Yaris Clutch Judder

[mermanov]

I will appreciate members' opinion in this matter. When I first bought my Yaris (1.3 manual) about 5 years ago I noticed a slight judder in the clutch mechanism when moving from rest, especially going in reverse. I did notify the local distributor at that time (they did not admit there was a problem) but I never followed the matter up as I thought the problem would disappear in time. But now I realize that the problem has become rather annoying and the Toyota distributor has agreed that there is a problem and it will cost me about GBP375 to change the clutch assembly. I realize that the warranty has expired, but I claim that Toyota should have recalled most Yaris for clutch testing as it did with other problems that arose in many Toyota vehicles. From what I read now, many others have experienced this fault. This time I intend to see this matter through. Members' opinions and suggestions will be appreciated.

[Cookie-monster]

Clutch judder is very common, and not just with Yaris - most cars I have had of different makes, including my mk1 Yaris have some degree of clutch judder when taking off from cold in first or reverse. Its usually due to some minor contamination of the clutch plate by oil, moisture, grease etc, and soon improves after the first mile or so.

I would not worry, unless its doing it all the time. I'm sure your dealer will say that there is a problem to get money out of you!

[Hartside]

Our mk1 had it, but the clutch was near replacement time. Our mk2 1.3 is ok 99% of the time, only the occasional judder when the car has been left a few days, is cold and not enough revs are given. I guess that's just moisture. One if the worst at the moment seems to be the new Hyundai i10. I thought about one of those when we bought the Yaris, but the forum put me off as it's got an 18 page thread dedicated to horrendous clutch judder, with no apparent fix. So pleased I bought the Yaris instead as I look at the i10 on the road and just don't like it that much!

[Cyker]

I used to get that when cold but I put it down to my diesel engine being a big sluggish in the cold.

Since I've had a new clutch fitted I've had no judder at all tho', although the new clutch is a Valeo one.

One thing we did notice about the old clutch was that the friction plate was in pretty good condition (20k to go at least!) but was much more worn on the outer edge while the inner sections of the friction plate were practically unworn!

It turned out the diaphragm spring was totally shot; It was flattened and uneven and wasn't pressing the friction plate flat against the flywheel (i.e. =/|= vs =||=) which was probably causing the juddering and the reason for the bite point feeling so high (Really it just wasn't gripping because so little friction surface was in contact) but it being completely fine when fully engaged!