Clutch

Clutch just went out on my ‘17 Tacoma . Dealership won’t cover it under warranty due to mud in the transmission. Talked to the inspector and asked how would that be possible and his response was the rubber boot for the fork wasn’t properly sealed. Need some help on how to approach this.

 

So I take it that a clutch is not considered a wear item? Just curious......

 

Get the inspectors regards on paper. Contact Toyota Corporate and state your case.

 

Well at least he’s not demanding a new truck in the first post

 

I got 16k miles on it. I know the clutch is definitely a wear item. But at 16k? I’ve owned an 87 and a 90 Tacoma the only time I had to replace the clutch was when I was upgrading it.

 

I feel like they are ordering a lot more parts than you actually need...

 

If there really was mud in it, that'll grind things up in a hurry.

But it sounds like you're going to have to prove that the fork was not sealed from the factory if you want a warranty repair. That's gonna be tough.

 

Clutches are vented to get some airflow in and let dust out along with any water. So if you drive off road in the wet, it would be pretty much impossible to not get some residue in there.

You want to ask if the housing is filled with mud or if it is on the order of water spots.

Beyond that, clutches are wear items. Sorry to hear about the troubles.

 

On top of the 1,100 labor fee yeah I think so.

 

When I check it out the housing was caked with mud

 

Thanks for confirming.

Unfortunately, I would guess that will get Toyota off of the hook.

Sorry!

 

Someone else ask for a quote for an oil change.

If they want to put oil, oil filter, oil pump, oil pan, cylinder head, and blinker fluid, we know that dealer has issues.

 

New flywheel? New clutch fork? What are they on? You turn the flywheel, and unless your clutch fork is folded in half no reason to replace that.
You could get the URD heavy flywheel and Stage 3 clutch for less than $900, throw in another $90? for a OEM throw out bearing and still be under $1k for part. Its actually not bad to replace the clutch in these truck.
Just looking at those parts, you can buy them for less than half the quoted costs on Toyotapartsdeal.com. They literally took the prices, doubled and tacked on 30%.

 

Those are all standard parts replaced during a clutch job, aside from maybe the clutch fork/retainer but if it's damaged from the mud, then it makes sense.

Flywheels can be resurfaced rather than replaced but again, it might just need replacing and usually dealerships opt to put new parts in.

Looks standard for a dealership clutch job. My dealer quoted $3k to do a clutch on my 04.

If I were OP and couldn't get this covered under warranty, I would go to an independent transmission shop. It'll be half the cost most likely.

 

this sucks for the OP but he's stuck with the job now. if it was me i would absolutely follow this advice above and would certainly take this opportunity to put in a real clutch: URD Stage 2. the expense is high but this is a chance to do it [more] right and never look back. but i upgrade every chance i get if possible which may not be everyone's thing.

 

URD flywheel with Stage 2 is really awesome combo.

 

plus labor

 

Thanks everyone for your feedback. I called Toyota HQ here in Hawaii told them the whole deal and we were able to meet in the middle. All parts are free just have to pay labor.