-tale abrasion mark on the pipe near the frame, so I loosened the Torca clamp at that point and was able to easily push the pipe in quite a bit. I tightened the clamp and haven't had the problem again.

That makes three QC issues that shouldn't happen on a car in this price range. That said, it's a helluva nice car and I like it--so I'll get over the QC issues quickly, I'm sure...when they're fixed.

iclick

Yeah, that's the idea. I can make it shudder.

a66bbvet

Try turning the Traction Control Off and see if you still have the issue. Traction control on a C6 needs to have a setting change made by GM. I have complained to the dealer and GM, but am told it is in my imagination. Having driven a 66 big block for many year I know how a clutch should work and feel and the traction control makes it feel like it shutters. Try it and you like it.

iclick

I did a search on "clutch clatter," instead of "clutch shudder" and found that this is a fairly common problem throughout the C6 model range and even into the C5's. Some claim it will go away after a few K miles, but others have said that although it may go away it may also come back later on. Lovely prognosis.

iclick

I have a '66 big-block myself (see sig photo) and concur. I'll try turning off TC tomorrow. What is this setting change you refer to?

eshuber

My 2010 Z clutch has been smooth as butter even from day 1 with 4 miles on the car. I have not heard of a clutch "break in".

A bad or loose motor mount can also cause clutch shudder problems. The dealer should remedy this.

ldepalma

I have the same issue with QC for the carpet too. Mine is located at the drivers seat. There is a big chunk (4 inches) of carpet missing (bad cut job) where the seat bolts to the floor. I took it in twice to the dealer and they said all Vettes are like that!! What are you kidding me?? They showed me two others on the lot had the same thing. Unbelievable for a $60k car. My C5 never had carpet fitting problems...

As far as the clutch, I will turn TC off today and see if that stops the chatter. I should know really quick if it makes it stop. Keep you posted on that.

z51vett

Find the best Corvette tech at chev dealer and ask to have the clutch replaced because of the shudder it's not normal. I've had 4 or so with 500 miles on clock replaced 98,07,08,09.Use local Corvette club for recommendation as to what dealer mech to use.
z51vett
z51vett

Stavesacre21

Glad to hear I'm not alone out here...posted the EXACT same issue about a week ago.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-c...t-shudder.html

I've yet to get my car back from some detail work at a body shop, but I'll be scheduling an appointment for it to get checked out in the next week alongside an oil change. I too thought that there was NO WAY this could be completely normal. Someone mentioned that when the clutch shakes the whole car like that, its called a judder. Something new every day.

bdspell

my wifes 2013 with 1200 miles on it has a high engage point that took some getting used to for her,shes fine with it now when i drive i find that i'm not smooth letting the pedal out and it makes it chatter.my thought is the high point for engaging is where my leg isnt putting out a good movement as all the other stick cars i drove were fully engaged at that high a point in the release, so in this case i think its operator error

iclick

Mine was only a measly $40k after discounts, practically a low-budget economy car, so maybe I should not be upset. I don't see any such bad carpet cutting job in the passenger compartment. Where exactly is your carpet flaw?

I turned off TC today and it made no difference. If I rev the engine a bit more taking off from a stop in 1st or reverse the shudder isn't very noticeable, so maybe I just need to adjust.

ldepalma

[QUOTE=iclick;1583557985]Mine was only a measly $40k after discounts, practically a low-end economy car, so maybe I should not be upset. I don't see any such bad carpet cutting job in the passenger compartment. Where exactly is your carpet flaw?

The carpet problem is at the driver's seat as soon as you open the drivers door. If you look down at where the seat bolts to the floor (you might have to slide the seat up to see it) the rear of where the bolts are is a 4 inch gap where there is no carpet. It is just a white or off-white piece of plastic. For a temp fix, I cut a piece of black Velcro and stuck it there. It doesn't exactly match the Ebony color but it's better then looking at a white floor board.