Clutch problems from a new manual transmission driver..

I've got a 2005 Honda Civic Si that I bought (new) 1 1/2 years ago. Love the car. But a week ago, the car wouldn't move, and when I took it to the local dealership, they said the clutch was totally worn out and had to be replaced. Now I'm a fairly new to driving a manual transmission car - the Si is my first stick shift - and I'm beginning to realize that I ride the clutch a lot (including on the highway), which I obviously realize now is BAD BAD BAD.

My question is this: could riding the clutch wear it down over the course of just 1 1/2 years? I'm just shocked that I need to replace it after just 18 months of use. Plus its mucho $$$ and the dealer out here is a little shady.

Thanks in advance for your help.

K

 

YES

My mother is CONSTANTLY pulling the her car in and out of gear on the highway (like when she coasts, instead of just letting the motor hold back, she pulls it out of gear and re-engages is), and riding the clutch on downshifts... I keep telling her not to do that but she won't listen to me.

The clutch is like a big brake pad. When it's fully engaged it's fine, but when it's slipping (IE: starting from a stop, or if going into a gear slowly) it wears.

When you shift gears, it should be a quick motion.

 

I'm relatively new at driving a clutch as well. The biggest area I need to improve on is starting from a stop without riding the clutch any more than necessary. When I first started driving a stick, I used to rev it way to high all the way through first. Now I'm getting good at keeping it just above where it feels like its going to stall.

 

Not only does riding the clutch wear down the clutch friction surface (which can last for tens and tens of thousands of miles of normal use) but it wears down your release bearing AND wears down the diaphragm spring that presses the friction disk against the flywheel.

When driving, either press the clutch in all the way or not at all. If you're pressing it just a little, all you're really doing is grinding s**t together.

After enough clutch-riding, you might even have to have your flywheel refaced (machined smooth again) or even have the whole assembly replaced.

It's really worth un-learning that bad habit. At speed, the clutch wants to be in or out, not inbetween. If you've got to ride the clutch a little in 1st to get the car moving while preventing stalling, that's totally fine since none of the components are really moving fast enough to do any real harm. It's riding the clutch after that initial stage that's bad for it.