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Failed clutch on my Ateca

59K views 72 replies 30 participants last post by  Tanya 
#1 ·
I have a 10 month old Ateca currently back with the main dealer who is asking for some £2000 to replace the clutch and flywheel on my Ateca in spite of the car having covered only 5000 miles. The car had a fault within the first three months when we had to stop because the clutch was smoking badly after a journey of less than 3 miles. We took it back to the main dealer who said it was ok and it ran for a further few months without apparent problem before the clutch failed completely last Saturday and the car had to be towed back to the main dealer. They phoned me to say I had to authorise £400 for them to remove the gearbox to get at the clutch. The next day they told me there was no sign of a manufacturing fault and that I will have to pay around £2000 for a new flywheel and clutch to get my car back. I was told the clutch is only guaranteed for 6 months or 5000 miles. I kept my last SEATfor 12 years during which I did not need a replacement clutch so I am sure it is not due to any driving fault on my part.
Has anyone any advice to offer on this? I am in touch with SEAT UK and awaiting a response but tomorrow I look like having to pay out around £2000 to get my 10 month old Ateca back on the road. It is the 1 litre turbo petrol model.
 
#2 ·
Are they having a laugh? I wouldn't be paying a penny. Give Seat UK a call, see what their stance on the matter is.

Failing that I'd start seeking advice from the Citizens Advice Bureau or Trading Standards. I cannot see how it is reasonable to expect a customer to pay for anything that breaks on a car after 10 months and 5000 miles.
 
#3 ·
That is ridiculous. I've been driving 37 years and never had a clutch issue in any car, even ones with 100,000 miles on the clock. This failure is clearly linked to the smoking clutch matter that Seat are supposed to have looked at previously. If they want £400 to remove the gearbox to look at the clutch now, how were they able to carry out a proper assessment of the clutch previously? Also, why the new flywheel? If they are blaming you for bad driving technique and subsequent premature clutch wear, what's the connection with the flywheel? Many drivers have been blamed for bad driving when there were other mechanical failings that actually brought on the premature clutch failure. Have a good Google because there's history out there.
 
#4 ·
Just to update my post yesterday I had to pay just short of £1600 to get the main dealer to release my Ateca back to me. The car would not be released without payment. The dealer said that a check of the clutch did not reveal any manufacturing defect so by implication the fault must be due to driver fault. I pointed out that during our 52 years of marriage we have bought 14 new cars including a SEAT Ibiza which we had for 12 years and none of these have had clutch problems during all the years we owned them and we absolutely refute any argument that driver fault contributed to the failure of the ATICA clutch with less than 5500 miles on the clock. We also pointed out that the car was returned to the dealer within 3 months because of a serious problem with a smoking clutch and they said the clutch was not burning out. They say SEAT will not reimburse them once the car is more than 6 months old unless they can show it was a manufacturing defect. I spoke to SEAT UK this morning and they confirm this. I have pointed out that this forum shows I am not the only one to have this problem and the dealer has said he will check with SEAT UK before I am left with recourse to a County Court claim which I have advised the m is the next action for me to pursue.
 
#5 ·
What an awful situation to be in. I have gathered over time through this forum that SEAT can leave a lot to be desired, regarding their "customer service" but this really takes the biscuit.

Given the clutch had problems at 3 months, they needed to replace it then, rather than do nothing and then reject the claim once 6 months has passed - seems like sharp practice...

I sincerely hope someone in SEAT has a reality check (I think I'd be emailing the top man in SEAT UK) but if not, I'd be filing the court papers asap and get the press involved. They really cannot believe this is fair or reasonable. Totally incredible and yes, I feel extremely annoyed for the way they're treating you...

I hope you can get it resolved soon and that SEAT are penalised in some way, shape or form as a result.
 
G
#7 ·
Grahamn said:
Given the clutch had problems at 3 months, they needed to replace it then, rather than do nothing and then reject the claim once 6 months has passed - seems like sharp practice...
I don't know about consumer protection laws in UK, here in Finland this would have been very easy case. Here, if you report a problem within guarantee period, it does not matter how long it takes to solve the issue, it's still covered by warranty. Even if the clutch has only 6 months warranty period, if you report the problem after 3 months, it's covered even if it takes 5 years to solve the problem.

And if they didn't bother to properly investigate the problem when it was initially reported, it's their own fault. If they said after 3 months that there's nothing wrong with the clutch, they most certainly cannot revert their statement now and say that it actually had a problem back then, but it was driver's fault. :shock:
 
#8 ·
Thanks Tet70, that prompted me to look for some details...

https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/consumer-rights/

Interesting to note that case law currently seems to set a 6 month limitation of rejection of a vehicle - coincidence?

Also worth note the section 75 CCA reference - "Under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Acts of 1974 and 2006, if you buy on a loan or a PCP or a lease, the finance house or the leasing company and the dealer are jointly liable if the car turns out to be faulty. This proved to be a useful last resort for a reader who bought a used Skoda Yeti 1.2DSG from a franchised Skoda dealer. A few weeks into ownership, the car lost drive miles away from the franchised dealer and a local specialist diagnosed a failed Dual Mass Flywheel. This was replaced at a cost of £1,600, but the supplying dealer refused to meet the cost because the work had been carried out by a non franchised dealer. But because the deposit for the car had been paid by credit card the reader was able to go to the credit cared company and managed to obtain a full refund without having to take the matter to court."
 
#11 ·
What engine is your car got? I know Honest John get's letter from time to time with VW's with clutch issues when they quite new cars still.
 
#12 ·
Hope things all go well for you. 10 years ago my 2nd new Leon was one of the first 170hp off of the production line and had a few faults. After 6 months the drivers door lock went "tech". By this time I was getting fed up with car so I help from Citizens Advice and wrote a letter to "The Dealer Principle" REJECTING THE CAR AS NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE. 3 weeks later I had a brand new Leon on my drive and a massive hamper from Seat UK that Christmas
 
#13 ·
Apologies - can only give briefest of answers, in a rush at the mo.

Write to dealer principal telling him you're suing them thru small claims court. You took car in with a smoking clutch. They found no fault. A few month later the clutch and flywheel need replacing. The court will ask the dealership if it wasn't a smoking clutch, then what was the problem? If they say no problem found then by implication the garage obviously came to the wrong conclusion.

Thats the basics anyway. Just remember your grievence is with the supplying dealership, this has nothing whatsoever to do with SEAT UK or their customer services.
 
#14 ·
You could also be on a sticky wicket with a clutch is possible to destroy one in afternoon if you're a shocking driver. Plus the limit for the Small Claims Court is £10,000. My advice would be to go down Customer service route first
 
#15 ·
jamesiow said:
You could also be on a sticky wicket with a clutch is possible to destroy one in afternoon if you're a shocking driver. Plus the limit for the Small Claims Court is £10,000. My advice would be to go down Customer service route first
'
1: There's no sticky wicket at all. Of course you could destroy a clutch in an afternoon but not thru normal driving you can't. If you're suggesting the above car wasn't being driven normally then again that's very simple to prove - just check the tyres. Even if David had been sitting with his foot on the clutch all afternoon then that would burn the clutch... so how do you account for a flywheel to be replaced?

2: The applicant would be suing for the replacement costs for clutch and flywheel - i.e. £2000. What's the small court limit of £10,000 got to do with it?

David wrote: "They (the garage) say SEAT will not reimburse them once the car is more than 6 months old unless they can show it was a manufacturing defect."

The garage's relationship with the manufacturer is of no concern whatsoever to the buyer. The legal position is the contract is between David and the garage. Any issues the garage has with the manufacturer is quite frankly a legal battle between themselves.

It's an open an shut case. For £2000 the garage would have to be quite mad to even try and contest it. If I were to take a guess, what'll happen is the case won't go anywhere near small claims court and the garage will make a 'goodwill gesture' for all the monies David has thus far paid out. (Goodwill gesture meaning that they are not admitting liability).
 
#16 ·
We've had our Ateca for nearly a couple of months and about a month ago we had an issue with a burning clutch smell - very pungent after the car failed to pull away on a hill from autohold and rolled back, nearly into the car behind - it did this twice on the same day. We've not had any problems since but your story gets me worried.

Our car is going in for the sat nav to be looked at in a couple of weeks so I think i'll be asking them to investigate.

Surely a record of raising a concern/issue (& in your case SEAT having investigated it) well within the 6 month period should be strong evidence to help you make the case with SEAT UK or, on the extreme, civil court
 
#17 ·
You mentioned that you were in Autohold and on a hill, did you not engage your brake while sitting on the hill, I had an issue while sitting on a steep hill in Glasgow city centre and did not engage the brake, just let the autohold do the business,the car did not like being just held on the Autohold so I now use my brake even on the smallest incline, try it out to see if this helps.
 
#19 ·
I had my clutch fail on the M62 whilst driving in the outside lane about 70mph
Luckily despite how busy the motorway was I managed to keep control and get over to the hard shoulder, by which time the smell was awful and lots of smoke. My concern is that a less experienced driver could have had a major accident and Seat are not taking this seriously
Like others SEAT are trying to blame my driving stating its wear and tear, despite the car being 1 year old and 10,000 miles on the clock, the majority of those 10,000 miles having been driven on motorways, so not city heavy on clutch driving. The car was serviced in October and the Clutch/brake/transmission was given the green light
I have been driving for over 35 years and have never had a clutch issue before despite some of my cars having done over 75,000 miles
I am currently in discussion with Seat customer services and the car remains in the garage, but I do not want to pay a penny for repairs and now have no confidence in driving my Ateca again as there is no guarantee I can get anywhere without the clutch breaking
 
#21 ·
David, did you get this sorted as I am having the same issue?
My car had done 10,000 miles and is also he 1 litre turbo model
I am refusing to accept any liability for this and have rejected any potential Seat offer of a goodwill gesture so would be interested to know how you got on
Thanks
 
#22 ·
Good morning, My 1.0 Petrol manual Ateca is 9 months old. Week ago clutch failed and the car was towed to the dealer for repair. I did only 1200 miles in the car from new. I'm still waiting for the dealer to tell me will they be able to fix this under the warranty. What chances do I have arguing that it is not my fault?
 
#23 ·
There seems to be a worrying trend here particularly with the 1.0 engine cars. I really hope I don't end up in the same boat soon as mines is the 1.0. I've covered 4500 miles since September 2017 and I have noticed when reversing up a slight hill the clutch does burn very easily. Has anyone had a confirmed resolution to this matter as it seems from previous posts SEAT are washing their hands of the issue?
 
#25 ·
Kamil1981 said:
I would (kind of) understand clutch failing after 10000-20000 miles ... but after 1200 it is heartbreaking. Still waiting for the call back from the dealer, I really hope that they will have decency to fix this under the warranty...
In all my years of driving I have never had a clutch fail on me and I've covered well over 50,000 miles in various cars so I would expect the Ateca to be the same. Kamil1981 let us know what your dealer says and the what the cause of the clutch failing is. Hopefully you have it fixed soon.
 
#26 ·
jackbauer said:
Kamil1981 said:
I would (kind of) understand clutch failing after 10000-20000 miles ... but after 1200 it is heartbreaking. Still waiting for the call back from the dealer, I really hope that they will have decency to fix this under the warranty...
In all my years of driving I have never had a clutch fail on me and I've covered well over 50,000 miles in various cars so I would expect the Ateca to be the same. Kamil1981 let us know what your dealer says and the what the cause of the clutch failing is. Hopefully you have it fixed soon.
Most definitely I will:)
 
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