Auto Clutch - Dump That Clutch Pedal

Sensor and system switch on gear knob

I own a Maruti Wagon R 2006 model and has driven it almost 120000 KM. It was during 2012 that I came to know about the technology to get rid of your clutch pedal and the main advantage is we can free our left leg.I went for the one which is manufactured by Automate India. This one is working well so far except that I had to change the cable associated with this system ones.

One of the important questions people ask me about this system is what happens on uphill road if we have to stop in the middle and then move again. Actually the system works almost similar to Automatic cars except that we have to change gears.It has a button on the gear knob which is a sensor. When pressed the sensor will get activated which in turn will trigger the associated motor that controls the clutch.So when you want to change the gear, all you have to do is to make sure that your hand is pressing the sensor on the gear knob so that the clutch gets activated and when you remove your hands from the gear know the clutch get deactivated.The clutch also gets activated when you apply breaks and gets deactivated when you release the break.The speed with which the clutch gets activated can be adjusted using a knob supplied with the system. Now coming to the question of stoppage at uphill,once you stop the car, you may have to apply hand brakes, put into first gear and then slowly release the hand break while you accelerate. There is no option for you to idle the car in half clutch.

Clutch speed adjusting knob

Now coming to the advantages with this system

1. Your left leg is always free. Some people develop muscle/knee pain on left legs while driving long distances . The system is very good for such people as you don't need to bother about pressing the clutch anymore.

2.The system doesn't interfere with the existing manual clutch. You may switch off or switch on the system and continue to use or disregard the manual clutch anytime even while you are driving which means even if the system fails, you can continue with the manual system and drive the vehicle.

3. There is no noise associated with this system except the beep while you switch the systems.

4. Fuel economy of you vehicle can increase slightly(I have not noticed it much) in theory as the time you hold the clutch is very less when compared to manual system.

5. The vehicle does not require any modification and there is no approvals required from RTO(as on 6/21/2017)

System components inside the hood

6. The system can be ported from one vehicle to another.

7. Not much maintenance cost as compared to automatic cars.

Examining the disadvantages

1.We just have limited number of service centers.So this system drops to be a nice to have feature.as this automatic system cannot be reliable for someone who is solely depended on this for driving.

2.Changing just a cable which is just a 30 minute job costed me Rs1200/- which means that the service center is charging as per their wish and you don't have a choice.