Has anybody successfully remedied their clutch shudder?

Mmmmm Slash X!

 

Glad I found this thread. My 12 does this, I'm at 93k miles. Only when cold and at the same damn stop sign on my way to work in the morning. The clutch feels fine all day after it is warmed up. So weird.

 

my 15 does this since about 10k miles i now have 20k on it. it usually happens to me when it gets in to the low 40's over night. i did change out my trans fluid recently but it has had no effect on it. this is my first manual trans that i have driven full time i thought it was me, i have since tried to adjust for it, but to no avail. it does go away after about 2 miles or so.

 

Update:

The weather has warmed ever so slightly, maybe ~45-50 degree mornings instead of 30s, and this has been enough to essentially erase my morning clutch shudder problems.

This has me thinking. When the shudder does happen, it happens for several starts. Plenty enough to warm it up by 10 degrees. So why does such a mild increase in morning temp mostly eliminate it?

Only thing I can think of is it has less to do with temp and more to do with water/condensation.

 

A clutch chattering when cold is normal for any manual transmission vehicle, but it should go away after a few engagements once the clutch warms up. In addition, clutch/brake fluid is more viscous when cold, especially below freezing, which is why your brake and clutch pedals take more effort to press when it's cold outside. The fluid becomes even more viscous over time because it's hygroscopic which means that the older it is, the more water it has absorbed. If the clutch fluid is too viscous, the clutch may not respond directly to your pedal input and it may effect clutch engagement/disengagement.

If your clutch chatters more than it should, it usually means that the clutch friction surface or flywheel surface is unevenly worn or damaged. Also it's a good idea to flush your clutch fluid and brake fluid after a few years to get the water out of it.

 

It's a combination of both.

 

Owned my '05 since new and it was doing this back then, almost from day 1. Mostly when cold on first start of the day but also when it's raining. Goes away once warmed up. Clutch squeak fixed and in fact entire tranny replaced under warranty (popped out of 4th gear under load). Annoying but no other issues that I've looked into are wrong with it (motor mounts, oil leak, etc.). Been driving manual trannies since I was a kid 40+ years ago, and currently own other manual vehicles.

Odd thing is, it is not a true slipping clutch. By that I mean when towing 5000+ lbs it goes away fast even when cold and no further issues. So it must be something like the material on the clutch absorbs moisture, and a thin layer at that, which goes away quickly once a little bit of friction heat is applied. If it were oil it would not go away that fast. I have another vehicle with a true (but tiny) rear main seal leak I have not gotten around to fixing and it definitely can slip. Tacoma is nowhere near that.