Thanks BankFodder and heliosuk for your replies. heliosuk: I think it is a SOGA claim because the clutch hasn't worn out, a part of it has just failed. My point was that the wear parts in the clutch (the friction discs) are subject to wear and abuse, however, the pressure plate that broke in my clutch is not a wear and tear item. The pressure plate is the diaphgram spring that provides the compressive force. I can't think of any way that a driver could damage a pressure plate. If the driver rode the clutch it would leave wear marks on the pressure plate fingers, and there are no such marks on my clutch. There is no blueing from high temperature either. It appears to be a simple failure of the metal spring, possibly due to faulty manufacture (as suggested by the mechanic I mentioned). I will try and get some expert opinions about clutch life and also try and find out if there was a known bad batch of clutches around the manufacture time. Thanks again for your advice, JC

Hi everyone, I've just joined up and I'm hoping to get some answers from the experienced forum members I see here. I have a 2006 Ford Focus that has done 22,000 miles. The clutch pressure plate cracked right through, colapsing the spring and losing its tension. The car has always been serviced by Ford and is 3 months out of its warranty. The clutch shows no sign of excessive wear or high temperatures. It was perfect up until its sudden failure. I wrote to the dealer who sold me the car, quoting the SOGA (satisfactory quality, durability). They called me and said it was unreasonable for me to expect them to do anything because it was too long after they sold it to me (2.5 years ago). Has anyone here had the same problem? What would be a reasonable life span of a clutch? Personally I would expect a pressure plate to last the entire life of a clutch (100,000 to 150,000 miles). I have since heard from a mechanic saying that he had seen a run of problems like this. He guessed it was a bad batch of clutches because after a while it stopped. My opinion is that the dealer is liable because it was a sudden failure at such a low mileage. I don't consider a clutch pressure plate a 'wear and tear' item. Just as brake discs and pads are 'wear and tear' items but the brake calipers are not. They should last the life of the car. I look forward to your thoughts on this. Many thanks, JC