Clutch Problems

July 15, 2012

Hi,

any help would be greatly appreciated.

I own a Toyota Aygo Platinum, 2008 with 77k on the clock. 90% of my driving is motorway at around 60 to 70 mph.

Today, the engine started making a terrible knocking sound whenever the cluch pedal is pushed down. It seems to drive OK but the noise it makes is worrying.

Here is a video of the problem:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XI7VzZicJds&feature=youtu.be

Anyone know what's going on here? Am I looking at a new clutch? How much is this likely to cost me?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

July 15, 2012

Hi Mike.

Two parts of the clutch are connected with 3 "arms".

One part pulls the other round.

The arms or their fixings are now known to be a bit weak.

One of yours has snapped from the noise.

You will almost certainly need a new clutch.

Your existing one will be a 180mm version.

When you have a new clutch fitted, ensure it is one of the newer, larger, beefed up 190mm ones.

Not sure about cost for fitting, but complete 190mm clutches are about £100.00.

Ian.

July 16, 2012

Agreed with Ian, I've got this at 49k.

I've managed to get an 190mm Exedy clutch (company is racing pedigree) for £116, The stealers were quoting ~£310 for an OEM part and ~£350 labour.

I've found a local (west midlands) based clutch specialist to do the job for £100 (I've been quote this by 2 garages). But generally labour quotes have been around £190 to £250.

July 16, 2012

Thanks for the replies on this.

The more I read up the more I am appalled by the service other Aygo owners have had. I am glad I did a bit of investigating before handing over £650 as requested by my local dealer.

I just had a chat with Robert at Calder Clutch Ltd. http://www.calderclutch.co.uk

He said this was a common problem caused by a lack of "drive straps". Apparently, the 180mm diameter plate isn't the cause of the problem but dropping in a 190mm unit from a Yaris seems to do the trick and eliminates the need for Toyota to make a new part. Therefore, that is what you will get if you go to Toyota for the repair.

Calder Clutch make a bespoke replacement unit that will do the trick and is guaranteed for 2 years. It costs £45 and I think I'll go for that just as soon as I get someone local to fit it for me.

Thanks again for your interest on this.

July 16, 2012

Calderclutch remanufacture clutches and only 180mm will be available as the 190mm will have not worn out and be available for remanufacture.

I think it is false economy to fit the smaller size.

A new three piece set is available here and from feedback are good quality.

http://www.c1oc.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4423

July 17, 2012

Thanks for the replies on this.
The more I read up the more I am appalled by the service other Aygo owners have had. I am glad I did a bit of investigating before handing over £650 as requested by my local dealer.
I just had a chat with Robert at Calder Clutch Ltd. http://www.calderclutch.co.uk
He said this was a common problem caused by a lack of "drive straps". Apparently, the 180mm diameter plate isn't the cause of the problem but dropping in a 190mm unit from a Yaris seems to do the trick and eliminates the need for Toyota to make a new part. Therefore, that is what you will get if you go to Toyota for the repair.
Calder Clutch make a bespoke replacement unit that will do the trick and is guaranteed for 2 years. It costs £45 and I think I'll go for that just as soon as I get someone local to fit it for me.
Thanks again for your interest on this.

The other "common problem" is the appalling over-priced service

July 18, 2012

Thanks for the replies on this.
The more I read up the more I am appalled by the service other Aygo owners have had. I am glad I did a bit of investigating before handing over £650 as requested by my local dealer.
I just had a chat with Robert at Calder Clutch Ltd. http://www.calderclutch.co.uk
He said this was a common problem caused by a lack of "drive straps". Apparently, the 180mm diameter plate isn't the cause of the problem but dropping in a 190mm unit from a Yaris seems to do the trick and eliminates the need for Toyota to make a new part. Therefore, that is what you will get if you go to Toyota for the repair.
Calder Clutch make a bespoke replacement unit that will do the trick and is guaranteed for 2 years. It costs £45 and I think I'll go for that just as soon as I get someone local to fit it for me.
Thanks again for your interest on this.
The other "common problem" is the appalling over-priced service

Servicing is not over-priced.

(Please find enclosed my invoice for the sum of £10.00 for commenting on your post).

September 1, 2012

A quick update report.

I was lucky to get a genuine Toyota upgrade clutch kit from a kind chap on eBay for around £120. I decided to get a local mechanic to fit it for me for £120.

Toyota would have wanted considerably more than that and would not guarantee me a "good will" getsure, even though their part and failed due to poor design.

The fault was, as suspected, caused by two broken drive straps.

Anyway, I'm not bitter. In general the car is fine and does what I want it to. It runs well with the new clutch and now I have the obligatory Brembo disks, rerplacement water pump and now uprated clutch, I can hope for a couple more years out of this car.

Thank you to all who offered support and suggestions in this tread. I hope the information it provides will help others with similar problems.

Here are a few pics to show the clutch replacement:

New kit:

Inside the box:

One of the two broken drive straps: (missing part found at the bottom of cluch housing)

The second broken drive strap:

A wide shot of the offending clutch:

Removing the old clutch:

Clutch housing and gearbox removed:

Another look at the gearbox:

New clutch kit installed:

Mechanic in need of a clean up:

October 23, 2014

Hi all

As you can see on Mikes photos, the failed clutch had broken drive straps on the clutch cover, this is because only one strap was fitted, all clutch covers with single drive straps are prone to fail, only fit replacements with 2 or pairs of drive straps.

The fail has nothing to do with the diameter of the clutch, as some suggest.

October 24, 2014

Does the 2008 Aygo MMT (automatic) have the same bad clutch? I was told that the part number for the clutch for the MMT one was different. Can some body confirm that please?

October 25, 2014

Comparing the photos of the old damaged clutch and the new clutch (above), I see that both have just three drive straps each. So the number of drive straps has nothing to do with it or am I missing something? In the old clutch two drive straps are broken.

October 25, 2014

Does the 2008 Aygo MMT (automatic) have the same bad clutch? I was told that the part number for the clutch for the MMT one was different. Can some body confirm that please?

Same clutch as manual

http://www.c1store.co.uk/store/product_info.php?cPath=68_187&products_id=2989