Reply to mastertech, Sorry, complete nonsense ! If you have to reverse up a rather steep slope where you have just enough room for the width of the car, then you use your clutch, otherwise you'll probably just drive into the wall. As I have said, I'm hardly new to this driving game and have never experienced a similar problem with any of the numerous cars I have owned. Also, having looked through this forum, I have found a few posts on the subject of the C-Max's smelly clutch. I have also had a look at the French equivalent of this site (I live in France) and there are many posts on the subj