Car started revving a lot without gaining much speed

2001 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE
133,000 MILES • 2.0L • 2WD • MANUAL
Avatar
ISHTIAQRHMN
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
Hi Pros , hope you're doing great . i would appreciate if you could advise me on this unique issue

I bought used the car listed above which i have been driving regularly since February.

This particular issue mentioned below has occurred twice till date months apart .

Yesterday i was caught up in really slow moving traffic for half an hour . After i passed it , the car started revving a lot without gaining much speed , after changing gears . There were no odd mechanical noises. I didn't feel any issue with the clutch or shifting gears. After i drove for about 10-15 minutes in fifth gear the problem went away and everything went back to normal .

This same issue happened a couple of months ago .

Could you please advise what the issue could be.

Kind regards
Sep 15, 2019 at 5:33 AM
Advertisement
Avatar
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • CERTIFIED EXPERT
  • 110,175 POSTS
Welcome to 2CarPros.

If the engine was revving and not accelerating, the clutch was slipping. Now, it isn't common, but if you were in traffic for a long period of time and the outside temps were extremely hot, it is possible that the fluid in the clutch master cylinder as well as the slave cylinder expanded causing the slave cylinder to keep a small amount of pressure on the clutch. Thus, although you released the clutch pedal, the clutch wasn't fully released.

Let me know what the temps were, if you were using the AC or anything you could think of that may help.

Take care,
Joe
Sep 15, 2019 at 6:49 PM