Broken down 150 miles from home

call a/the local garage direct, they will know somone who can recover you, they will fix you

maybe someone here has a recommendation close by?

AA back to Bristol will be towards £500 (my guess)

Cost, erm a membership fee.

Way more than a membership fee. Membership is basically insurance, you pay regularly but hope you don't have to use it.

For a one off you've not been putting into the pot for years so you're gonna get charged through the nose for it.

Nottingham to Bristol is about 3 hours on the back of a low loader. Depending on the driving time of the driver already, they may have to swap you onto a new truck half way.

£500 is a good shout.

AA Instant Cover

you know they wont fix the clutch by the roadside... so i dont see any advantage to signing up to the AA now

if you can deal with being stuck where you are, possibly till late Monday.... im willing to bet the hotels will be cheaper than the AAs quote to tow you back to bristol

How much of that is motorway? Start it on the starter in 1st then practice your rev matching…

and then practice your forward planning!

🤣🤣 I've got a job soobalias, I can't just stay here until Monday.

I know they won't fix it, they'll either recover me to a local garage or a pay to get towed home.  I don't really have many other choices.  Shit happens I suppose.

I did consider trying to limp it home, I can select 1,2 and 4 but it's too dodgy.  Not worth the risk of coming to a stop on a motorway with no hard shoulder.

If your able to get 1-2-4 sounds like your gearbox took a shit if you lost 3 and 5 probably on the same lay shaft and the bearing may have collapsed.

If it was your clutch you'd get no gears.

If it was me and that was the case I'd be driving home on the back roads cautiously

My old man had to bring his non french UK spec car back to the UK from the middle of France for a specialist in Birmingham to fix as the french wouldn't touch it.

He lost 4th and 6th and it's well documented that the shaft bearing collapses to cause this in his model of vehicle. Just remembering not to select 4 and 6 drove him mental but the specialist turned it round in 24hrs - new box clutch and dmf.

Could try getting a quote from Shipley?

I’d avoid AA if they still do Relay. As per its name, you get passed from area to area so sometimes have to wait for the next leg to pick you up. Was in a Nate’s car that broke down just outside Manchester and it took 10 hours to get from there to his home in Essex.

Another vote for drive it home on the back roads

I did consider trying to limp it home, I can select 1,2 and 4 but it’s too dodgy.

I would take to the back roads, take it easy, limp it back to your own garage.

where exactly are you? what car is it?
Id just take the back roads too

Frogstamp....that policy is for prior to a breakdown...it states the below...which seems to be what OP has done. Good luck OP

Just so you know, you can’t buy cover online if you’ve already broken down – so please call instead and we'll help you.

I did the AA instant cover thing a few years ago, cost £135 for a full recovery 80- miles home plus it included a years breakdown.  Seems a bargain at the time.

Driving on the back roads is surely worse than driving it on the motorway - back roads have many more junctions etc that require you to alow down and speed up again.

Yeah, my MiL has done something similar. Bought homestart when her car wouldn't. No idea how they make any money letting you buy breakdown once you've broken down. I guess people stay members for a long time afterwards?

Drive it home on the motorway at 1AM

I'm with Autoaid and all they do is send an independent recovery service out, you pay them and claim cash back. I paid £50 for about 10 miles last time. Google car recovery in maps a load of local operators will come up, call them and get an idea of price. I suspect AA will ream you!

<p style="text-align: left;">You sorted ? My pal runs a recovery firm local ish</p>

Driving on the back roads is surely worse than driving it on the motorway – back roads have many more junctions etc that require you to alow down and speed up again.

Less speed , more places to pull over , less busy , not a Ludacris amount to get a mandatory tow as per motorway.

junctions are an inconvenience not an impossibility.

Junctions are an inconvenience not an impossibility.

plus OP can select 1st & 2nd so no problem pulling away.

Also, easier to drive in 4th on back roads than on the motorway (unless its a pre 1990s car with 4th as top!)

If your clutch works and you've got a few years then I'd deffo drive it.

I limped my Berlingo home clutchless when the stupid clutch cable adjuster threw a wobbler recently.

I'm home!

AA man came out and pulled my clutch pedal back up and said it's sticking down.  I drive it to a nearby petrol station with him following and it stuck down twice more but I pulled it back up and it was fine.  He said the clutch and dual mass flywheel seem to be about to go tho.  DMF was rattling noticeably louder.

He gave me 3 options -

1 AA arranged recovery home charged £4.50 per mile plus £130 for upgraded policy.  Worked out nearly £800

2 phone local recovery and get a quote which is probably cheaper

3 risk driving home and see how it goes

I chose option 3 and didn't die.  Pedal stuck down a few times.    Saved myself the price of a new ragley hardtail perhaps 🤔🤣

(Actually £2.5k for repairs will be shortly coming)

What car? £2.5K IS alot for a clutch and dmf.

Well done, I had a pug 406 diesel the mechanic told me every year the dmf was about to die, think it went on for 5 years and it didn't.  Govt scrappage scheme killed it off eventually, still see a few 406 s driving around, did over 200k but well looked after.

I’m home!...
I chose option 3 and didn’t die. Pedal stuck down a few times. Saved myself the price of a new ragley hardtail perhaps 🤔🤣

That's great news. Looking forward to pics of the new bike 😊👍

If your clutch works and you’ve got a few years then I’d deffo drive it.

didn’t that long after all!

I had this a few years ago with a car, the clutch would occasionally stick and required kicking a few times to pop back up, you really had to think ahead when driving but I made it home. I think it was the clutch slave cylinder in the end.

It's a CRV

For the last 5 years I've been told the dual mass flywheel sounds a bit rattly and could be on the way out and I've been very easy on it.  However, my sister has been using the car for the past couple of months and handed it back last week saying 'its making weird noises'.  Her car was in the garage for a new clutch and gearbox 🤔

Did the aa charge you for turning up and getting you going and the advice? If not that is very good!!

It cost me £150 joining fee/call out on the day and then I joined for £8 per month.  I'll probably keep it as the car is getting older and I will be using it more when my wife's company car gets handed back in a few months time.

Given the labour in what has to be taken off to do the clutch on a crv. Not at all surprised at the cost.

Frogstamp….that policy is for prior to a breakdown…it states the below…which seems to be what OP has done. Good luck OP

You missed off this bit:

We'll provide instant cover for anyone broken down in the UK who's not already with us.

As indicated by a couple of posts above, you used to be able to join on the spot and they would cover you. I guess not any more!

2500 sounds a bit expensive to me for a clutch and DMF, there's nothing particularly specialist involved and the LUK kit for both parts together comes up at around £700 quid. Surely it can't cost nearly 2k for the labour...

As indicated by a couple of posts above, you used to be able to join on the spot and they would cover you. I guess not any more!

You can but you pay an 'idiot tax'. Cover for the year might be £50-100 depending on level of cover.

Happened to me about ten years ago, I called up RAC and said can I join, and also I've broken down so I need to be recovered about 10 miles to home, IIRC they charged me about £180 to get recovered including 12 months brakedown cover going forward.

I tend to look after my own car so don't bother with brakedown cover, as it's highly unlikely to brake down, so it can be economical to do it this way, rather then blindly paying £50 per year....

But sometimes you do just get caught out, in my case a combination of failing alternator, old battery and short trips caught me off guard.

You did well. stealth ad alert!! If you’re stuck for transport while it’s being fixed we have a scruffy 2002 Focus 1.6 that we are selling for £450 with MOT left until December

Based in Portishead so not too far…..

Mr Clutch repaired our CRV DMF and clutch for about £900 before lockdown. And I think you’ll still have change for half a Ragley.

I once drove the CRV home with a failed alternator. Being a diesel, it doesn’t need an HT circuit, but the engine management did play some interesting light shows as the battery wore down.

Had that happen in a Cmax years ago.
Spoke to mechanic mate , who told me to tie a phone charging cable round the clutch pedal to pull it up when it got stuck down . Got me home ok

it was a knackered DMF

He fixed it for a drink , but the parts came to nearly £800 and that was 8 years ago

Cheers for the replies.  My garage tells me that the bulk of the cost is the DMF which comes via honda.  The parts are hard to get at the moment and he will let me know when it comes in as he has another CRV waiting for the same.  He said £2k parts and labour, plus vat.

I'll look into mr clutch now, thanks TiRed

I had this on a works Transit. Amusing variety of rattling, clacking, clonking and buzzing when idling and the clutch would intermittently stick down or have reduced travel.  Kept booking it into the garage that maintains the fleet and they pretty much refused to look at it as it was intermittent (never on the 2 minute test drive) and kept telling me all the vans had a solid flywheel conversion when they were fitted out as mobile workshops.

Gradually over the next couple of years the rattling got less and less as all the bits of flywheel got chopped up and blended together, it eventually smashed itself to bits for another employee and the housing was full of shrapnel!

As mentioned...a recording I took to try and convince the garage it was broken!

Sounds pretty normal for a deisel TBH 😀

Can't even here the throtle 'till half way through the clip for the backgound noise.

If your starter motor packs up that's a sign of imminent DMF failure as swarf gets into the 'magnetic' elements of the starter motor and solenoid.

Also remember to start and stop the engine with the clutch pressed in for happy DMF life!

For the last 5 years I’ve been told the dual mass flywheel sounds a bit rattly and could be on the way out

There are different designs of DMF, as far as I can tell. In some the springs just wear out but the flywheel doesn't disintegrate.  It just gets rattly on idle. My Passat was like that for years and I assumed it was the pulley tensioner, but then I realised what it was and changed the flywheel.

I agree I'd much rather drive a limping car on a motorway, provided it can achieve 56mph or so, because for 99% of the journey you can pull over. I'd hate to conk out on a blind bend, that'd be terrifying.

I tend to look after my own car so don’t bother with brakedown cover, as it’s highly unlikely to brake down,

Hah!

I agree I’d much rather drive a limping car on a motorway, provided it can achieve 56mph or so

don’t think the other motorway users would appreciate that!

don’t think the other motorway users would appreciate that!

There are thousands of vehicles already doing 56mph in motorways.

I’d much rather drive a limping car on a motorway, provided it can achieve 56mph or so, because for 99% of the journey you can pull over.

Scotland, yeah. English smart motorway? No ta.

The amount of smart motorway isn't that big compared to the number of compromising places to be forced to stop on A roads. And there is a hard shoulder on smart motorways most of of the time outside rush hour.

Plenty of vehicles going 56 on the motorway, and a fair few going 50mph.

If you think that's going to inconvenience other drivers you must be one of those that only spends a few seconds in the inside lane whilst transitioning from the outside lane!

No, I’ll use the lanes as intended. I’ve driven classic cars as daily driver for plenty of years where 70 is quite hopeful. Even at 60-65 the middle lane was rarely an option.
As lorries can do 60 on the motorway, at 56 you’ll have a fair few bearing down on you.

Lorries are limited to 56mph by law, some companied limit to 50 for fuel saving reasons. Loads of people who bimble along at sub 50 during the week, more on weekends, plus the caravans etc. Anyone who does more than 70 on the motorway these days stands out like a sore thumb!

Up to 7.5 ton they can do 70, over 7.5 it’s 60

Well yeah that's an alternative viewpoint certainly .

But no thanks to the hardshoulder smart or otherwise

As lorries can do 60 on the motorway, at 56 you’ll have a fair few bearing down on you.

Speaking as an occasional caravan tower an indicated 58mph is the best speed if you want to stay with most trucks and cause the least disruption.  They don't stay at exactly constant speed though which is why I wish my tow car had adaptive cruise control.

Speaking as an occasional caravan tower an indicated 58mph is the best speed if you want to stay with most trucks and cause the least disruption. They don’t stay at exactly constant speed though which is why I wish my tow car had adaptive cruise control.

Speed limiters work by limiting the fuel supply. Downhill, drivers often need to brake to stay at 60mph max

Speed limiters are mostly 90kmh +/-2%, your speedo is +/-10% max tolerance

Yes, and some are clearly heavily loaded so are slower up steep hills.  I do pass them sometimes.