The engine of your car is elaborate, it is not always easy to understand all the signals it sends us. Nevertheless, it is definitely necessary to try to stay on alert for the slightest indicator of weakness in your car to limit the risk of serious concerns. If you have the impression that your clutch is slipping on your BMW 3 Series, you’re right to have started researching. It’s a defect that must be taken into account as soon as possible, otherwise you could end up with an unusable car. To help you in your way our team has decided to produce this guide which should allow you to see more clearly and make the right decisions to avoid aggravating the problem and make sure that it is indeed the problem you are victim of. To get this done, we will first look at what a slipping clutch on BMW 3 Series is and how to check that this is what is occurring to you, and then, what measures can be taken to correct the problem.
What is slipping clutch on BMW 3 Series and how to identify it?
A BMW 3 Series with a clutch that slips
The clutch of your BMW 3 Series is the component that enables your vehicle to shift gears. It is placed between your gearbox and your engine. It is the component that comes into contact with the flywheel which is located on the engine side and which will collect the power transmitted by the clutch. With wear, the clutch of your BMW 3 Series slips because it is made up of notches that engage in the flywheel, and with wear and friction it wears out. It is said that the clutch slips when its teeth are too overused for it to engage on the flywheel.
How to identify clutch slipping on an BMW 3 Series?
There are several methods to identify that the clutch of your BMW 3 Series is slipping. You can perform all of these examinations without any help.
You can simply identify that your clutch slips when you accelerate and your engine revs up, but your car does not speed up, you may as well experience a burning smell.
To validate the first statement, you can stop, pull the parking brake, engage the first gear, accelerate moderately by releasing the clutch of your vehicle softly, if your engine motor rises in revs but the BMW 3 Series keeps fixed it is the indicator of a dead clutch.
Finally, you can put yourself, still in third gear, with the handbrake on, and by releasing it, your car should stall, if not, your clutch is probably dead.
What should I do if my clutch slips on my BMW 3 Series?
Limit the wear of your BMW 3 Series clutch
We will now give you some recommendations to limit the wear of your clutch and avoid your clutch slipping on your BMW 3 Series. First of all, it is wise not to leave your foot on the clutch pedal, regardless if the pressure you apply is very mild you will pre wear the clutch release bearing which will eventually result in a total change of the clutch kit. Another point not to be neglected, do not over-accelerate when you start, your acceleration must permanently be adapted to the speed of your engine motor. In the event that you are at a standstill accelerate slowly, if you are at medium speed accelerate gradually when you release the clutch pedal of your car so as not to make it slip against your engine flywheel.
Replacing your BMW 3 Series clutch
Finally, in this last portion, we will address the repair part. In circumstance the clutch of your BMW 3 Series is dead, you might be stuck at a standstill and have no other alternative than to phone the tow truck, because a dead clutch no longer allows the transmission to transmit power to the wheels. If this is the circumstance, be aware that you will have to replace the complete clutch kit, this repair requires quite a few hours of work and is approximated to cost between 500 and 1200 euros depending on the engine and the mechanic.
To find more tips on the BMW 3 Series, take a look at the BMW 3 Series category.
