Has anyone had to replace a clutch yet?

Could this issue be caused by the accumulator?

 

IMO, the accumulator and rev hang both contribute.

 

I feel like the slippage is directly related to the accumulator. A guy that I fly for who happens to own a NHRA team and a NASCAR team who is also a former driver explained the purpose of the accumulator and how it is designed to take the aggressive driving nature out of the manual transmission and how those of us that are use to old style manuals will tend to go through clutches faster than a young person who learned to drive a stick on a new style manual with the accumulator.

 

Let me get this straight why do they want to look at the transmission? There is nothing in a stick trans that will affect a clutch other than the driver. Clutches last 200K+ or 25K - yes a driver can trash a clutch in short order but the trans has nothing to do with it.

 

I have well over 2 million driving miles, my 2011 has an accumulator I tow a camper it's got 120K on it so far I expect 200+K before I need a clutch. You need to understand what an accumulator does, an automatic is full of them basically it makes the enguacement less aggressive like bang! but the same force. Fluid does not compress but an accumulator smooths out the process with spring force.

 

I went 135k on my 84 Toyota truck clutch, but my son destroyed a clutch in his 86 in only 6 months. Lots of factors when it comes to how long they will last. Good thing that they are pretty easy to change out.

 

Have you driven one of these trucks without the accumulator? It’s a whole different animal and the feel is great.

 

70k on my ‘16 ... no issues ... yet

 

I can see, with the accumulator, people not getting "on and off" (disengaged and engaged) the clutch as rapid as they should - numbing to a real clutch feel so to speak. That combined with the very purpose of the accumulator.....could add to clutch plate wear. I never ride the damn thing, and let me tell you after 5 years of driving a WRX I know what controlled slip is.

I've never had to replace a clutch due to wear. I started driving in 1975 with a 1971 Datsun 510. I replaced the clutch every time I rebuild the engine.....but the clutch was not toast......VW Sirocco, Toyota SR5 pickup (Pretaco), S-10 etc....all MT never replaced a clutch.

 

That's exactly what I'm planning on doing as well. Maybe stage 3. How do you like your stage 2?

 

Wow I keep hearing from more and more MT Tacoma owners that their clutch went out prematurely. Either they last forever, or they fail early for some reason. Can you confirm which model you have?

 

Read the little booklet “Owner’s Warranty and Rights Notification” provided upon purchase, three steps to follow:

- Contact The Dealership, if they fail to resolve;
- Call the Toyota Customer Experience Center (800) 331-4331, if no help;
- File for Arbitration (form is in center of booklet)

 

the MT folks here understand what the accumulator does. Trident is one of the guys waking up the delete mod the 3rd gen guys often use. and by the way it's not hard to understand.

if you do the ADM (the delete mod) then you will be more in touch with your clutch, it's bite, it's slip, and it's release. getting all this in my hand to drive the vehicle well is the reason i went with the MT.

oh, and this ..

 

Status update on my situation. Just got off the phone with Toyota (800-331-4331 then you press 4 to file a complaint, then 2). They opened a case for me and a case manager should be calling me within the next business day. I offered them that I would pay for the parts (I would get stage 3 and heavy duty flywheel from URD) and they cover labor. We'll see what they say. Last I spoke with dealership and mentioned supplying my own aftermarket parts, they quoted the labor alone at $1300. If Toyota does nothing for me, I'll take it to a local garage I trust, they quoted me $700 for labor for 4x4 clutch replace. If Toyota does want to make it right, I'm not letting them put another OEM Toyota clutch in my truck fuck that noise. So either they pay for the labor, or I pay for it at a local garage. So I'll be paying for URD clutch and flywheel, plus either $700 to have it done at my local shop or $0 to have dealership do it, all depending on what Toyota says.

 

No idea, jsut what they told me.

 

To answer some other questions, I started driving stick shifts 15 or 16 years ago, and I baby my truck. I know how to drive stick, and I drive well. Not like "I can drive stick." like "I prefer driving stick." I don't drop the clutch, I don't burnout (or try to...my truck's not known for being fast heh), none of that.

I bought the truck brand new (had to order it because no local dealers had MTs), so no previous drivers. I do have a 3" OME lift on it and 33s, so Toyota tried telling me that "offroading can wear a clutch out faster than normal, that could explain it" and I laughed in his face. That's why you two-foot, no touchy the clutchy. Also the clutch ran perfectly all week then on Thursday last week while heading to the office the clutch pedal just got weaker and ALL gears started slipping (not just high gears) out of no where. I was able to shift out of and into any gear without touching the clutch pedal, like the flywheel wasn't fully engaging.

Whatever happens, I can't wait to see the clutch plate and flywheel to see if it is really cooked. If it is, from that moment forward I will go out of my way to be sure to warn any and every MT Tacoma driver I come across that they need to either replace the clutch with aftermarket, or sell the truck asap.

FYI if anyone wondering, dealership is Miller Toyota in Manassas, VA. I drive 30min out to that one rather than go to the one 5min from my door because they have much better ratings on BBB and reviews. Maybe that was a mistake, or maybe any dealership would have pulled this crap.

 

Stage 2 is the way to go if you OffRoad at all. Stage 3 is not for crawling.

 

Oh interesting, why is that? I thought stage 3 is best for crawling...

 

nope, I asked this same question to @Gadget@URD and he told me over the phone stage 2 is what to get for crawling.

 

Hmm okay. I see on URD's site the only difference is that the stage 2 has "...brass reinforced carbon/Kevlar full face friction material on both sides of the friction disc providing very smooth stock like engagement." whereas the stage 3 has "...brass reinforced carbon/Kevlar full face friction material on one side with segmented ceramic on the other side to give you a true DUAL FRICTION clutch assembly. This retains smooth engagement while providing better wear and durability than our Stage 2 clutch."

So I would think the stage 3 is better. Maybe @Gadget@URD can confirm?