Clutch slipping: how to tell, and why it won't improve

What it means

With the pedal released, a spring-loaded pressure plate clamps the clutch disc against the flywheel, and that clamp is what carries the engine's torque into the gearbox. Controlled slip is only meant to happen as the pedal comes up when you move off.

Slip after the pedal is fully up means the clamp can no longer carry the load: the lining is past its limit, the pressure plate has weakened, or something has contaminated the faces.

Common causes

• A clutch lining worn past its limit
• A weakened pressure plate, whose springs tire over time
• Contamination on the friction faces
• Habits that slip the disc under load, above all holding the car on a hill with the clutch

What to do now

1. Confirm it: with the pedal fully released, do the revs rise without the car speeding up to match?
2. Note when it happens: in a high gear, uphill, or under heavy load.
3. Hold the car on hills with the handbrake or footbrake, never at the bite point.
4. Keep your left foot on the footrest, not resting on the pedal.
5. If there is a burning smell, stop safely, let it cool, and look for smoke, leaks and hot brakes.
6. Tell the workshop it is slip, not drag.

Slip, drag, or normal take-up?

• Brief slip as the pedal comes up when moving off: normal, and it is how a car moves away from rest
• Revs rise, speed does not, pedal fully up: clutch slip, so have it inspected promptly
• Hard to select first or reverse, grinding into every gear: drag, meaning the clutch is not fully releasing
• Pedal bites very high, near the top: a worn disc, or a stretched cable that needs adjustment
• Judder or shudder pulling away: the disc, the flywheel face or the mounts
• Pedal stays down or comes up slowly: a failing master or slave cylinder, so stop driving

What people often get wrong

That a little slip is normal on an older clutch. Brief, controlled slip during take-up is normal. Slip after full engagement is a fault, whatever the age of the clutch, and it does not get better with time.

When the car must go to a workshop

Promptly, for slip. Before a clutch job, ask what is in the kit, how the flywheel will be inspected, and what happens with the release system and seals. A new clutch also needs a bedding-in period of gentle use, so ask the workshop what they recommend for the parts fitted.

Read next

• P0700: a fault in the transmission control system
• Humming noise that rises with speed: wheel bearing?
• Soft or spongy brake pedal: why it is urgent

This page is general information and does not replace a professional assessment. Symbols, codes and behaviour vary between makes. Always check the handbook for your own car.