Help with my CAR

[padawan]

I really like computers. But I hate working on cars. Here's my problem.

I have a 2001 Toyota Celica. It has 28,000 miles on it, most of which are highway miles, and not the stop and go kind, either. I've done all of the scheduled maintenance on the car, per the owners manual.

Just today, a noise started coming from the clutch pedal. It's a chirping noise, that matches the speed of the engine. Depressing the clutch about 1/2" makes the noise go away. With the clutch disengaged, the noise also goes away. If the car is out of gear, there is no noise. When the car is cold, it does not make this noise.

I do not race around in the car, and drive it normally.

Any ideas what this is?

[HAL9000]

The throwout bearing is dry, and making contact with the release levers on the clutch (they shouldn't). It's turning all the time causing the chirp, but placing a load on it by depressing the clutch makes the chirp go away.

[padawan]

So this is a bad thing, I take it? Should it be bad with only 28K on the car? How long should a clutch last under normal driving conditions?

[lil Jimmie]

Sounds like its time for a clutch job, if the throw out bearing is going out you might as well do the clutch while you have it apart. If you let it go too long it can seize and cause even more damage.

[avx]

Check this site out Auto Advice they are great guys, it really reflects the same kind of community here, just go to their forums and post your questions, youll get a lot of help.

[HAL9000]

The clutch should last you a lot longer than 28K miles, I had 100K miles on my Festiva before the clutch got it's first replacement. I suspect that the throwout bearing has possibly been misaligned from day one, or for some time, and wore it out rather quickly. I agree with lil Jimmie tho, you gotta tear the thing down to change that bearing (not a cheap job, but a cheap part), you might as well do the clutch while it's apart.

[padawan]

I've heard that a clutch should last a long time, and this car is less than 2 years old. I suppose warranty is not covered here, but damn, only 28K before it needs a $500 clutch job?

[HAL9000]

I would say that it should still be covered under warranty.... check with your dealer.

[padawan]

Well, if the dealer opens it up, and finds the clutch in good shape, but the bearing is screwed, it should fall under the warranty, I would hope anyway. Damn damn damn.

[Byte 2.0]

That shoudl be a warranty job. Most cars/trucks now are coming a min of a 3 year 36 thousand miles.

They figure 12 thousand miles per year is an average.

But something is wrong if the clutch is going out that soon and I would really push for warranty on that and a replacement car while they are doing the repair.

[lil Jimmie]

I don't work for a dealership so I can't say what they will do in this case, but more than likely they will only change the throw out bearing. The clutch and pressure plate will last longer that the throw out bearing in most cases.

[padawan]

It has a bumper to bumper for 5/60, but I bet they will try to argue that the clutch will be normal wear and tear. We'll see when I get there, I guess. Did I mention DAMN.

[Byte 2.0]

not at 28k miles, that is not normal wear.

I would seriously push for warranty on that. That is Major work. Not cheap either.

Normal wear and tear is tires, belts, not motors, transmissions and stuff like that.

hate to say this but my 90 T-bird has never had any major work, other then just maintaince and it has 125k miles,

That part should get you many more miles then that. I would like to say it should last 100k miles

[padawan]

Yeah, I just found a place online that says a clutch should last at least 90k, so mine is way under that. Argh, I hate car problems.

[Byte 2.0]

I would agree with 90k, i was thinking 100 K was pushing it but I guess I was pretty close. That is the type of part they want to go back after warranty. And I agree with Hal on what is sounds like.

[glc]

I've had cars that only got 40k on a clutch - and I had one (a Festiva) that still had the original clutch at 170k.

It's very possible that the clutch just needs adjustment - if it's even adjustable. Some are, some aren't. Whatever, get the dealer to listen to it.

[lil Jimmie]

I doubt there is any adjustment with it being a hydraulic clutch.

[Byte 2.0]

most likely it is just the bearing that is going bad, in production the machine probably ran a bit low on grease and it didn't get a full load and has gotten dry and wore. It most likely can be replaced.

[Tuf]

I would expect Toyota to pay for it. If the dealer doesn't agree ask for their Toyota service reps number or dig through the owners manual for the 1-800- I aint happy number.

[ylen13]

u can just call 18005551212(i think this is the number)its a totall free directrory and they should be abel to give u the toll free number.

[padawan]

OK, I went through the warranty manual, and here is what I found.

Basic Warranty, 3/36k
Covers everything except wheel rotation, tires, normal service, brake pads, and clutch lining.

Powertrain 5/60k covers the motor/tranny with exception of clutch lining.

So, the clutch lining would not make this noise, right? Isn't the clutch lining the clutch plate, which would make the tranny slip when engaged?

[brassman]

I would agree with the others. Highly unlikely that it is the pressure plate causing the noise. It's gotta be the throw out bearing.

[roy66]

Throw out bearing.

Just press the clutch pedal SLOWLY.
You will probably find that as soon as the slack is taken up then it make contact with the throw out bearing and a load on that bearing commences.
It is at this stage that the noise should cease even before the clutch pedal is fully depressed.

There are a number of opinions as to what you should do.
Seeing you are still under warranty then there is no question....GET THEM TO FIX IT UNDER WARRANTY.

I have the same problem with my RV...but don't worry about it as it really is only a nuisance factor to me.

You gotta get your confidence level up before you approach the distributors as in most cases they don't get excited about handling warranty problems and are quite capable of confusing the issue if you are not able to stand your ground.

I hope your guys aren't like that...but best to be forewarned.

Good luck

roy66

[padawan]

Noise is getting worse, and it's only been a couple of hours since I noticed it. I'm hoping to get into the dealer tomorrow morning, I kinda need my car...

[glc]

The three major parts to a clutch are the release bearing (throwout bearing), pressure plate, and clutch disk (lining). Looks to me like the bearing is covered. This would be analogous to the calipers when it comes to brakes (and the pressure plate would be like the brake rotors) - obviously the brake linings (pads) are normal wear items as is the clutch lining.

[Byte 2.0]

I need an update. Will they fix it

[padawan]

I took the car in this afternoon. The guy at the dealer was super nice. I had forgotten to bring my service records in with me, since I had taken them out last night to review them. He said, "Hey, this is a Toyota, it's not supposed to break. We don't need to see those, since this is something that shouldn't be happening."

Nice guy, so far. But, they weren't too keen on giving me a replacement car. I'll work on that tomorrow, since m appointment is tomorrow morning, but I had to drop it off today because of work.

[glc]

These days, about the best you can expect from them for a replacement car is a low cost rental. The days of free loaners are pretty much gone. We can thank the insurance industry for this.

[padawan]

Well, I kinda thought they would give me a loaner, since the warranty book for the car says if they have to keep the car more than one day, regardless of the work being performed, they will give me transportation. Might be an issue to take up with 1-800-I Am Upset number in the book.

[glc]

If you have that in writing, then they have to honor it unless they have published a terms change somewhere and can point you to it.