11,000 miles Clutch Failure?

Does the clutch really wear if you keep it in?

 

I feel that this is hogwash...

There is no fluid pump inside of the transmission and the parts that rotate (even when in neutral) and submerged in oil.

 

The clutch won't but the throwout bearing will.

 

That sounds like synchronizer wear. At least that is how it acts in other manual transmission vehicles I've driven.

 

What did you end up doing?
On the same boat with 19k miles, and 14 years driving manual... Trash

 

Might have been answered by now.... 2wd definitely easier than 4wd. I swapped one on my 90’s era Toyota’s pickup. College years and a free garage floor with a set of random wrenches that mostly fit. Took me probably 10 hours total. But that was well before YouTube, great PDFs, and Tacomaworld. Basically Chiltons and the need to get it done. 4x4 at the time and did it solo.

 

Sexy!!!!!

 

He hasn't logged in for almost a year and a half

 

I tend to disagree. I put 45k on my XTerra, using the clutch the way it’s supposed to be (engine braking, zero rollback hill starts, etc) and it never showed signs of fading. I’m a competent driver and understand how a clutch works, and how to preserve it, so I’ve never been one to abuse one outright, but I definitely tend to give them a bit of a workout (engine braking always supplemented with rev matching, usually with heel/toe braking).

Now, given that his truck was new, doing those things before a clutch is broken in can be pretty bad for it. I’ve been very kind to the clutch in my tacoma so far, almost at 3,000 miles, so it’s probably just about broken in.

 

Add me to the list. Clutch pedal vibrations etc. Tonight the clutch pedal was almosr to the floor and starting to slip. A week after the "fix" corporate is involved at this point and Monday my truck goes in again to have the trans pulled

 

pilot error ..................

‘ but even if i had been somewhat hard on it .............’

U were hard on it ......................or NOT !!!!

some off roading ????

some muddin ??????

 

When I had a 93 accord right outta high school I was HARD on that clutch...I mean I didn't let it slip even at lights or stopping on hills (always used ebrake)...it did occur on occasion though...but I wasn't an easy shifter by any means...even mine lasted for about 100,000 but it never smelt burnt until it TOTALLY went out on me and I was halfway into a parking spot and had to rev and push with my foot to get into the spot. Even on my way into work that day it was slipping but not enough to really get that stank.

 

This right here! I have too many aftermarker mods on my truck that I don't even trust a Toyota technician with anything, from regular servicing to the fuel pump warranty (I had that done at my own expense). This way I personally trust the work being done instead of questioning if some random Toyota technician actually gave my truck the loving it needs

Especiall with my supercharger and armor, I don't want anybody digging under my truck unless they know what they're looking at.

 

I traded my MT for an AT and couldn't be happier. That MT of mine was fading from day 1 with pedal vibes and slipping...and no one knows how to work on them anymore.

 

The 2017 MT trd OR I drove had a faded clutch at 7,000 miles. My 2018 sr5 auto will hopefully make it to 300k with out even tranny fluid change ?


The irony of MT vs auto as far as “reliability” goes is the auto , in a gen 3 Tacoma’s seems to be way more reliable (maybe data can prove this).

the only newer vehicle I know of where the manual transmission is more reliable is a Ford Focus.

 

I noticed 4th slipping from 3k miles. I suspect toyota knows about this based off of how fast corporate jumped on my case.

 

Most people who burn out a clutch can't admit to doing so.....it's a pride thing.

I burned a couple out, but always knew what I did wrong when I did it.

If the clutch is burned its most likely abuse. If there was instead a failure of a something mechanical that caused it, they won't likely have evidence of that until tear down and what are the chances the dealer who is independent will turn down a customer paid job at full rate vs. Toyota paid at Toyota rate?

Bottom line is.....if there was no abuse, then you would be a fool to replace an OEM part that is of such shitty quality with the same part.

FYI I once convinced a dealer to bill Toyota for a burned clutch at 13k miles on an MR2. They did so not out of the goodness of their heart but because they found evidence of failure at tear down.

The trick was I told them I would not accept their diagnosis unless they could prove abuse, which they could only do after teardown.

I also said if they could not show me how abuse caused the failure, then I would tow my vehicle somewhere with the ability to install a quality upgrade.

If they knew I would pay out of pocket, they would not have fought Toyota on my behalf

 

So maybe this is just symantecs, but if I am asked "does pushing in the clutch at a red light cause more wear,?" my answer is yes.

Now when I say that, I know it is not causing wear at the friction point, but it is easier than explaining that it is wearing components like springs etc. I guess I look at the clutch as the sum of its parts, and not just friction material.

I don't have tons of experience with clutch replacement, but was lucky that was one was abuse, and the other a failure of another component that led to consequential damage of the friction material. Interesting to have seen both.

 

It is possible to depress the pedal enough to disengage, but not fully. If that makes sense, enough to separate the friction/pressure plates to the point it simply grazes. Its not something that would be observed quickly though, I imagine it would simply shorten the lifespan by a marginal amount.

It would be comparative to the person that rests their foot on the pedal while driving. Although that is a much faster way to wear it out, a similar failure mode is present. This is also similar to having too much or too little free play in the clutch pedal. The clutch in either is neither full releasing or fully engaging. So basically, an inexperienced driver could cause the same issues as an improperly adjusted free play, the outcomes would be the similar.

TOB wont like this either, as you already mentioned.

 

I've always wondered if the manufacturer would consider living on an inclined driveway abuse.

Starting an MT uphill clearly puts more strain on the clutch/flywheel but I wouldn't consider it abuse.

I suppose if it were me, I would make a big stink out of a clutch that wore 10x as fast as expected (11k) but not 2x (60k miles). I'd consider it a casualty of my driving style/driveway etc.