Does keeing the clutch depressed wear it out, and does it help with fuel economy?

Im not sure of the newer cars, but if your car has a “throw out” bearing you are wearing it out. The clutch should be all the way out, even resting your foot on it is not a good practice.

Any car with a clutch transmission will have a throw out bearing, and keeping the clutch in a lot will wear that out prematurely. The part doesn’t cost much, but the labor is pretty high. So I would say it would cost more in the long run. You should put the gearbox in neutral and let the clutch back out, if you’re at a stop for any length of time, (like a red light, as opposed to a stop sign) or coming up to one.

Two things happen when ever you depress the clutch petal. The partially external clutch fork that hangs out of the bell-housing compresses the internal throwout bearing that rides on the pressure plate. The compressed throwout bearing exerts pressure on the pressure plate levers which in-turn compresses three levers that overcome the spring loaded pressure plate. The clutch disc is then separated from the flywheel and pressure plate.

Unnecessary clutch petal usage wears the throwout bearing and the compressed springs in the pressure plate. Some brands of pressure plates feature a diaphragm design release spring set up.

Some people overlook another feature concerning the actual clutch disc. Just outside of the center hub you’ll always see 3 – 4 small coil springs. The purpose is to reduce clutch chatter as you release the pressure plate.

Engine rpm doesn’t mean your burning more gas unless the throttle is being depressed.If your foot is off the gas your not burning more fuel regardless of the rpm.Riding the clutch is going to put added wear on the throw out bearing not the clutch disc itself.However every time you disengage a clutch you get wear on the clutch components when you engage it again.