New Clutch

[JonoW]

Car went in for a service yesterday, it's done over 62,000 miles. Apparently it might need a new clutch because it's slipping under load according to the garage - as far as I can tell it does this only in 5th when trying to pull away at about 40mph (Not something I tend to do - I'm usually in 4th until 50 if i'm trying to accellerate in an attempt to get somewhere quickly).

They're not sure if it's the clutch or flywheel or what, and said something like £300 to take it apart and investigate properly....

But yeah, I can confirm that it does, and since they mentioned it I've become more aware of the problem, however it doesn't do it ALL the time, just some of the time in the above circumstances.

Anyway, it's 3 years old and out of warranty. I'm going to get it looked at and replaced ASAP but what options do I have? Is it best to let the local place (they seem pretty good tbh) sort it all out and pay lots, or is there an alternative, a better one?)

Car is a 2003 D4D.

Another question, I got an 06 1.3 petrol yaris as a loan car for the day and the brakes seemed sooo much ... more responsive than my car. Just had to !Removed! near the brake pedal and the car stood on its nose - this loan car had done 100 miles when I got hold of it. On my car though, you have to press the pedal a fair distance before any braking occurred, but as far as I remember it's always been like that. The braking itself doesn't seem half as good as the new yaris. Really have to stamp on the pedal in comparison.

The garage also commented on the amount of travel the brake pedal has to do before anything noticable happens, and I'm not sure if that's making me paranoid about the brakes too. I didn't really want to thrash the hell out of the loan car to try a decent emergency braking comparison, but mine doesn't seem great and I'm worried. (Garage didn't seem overly concerned about brakes other than pedal travel).

Any thoughts on either of these issues? Any advice highly appreciated.

[Chuck04]

Hi Jono, sorry to hear about the problems. My advice towards the brakes would be to have them bleed, i would also consider checking the brake fluid level and perhaps having the fluid changed, unless this was done recently.

[Gnome]

Pedal travel will usually indicate wear.

When was the fluid last changed? Should be every 2 years.

Get new fluid in there.

Clutches are funny things, as it all depends on how you use it. They can go in as little as 10,000 miles, or last the life of a car.

If it's slipping, then it's time to replace it, as the problem will only get worse.

[Red Yaris 54]

As said above re: changing the brake fluid/ bleeding the brakes.

The New Yaris AFAIK has uprated (larger) discs than the Mk 1 so braking should be better

Good to hear that you did not "thrash" the loan car. Unfortunately far too many people do..................which is not a good thing for the eventual owner :(

The clutch (from your description) appears to be on its way out, it will not last too much longer............take it steady to prolong its life.

The warranty would not have covered the clutch anyway (It is considered a "wear and tear" item), but of course you may be able to shop around for quotes (Not necessarily Toyota) to get your clutch replaced.

Let us know how you get on