Hi There,

First-time poster here!

I have a 2015 V40 D2 as a company car and over the past year have racked up around 38,000 miles.

Around two months ago the clutch pedal began sticking when changing gears. It would allow for the gear change to take place but there would only be around 3-4cm of clutch travel. In order to get the clutch to return to the normal position I had to do this with my foot.

I had my local dealer look at it (annoyingly it resolved itself before going in) and despite stripping it down they could find no problem.

Fast forward to the past few weeks and the issues have started again, becoming more common and at times not allowing gear to be selected.
Has anyone else experienced this issue before?

Hi, welcome to the forum. It's a pity your first post isn't under better circumstances...

I haven't had this problem with my V40, but I did experience a similar problem in my previous car (a 2012 Mk3 Ford Focus, which shares many components with the V40 under the skin). In my case, the clutch slave cylinder failed with no prior warning, which was a not uncommon fault on the 1.6 TDCI Mk3 Focus (and required the gearbox to be removed to replace the slave cylinder and clutch).

The problem you have with the pedal sticking at the bottom of its stroke was also a known fault on the 2010-2012 1.6 TDCI Mk3 Focus, and Ford issued a TSB to replace the master cylinder and return spring - see this thread on Honest John's forums:
http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=95392

I suspect you will be getting a new clutch master cylinder/pedal assembly fitted on Friday if you show them that video. If that doesn't solve it, it's probably the slave cylinder (which they won't do unless they have to as getting the gearbox out to replace it is a lot more work).

 

Hi, welcome to the forum. It's a pity your first post isn't under better circumstances...

I haven't had this problem with my V40, but I did experience a similar problem in my previous car (a 2012 Mk3 Ford Focus, which shares many components with the V40 under the skin). In my case the clutch slave cylinder failed with no prior warning, which was a not uncommon fault on the 1.6 TDCI Mk3 Focus (and required the gearbox to be removed to replace the slave cylinder and clutch).

The problem you have with the pedal sticking at the bottom of it's stroke was also a known fault on the 2010-2012 1.6 TDCI Mk3 Focus, and Ford issued a TSB to replace the master cylinder and return spring - see this thread on Honest John's forums:
http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=95392

I suspect you will be getting a new clutch master cylinder/pedal assembly fitted on Friday if you show them that video. If that doesn't' solve it, it's probably the slave cylinder (which they won't do unless they have to as getting the gearbox out to replace it is a lot more work).

1.6 tdci same as the d2? before the vea change

 

Many thanks for the reply Buzby.


I had come across the issue with Ford on Google and thought it may have been related. I will see what the garage say tomorrow.


Other than the issue above it has been a pretty good ownership experience so far!

 

Hi,

First time poster here too, unfortunately with the same problem! Did you have any luck with getting your clutch issue resolved?

I'm really frustrated / disappointed with my dealer after today's visit to the workshop.

I've a 2014 V40 D2 with just under 54k miles on the clock. I took the car for its 50k scheduled service at the end of May, then a couple of days later drove the car for a holiday in the South of France. The same problem you describe with your clutch occured on both long journeys there and back, but strangely there wasn't any issues on shorter journeys whilst there. Now back at home, my daily 50 mile round trip hasn't been an issue either, however, I booked the car straight in to have the fault investigated.

I collected the car this afternoon to be told by the dealer "we've driven the car 20-30 miles and the fault didn't occur, there's nothing we can really do if we don't see the fault. Volvo are really strict on this, a claim can't be made on the warranty unless the problem is evident". "

They went on to say "If it happens again, call Volvo assistance, they will tow it back here, then we can investigate it further"

I raised my concerns about the warranty ending in just 6k miles, if I've reported the issue now, surely it would be covered? They said "Volvo are really strict on this (again!), if you've gone over 60k miles there's not anything we can do to help, if its the master cylinder, you're probably looking at a few thousand pounds"

All I can think do to now is plan a long journey and hope it happens again! Not a good situation to be in, but would welcome any advice on the matter.

Cheers, Andy.

 

Hi

1st post. So hello to you all. I think I can help here.

I have a 6 month old V40 D3 as my company car, on full maintenance lease. Its done 15500 miles.

I too have experienced the clutch pedal not returning just last week on a long run returning home from Devon. I live near Oxford but work for a company based in Devon so I do the trip almost weekly.

The first time it happened I had been non-stop Okehampton to Leigh Delamere services at motorway speeds. No problem until i pull into the services and change down. I stopped, lifted the pedal with my foot and gave it a few pumps. That seemed to fix it but the action still felt soft. Carried on and got home without further issue.

Over the next week, on local roads, the soft feeling action got much better. I still notified fleet who booked it into local Volvo dealer for a check - that happened today.

Until yesterday the problem had not recurred and I was a bit anxious I would be dismissed by the garage if they couldnt replicate the fault. But yesterday I had to go to Devon and back. So I set off with the intent to go as far as possible without touching the clutch pedal. Got to Taunton Deane services, pulled in and the clutch pedal stayed down. Parked up, then took a picture, lifted and pumped pedal and carried on. Did the same on the return with exactly the same effect.

Gave the dealer copies of pics and explained how a sustained high speed run with minimal clutch input was required to replicate fault. I would recommend at least 1 hour continuous driving is required. The fault was replicated by the dealer and although I havent been told exactly what is wrong it was described to me as "serious" and "the gearbox will have to be removed". Hoping to find out more tomorrow.

Figure this is likely a leaky/failing slave cylinder.

 

Hi
The fault was replicated by the dealer and although I havent been told exactly what is wrong it was described to me as "serious" and "the gearbox will have to be removed". Hoping to find out more tomorrow.

Figure this is likely a leaky/failing slave cylinder.

Yes, sounds like what had to be done with my Focus I'm afraid (it seems there's 2 failure modes - either the slave cylinder starts leaking and sticking, or it fails catastrophically like mine did). I was without a car for 2 weeks as there was a shortage of slave cylinders. It's been a big problem for Ford which they have been doing their best to keep quiet, though it did make it onto the BBC's 'Don't Get Done, Get Dom' last year:
http://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/71097-mk3-focus-clutch-failure-on-bbc/

 

Don't go to Devon....

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

 

Don't go to Devon....

Well I do get paid to do it...

But on the car. I still haven't been told exactly what the problem was but it is getting fixed under warranty. Parts are on back order so I will have to wait til the end of next week to get the car back.

So anyone who thinks they have a similar issue or are having difficulty getting the fault replicated make sure you get the garage to do a long test drive with minimal clutch use to replicate the fault. Possibly worth monitoring fluid level in clutch / brake reservoir.

I'm trying to think what is happening to cause a loss of hydraulic / clutch pressure while driving a longish distance that doesnt occur on shorter trips. Can only think clutch/brake fluid is getting used/is leaking out and regular use of clutch pedal tops up fluid from the reservoir - but since clutch and brakes share the same reservoir at some point it'll run low and then no clutch OR brakes potentially?!

 

Hi There,


First time poster here!


I have a 2015 V40 D2 as a company car and over the past year have racked up around 38,000 miles.


Around two months ago the clutch pedal began sticking when changing gear. It would allow for the gear change to take place but there would only be around 3-4cm of clutch travel. In order to get the clutch to return to the normal position I had to do this with my foot.


I had my local dealer look at it (annoyingly it resolved itself before going in) and despite stripping it down they could find no problem.


Fast forward to the past few weeks and the issues has started again, becoming more common and at times not allowing a gear to be selected.


Video of the problem;





Thankfully the car is booked in for a service this Friday so hopefully it can be looked at again.


Has anyone else experienced this issue before?


Thanks in advance for any advise.

I have a Feb 2015 (less than one year old) Volvo V40 2 Litre T3 R Design vehicle and like others on this string have had significant problems with the clutch sticking. I drove a round trip this past weekend of approximately 1200 km and on the return journey the clutch progressively got worse after driving for sometime without changing gear. The indications have been described above (It would allow for the gear change to take place but there would only be around 3-4cm of clutch travel. In order to get the clutch to return to the normal position I had to do this with my foot). I have taken the car to my local garage in the Netherlands and they have identified that the clutch master cylinder and return spring will need to be replaced. Unfortunately they cannot do the work until 23 January 2017 (Some 4.5 Weeks after reporting the fault).. The garage also pointed out that Volvo have since changed the design of the Clutch Master Cylinder making it out of metal rather than the cheaper/lighter materiel that my car was delivered with. I am a little disappointed that Volvo have not recalled all V40 with such components and had them changed as default. Although I think I may be able to cope with local driving for the 4 weeks, I am not confident to drive the vehicle for longer motorway driving as the clutch will stick as described above.


I think this has safety implications and drivers should be warned of the dangers associated with such problems.

 

I have a Feb 2015 (less than one year old) Volvo V40 2 Litre T3 R Design vehicle and like others on this string have had significant problems with the clutch sticking. I drove a round trip this past weekend of approximately 1200 km and on the return journey the clutch progressively got worse after driving for sometime without changing gear. The indications have been described above (It would allow for the gear change to take place but there would only be around 3-4cm of clutch travel. In order to get the clutch to return to the normal position I had to do this with my foot). I have taken the car to my local garage in the Netherlands and they have identified that the clutch master cylinder and return spring will need to be replaced. Unfortunately they cannot do the work until 23 January 2017 (Some 4.5 Weeks after reporting the fault).. The garage also pointed out that Volvo have since changed the design of the Clutch Master Cylinder making it out of metal rather than the cheaper/lighter materiel that my car was delivered with. I am a little disappointed that Volvo have not recalled all V40 with such components and had them changed as default. Although I think I may be able to cope with local driving for the 4 weeks, I am not confident to drive the vehicle for longer motorway driving as the clutch will stick as described above.

I think this has safety implications and drivers should be warned of the dangers associated with such problems.

Unfortunately it's almost certainly not the master cylinder that's the root cause - they replace the master cylinder nad it a stronger return spring because it's cheaper to do under warranty.

The root cause is almost certainly the combined slave cylinder/clutch release bearing on the gearbox input shaft sticking. The standard return spring is not strong enough to unstick it (it wasn't designed to cope with the slave cylinder sticking) so Ford modified the pedal box design to fit a stronger spring and issued a TSB to fit the parts under warranty if a customer complained of a sticking pedal (they never issued a recall either).

The new master cylinder assembly acts as a 'sticking plaster' by having enough force to overcome the sticking slave cylinder, but in most cases it's not a permanent fix and as time goes by the slave cylinder will deteriorate further and the pedal starts to stick again . All this time the slave cylinder has potentially been leaking hydraulic fluid into the bellhousing too, contaminating the clutch plate and DMF (be very wary of any groaning noises when the clutch engages, as that's a sign it's been contaminated and is slipping). This is a well-known problem on the Mk3 Focus which Volvo took the V40's pedal box and clutch hydraulic system from.

Both Ford and Volvo dealers will only change the slave cylinder as a last resort as it requires the gearbox to be removed. Getting authorisation for that level of work from Ford or Volvo UK is a massive headache for the dealer (and it can take days to get the parts delivered, potentially meaning the customer has to have a courtesy car which is means expense) so they are loathe to do it, and would rather deal with it on the quiet instead of admitting it and issuing a recall notice

See this recent thread for another member's experience with a dealer on this issue:
http://www.volvov40club.com/forums/15-engine-technical/25194-d2-noisy-clutch.html#post222217

 

Hi

Recently started with the same problem but not under warranty anymore.

Does anyone have a ball park figure for getting this fixed and could it be something else rather than a whole new master cylinder

 

Replacing a master cylinder is probably at least £300. A slave cylinder, clutch and DMF replacement is probably going to be around £1k. I would certainly be approaching Volvo UK for at least a part contribution to the cost though, as it's defective parts/design rather than wear and tear.

 

Paranoid about clutch slave cylinder problems!

Hi,

I have recently purchased a 2015 V40 CC D2 1.6 and had come across the threads regarding the clutch problems and have become a bit paranoid about it happening to mine. The questions I have are as follows:

Is it a matter of when not if it will happen or is it only a percentage of them that fail?

Is there anything I can do to minimise it happening ( e.g. regular fluid changes )?

Does anyone want to buy a 2015 V40 CC D2 ?

Cheers

Andy

 

Sorry to drag up an old thread, however, having just clicked over 77K miles the clutch pedal in my car has started to show signs of the same problem.

The car was just serviced last Friday and I asked them to look at this but they reported back that everything looked fine.

I have therefore had to book it in again to get it looked at.

With the car now being out of warranty it will probably result in a large bill.


As this fault happening twice within a relatively short time scale should I be asking and what are the chances of Volvo covering the repair costs?

 

Did you just get the master cylinder/pedal assembly replaced last time or the slave cylinder and clutch? If it was only the master cylinder/pedal assembly the chances are it's the slave cylinder this time (I think the revised pedal assembly had a stronger return spring to try and compensate for the sticking/leaking slave cylinders). As it's had work done for the same fault before if the dealer doesn't offer to contribute I'd certainly contact Volvo UK for at least a partial contribution to the repair cost, especially if it's the slave cylinder that needs to be replaced.

 

Hi Buzby,


Not sure which part was replaced last time round and as it was under warranty I did not receive a job sheet.


Car is booked in for the 20/06 (first available date they had with a courtesy car) so I will be asking them to look back and check.

 

My 2016 V40 d2 is on its third clutch pedal assembly in 19500 miles. I think this car likes the attention st the dealers as it seems to like it there more than the open road. I think I got a duff model this time. My 2014 v40 had no problems in 50000 miles.

 

Quick update on my car.


Dropped it off at the dealers on Tuesday morning and got a call in the afternoon to ask my permission to remove the gearbox for further investigation *Alarm bells!!!


Call today to advise that they are having to replace the slave cylinder and they also recommended replacing the clutch plate. The garage contacted Volvo UK to see if they would cover a proportion with warranty but due to the car being over 60k miles (78k miles) they have classed it as wear and tear.


So over all it is costing £969.18 for the repair! (Thank goodness it is a company car).


It is ridiculous to thing that a car that was registered in April 2015 is having to have such major work done!


The only upside is that the garage have been accommodating and have supplied a courtesy car (new V40 D2 R-Design).

 

That's patently rubbish- they are using the high mileage and the fact it's a company car to get out of paying/ A concentric clutch slave cylinder/release bearing should last longer than the clutch They are only having to change the clutch because the slave cylinder has leaked fluid onto it.

78K miles is nothing really, and I bet most of it has been motorways where the clutch isn't getting used.

 

Hi guys, new to forums in general... need some help. I rented a 2017 v40 d2 1.6 which had 350 miles on it and it broke down on me at 1200 miles. Went uphill then turned left onto a residential road at about 10mph and the car started making rattling noises and over revving, next thing I know it won't go into gear. Car was recovered to garage where head office is registered (Even though I was told it will go to Volvo dealership) and now the company is trying to charge 1200 quid for abusing and damaging clutch. I did not abuse it. I am not a mechanic or lawyer, I rent cars as a carer because it's cheaper than ownership or motability if you have an excess reimbursement policy. How can I prove it wasn't my fault seen as I have noticed some problems with car in question online... I told them about the whole warranty thing and how it is a fault and not abuse that lead to this. They're not having it. Help please.

 

Hello Andy,

searching through the forums I found your post - I have the same problem with my 2014 V40 D2. Clutch getting stuck when on highways only and doing long drives, no problem in the city. Before I take my car to the garage, how did they solve your problem back in 2014?

Thanks for any info, cheers, Matea

 

Hello Andy,

searching through the forums I found your post - I have the same problem with my 2014 V40 D2. Clutch getting stuck when on highways only and doing long drives, no problem in the city. Before I take my car to the garage, how did they solve your problem back in 2014?

Thanks for any info, cheers, Matea

See the earlier posts in the thread - the root cause is almost certainly a faulty clutch slave cylinder, a fairly well known fault with the Mk3 Focus and the V40s that use the Ford petrol and Ford/PSA diesel engines and B6 gearbox.

 

Buzby,

can you please explain, what is this B6 gear box?

In the user's manual I see that there are two types of manual gear boxes - M66 and M76.
I noticed, that on old models of V40 manual gear box have the reverse gear positioned at the left side of the 1-st gear. But, on the new ones(that has M76 gear box) the reverse gear is at the right side of the 6-th gear. My car is MY18 T3 and the gear box is M76.
So, it looks like they changed something, by some reason. I can't be sure if DMF, clutch and master/slave cylinders have some revision or is identical as on the old one.

Meanwhile, there is a very curious mechanism just under the gear stick leather case. There is an electromagnetic lock, that blocks the "track" to the reverse gear, when the car reaches about 30 km/h, and enables it back at about 20km/h. This prevents to put revers gear by mistake at a high speed.

 

Hello to everyone. new to forum. I did not know if I should start a new topic or wright here. From the discussion it seems relevant. So, I have a volvo v40 D2, 2014 which has 125.000 km. Few days back a noise started that was like a whistle. My local mechanic check it and said that it is the bearings of the gearbox (if translate it correctly from Greek, it is the main and secondary shaft bearings of the gearbox). Local distributor of volvo says that I have to buy a new gearbox and volvo does not sell individual parts of the gearbox. Has anyone come with a solution or has a suggestion to this problem? Bear in mind that a new gearbox costs 1/3 of the current price of the car, so it doesnt worth it.

 

It's a Ford/Getrag B6 gearbox (also known as the Getrag 6MTT250) made at the transmisison plant in Halewood near Liverpool, and used in many Ford cars (Mk3 Focus and it's derivatives, some Mondeos and latest version of the Fiesta). It was derived from Ford's 5-speed IB5 gearbox, developed for the Fiesta and Escort back in the early 80s..


As Volvo do not make the gearboxes, the dealers do not repair them, only exchange them with either a new or reconditioned unit. The parts to rebuild oneare available fron Getrag or from third-party suppliers though
https://www.automaticchoice.com/en/transmission-parts/6mtt250-b6-durashift
Any transmission specialist that reconditions FWD gearboxes should be able ot repair it. You should also be able to install a used gearbox from a Mk3 Focus (which are more easily found than gearboxes from crashed Volvos) provided it has the same gear ratios.

 

That was very helpful information! Thank you very much!

 

Morning, 1st time post....

I’m having same issue on 2016 v40 2.0 litre diesel....38,000 on clock. It’s very frustrating. I’ve been in once when car had service and volvo just greased the pedal. I’ve subsequently sprayed WD40 etc on pedal, but this doesn’t solvethe issue. Having read other posts about ‘clutch and slave cylinder’ I am starting to worry I have a massive bill on the horizon???
My old ‘59 plate 2.0 litre diesel focus did something similar...a plastic rod in the clutch snapped following sticking issues. Local independent garage replaced said rod with a metal rod at not much cost to be fair. Presumably these are similar parts???

 

Morning, 1st time post....

I’m having same issue on 2016 v40 2.0 litre diesel....38,000 on clock. It’s very frustrating. I’ve been in once when car had service and volvo just greased the pedal. I’ve subsequently sprayed WD40 etc on pedal, but this doesn’t solvethe issue. Having read other posts about ‘clutch and slave cylinder’ I am starting to worry I have a massive bill on the horizon???
My old ‘59 plate 2.0 litre diesel focus did something similar...a plastic rod in the clutch snapped following sticking issues. Local independent garage replaced said rod with a metal rod at not much cost to be fair. Presumably these are similar parts???

It does sound like another case of the faulty slave cylinder, I'm afraid.

The problem the Mk2 Focus/CMax had was with the master cylinder behind the clutch pedal. They had plastic actuators that woudl be easily bent or snapped, and also had poor selas that caused the brake fluid to leak into the footwell. The master cylinder was redesigned with metal parts put back in the critical strength areas.

ONe of the things both Ford and Volvo tried to do once the clucth slave cylinders in the early MY13 Focus and V40 started to fail and caused th pedal to stick down was to replace the return spring (or the whole pedal unit) with a stronger spring to 'assist' the sticking slave cylinder. This was only a sticking plaster-type solution though, as it didn't cure the real problem of the leaking slave cylinder which would eventually fail completely (or would cause the clutch to slip doe to contamination of the friction material)

 

Dear All, Sadly, I discovered this forum in the (nearly) worst possible circumstances. Driving back from Sicily, my recently purchased, low miles (44k) diesel V40 developed the identical symptoms described above. First, the clutch pedal started sticking in the high gears, having to be returned to position by hooking the toe under the pedal. Then, after about 6 hours on the road (mainly motor ways), we were pulling up to a motorway pay station when the clutch failed to disengage the engine fully and I all but had to force the gears down to come to a halt at the pay booth. Pulling away was equally challenging and I stalled twice, to the noisy frustration of the Italians queued behind me. We proceeded to nurse the car to the nearest hotel, which turned out to be a Novotel buried in a warren of unlit and GPS-unrecognisable half-roads in an industrial estate on the outskirts of Covid riddled Rome. We spent an anxious night during which my wife discovered this forum. Thankfully, we have Saga European breakdown cover (never leave home without it-the hidden heroes of this tale). They had the car recovered to the nearest Volvo dealer which, by a stroke of luck, was a half an hour walk away. The following morning, Volvo Rome took a look and then the mechanic ushered me in to see the damage. First, he pointed out oil leaks around the clutch. Then, he showed me the infamous slave cylinder, confirming it was the defective plastic one mentioned in this string. He said it was finished and the consequent oil leak would also require investigation. Provisional estimate of 10 hours' work. We opted for recovery to the garage that sold us the car at Saga's expense and they then flew us home on a fully rammed Alitalia flight. We are now in anxious quarantine awaiting possible consequences. The car was bought used and is in vendor warranty so we remain hopeful of a happy outcome. My problem is that I can find no evidence of a happy outcome in this string. I would appreciate recommendations on what needs to be done to fully repair this car.

 

Afternoon All,

Last night I collected my car from Volvo Stirling having had the "clutch" replaced. I say "clutch" as they haven't yet given me a breakdown of the work they carried out, I will be sent that by email soon.
Everything feels as it should and it only took them a day to do the work which is what I expected.
Starter motor is a little more quiet now that it was before too, not sure why that is but if the VEA Engines are anything like a VW then the starter motor must have to be removed when the gearbox is dropped so maybe something in that process has changed the way it sounds???

Clutch pedal still sits annoyingly high up compared to the brake pedal but at least it returns itself to where it should be now and the car pulls away smoothly instead of being jerky and erratic.
Still don't know where all the oil on the underside of the car was from, hoping that will be on the paperwork too as I couldn't find a leak and asked them to look for it.

All work done under warranty so no cost to me and new the parts and labour are covered for 1 year.

Once I get a breakdown of what they replaced I will come back with the update.

 

@GarethM, I appreciate that we're just after the festive period but have you got any update for us? My 2015 D4 is starting to develop the 'sticking clutch pedal' issue (but only during the sub-zero temps, or this may just be coincidental..), and I'm keen to know how you got on. Cheers!

 

Unfortunately, not really, finished up work on the 17th Dec and the car has been sat here since:

It's been in and out a few times to allow me to take the CRV out but it hasn't even left the driveway.
After it was repaired, I don't think I even covered 100 miles before it was parked up.

Pending a Covid test I had done this afternoon it may well sit there for another 2 weeks...

Will keep you updated if anything changes.

 

Hi There,


First time poster here!


I have a 2015 V40 D2 as a company car and over the past year have racked up around 38,000 miles.


Around two months ago the clutch pedal began sticking when changing gear. It would allow for the gear change to take place but there would only be around 3-4cm of clutch travel. In order to get the clutch to return to the normal position I had to do this with my foot.


I had my local dealer look at it (annoyingly it resolved itself before going in) and despite stripping it down they could find no problem.


Fast forward to the past few weeks and the issues has started again, becoming more common and at times not allowing a gear to be selected.


Video of the problem;





Thankfully the car is booked in for a service this Friday so hopefully it can be looked at again.


Has anyone else experienced this issue before?


Thanks in advance for any advise.

I have the same on my Volvo V40 was told I need nee clutch and cylinders costing £891.00. Today. Car got full service history and 62,00 on clock.. so annoying.

 

I am very sorry for you. All i can suggest is what i did. Trade the car in (preferably at the dealer who sold it to you) and buy anything else than a Volvo. Never buy another. Tell all your friends!

 

I've got a sticky clutch pedal. T2 Diesel, 70k miles. Garage have replaced pedal spring (it did look slightly meatier). Still sticking about once in 20 presses instead of one in 10. What do people think the solution is, and how much do I need to be prepared to pay?

 

Possibly clutch slave cylinder. Box out job. Part cost sub-50, work around 500 at dealer.

 

Hi, I have a v40 D2 2.0 2015, the clutch sometimes gets halfway of its curse, so i just put my feet under the clutch and lift it. However this past week has been more and more frequentently should i try to fix it or just keep driving? Is it likely to completley fail and just be stranded on the road? I've figured out that it must be the slave cylinder but the costs for replacing this scare me.

 

How do you know that it's the slave cylinder? Is hydraulic fluid leaking from the bellhousing drain hole? It could be the slave cylinder, but it could also be the master cylinder or the pedal operating spring. Is the fluid level dropping in the brake reservoir? Can you see any issues with the pedal spring (broken or misaligned)?

Depending on the cause, it may eventually fail completely, but when is a how long is a piece of string question. If there are no issues with the pedal itself and no obvious loss of fluid, the first thing I would try is bleeding the clutch circuit. Although the clutch shares the same reservoir as the brake system, it's circuit does not get flushed and refilled with new fluid when the brake fluid is changed or bled, so if it's never been changed it's now around 10 years old.