burning clutch smell

First of all, this is my first manual transmission vehicle I've ever had, and I've only had it for a few months (bought it new in April).
On Sunday I smelled the horrible burning clutch smell whenever I pushed it all the way in while shifting. It was clearly getting really bad every time I pushed it down. It happened for like 2 minutes, then went away. And no, I don't ride the clutch.
What's going on??

 

It sounds like you ride the clutch... Just saying...

 

x2. I can't think of another reason for it to be burning.

Awesome name OP

 

If you are learning to drive a manual trans with this truck, then it's quite possible you are being too hard on it. I learned on an 86 Toyota truck, I had a tendency to slip the clutch too much off the line because I was afraid I was going to stall it out. I got away with it because that truck had no power to speak of, and the trucks from that time frame had higher quality parts on them overall.

I have burned the clutch on my 2006 after 15 years of driving manual transmission vehicles every day. I also drive a 2009 4cyl 2wd tacoma at work. I am the second guy to drive this truck, the first guy always complained that the clutch would squeal when starting on hills. Now that I am driving it, I am noticing the same thing. It's also very easy to get it hot and smell the clutch. I think that these trucks have cheap clutches to start with, and being a new manual trans owner is not going to help matters.

My advice is that you find a friend with more experience than you, and have them critique you when you drive. You need to figure out if you are doing something to cause this. If not, take it back to the dealer and complain.

 

Since nobody believes me when I say that "I don't ride the clutch", maybe I'll add that this is the first time I've ever smelled it...and it smelled really strong too. This is the first manual I've ever "had", not ever "driven". But yeah, maybe I'll take it to the dealer.

 

What do you mean by "slip the clutch too much..."?

 

basically any time the clutch isn't all the way on the floor or all the way out, it is slipping. You want to avoid this area as much as possible.

 

When I first started driving a manual, I would rev the engine up to about 2500 rpm, and let the clutch out slowly, I would be halfway across an intersection before I was all the way up off the clutch. If I did that on the truck I have now, I would burn the clutch for sure. On the 6 speeds, you barely have to give it any gas at all from a dead stop, you can let up on the clutch almost immediately. First gear is pretty low, and this motor has plenty of torque.

 

Yeah I've noticed this too.
So again, when this happened on Sunday, the smell would only come out when the clutch was all the way in...not half-way up or anything else like that.

 

I will say that I have driven a lot of different vehicles, and this one is definitely sensitive compared to any others I have driven.

Example: My girlfriend's driveway is steeply sloped towards her house. To back out of her driveway requires me to slip the clutch almost the whole length of the driveway. Can't safely go fast enough in reverse to have the clutch fully engaged. If I keep the rpm just above a stall, I'm fine. If I rev it up to where the engine is nowhere close to stalling, it will burn the clutch every time. On my 86 Toyota truck, in the same driveway, I never once smelled the clutch. These new trucks don't tolerate any hard use of the stock clutch.

Not saying you're a bad driver, but you kinda implied that you might be new to manuals still, and if that's the case you are going to have a hard time for awhile with this truck. They just are sensitive, and this is a common complaint on this board.

 

Clutch all the way down or all the way up should not produce a burning smell. If it were mine, and I was confident I was not being too hard on it, I would take it back to the dealer. There may be an adjustment issue.

 

bleed it.

the reservoir is right next to the brake receiver....
Air in the system or not enough fluid can make it not disengage fully.

 

How do you do that?
It should be obvious if it doesn't disengage fully though, right?

 

Yeah, it would probably grind a bit when you try to put it in first at a stop. You could still just take it in if its under warranty and have them look at it.

 

X2, just let the dealer mess with it.

 

I noticed that issue too! My Tacoma does that when I back up or leveling the clutch and gas. This may be the issue with the throw out bearing. I'm not 100% sure, but seems like all the 6spd granny having the this issue+the squeaking noise coming from the clutch.