Clutch Slip

[taffy70]

Hi all,

I have a 05 plate verso T-Spirt 2.0 deisel. Last Sept (2009) whilst driving at about 50mph I put my foot down to pick up speed on a dual cariageway, when at about 2200 RPM the car appeared to first lag, then lunge slightly. At the same time the revs hit approx 4000+ revs and then settled back down to the respective engine speed. There was also an audable change consistant with the revs firstly going up then coming back to normal. At the time wew were driving out of Cardiff at rush hour and so I assume the engine temp was up a little due to the stop start nature of the initial journey. This also meant lots of use of the clutch pedal. Car didn't do it all the time but managed to show the fault to my local Toyota dealer, who diagnosed a worn clutch. This done on the basis of the fault as described above and that the clutch bite was right at the top of the pedal. At no point did I ever smell the unmistakable smell of a slipping clutch and neither did the car ever do this during pull aways from a stationary position? The car was still under the dealership extended warranty, had done 51000 miles from new, 6000 of which we had put on the car in the 7 months we had owned it. The month previous the car was serviced at the dealership for the 50000 mile service and the clutch master cylinder was also replaced. I was told that the warranty didn't cover the clutch if it was normal wear and tear but of course this couldn't be determined until the clutch was stripped down. Local Toyota garage stripped down the clutch and informed me that both the clutch and the dual mass flywheel (that was found to be worn) were replaced under warranty (£1500). I was so relieved with this news that I didn't bother asking to see the faulty items. Then again in the new year the initial fault re-appeared in almost exactly the same circumstances. Once again driving out of Cardiff in rush hour traffic and exactly the same fault occurs. I've taken the car back twice to the dealership but on both occasions the fault wasn't there. The service foreman test drove the car both times with me and he couldn't get the clutch to slip even by aggresive driving and manipulating the clutch pedal. So I've been told to take it back when the fault is there? By now the car is out of warranty. I know the clutch has a 12 month warranty from the time it was fitted but I questioned whether or not the initial fault wasn't the clutch and it was coincidence that when they looked at it the clutch was worn and so changed it. Due to the recent bad weather and the fact we have 2 young children we haven't driven many journeys of 20 miles +. Finally the clutch bite is still at the top of the pedal and there is no smell when the fault is there. Can anyone please help?