my car is bone stock, I've never launched it, and like the title says it has less than 3k on it. its a 2011, the clutch is a bit different than the previous years. the engagement point is more toward the middle of clutch pedal travel rather than at the very end like the previous years. other than that I don't know what the differences are.


It'll hold power if i just roll on the throttle in one gear, but if I try to go through the gears shifting at redline, it'll slip alot in the next gear.

has anyone else had their clutch go out so early? is it possible for there to be some other issue thats causing the clutch to wear out fast other than just weak clutch in general? the reason I ask that is cause a friend of mine had a similar issue on a g35 (different car, I know) and it was something with his transmission that was causing the clutch to wear out. they ended up replacing his clutch, flywheel, and tranny.

could be the way you drive it. the only issue I am aware of that will result in a warrantied clutch is a bad rear main seal, dripping oil into the clutch components.

same thing happened to me. Someone at the dealership I bought it from had a little fun in the car before I got it. They toasted my flywheel to the point where almost half of it was burnt to a giant deep blue spot. That caused the clutch to wear really fast. At about 2800miles, the clutch started slipping and they played the whole 'how do we know YOU didn't do it?' game with me. How many miles were on the car when you got it? Mine had like 95miles. Take it in ASAP and get the ball started.

Take it back and ask them to replace it under warranty. If that doesn't work then remove your clutch pill and hope that extends it's life a bit. The more you slip it the worse it will get so bring it in ASAP.

my car had 7 miles on it when i got it, but it did reak of clutch. the mitsu clutch smells wierd and i didn't realize that its what the clutch smells like till i had over 1k miles on it.

@ irmerm
I've had 7 cars before the evo, 5 we're sticks, never had an issue with the clutch wearing out so fast. now that I think about it, I've never worn out a clutch. I'm pretty sure its not my driving

@ irmerm
I've had 7 cars before the evo, 5 we're sticks, never had an issue with the clutch wearing out so fast. now that I think about it, I've never worn out a clutch. I'm pretty sure its not my driving
It wasn't a commentary on your driving skills :). It's just that the Evo is notoriously tricky to take off quickly with due to the crappy low end torque, so-so stock clutch, and AWD. We've had quite a few folks need clutches with very low miles. Some were bad seals, some were launching their cars all the time, some slip the clutch excessively every time they start off, and some got their cars with clutch damaged before they purchased it.

so the only thing you've seen thats not specifically clutch related is the bad rear main seal? thats exactly the kind of info I was looking for. cause if its just the clutch I have no problem just going to an aftermarket one.

hearing about the RMS I think I'll take it into the dealer. is there anything else that could affect it?

There was also mention of an issue with input shaft seals in a few posts I recall reading. Just make sure they don't agree to inspect it and then stick you with the bill once they "determine" that it was abused (likely by a lot attendant or tech)

I'll bring down hell if they try to stick me with a bill. I absolutely did not abuse the car. If it looks like abuse then that means it would have been done in the 7 miles before I got the car, in which case they'll get hell again

the catch-22 with the rear main seal is that to diagnose it, they have to take the trans out of the car to look. Taking it out and putting it back in is at least 6 hours of labor. GET A LABOR QUOTE FOR INSPECTION IF NOTHING IS WRONG BEFORE LETTING THEM DO ANYTHING. Don't let them quote over 6 hours.

If they take it apart and can't find anything to warranty, you have to pay that labor cost. Then they'll say "since we have it apart, we'll give you a deal on another OEM clutch so you wont have to pay labor again". Now you're in a difficult position. They'll likely be willing to install an aftermarket clutch for you (discuss that before hand), but it'll void further warranty. Give that if you're to this point already, you fully realize the warranty is BS anyway, then its a good option to consider.

Have a plan ready and account for all that could happen. Get corporate involved. Get arbitration papers as soon as it sounds like you're getting the run-around. There is a 10,000mile unlimited warranty which should cover the clutch. Bring up the fact that the car smelt like burnt clutch when you got it, but you didn't realize what it was until later. It probably won't matter, but it can't hurt.

Good luck!

yeah, I'm aware of the typical warrantee BS. however, there is no way I'll be paying even if they don't find anything wrong. The stock clutch slipping at 3k should not be happening and its must be upto them to determine the cause. wouldn't they be able to tell if the RMS is leaking when/if they're changing out the clutch?

but i was thinking, wouldn't an oil leak cause the clutch to slip all the time? i only get slip when i redline and shift into the next gear...

also, would there be any oil leaking out of the engine or would it stay in the bellhousing? i can take off the underpanel and check for any signs of an oil leak there...

depends on the severity. if it's a small leak, it probably won't drip and will start out with some slippage. do you get clutch slip in 5th when cruising and then accelerating? that's the way a worn clutch usually manifests first, not when running through the gears.

no, 5th holds fine

have you ever had clutch slip in the evo x? cause its different than on most cars. the evo has a sort of "clutch traction control" (official name is torque management or something like that) system. it reads the speed of the imput shaft and makes sure it corrisponds to the vehicle speed. if the 2 don't match then it'll cut power. and thats exaclty what if feel if i redline second and shift into 3rd, i feel the clutch start slipping a bit, then it cuts back power, then gives some back, then cuts it again...

a local tuner told me about this that tunes alot of evo's...

ok, I just read over your original post again and it does seem unusual that you only see slippage when running through the gears...
possible causes:
- overheating, but would not happen without a launch or power take-off
- obstruction in the lines, causing the clutch not to engage quickly enough when lifting the pedal suddenly. We do have a clutch pill, but this should not cause this issue
- possible leak that is worse at high rpms and fluid is then burnt off.

I'm going to lean toward obstruction. For now, try not to run through the gears at all like you were and have it checked out. Might not be work after all. Also, the symptom you would see in 5th is the RPMs going up by a few hundred before the car is actually accelerating.

the last time (and second, haven't driven like that since) it happened was after i got off the highway after a 30 min drive, filled up, and was pulling out of the gas station. so safe to say the first one is out. so its 2 or 3.

there is no slip in 5th, i tried the test you suggested multiple times after this happened to me.

with the total absence of slip in 5th I'm leaning toward either a throw out bearing issue or an obstruction in the lines. If you have absolutely zero slip in 5th as you say, it's not a wear issue.

Looks like I'm taking it to the dealer then for them to figure out whats wrong

but i was thinking, wouldn't an oil leak cause the clutch to slip all the time? i only get slip when i redline and shift into the next gear...

also, would there be any oil leaking out of the engine or would it stay in the bellhousing? i can take off the underpanel and check for any signs of an oil leak there...

You burnt your clutch, just get a new one...

I have nothing to add, just like to see where this ends up. Warranty threads always bring me joy.

I have a really good clutch forsale http://www.evoxforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41774

thanks, but I don't want a 3 ton leg breaking clutch. I plan on getting a SouthBendClutch when I do upgrade

My left knee is bad, so I wouldn't be able to deal with a heavy clutch even if I wanted to...

FYI: South Bend's Evo 9 clutch works for us, but requires the OEM throw out bearing. Unless they start including it. I called and asked them a few weeks back.

South Bend is just expensive for the amount of power they can take, sort of a turn off IMHO.

really? they seam to me equal or cheaper than other popular brands when I was looking at prices online...

which clutch do you have?

So stupid me just realized that SBC doesn't have an Evo X specific application... back to obsessive research...

Why would he get a new one? The car has 3K miles on it, the onus should be own mitsu to prove the car was abused BY the owner and not one of their techs or salesmen on a "test drive"You burnt your clutch, just get a new one...

Why would he get a new one? The car has 3K miles on it, the onus should be own mitsu to prove the car was abused BY the owner and not one of their techs or salesmen on a "test drive"

There is no way in hell you're going to have a dealership say they damaged it. My X had 8 miles when I purchased it and my clutch & flywheel went out the door at 6800 miles.

OP stated he redlines the shit out of his car and shifts at that point.. Yeah, I am sorry but I don't think mitsu is to blame...

get it replaced under warranty, then trade in the stupid car for a fully loaded jetta tdi. use the money you would most likely spend in the future on the evo for a track only car. an 80's 3series or a miata make a great platform.

thanks, but I don't want a 3 ton leg breaking clutch. I plan on getting a SouthBendClutch when I do upgrade

My left knee is bad, so I wouldn't be able to deal with a heavy clutch even if I wanted to...

Umm someone correct me if I am wrong but a tripple has less pedal pressure than a standard heavy duty clutch. Atleast that was my experience when I went from a Act to a Quartermaster twin.

an 80's 3series or a miata

^^ this :) I'm still planning on getting a ~88 325I for a DD next fall while the evo is down for getting engine building :D then.... spec e30!

im kinda regretting put all my eggs in one basket,

There is no way in hell you're going to have a dealership say they damaged it. My X had 8 miles when I purchased it and my clutch & flywheel went out the door at 6800 miles.

OP stated he redlines the shit out of his car and shifts at that point.. Yeah, I am sorry but I don't think mitsu is to blame...

redlining a car through a few gears once every couple of weeks should not wear out a clutch in 3k... that is in no way abuse. i wasn't slamming the gears or trying to shift super fast. i have over 50 drag passes on my old car, had a few track days, lots of autox, and redlined it as often if not more as this car, and the clutch was still fine when i sold it at 43k. there is no way the clutch should be worn out in under 3k unless it's been launched countless times. and like i said before, i never launched the car

but anyway, back to the 3 points that irmerm brought up. i think it was actually the first point, some how it got overheated, i have no idea how, cause like i posted above, i was on the highway before and just stopped to fill up. but anyway, i went through the gears a few times on my way home from work tonight and the clutch didn't slip, it was fine. so it either overheat somehow or maybe there is a leak somewhere. it was raining like crazy here on sunday, but then again, how the hell would water get in there... maybe it was condensation...

get it replaced under warranty, then trade in the stupid car for a fully loaded jetta tdi. use the money you would most likely spend in the future on the evo for a track only car. an 80's 3series or a miata make a great platform.

no thanks, i like my evo. i can't stand driving underpowered cars (tdi) and a miata would only be fun at an autox. i'm not a huge fan of the idea of a track only car for myself, i prefer one that can do both which is why i bought the evo in the first place.

Umm someone correct me if I am wrong but a tripple has less pedal pressure than a standard heavy duty clutch. Atleast that was my experience when I went from a Act to a Quartermaster twin.

it depends on the brand, everyone i've heard of that has the exedy says its really heavy. but maybe they weren't talking about the twin disk. but either way, i'm not shelling out 1500 bones for a clutch. I don't see making enough power in my future to justify a clutch that needs to hold that much power so i'd rather but that money towards something else

i see no point to driving fast on public roads. my wife's lesbaru is fine with only 170 crank hp. the tdi gets 50+mpg, is comfortable, and has 230+lb-ft. the miata would of course need power. the evo is ok for both daily driving and track use but looking back, i probably shouldn't have gotten one. just saying what i would do

it depends on the brand, everyone i've heard of that has the exedy says its really heavy. but maybe they weren't talking about the twin disk. but either way, i'm not shelling out 1500 bones for a clutch. I don't see making enough power in my future to justify a clutch that needs to hold that much power so i'd rather but that money towards something else

Yeah I highly doubt they were refering to a twin disk or a tripple. To me going to a twin or tripple is not about how much power you are putting down as there are some single disks that will handle the same power as a twin/tripple. It is more of having a lighter pedal and being able to shift gears at higher rpm's. My experiences were with my dsm and I can tell you that when it comes time for a new clutch in my evo, I will not even consider anything but a twin.

There are plenty of single disk clutches out there known to have stock like pedal pressure. Heavy pressure plate does not have to mean heavy pedal. It's all about proper engineering and the fulcrum point...

To each their own. In my experience if you want a stock like feel it is going to be a clutch with low tq capabilities or a twin/tripple.

Also you may or may not already know this but the stock clutch is a exedy clutch.

Yeah, but exedy's oem program is different than the aftermarket "make the ricers think they need a heavy clutch pedal" program...

well I'm glad that the problem is not occurring any more. I've overheated my clutch once on a botched launch and it was no fun (I'm on the stock unit). Hopefully it'll continue to last you. Just know that a lot of members here did end up replacing theirs somewhere around 20k miles. When I got my car with 19k miles on it, I noticed clutch slip within a few days. Carmax ended up replacing it under their 30 day warranty that covers wear items. I now have 50k on the car and it's still running strong, but I need to plan for when it goes, as they really don't last that long on these cars. Oh, and I drove my lancer OZ for 95k miles without needing a clutch.

Just make plans to replace it when you get into that 20k-30k mileage range.

well I plan on replacing my clutch within the next couple months anyway. the main purpose of this thread was to determine if there was anything that could cause premature clutch wear. Cause I don't want my upgraded clutch wearing out in 3k... But it seams like it was some sort of fluke, so it looks like I'm safe...