BMW - heavy clutch

tenchy

I've been driving my nearly new (5000 miles) BMW series 3 for several days now. I can't get used to the clutch, which seems much stiffer than the Audi A4 I traded in. Is it the case that BMW clutches are heavier than with other comparable makes?

BOWFER

I went straight from an A4 to a 3-series diesel and I don't remember the clutch being heavy.
Or not excessively heavy anyway.
Can the dealer not let you try another one?

neilmcl

Could it be you seating position? If your seat is low, and BMWs tend to have seats that can sit quite low, your pushing the pedal away from you rather than downwards which takes more of an effort and that may give the impression that the clutch pedal is stiffer than normal. Personally I've driven BMWs for a number of years, and Audis before that and have not noticed their pedals to be any stiffer than most.

Ganga

I know this is a newish car but i always thought that the clutch pedal became stiff /hard to push down when the clutch pressure plate was worn .

daveyjp

One of a gew reasons I didn't go further with a BMW purchase was the very heavy clutch and terrible gearchange.

Stick to autos in BMWs.

AdrianC

tenchy said:

I've been driving my nearly new (5000 miles) BMW series 3 for several days now. I can't get used to the clutch, which seems much stiffer than the Audi A4 I traded in. Is it the case that BMW clutches are heavier than with other comparable makes?

How does your car compare to the one you test-drove pre-purchase?

neilmcl

daveyjp said:

One of a gew reasons I didn't go further with a BMW purchase was the very heavy clutch and terrible gearchange.

Stick to autos in BMWs.

I can't agree with this one I'm afraid. The BMW manual gearboxes are excellent to use, the autos, I agree, are even better.

BOWFER

neilmcl said:

daveyjp said:

One of a gew reasons I didn't go further with a BMW purchase was the very heavy clutch and terrible gearchange.

Stick to autos in BMWs.

I can't agree with this one I'm afraid. The BMW manual gearboxes are excellent to use, the autos, I agree, are even better.

Hmmm, I have to agree that BMW manuals are a bit ropey.
I've had a 320ED and an Alpina D3.
And the clutches in the 3-series are notorious for judder.
Then again, I'm not a fan of their stupid multiple-gear autos either, can't be done with umpteen gearchanges within 10 flipping yards.

tenchy

BOWFER said:

neilmcl said:

daveyjp said:

One of a gew reasons I didn't go further with a BMW purchase was the very heavy clutch and terrible gearchange.

Stick to autos in BMWs.

I can't agree with this one I'm afraid. The BMW manual gearboxes are excellent to use, the autos, I agree, are even better.

Hmmm, I have to agree that BMW manuals are a bit ropey.
I've had a 320ED and an Alpina D3.
And the clutches in the 3-series are notorious for judder.
Then again, I'm not a fan of their stupid multiple-gear autos either, can't be done with umpteen gearchanges within 10 flipping yards.

Please, No! The major reason I got rid of the Audi A4 was because of clutch judder. I've had two of them. First was a company car that developed the judder at about 40k miles. Next, it was my own vehicle, that did exactly the same at about the same mileage, and conveniently for Audi, just out of warranty. I lived with it thereafter.

Regarding the BMW, thanks for all the replies. I'm getting used to the clutch. It is stiffer than the Audi, but I've had a couple of BMW drivers try it and they say its normal. Mrs Tenchy thinks it's the same as the Audi.

AdrianC

tenchy said:

Regarding the BMW, thanks for all the replies. I'm getting used to the clutch. It is stiffer than the Audi, but I've had a couple of BMW drivers try it and they say its normal.

And how did it compare with the one you test-drove prior to purchase...?

BOWFER

tenchy said:

BOWFER said:

neilmcl said:

daveyjp said:

One of a gew reasons I didn't go further with a BMW purchase was the very heavy clutch and terrible gearchange.

Stick to autos in BMWs.

I can't agree with this one I'm afraid. The BMW manual gearboxes are excellent to use, the autos, I agree, are even better.

Hmmm, I have to agree that BMW manuals are a bit ropey.
I've had a 320ED and an Alpina D3.
And the clutches in the 3-series are notorious for judder.
Then again, I'm not a fan of their stupid multiple-gear autos either, can't be done with umpteen gearchanges within 10 flipping yards.

Please, No! The major reason I got rid of the Audi A4 was because of clutch judder. 

Afraid so, very common fault.
It's not the clutch per se, it's the dual mass flywheel.