Though riding the clutch on the odd occasion won't cause any significant damage, doing this long-term could cause excessive wear on your clutch. This will mean you need a replacement sooner than expected. The clutch is considered a wear-and-tear item, so is unlikely to be covered by your car's warranty.
Chances are that is your clutch burning. Often drivers will rev hard whilst riding the clutch to avoid rolling back whilst doing a hill start, but this technique can seriously damage your clutch.
In a vehicle with a manual transmission, riding the clutch refers to the practice of needlessly keeping the clutch partially disengaged. This results in the clutch being unable to fully engage with the flywheel and so causes premature wear on the disc and flywheel.
“Riding the clutch” simply refers to the act of keeping the clutch pedal partially pressed down. This pushes the pressure pad against the clutch plate but doesn't engage completely, therefore creating more friction and wearing out the clutch faster.
Clutches generally last up to 80,000 miles or so, but they can wear out more quickly depending on how you drive your car. There are some ways you can help your clutch last longer.
Once you're moving in gear, even 1st gear, you need to take your foot off the clutch pedal. However, to smoothly take the vehicle from a standstill to movement in first gear, you have to partially engage the clutch. It's a proper and necessary use of the equipment.
What Happens If You Hold The Clutch Pedal Down For Too Long? Holding the pedal down or leaving your car in neutral for too long will make you “freewheel”. This is also known as “coasting” which can be very dangerous since it reduces the amount of control you have of the vehicle.
While braking, you should always depress the clutch.
This is one of the most common scenarios wherein people do apply the brakes but forget to disengage the clutch in-turn stalling the car.
Explanation: Holding the clutch down or staying in neutral for too long will cause your vehicle to freewheel. This is known as 'coasting' and it's dangerous because it reduces your control of the vehicle.
Rest your foot on the clutch pedal
This can cause the clutch release bearing to be in contact with the clutch cover and creating friction when it doesn't need to be and over time, will lead to noise and failure of the clutch, which is an expensive repair.
The clutch feels soft
The clutch should take a bit of pressure to move, and when you press down, you should be met with some resistance. If the clutch pedal feels 'spongey' or feels like you're pushing it into a block of warm butter, your clutch is likely going to need to be replaced soon.
The most wear and tear done to a clutch is when the pedal is only half depressed. Do use the brake to hold yourself stationary on a hill, rather than the clutch. Do take off in first gear, rather than third. As a convenience, too many people will cut the engine in third and take off the following day the same.
Is coasting bad for your car? Coasting driving can accelerate the wear of your car; as you are going faster, you have to use your mechanical brakes more aggressively, which can wear out brakes more quickly.
You have to press the clutch before the brake pedal if your speed is less than the lowest speed of the gear you are in. You can find the lowest speed of the gear by simple releasing the clutch and not using the accelerator.
Wherever you drive – you always hit the clutch first and then the brake even when it's not needed. Remember this that hitting brake without hitting clutch helps you brake quicker because the friction provided by engine aids you in slowing down fast (Read up about Engine braking).
Only use the clutch pedal to start the vehicle, change from one gear to the next, and just before you stop to prevent stalling.
Most often, a clutch burns out due to the excessive heat generated from a clutch slipping or clutch misuse which creates excessive heat and an acidic smell. Similarly, to a car's brake pads, a clutch's friction materials are designed to wear down slowly through normal use.
For one reason or another, there are times were you think it might be beneficial to start off from a stop in second gear rather than first in your manual transmission car. In most cases, though, doing that will cause more wear on your clutch.
Keeping the clutch pressed down disengages the the gears and the engine from the road wheels, so it's essentially offering far less control. If you continue to do this on a practical driving test, the examiner is likely to fail your test.
As a general rule, your car clutch will need to be replaced every 100,000 kilometres. However, you may need a clutch service or replacement more often depending on how you use your car. If it's almost time to get a clutch replacement, then you may notice that things aren't right with your car.