Darkalley36

No sure if this is coincidental but the day after I got an oil change and brake flush the car keeps asking me to "depress clutch" when starting. It happens now almost everything I start the car. I was at a light today and had trouble getting from neutral to 1st. Any ideas??

jhbrennan

Bad clutch depress switch.

MSR Racer

i thought that is normal operation. The clutch predal must be depressed for the starter to engage.

Fahrer

If you have trouble getting into gear when the car is already running, I am sure it is not the switch but rather some air in the hydraulic clutch assembly. I believe the clutch and brake systems may share the reservoir.

sullivas

They do on my 05 so if you let the reservoir go below the level
of the cluch pickup feed (second line) in the reservoir I guess you *could* get some air in the clutch hydraulic line, and slave cylinder, depending on who's pumping pedals.

sullivas

If you are having trouble shifting is it probably air in the line.

Van

Poor bleeding of the clutch slave cylinder.

Darkalley36

Question... So I took my car to a local "top" porsche mechanic in NJ. I just called him and explained the issue (me getting the car in gear has only happened once so lets say that was just driver error). When I asked him about bleeding the brakes causing the problem he said "impossible". Was he suppose to have bled the clutch slave cylinder after he did the brake flush??? It doesn't sound like he did if he is telling me the brake flush and clutch issues aren't related. He says it is the switch is most likley to blame. I am bringing the car to the dealer (it is under warranty) to have them check out the clutch but I am curious about the clutch bleeding...

Fahrer

After reading your original post again, I am thinking it could be two unrelated issues...

1. Your clutch switch is not quite right which could give you starting problems.
2. You are experiencing the common balky 1st gear synchro issue which is normal but this should not start happening only after the car is serviced. It could be air in the line.

Darkalley36

thanks. yeah i think the gear thing was a fluke as i was rolling a bit. i know 1st gear can be funky. my only outstanding question is does the clutch need to be bleed when you are flushing the brakes?? i know for a fact he bled the brakes but NOT the clutch.

cvazquez

No, you do not need to bleed clutch also when bleeding brakes. However, bleeding the clutch is an easy job that's done at the slave.

function12

Yes it should be. It is all the same system. Otherwise they didn't get that old fuild out too.

user 72902

Another item to check is your motor mounts - they go bad. This will also make it difficult to engage 1st gear since your engine's alignment with the transmission will be off.

Darkalley36

Hey guys it was the switch!

jhbrennan

Glad they found the problem. With these complicated cars, I’m a great believer in the principle of Occam's razor where you select from among competing hypotheses and that which makes the fewest assumptions usually offers the simplest explanation.