The other night I discovered the reason Olessia’s Civic was for sale. I drove Olessia to dinner in it and the clutch felt like it was catching the mat. The floor mat does slide around so while driving (eh, don’t try this at home) I pulled it out. Yup, the clutch still felt like it was catching the mat. I had 2 flash backs almost at the same time:

1. Honda put out a service bulletin for Honda service departments to pin the floor mat to the floor. When I had my ’98 Civic, I took it in when it was in for service and they popped a pin which secured the mat from moving around. It never really was a problem, but it was free. This is really what Olessia’s ’95 Civic needs!

2. This clutch feels just like what the clutch on my Teg felt like last year! Its a master or slave cylinder problem. [insert potty language here]

Before heading into the restaurant, I ran my hand along the floor and where the clutch meets. Eh, this doesn’t feel right. I pull my hand out and a couple fingers are covered in black gunk, like grease and oil. Slave cylinder is leaking! Whew! Its the cheaper of the two cylinders.

We’re taking the Civic to the shop next week. In the meantime, I just need to keep the Civic topped off with brake fluid. I’m using the bottle of brake fluid the Acura service department hooked me up with to hold the Teg over before its servicing.

Otherwise, the Civic seems to be doing great. I think it’ll need a nickname…