Setting off Judder - C4 Grand Spacetourer

[CitROeNALD]

2018 Grand C4 Spacetourer
Manual
22k miles
1.6 Blue HDI
.
It has been kept in very good condition, all services completed each year regardless of mileage.

The clutch has been treated very well too. Never holding on biting point. Gentle gear changes and acceleration. Rev matching even.

Now the issue. Which has only happened a few times in the last year.

When I set off in first, and sometimes also when releasing the clutch in 2nd, I get a slight judder. Often slightly worse in 1st.

The reality is, it has rarely occurred much at all, but just trying to guess at what it could be.

My first thought was that I let the fuel level get too low....and perhaps there was some crap in the tank and it was causing an injector issue.

I thought this as I first noticed it happening when on a low tank. Maybe 1 bar. I think the second time it happened....it was similar. So since then I have kept the tank more filled, and the problem did not resurface.

It has not happened for maybe 8 months or more......when it suddenly re-occurred.

It was after a long journey, and then the car had sat for perhaps an hour, then re-commenced a journey.

That's when I noticed the judder/hesitancy again. After another motorway run, it's been back to normal since (more than a week).

The clutch grabs fine, zero slipping. For example, it pulls in 1st gear with no accelerator input perfectly.

So...I'm at a bit of a loss as to what causes it.

This car does do short journeys, but I never have had any issues with the DPF. Also, I always do good motorway runs once a month and ensure a long spell held over 2.5k rpm for a good amount of time.

I did find a reference to a similar situation and perhaps a cause/solution....but not sure at all:

" As an old fashioned mechanic I'd say that the clutch is being operated too carefully.
It is caused by uneven slip-resistance from the disk on the flywheel and pressure plate.
I'd take the car and make a few (4-5) back-to-back hard starts on the (verge pf slipping the tyres) to really heat the assembly up.
That will, in a lot of cases, end the jutter. But it has to be done carefully to not burn out the clutchplate. "


One potential scenario is that it is not clutch related at all and somehow related to the traction control going a bit wrong for some reason?
But I've never observed a flashing TC light or anything.

So...who knows.

[RichardW]

Our 2017 does this - and has pretty much since new (now at 70k). Occasionally it will judder at take up - sometimes really badly. It will do it for a few days, then it will go away again for a few months. Usually a bit of clutch slippage helps reduce it. A few months back it got really bad, and I considered that we might have to put a new cutch in but then it went away again! I wonder if it's a self adjusting clutch, and sometimes it doesn't adjust evenly, then once it sorts out the adjustment it's OK again. By comparison, the clutch in my 3008 (2013 with the non blue 1.6 HDi) is still smooth at 100k and the pedal is notably lighter than the C4 (always has been) - and this clutch comes in well up the pedal stroke suggesting it is near end of life.

[PaulC5]

If not done, you could change the clutch fluid which should be done anyway every 2 years as part of the brake fluid change.

[CitROeNALD]

Is clutch/gearbox fluid a standard service item on a manual?
Don't think I've seen it appear on mine, even though the brake fluid has been done every 2 years.

Edit: According to a video on replacing the fluid in an older 1.6HDI, it says there is no formal interval for transmission/gearbox oil for Manuals. Which seems to imply it's one of these supposed longlife fluids.

[RichardW]

No std service for the gearbox oil. Usually gets changed when the box has to be drained for any reason

[PaulC5]

By clutch fluid I meant the brake fluid that is also used in the clutch master and slave cylinders and shares the same reservoir. Transmission fluid is the gear box oil which as others have noted is not usually replaced.

It is possible when your brake fluid was replaced they did not change the clutch fluid which requires the cylinders bleeding similar to the brake cylinders. When I change ours I find the old fluid is a bit black from seal wear and after the clutch pedal can feel a bit lighter to use.

[CitROeNALD]

Ahh, I see. I misunderstood.

Would normal procedure for a service or specifically one done by a dealer to be to drain the clutch master cylinder too?

My brake fluid was replaced in July.