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Nothing overly exciting has happened to the car as of late, done an evening session at Snetterton recently which was a huge success, the best the car has ever felt for sure. I’ve just fitted the latest version of the Sprogley Motorsport airbox, this time it’s 3D printed with Carbon infused material so the finish is just incredible. I also bought another set of wheels, I used to have a set of 15” OZ Ultraleggera’s and I always regretted selling them. Seeing them on my partners car made me want another set so I finally bought my first ever set of brand new wheels! They look amazing, wrapped in Nankang AR1’s ready for a Nürburgring trip on 23rd August for a week :)

Clutch pedal lower than brake pedal Stiff gear change Crunching into reverse Hard to engage first Clunky when moving 5th to 4th, 3rd to 2nd. Very Low bite point. Any or all of these issues means you should get your pedal box checked out. As far as I am aware this is only a problem with Cable operated clutches, not hydraulic. THE CAUSE: On the left side of the box there is section that is pressed and welded to the main pedal box. It forms the stop for when the pedal reaches the end of its travel and it also holds the guide for the clutch cable. Unfortunately the original design has only spot welds holding the pressing onto the pedal box. This means when you are operating the clutch, large shear forces are placed upon the welds which eventually break. The top spot weld is also positioned badly on a fold line for the pressing which can lead to cracks in the pressing due to fatigue on the fold. Any or all of the welds can fail which will cause the pedal to drop slightly and therefore shorten the clutch cable travel meaning your clutch never fully disengages. THE SOLUTION: The original design specification stated the pedal box must collapse in the event of a crash to save the driver from crushing on the legs. The design meets the spec but at the cost of reliability. There is a newer design of pedal box which has no less than 20 revisions to it. These revisions include extra seam welds on the back of the pedal box strenghtning the joint but also still allowing it to collapse in an accident. (I obtained this information from a VW parts manager) VW are well aware of the problem (something some dealerships will deny). The revised design IS the same as the Polo pedal box which was subject to a recall. The lupo box was never subject to a recall but a memo was sent to all dealerships making them aware of the problem and also stating that goodwill would be given at 100% for any pedal box issues. This is subject to the vehicle being under 8 years old or 999,999 miles, whichever comes first. I have read this memo myself, all dealerships are aware of it. VWUK customer service will always act on information given by the dealership, not the customer therefore in order to obtain goodwill the dealership must diagnose the problem correctly. This is where it becomes a bit hit or miss. Some "honest" dealerships will instantly recognise the problem, recommend goodwill and your problem is sorted free of charge. Others won't and will instead diagnose the problem as being caused by a "heavy clutch" or some other clutch related reason. A heavy clutch could not ever cause the pedal box to break. If it was that heavy you would probably have severe trouble pressing the pedal and your clutch cable would give up long before the box. You may also be told that the heavy clutch is due to the clutch been worn and that it would also need replacing at a cost of near £480. This is a miss-diagnosis. It would be impossible for a technician to establish whether the clutch is worn while the pedal box is broken. The pedal box influences clutch travel so much you would not be able to tell without first fixing the pedal box and then testing clutch operation. In the words of a VW main dealer, VW have decided not to issue a recall to save face, they would rather fix the problem quietly on a one by one basis. However, I also believe that pressure is put on dealerships to diagnose the problem as being caused by something other than the pedal box design in order to save money on replacing the parts. Hence why some dealerships are genuine about the problem and some not. CONCLUSIONS The information I have given above is from my personal experiance and recent dealings with two VW dealerships. The information on the design revsions and memo are from VW employees who have asked me not to mention their names or dealerships through fear of disciplinary action by VW (that says a lot I think!) If you have a problem with yours get it seen to asap, it does affect your clutch wear if you drive for a substantial time with the problem. It SHOULD be fixed for free, this depends on diagnosis. If the garage diagnose it as a straight pedal box issue ask for goodwill. If they try and play it off as something else walk away and find another dealership. I am not going to name a shame dealerships publically on here. Regards, Adrian PS - Can someone pin this for everyones benefit. Thanks.