7 month old Jetta Problem

I have a 2008 Jetta purchased in February. It only has 4,500 - 4,600 miles on it. It is manual transmission. Last night while driving I was unable to get it in anything but 5th gear and the clutch actually stuck to the floor and I had to lift it up. I was close to home and made it home and had it towed to a dealer this morning. This afternoon I get a call requesting permission for them to pull the transmission tomorrow and that it might not be covered under warranty, which would cost at a minimum $700. There was no burning smell as if the clutch was burnt out and I am more than a little upset that I may have to pay $700 plus only 7 month and 4,500 miles after purchasing the car. This is not my first manual transmission and I have never had a clutch or transmission problem before.

My question is has this happened to any other Jetta owners and if anyone knows what I could have done in such a short time and distance to make this not a warranty issue?

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
scott

Hello from Canada. WHOA That certainly sounds like a failing clutch cable. That is exactly what occurs when a cable breaks. My private e mail is daemdaem@yahoo.com I am not a auto mechanic but I am a journeyman millwright. If its under warranty make certain that the shop and the mechanics are warranty certified. The fact that you are asking a question like this is your intelligence wanting a second opinion. I hhave driven literally thousands of miles with this problem and spent $25.00 at home to fix it. Allan

Thank you very much for the information. The dealership has since said the warranty will cover it without giving me much of a clear explanation on what happened. I assume it was a faulty part because they had to order one and have rented me a car until they get it in and the repair done.

Once again thank you for your response.

scott

I actually got my car back last evening and it drives like a different car. Even though they fixed it under warranty, it was still implied that had burnt out the clutch, which I disagree with. But anyway, I am probably just used to the way it used to drive but I am not liking the "new feel" of the car. The difference is in both the gear shift and the clutch. The shifter is much looser and and has a lot more "jiggle" room when in neutral and the clutch also is a lot easier to push down. I guess the difference I am trying to describe is that it used to feel tight and sturdy and now it feels loose and flimsy. Is this normal for such a difference in the way a car drives after transmission work? Was the tight sturdy feeling part of the initial problem?

One reason I am asking for opinions even now that it is fixed was their somewhat evasive explanation of what went wrong plus I don't know how much confidence I have in their repair shop. My wheel cover fell off on the way home from the dealership last evening and was run over by a couple cars that were behind me. The dealership also replaced that for free today but the experience didn't really instill the greatest confidence in their workmanship.

Thanks again Alan for your post and thank you in advance to anyone with any thoughts on my experience.

Scottie, Your car is 10 yrs too new for me. I do all my own maintenance, and have no issues with ugly. Reliable is my priority. All cars and trucks in current use utilise 2 declutching systems. The basics are a hydraulic master cyl. , a pipe,and a slave cyl. Alternately a cable. Both work well. Hyd. Systems last a lot longer but eventualy fail. Cable systems have a shorter life but are cheap and easy to fix. Both systems rely on a spring or springs to return the pedal fully . I learned to shift gears in a 1947 IHC with a 1938 trany//straight cut gears. Your Jetta is a pleasure to shift compared to that beast. Be very happy that double clutching and speed shifting are no longer neccesary in cars. Your clutch now works correctly.
Loose shifter is a different issue. Put your E brake on/// engine off ///trany in neutral. Lift hood wiggle shifter linkage bearings. Older ones get loose, and are a snap to replace. Pay attention to the vertical shaft. It has a plastic bearing top and bottom. They are a real cheap part to replace and it takes 10 minutes. I bet one of them is loose. Allan