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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.
 
#52 ·
Thanks guys

So far no response from SEAT UK or the Dealership. It seems SEAT UK have not even been bothered to raise a case referrence for this yet.

I more & more angry now I've had time to stew on this, and reading number of incidents on here makes me think there is a wider problem with these earlier 1ltr Atecas and their clutches, but SEAT are putting up a wall of silence to protect what has, as I understand, been a very successful model launch for them. One wonders how many dozens of other people there might be out there who are not inclined to post on a forum!!!

I've checked my paper work and it will be six months since I took delivery on the 20th May, and so if this is not resolved quickly and without cost to me it is my intention to 'Reject the car' as it is 'not fit for purpose' under my statutory rights. How has this gone with any of you who have had to go down this route? The car is on finance but I've read this actually gives me an added layer of recourse/protection....is this right?
 
#53 ·
Sibeurfph said:
Thanks guys

So far no response from SEAT UK or the Dealership. It seems SEAT UK have not even been bothered to raise a case referrence for this yet.

I more & more angry now I've had time to stew on this, and reading number of incidents on here makes me think there is a wider problem with these earlier 1ltr Atecas and their clutches, but SEAT are putting up a wall of silence to protect what has, as I understand, been a very successful model launch for them. One wonders how many dozens of other people there might be out there who are not inclined to post on a forum!!!

I've checked my paper work and it will be six months since I took delivery on the 20th May, and so if this is not resolved quickly and without cost to me it is my intention to 'Reject the car' as it is 'not fit for purpose' under my statutory rights. How has this gone with any of you who have had to go down this route? The car is on finance but I've read this actually gives me an added layer of recourse/protection....is this right?
What I would do is A contact https://www.honestjohn.co.uk for his advice. And i am sure he will say this but write by recorded delivery post to the supplying dealer principal and also the finance company expressing your displeasure and you wish to raise a formal complaint. like with everything in life the word is now "formal complaint" before anything gets done...
 
#54 ·
Thanks Jamesiow

I will contact honest john for some advice.

By way of an update - I've been offered a 'goodwill gesture' of 20% off the £1700 repair bill to get the flywheel and clutch replaced from SEAT and the dealer. My view is that this is simply not acceptable and so I'll be complaining and then rejecting the car as 'not fit for purpose' if that doesn't resolve things. To top it off I'm getting (just a little) pressure to return the courtesy car as apparently the dealer is now getting billed directly for this, but I am very reluctant to do this until this is all resolved (I need a car for work, and would be using my SEAT still, if they hadn't sold me a dud!). Anyone got any ideas on what my position is in this? I am worried they will force me accept their stance by taking away the courtesy car and leaving me carless.
 
#55 ·
Well the courtesy car is their property and they are under no obligations to leave it with you indefinitely. So if they say you must return it you have little choice in the matter.

However, your rights aren't as clear cut as rejection because (as you say) you bought it used (ex-demo with 6k).

Take a look at this article, here: https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/the-second-hand-car-i-bought-has-a-problem-what-are-my-rights

If the fault occurred within 6 months the seller is responsible for proving the fault was not there at time of purchase, not you. If they cannot prove it was not there then you are entitled to repair or replacement. So if they're saying it's driver error/wear and tear, ask them to give you a detailed report as to the proof of that. If they cannot how can they prove the fault was not there to begin with?

Now if the argument goes into something like you've done 14,000 miles on the clutch so 'could be' wear and tear - that doesn't prove it and a simple google search turns up this: https://www.mrclutch.com/clutches/ <--- for personal vehicles they give a 20,000 mile warranty so that starts to give you (only anecdotally) an industry benchmark.
 
#56 ·
I purchased a X demo Mazda CX3 last October with just 825 miles on the clock, so theoretically a new car. Nothing but problem after problem from day one, mostly the dealers incompetent doing. Back and forth to the dealership over the next three and half months with many loan cars provided. I honestly think they had the car longer than I did. After several emails of complaint to (Mazda UK who were useless) and the dealership and the directors of the dealership I finally got a result where the dealership took back the car and refunded me in full.

If I were you Sibeurfph I wouldn't accept their offer of 20% either. Who knows how the car was treated before you purchased it. Most of these demo's are used by the sales staff as a perk for they're own use to get back and forth to work and of course for demonstration purposes. Some will treat them with respect others will abuse them. I also don't know where they get £1700 from to replace the clutch, and why does the fly wheel need replacing? I could understand it might need replacing on a vehicle that has done 70000+ miles but not on relatively low mileage car such as yours. But regardless of the cost, to my mind it is down to the dealer to put things right. And how they can say the clutch is only guaranteed for 6 months or 5000 miles is rubbish. You would have to be seriously abusing the clutch to tear it out in that time. The car is still under the remaining 3yr warranty which in your case would still be just over two years.

If SEAT or the dealership won't play ball I would seek some legal advise. Some solicitors offer an initial free 15 minutes to half hour service. Your local Citizens advice should be able to help you out here. Make sure you keep all correspondence between you and the dealership.

Best of luck.
 
#57 ·
Re the motor ombudsman I wouldn't bother. I raised a case back in December and they never came back apart from giving me a reference number
As for SEAT offering 20% I pushed and pushed SEAT and they paid total cost to put in new clutch in
Note I explicitly state replace the clutch not repair the car, because I don't believe replacing the clutch fixed the problem, so I do not feel the car is repaired and safe to drive
Unfortunately I bought mine on the lease purchase program, so due to negative equity, I'm stuck with a vehicle which I have no confidence in the safety of and am waiting for the negative equity to reduce. I had my incident in the outside lane of a motorway in December and although they delivered the car back to me in March, I have not driven it since as there is no guarantee the clutch won't fail again
Reading others, I still feel the 1000cc engine is insufficient for the weight of the car
I had a 1.2 Leon before the Ateca and would get 450 miles on a tank. The Ateca only gave me 350 miles, so from that figure, it feels like driving with a caravan behind permanently
 
#58 ·
Sibeurfph said:
1ltr Ateca with low mileage having a clutch and flywhheel failure which I am being told is not included in the warranty.
Correct - it's a wear and tear item. (page 7)

http://www.seat.co.uk/content/dam/countries/uk/Downloads/SEAT_Approved_used_warranty.pdf

Sibeurfph said:
I got the car in Nov as an ex demonstrator with 6k on the clock from the main dealer, when the car was fully checked. 5 months later I am up to 14k mileage and my clutch burns out last night.
The fact is the car has covered 14k miles, 6k of which you have no idea how the previous owner drove the car. If the clutch was working for you at 13k miles then it must have passed all those checks when you bought it at 6k. 14k is a ridiculously low mileage for a clutch failure, BUT it won't be covered under any warranty - basically it's your word against theirs at the moment. The best you can hope for is goodwill.

Websites like HonestJohn etc are ful of advice BUT even if there was a potential fault and you had to go to court: 1: You have to pay to to take legal action with no guarantee of success (I very much doubt you'd win) 2: The court process takes a long time therefore you'd have to find alternative transport. Court action is great in theory but in reality it's not really an option for most people.

True, the finance company are just as responsible for the car as the supplying dealer but again with wear and tear items you're in the same boat.

You could take this forward by getting together as many people who've suffered problems as possible and contact SEAT as a group. Again, this will take many, many months and you're going to have to go without a car. As an example of the problem you're up against - you mention 'loads' of people on this forum having suffered similar issues. 'Loads' is a non-statement, you'd need to provide an actual number. If you all got together and contacted SEAT how many people would you actually have? Your 'loads' would turn out to be three or four at most - 3 or 4 against thousands of cars sold? The odds are strongly against any chance of winning.

Sibeurfph said:
Frankly, I just dissappointed and feeling like I've been ripped off at the moment.
Have all the sympathy in the world because I'd feel exactly the same. (I've been in a similar position before). It's called bad luck and it's a bitter pill to swallow.

What would my advice be? Personally I'd ask for the supplying dealership to have the car repaired with as much 'goodwill' as possible, but insist on all the 'worn' parts being returned. Inform both the dealership and SEAT that you are having those 'worn' parts sent to an independant specialist (HonestJohn can advise you who's the best people to contact) and if the report comes back that those parts were faulty or the indi specialist offers a different theory for the failure, then you will seek compensation via small claims court and contact motoring magazines to warn other users of premature clutch problems. HonestJohn is pretty small fry, their impact is minimal. Best to contact consumer magazines like Which! or Haymarket products such as What Car! AutoCar, AutoExpress etc.

PS Agree with the Ombusman being a waste of time. Most of these bodies are set-up only for window dressing, they're hardly ACAS.
 
#60 ·
I finally went to court on 19th September and am pleased to say that the judge found in my favour and awarded me £1861.41 which covered the full cost of the repair plus court costs. I had rejected two partial offers to settle before the hearing and was faced with potentially large costs had I lost as Evans Halshaw where I bought the car referred the matter to Pendragon Orient and they defended the case using solicitors from Derby. They requested permission to call a forensic scientist which would have cost over £500. I objected to this but the judge ordered a desk report from an AA approved expert at a cost of just over £200 each for the defence and me. At the hearing this proved very useful as the report said that a clutch in a properly driven car should last between 70000 and 140000 miles. The judge accepted that the defence had not proved that the car had not been driven properly and accepted our claim that we had a considerable history of driving new cars for many thousands of miles without clutch problems. We sold the car after the repair which was the subject of the claim as we had lost confidence in the car and the garage we bought it from and bought a Volvo. We will not buy another Seat car after the way we have been treated and will never knowingly buy another car from Pendragon Orient Limited
 
#64 ·
Well done. Have you got the court case file link to website with case notes and outcome in please? Why ask is if anyone else has this issues can show a past ruling the there dealer etc and hopefully they will just back down and pay up for new clutch
 
#66 ·
The case was held at Leeds County Court on 19 September 2018 and the claim number was D78YM649. I rejected two offers to settle of around £400 and £500. The judge used the "fitness for purpose" argument in the award and this overruled the defence claim that the guarantee does not cover the clutch. The case was helped by an independent report produced by an AA approved engineer who said that a clutch in a properly driven car should last between 70000 and 140000 miles.
As I no longer own a Seat Ateca I will not be visiting this forum again so I hope this information will help others who encounter similar problems.
 
#68 ·
I strongly feel these sort of cases should get more publicity.

OK, things can go wrong with any car but the true test is how you're helped (or not, as in this case) to get through it. Unless there is strong evidence of abuse then manufacturers and their dealers should err on the customers side and those that put customers through a lot of misery should be avoided.
 
#69 ·
David Gatenby said:
The case was helped by an independent report produced by an AA approved engineer who said that a clutch in a properly driven car should last between 70000 and 140000 miles.
As I no longer own a Seat Ateca I will not be visiting this forum again so I hope this information will help others who encounter similar problems.
David I realise you might no longer visit this forum, but hoping you may still see this reply in an email! I am in a very similar situation to yourself.

Please see here: https://www.atecaforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=2830. My 2 year old Ateca with 14k mileage is now with Seat with a burnt out clutch. They are suggesting costs upwards of £1600. We may have to go down the same path as you to contest it. Do you by any chance have a copy of the AA report that you produced during your court case? Plus any supporting documentation! Anything that can help us with our case would be much appreciated.
 
#71 ·
I am glad this is not just me. I too have an Ateca 2ltr 4wd and the other week we got to the beach with the dog and when I opened the window to pay for parking there 2as an awfull burning smell and the clutch peddle flat to the floor. Made no sense as it has less than 20k on the clock, over half of which is motorway miles. Any way i lifted the peddle with my toe and managed to park it up. After a couple of hours in the beach we went back to the car and everything seemed fine so we carefully drove home and booked it into seat harrogate for the day after. They check it and said everything seemed fine and SEAT advised them they needed to remove the gearbox and clutch to check if their was a manufacture fault, which would coat 450 quid if they did not fine one. Today they call me to tell me that they could not find an issue, no thermal damage, every looked ok and that after they spoke with SEAT they said it was driver fault. Waiting now for SEAT customer relationship manager to call me back, which apparently will take 2 days. Funny thing is I have been driving for over 20 years and some of my cars have had over 100k on clock- none of which have ever had a clutch problem. Also 1 month (maximum) prior to this happening I had a health check and everything was given a green light, even the clutch. Had no issues before this. Any help or advice on how to deal with this most welcome.
 
#72 ·
Hi we too are in similar situation. 1.0 tsi ateca burnt out clutch and flywheel after 18000 miles and 18 months old. Vehicle is leased and dealership doesn't want to know. Have had 6 seats in about 20 years. Not one required a clutch despite 3 of them doing over 100,000 miles. Feel as though we may have no choice but to pay up and go to small claims court as we need vehicle on road asap. Anybody else gone down this route and had success? Any other info or advice would be very much appreciated. Thanks
 
#73 ·
So I got my car back after checks by garage and also seat saying they cannot find anything wrong. I though great so I have to cough up for investigation work with no resolution. Anyway back n forth with dealership and seat and they agreed to pay half as investigation cost are not covered under the warranty. So i thought ok fair enough. I also asked seat to confirm that if this goes pop in a couple of months after warranty expires to confirm they will cover, which they have said they will do. I have asked for a copy of all their notes from all conversations to be sent to me so i have a record so will see.
 
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