Yaris Clutch Issue (03 Reg)

[19ducks]

Hello. I was wondering if anyone could give me their opinion......

Last year I bought a Yaris (03 reg) as a Toyota Approved Used Car from a Toyota dealership, having done 11K miles. I have driven it for 4K miles over 10 months period. Now at 15K miles I have been advised by the Toyota dealer that it requires a new clutch assembly.

As the Toyota warranty does not cover "normal wear and tear", I have been told that the clutch cannot be supplied and fitted under warranty. I would like to ask anyone if a car of this mileage (15K) should normally require a new clutch assembly. I feel that this is not a "normal wear and tear" issue due to the low mileage of the car, and that I have a case for getting this job done under warranty.

Could anyone please advise?

Thank you.

[kimi]

Well i've got a 53reg T sport that i've had from new with 18k on it,

my clutch is slippping and i've got a new one on the way.

However it's most likely to be the compressor i had fitted to mine thats effected my clutch ;)

Good luck sorting your problem mate

[LittleM@n]

Don't know what 03 reg period is, but the clutch is changing due to wear in mileage, not in time.

I thought the same about my clutch 10k ago, but a friend of mine that has it's own service, test it and told me to stop the stupid ideas(my car has now 40k miles). He explain to me that a clutch from a japanesse car is designed to hold more than 100k miles in a normal use of car. My Carina has 70k miles, and 14 years, and yes, the clutch looks a little tired when you force the car. But is 14 years! and almost 5 times more kilometers than yours.

And I haven't heard about cars build in last time that they need clutch replacing for at least 60k miles.

So the conclusion is simple: they just want to take your money.

P.S.: If you want to try if the clutch is working, do this (at your own risk btw): start the car, pull the handbrake hard, push the acceleration to 3000 revs (or even 4000 if you want to force it), keep the pedal there, and than, with the first gear coupled, slowly slowly lift your foot from the clutch. If the engine is going to stall (even stalls, no problem), that means your clutch is OK (your handbrake too, if the car haven't moved :D).

But don't try this many times, 'cause you stress very much the clutch and the handbrake.

And you won't need to go to Toyota and ask if your clutch is ok :P

[Chris81]

What are the symptoms - is it undriveable? is the clutch slipping? how bad is it? I'd also be royally annoyed if it wasn't covered under the 12 month used car warranty but then again we're talking about a 4 year old car and the first owner may have been less than gentle with the clutch - any used motor (and most new ones!) are a gamble. I suppose you could try taking it to another toyota dealer for diagnosis and a price to fix and take it from there. Lets us know how you get on.

[jrampton]

15k miles is not enough mileage to have worn out the clutch, ask to speak to the dealer principle and see what he says about it.

[Blue84]

I also dont feel that the mileage is enough to warrant a new one being needed at your expense - I presume it's been serviced regularly and there are no other issues?

My Dad has an 03 Fiesta which has 21,000 miles on the clock only, he's not the gentlest of drivers (but nor is he a nutter) and the clutch on it is fine. If it did need a new clutch this early on I would be quite miffed, if it was a lot higher mileage then I would see a reasoning for it.

[19ducks]

What are the symptoms - is it undriveable? is the clutch slipping? how bad is it? I'd also be royally annoyed if it wasn't covered under the 12 month used car warranty but then again we're talking about a 4 year old car and the first owner may have been less than gentle with the clutch - any used motor (and most new ones!) are a gamble. I suppose you could try taking it to another toyota dealer for diagnosis and a price to fix and take it from there. Lets us know how you get on.

Hi Chris81 thanks for your reply. The car is drivable and makes a type of humming/vibrating noise when lifting the clutch pedal. I'm waiting to hear from Toyota UK having written a letter stating my dissatisfaction. More when i have it

[Moffmo]

Put it into 5th gear and floor the accerlation, if you see your revs rise but not your speed, then its slipping.

It should be ok at 15k, unless you or the prevoius driver was riding the clutch.

Mine was on 35k when i sold it, and that had hell, being a new driver and taking it on the drag strip (lolz) numerous times.

[Chris81]

I suppose it depends exactly what the wording is in the used car warranty. If it states that the part that Toyota need to fix your problem is not covered then I would have thought there's not much more you can do from a complaint side, but see what Toyota UK have to say. It's their discretion to offer you a lower price to keep your goodwill or they might not care about that and not budge on their quote to fix. You'll have to decide how much you like the car and if you're happy to pay for the repair - how much are they quoting and what model Yaris is it?

[DaveSR]

Phone Toyota UK as your get a quicker responce .... they should be able to sort something out for you

You can express yourself more over the phone ;) But do be nice :D

*Responce time on the phone took 2 days