Emergency Clutch Repair in Lostwithiel

Lostwithiel is a small historic town on the River Fowey, and a lot of people pass through it without planning to stop. The A390 brings drivers in from the St Austell side and onwards towards the south coast, and the narrow medieval bridge makes traffic slow and stop-start. That is a hard life for a clutch, and visitors on the way to Fowey are often the ones who find out.

We Fit Any Clutch Cornwall is a clutch and gearbox specialist based in Hayle. Our mechanic travels to customers across Cornwall, Lostwithiel included. This page explains what to do the moment the clutch fails, what to tell us and what emergency and breakdown clutch repair can honestly offer.

A failure near the bridge or the main road

Stop-start driving near a narrow bridge puts a clutch through repeated bite points, and a clutch close to the end of its life can fail right there. If the pedal sinks, the car revs without driving or the gears refuse to engage, switch the hazard lights on and look for the safest place to stop.

On the A390 or on the approach to the bridge, do not stay in a live lane if you can avoid it. If you can still select a gear, use it to reach a lay-by, a side street or a car park. If you cannot, get everyone out and well away from the traffic. Do not force the gear lever and do not carry on once you cannot select gears reliably.

• Hazard lights on
• Move out of the traffic lane if possible
• Handbrake on
• Passengers away from the carriageway

Passing through on the way to the coast

Lostwithiel has a railway station and a steady stream of visitors heading for Fowey and the south coast, so many drivers who break down here are far from home. If that is you, you do not need local knowledge. Tell us the street, the car park or the road and any building you can see, and share your phone's location.

If you are travelling with luggage, children or a caravan or trailer, tell us so. Heavy loads put extra strain on the drivetrain and affect how we plan the work. Where you have somewhere safe to wait, such as a café or the station, stay there rather than beside a vehicle in the road.

Information that helps us help you

A clear message gets you a clear answer. We need the make, model and registration, whether it is a car or van and, if you know it, the engine type. Tell us what you felt when it failed: did the pedal drop, did it stay up, was there a bang, a smell or a noise? Can you get any gear?

Location is the most important part. Say which side of the bridge you are on, whether you are on the main road or a side street, and whether the car is in anyone's way.

• Make, model and registration
• Symptoms at the moment of failure
• Which gears, if any, will go in
• Exact location
• Contact number

Reaching us and the limits of what we can promise

Use the WhatsApp emergency button or ring us. We do not promise a response time, a day or an hour for arrival, or availability outside normal working patterns, because the mechanic could be working anywhere in Cornwall when you get in touch. We will respond as soon as we can and explain what we think is happening.

Whether the job can be done where the car has stopped, in a nearby safe place or at the workshop depends on the vehicle, the fault and the location. On a busy through road it may not be safe to work, and the car may need to be moved, which may mean recovery. We do not offer recovery ourselves. We make no promise that a repair is possible until the vehicle has been inspected.

Do you cover Lostwithiel?

Yes, the mechanic travels to Lostwithiel as part of covering Cornwall. People often ask whether we can come to them, and where it is safe to work, mobile clutch repair is part of what we do. We work on cars and vans of all makes and models.

We also serve Bodmin, Fowey, St Austell and Liskeard. If you are not sure whether you are in our area, message us with your location and we will tell you.