"heavy" Feeling Clutch On My Yaris 1.4D 2007 - Whats Wrong?&#3

[Yellow99]

I hope you guys can please help me on here I bought a Yaris 1.4d
on 2007 year around 12 months ago - test drove it and the clutch felt
kind of heavy compared to my petrol car but I was told it was "normal"

anyway
to the present time I am recently qualified to be a driving instructor
and I suspect the clutch is going to be be "too heavy" for my learners
for when I start teaching in a few weeks time.

The Yaris went in for a recall for the window switch just before xmas at Toyota who fixed it and some kind of report on the car where it does say the clutch is heavy.

I
went to Toyota West Riding in Bradford I was told the clutch was £320
inv VAT so I rang them to book my car so they could check the
clutch...they wanted to open the clutch and I presume charge me for
"looking" at it. They refused to even sit in the car to test the pedal
for me - saying they had toi "open" the clutch and see if it was the
clutch or the bearing.

I was given £800 for the clutch inc fitting...ouch

Can anyone of you guys tell me

1. Is the clutch in the Yaris 1.4d
on 2007 reg supposed to feel heavy when you push it down - like it
takes more effort is this normal. The bite is towards the top as well.
The clutch is not making any sounds and gear changes are fine and
smooth.

2. Is a normal clutch Yaris 1.4d on 2007 reg supposed to feel "light" like the gas pedal?

3.
Can somone point me in the direction of a Toyota independent service
person in the Bradford or Leeds area that can have a look at the clutch
for me.

4. If a new clutch is required then where
should i buy it from considering I will be teaching starting to teach
driving in a few weeks time.

Thanks Tayhlor James

[crofter]

Hi Tayhlor, has anyone given any thought that it may just be a tight pedal that oiling might fix.

Also welcome to the club

Del

[Cyker]

I don't remember the clutch being particularly heavy in the Mk2 D4D, unlike the Corolla D4D (Which has a clutch that feels like it belongs in a truck )

Is there anything in the service history about a clutch change?

[Yellow99]

I can try putting some WD40 - can you show me a picture of where I am supposed to put the WD40 on the pedal

Hi Tayhlor, has anyone given any thought that it may just be a tight pedal that oiling might fix.

Also welcome to the club

Del

[Yellow99]

If the clutch fluid level is low can that cause a "heavy" clutch?

[Yellow99]

I will chec the servicev history today I doubt the clutch has been changed I will start to reach driving lessons in a few weeks and I think the clutch is "heavy" for learners - they need a "light" clutch

I don't remember the clutch being particularly heavy in the Mk2 D4D, unlike the Corolla D4D (Which has a clutch that feels like it belongs in a truck )

Is there anything in the service history about a clutch change?

[Cyker]

Well when I was learning with BSM, my instructor was ill this one time and had a colleague take over; This guy's BSM Corsa had clearly been modded as the clutch pedal had half the travel and required much more force to push in! Caught me out with an instant stall

On querying this (How can two identical Corsas be so different!?), it turned out this instructor had fitted a heavy duty clutch, which included a much stiffer diaphragm spring ,to try and make it last longer with his students

The quicker bite and shorter travel took some getting used to vs the normal spongy full-travel Corsa clutch, and was a bit more tiring on the left foot, but wasn't too hard to adapt to TBH.

IIRC, the Mk2 is like the Mk1 in that the clutch and brakes share a fluid reservoir, so it's unlikely the fluid level is low or you'd notice it in the brakes too. That said, it may be that the clutch cylinders need bleeding?

Does it get better (or worse!) once the car is warmed up?

[Yellow99]

i took the car down to www.motormarque.co.uk/‎ in horsforth in leeds one of their mechanics did a road test and confirmed the clutch is heavy.

Was told it has a few more miles in it so best to use it for a while.

was quoted a price of around £620 to replace the clutch was told it takes 5 hours

i asked the name of the clutch it starts with the letter 'V' thats all i remember.

German Swedish quoted me £210 for a new clutch - does anyone know anyone that can fit it for me?

[Yellow99]

I took the car to another garage today - they told me the clutch seems fine for a few thousand more miles BUT the pedal does feel heavy they said it could be something to do with the pedal and they have to 'bleed' the pedal.

They gave me details of someone else to go to....seems nobody knows how to fix the 'heavy clutch' pedal.

could it be low clutch fluid that could cause the clutch pedal to feel 'heavy'

[crofter]

I would say no. If you think of the fluid as a solid bar from the pedal to the clutch operating lever then you will have some idea how it works.The fluid cannot be compressed and nor could be the bar.

What would happen if the fluid level went low enough would be that air entered the system and that can be compressed. This would mean that the air would have to be compressed before any movement of the clutch lever would move and the pedal would not seem solid at the start of pressing.It would be like a sponge on the pedal that you have to flatten before you moved the pedal down.

Re the wd40,the pedal is like a see-saw and tips on a rod under the dashboard.If you run your fingers up the pedal you should find a piece of tube welded to it at a right angle.This is where it could, maybe, become stiff and where to aim the spray at both ends of this tube

Sorry if this is waffleing on but I thought it might help

Del

[Yellow99]

I tried to look for the cluth fluid container under the bonnet but the car only a had a break fluid container - I looked everyway and could not find any cluth fluid container!

Why is this?

Still no luck with the heavy cluth pedal - even Toyota Main dealers do not have a clue - and they are supposed to know the carinside out

[crofter]

I think you will find that is a dual purpose one that supplies the clutch and the brakes