Q: My clutch went from a slip in one gear to all 6 gears to sticking to the floor all in under 3 hours of non consecutive driving.

asked by on July 26, 2016

I have a question regarding my clutch in my 2012 nissan altima 2.5s 6 speed with 60k miles on it. I drove it one day a few weeks ago and noticed a slight slip if i would get on it a little or shift past 3000 rpm in 3rd gear. I only drove it a short while perhaps an hour mostly highway. The next day i noticed the slip in every gear around the same rpm range. After an hour the slip made its way all the way to 5th and 6th gear and it died on me shortly after. The clutch pedal did have resistance but that shortly went away and it stuck to the floor. I had it towed and it took a week for me to get back to the vehicle to check it out. I once agai. Had pressure in the peddle but it wouldnt catch in any gear, it responded lile it was in neutral. Ive never heard of a clutch going bad like this so quickly. This isnt my first manual either and ive never driven anything not a stick for the past 16 years and never wore out a clutch. Any ideas where i can start troubleshooting?

My car has 60000 miles.
My car has a manual transmission.

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Hi there, thanks for writing in. It’s entirely possible that a component failed. For instance, if the clutch pressure plate failed, then the clutch pedal will feel very spongy and can cause the car to slip and be very difficult to shift. If it has a dampened flywheel, and that fails, then the car may lose the ability to go anywhere. It will go into gear fine, but will not move forward. If a clutch release lever failed, it may no longer release the clutch enough to allow gear changes, though slipping would be minimal. A failing hydraulic component could also cause the clutch to fail very quickly. Based on the symptoms, I think that the pressure plate has failed, but it’s impossible to say for sure without seeing the car in person. You should have a qualified technician, such as one from YourMechanic, inspect your car and diagnose your clutch issue.

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