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Quick answer – around £500.
The clutch is one of the most important parts of your Peugeot 208. Engaging and disengaging the clutch determines whether power is transmitted from the engine to the wheels or not, and if your clutch fails you’ll either be stuck in or out of gear – and will need to be recovered home.
A clutch is expensive to replace on any car. While you can typically expect 50,000 – 70,000 miles out of a clutch, they usually don’t just fail straight away and give some sort of warning, so at the first signs of trouble you should have your clutch replaced.
In this article, we’ll cover exactly what to look out for when your clutch is failing, as well as how much it costs to have a new one put in and exactly what you’re paying for at the garage.
What are the signs of a failing clutch?
Clutches are wear items – they will fail. Just like getting an oil change or fitting new brakes, you can expect a clutch to need replacing every now and then. It’s normal.
There are numerous signs that tell you that your clutch needs replacing. One of the main signs is that the clutch starts to slip – and this means that when you put your foot down in gear, the engine revs but the car doesn’t pick up speed. You may also notice crunching of gears indicating the clutch isn’t disengaging properly, or you hear a squeak or grumble when pushing the pedal down.
Replacing a clutch is a big job, but it’s one that most mechanics do day in and day out. With the Peugeot 208 being such a common car, and sharing a lot of its parts with other cars such as the Citroen C3 and DS3, most mechanics will have done several of these cars previously and replacing the clutch should be very straightforward for them.
What parts make up a clutch?
When we say clutch replacement, generally we are talking about a clutch “kit” – not just the clutch plate itself. In a clutch kit we find:
- Clutch plate
- Pressure plate
- Release bearing
If any of these parts fail it will cause you to lose your drive, so they are replaced all at the same time. A failing release bearing will usually emit a screeching or screaming sound when the clutch is pressed, and a failing pressure plate will usually result in crunching or grinding as there isn’t enough pressure being put onto the clutch plate itself to properly engage and disengage it.
Peugeot 208 clutch replacement cost
In this section we determine exactly how much you can expect to pay to replace a clutch on a Peugeot 208. This is going to be different for the mark 1 (2012 – 2019) and mark 2 (2019 onwards) so we’ve outlined the cost for each below.
You can usually expect to pay around £50 + VAT per hour for labour for a mechanic to work on your car. If you take your car to the Peugeot main dealer, you will pay more – however some Peugeot dealers offer fixed price servicing on certain jobs, including bigger jobs like timing belt changes and clutch replacement. This is mainly at Robins & Day and Griffin Mill garages, but check with your local Peugeot main agent first if you plan to take your car to the dealer.
A garage shouldn’t really bill you any more than six hours to replace a clutch, unless there’s something that’s made the job more difficult for whatever reason – so we’ve estimated six hours of labour for each job below.
Peugeot 208 A9 (Mk1) Clutch Replacement Cost
Example car – 2015 Peugeot 208 e-HDi 1.6 Diesel
Clutch Kit (Sachs): £174.99 (Euro Car Parts)
Labour: £300 + VAT (six hours at £50 + VAT per hour)
Gearbox Oil (1.9L): £27.48 (2L Total Transmission Gear 8)
Total cost = £502.47 + VAT
Peugeot 208 P21 (Mk2) Clutch Replacement Cost
Example car – 2020 Peugeot 208 1.2 Puretech Petrol
Clutch Kit (LuK): £178.99 (Euro Car Parts)
Labour: £300 + VAT (six hours at £50 + VAT per hour)
Gearbox Oil (1.9L): £27.48 (2L Total Transmission Gear 8)
Total cost = £506.47 + VAT
As you can see the cost is basically the same, as the old and new Peugeot 208 share the same group of 5 and 6 speed manual gearboxes.
Do clutches fail suddenly?
Generally, no. They can, however, fail suddenly, but this is usually after you’ve ignored the warning signs. For example, if the friction material has come to the end of its life the linings may disintegrate leaving no mechanical connection between the gearbox or engine. Alternatively the clutch plate could just shatter and cause damage to the bellhousing of the gearbox.
Usually, however, you get warning signs well before this happens, and if you know what to look for you will have booked your car in for a clutch replacement before this happens. As mentioned, if your clutch has started to slip, you’ve noticed crunching when changing gear or you get strange grinding or squealing noises, get your car booked in for a clutch replacement ASAP.
Why is replacing a clutch so expensive?
Simply because of the labour involved. I’ve done numerous clutch replacements on both the old and new Peugeot 208s and while they’re not any more difficult than any other car, they’re a big job. Without going into huge detail, here’s a quick run down of what you need to do to replace a clutch on a 208 and why it’s so expensive:
- Remove battery and battery tray to expose the top of the gearbox.
- Lift the car, and remove front wheels.
- Drain gearbox oil.
- Remove both driveshafts. Remove gear linkage.
- Using a transmission jack, support the gearbox and unbolt from the car.
- Remove old clutch and pressure plate. Fit new using clutch alignment tool.
- Fit new release bearing to the input shaft of the gearbox and grease the splines.
- Use the transmission jack to refit gearbox and bolt to the car.
- Reconnect driveshafts. Fill the gearbox up with oil again.
- Refit the wheels. Lower the car and reassemble battery compartment and refit battery.
As you can see this is a very involved job and does take between four and six hours to complete successfully.
Can you drive a Peugeot 208 with a slipping clutch?
You can, but I wouldn’t advise you drive it very far. The problem with a slipping clutch is that you don’t know how long it will be before it gives out. Nobody can definitively say exactly when a clutch will fail, but if yours is slipping it’s as good a sign as any other that it’s about to fail soon. Whether soon means 50 miles or 2000 miles, nobody knows.
My advice – if your clutch is slipping, don’t chance it. Get it booked in for a replacement ASAP.
What wears the clutch quickly?
Lots of things – doing burnouts and spinning rear tyres, dropping the clutch at high RPMs, riding the clutch – but mainly what causes premature clutch wear is people not driving properly. Let me explain.
Lots of people have been taught to hold the clutch at the bite point on hills. This is a terrible idea. A clutch wears only when it’s hot – and by holding it at the bite point, the clutch heats up rapidly. This causes wear to the friction material and will usually generate an unpleasant smell. If you need to stop on a hill for more than a few seconds, use the handbrake. That’s what it’s there for!
Additionally lots of people wait at traffic lights with the clutch down and the car in gear. This again is a horrible idea because when you push the clutch in, the release bearing starts spinning. If you keep the release bearing spinning eventually it will wear out – even if your clutch is fine, you won’t be able to change gear with the release bearing (sometimes called the throwout bearing) damaged. If you’re stopped for more than a few seconds, take the car out of gear.
Another thing that causes premature clutch wear is driving with the clutch partially depressed. The clutch is not a footrest and should not be treated as such – and if you drive with the clutch pressed in a little bit (known as riding the clutch) you will case premature wear and tear on the clutch assembly and cause it to fail earlier than it otherwise would have. Change gear, and put your foot on the floor!
Hope this article helped – we’ve got many other guides on the Peugeot 208 if you’re experiencing other problems!
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About the author
Marcus Brown is editor-in-chief of The FatMech and is a mechanic with ten years' experience based in London, UK. Having worked for major dealerships for many years, Marcus now works for a local independent garage and has experience working on nearly every make and model of car. Marcus also has a passion for writing and teaching, which is where the idea for The FatMech came from. In his spare time, Marcus enjoys playing golf, doing home renovations and gardening. He lives just outside London with his wife and son.