08 vantage roadster ... Took to shop for reg service, rear brake pads, and replace squeaky belt. Went to pick it up... Guy working there says he took it for a drive to break the pads in... Then when he stopped the car wouldn't go. Engine starts fine, no warnings or error messages... But reverse and drive don't work when I hit the gas the car sounds like neutral w a bit of a strange not good sound along with it,

Did the guy take it for a joy ride and screw it up? Why wouldn't the car go all of a sudden if its working fine 2 minutes before? Then it doesn't even go forward or backwards ???? What the hell could have happened? He says he just braked for a woman to turn then when he hit the gas again the car wouldn't go...

Any ideas???? This is European auto shop that has worked on the car before and everything's been fine ....

Should he even be driving it after new brake pads are put in or is he lying??

 

It's possible that your clutch has gone to the great parts bin in the sky. Also, yes, driving the car to bed-in the brake pads after installing them is a standard and expected procedure.

Good luck.

 

Thanks for the reply... So he prob wasn't taking a joyride u don't think?

I usually just drive in automatic he may have used the paddle shifts a little too aggressively?? It's stressing me out but it seems clutch issues w these vantages are common although mine isn't manual....

Hoping its not some serious transmission problem

 

You can't really "use the paddles too aggressively". The computer decides how the shift will be executed and in order to bed-in the brakes, you must do a few runs at a good speed and then slam on the brakes. These cars aren't that fragile, they are meant to be driven. Clutch issues seem to be just as or even more common on Sportshift automated manual gearboxes. Maybe it was just time for the clutch to go. Or maybe it's something else.

Don't get stressed out. Things break. They get fixed. It's the natural order of things.

 

Same thing happened to my 08 with sportshift. There is a known problem with 08 clutches that were defective. They just come apart. Mine was fixed under warranty. Check with your dealer to see if your VIN is included in the defective group. If this is the problem AM should take care of it.

 

There is no VIN range for bad clutchs..Aston Martion has never stated they have a groupe of defective clutches..hehe Good Luck getting them to state something like that in any form of words..a dealerships opinion is another story

Yes V8V's are known for clutch failure..but Aston believes it's all the clients fault for not doing a kiss-point and/or clutch relearn(I don't believe but it's what Aston tells us)...yet in a way can't argue cause 90% of Aston V8V ASM owners don't even know exactly what a clutch relearn is and how to do it....In all honesty it's not even the clients fault, it's the sales department for not teaching the client the ASM V8V is NOT a automatic vehicle and how to do these needed clutch learns, those dash buttons D,N,R are not automatic mode like 90% think and are told so by the sales)..they are to be used ONLY for situations like parking, the V8V ASM is to be driven in paddle mode and treated like a manual stick shift vehicle..aka get to a stop light, put it in neutral..etc

The garage that did the work, did they let the vehicle do a clutch learn when they started the vehicle and drove off(whats a clutch learn right?)...If the garage did not and then drove the vehicle even slightly hard..yes that can burn your clutch very fast.....but you would have to prove this, which would be hard being the car is not really new and already has mileage on it probably near the clutch life average(15,000-45,000km city driving..client have got a lot more but this is the average in high populated city)

Usually you get gear shifting issue when the clutch is wearing out or near the end..you don't just lose drive gears with no abnormal noises. It really sounds like the clutch position is learned wrong..but does show signs that the clutch is at least 50%+ worn out due to the no drive you presently have. To get drive back, with car "cold", start car and wait for the faint click noise from the A/C compresor clutch or just idle for 10 seconds, do not release brake nor press throttle or select any gers..shut car off and start back up again...do this about 10 times..test drive gears, do you have any motion?..None? do it again 10 times..if after 20 times you have no drive gear motion(which you should if things happened randomly like this and no clunking/rattling/squealing is heard from the vehicle) ..I would then assume a burnout or very aggresive driving was done to smoke the clutch.. bring it to the dealer and they will flash with the latest software and tell you the estimated thickness is, from a bit count they can read

 

What he said.

How many miles are there on the clock?

 

right about 37k miles -- so i guess im one of the lucky ones.

thanks for the all feedback guys....this forum is great. car is on its way to houston am to get fixed..... so they will diagnose and let me know what the issue is and if its normal wear and tear or someone did something wrong. im guessing its just the clutch life and i got lucky it didnt happen to me on the highway or something

 

Interesting. As an owner with a SS with a fairly worn clutch, I'd love to know if you could get it back to life... I'm terrified of getting stuck with mine and am contemplating replacing the clutch preemptively.

 

Yes there were defective clutches in the 08s. They had defective center bolts and the clutch just came apart leaving the car motionless. Happened to my car as well as many others. Had nothing to do with disc material wear. I have photos of mine. The disc was fine but the bolts failed and the plate came apart. AM covered the replacement not the dealer.
Again you should check with your dealer to see if this is the issue to determine if AM will do anything for you.

And yes there was a vin range. Mine was in it.

 

Great write up as always Irish. Top job

 

I've had a 2013 V8V with Sportshift II for 7 weeks now. I've been doing clutch relearn every time I start the car. But, the dealer never mentioned putting the car in "N" at stoplights. Is this recommended? What about when parking? Do we need to put the car in "N" when we park, or can you take out the key while it is in "1" or "R"?

 

Sorry to dig up an old thread, but this is something I would love to know as well. Being that I bought mine sight unseen, I didn't have the advantage of having anyone walk me through any peculiarities of the vehicle such as clutch learn, specific measures that should be taken while driving, etc. I've learned a ton from this board so far, but this is the first I've seen of putting the car in neutral at stop signs or when parking.

Any responses on this would be awesome!

 

When at a stop, yes putting to N is a good idea, this will help lower the clutch temp, not a great amount but will avoid any possible slipping and reduce wear on the slave cylinder.

Drive it like you would a regular manual transmission, at a stop light shift to N, doing a rolling stop keep it in 2nd(just like a manual car, if rpm's are to low shift to pull away without to much slippage then shift to 1st)...also you can use the D button but driving with the paddles is what the vehicle was really designed for. The D button was really just for *a convience of ease*, basically if your hands can't reach the paddle for wtv reason, then select D and return to the paddles when you can(best way to think of using the D button is when parking only). When you park the car, the vehicle will automatically shift the vehicle to 1st gear when the ignition is turned off, even if you select R or N, 1st gear will be selected after ignition is turned off. Now this doesn't mean you are good and secured in your spot, you still need to apply the parking brake..again it's a reagular manual transmission, just its shifted my a hydraulic linkage that is controlled by a TCU(Transmission Control Unit) that takes inputs from the driver(you)..

Clutch learn, I'm sure it's been wrote a dozen of times on this forum, maybe even by me..brief summary, basically just start the car and wait 10 seconds. There are telltales to let you know when the system has learned which is wait for the N button light to be constant. If the N light is on all the time when starting the car(not blannk or flashing), then the TCU software needs to be updated by your local dealer, in that case wait 10 seconds or until the ECU(Emotion Contorl Unit) goes from a dim brightness to a slightly brighter lumination, once the ECU goes brighter, it is around the time the clutch learn would be complete.

 

Clutch learn procedure thread:

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...procedure.html