I got my car back from the shop on Tuesday. The saga started two weeks ago when I went to drive home. The clutch went straight down and didn’t pop back up. I had it towed to the Audi dealer service center, which is close to work, the next day. The problem turned out to be a leak in the slave cylinder. Then, they took the clutch apart to find and replace parts that had been damaged by the leak. Luckily, the whole thing was covered by the factory warranty which transfered to me when I bought it new.
They also gave me a loaner in the middle of last week. I was getting tired of walking to the grocery store. And taking the bus and train to work. It was an Audi A4 Avant S-line, a much nicer car than my A3. I like my A3 more. It handles better and accelerates faster and is nice enough for me.
I had noticed that the clutch was feeling different. In fact, I forgot to ask them about it when I took it in for regular maintenance the week before it failed. I am little worried that it failed after only 34,000 miles. Hopefully, it won’t be in the shop any time soon. This was the third, and longest, time in a month. A month ago, I had the lower front bumper cover replaced after I scraped it on a crub and the side ripped out.