Help!! Calling all mechanics and arm-chair mechanics!
I’m utterly stumped. In terms of reliability, my 2005 Scion Xb has in every way lived up to what it looks like: a refrigerator. Except for one utterly maddening issue, which I thought was long behind me (although I did have a few nagging doubts). Other than this one problem, it has needed absolutely nothing except for a set of tires, oil and filters. Even the original battery is still going. I will describe all the symptoms, and Toyota’s two efforts to remedy them, which have turned out to last exactly 20k miles before recurring. Which just happened again 15 minutes ago, while running an errand. Here’s the (highly detailed) chronology:
I bought it in February of 2007, from a very nice couple in Portland. It looked and drove truly like brand new given that it only had 14,200 miles. One month later, I started hearing a distinct chirping noise as I’m tooling around town. And when I put my foot on the clutch, even just a little bit, it went away.
It started out intermittently, but became increasingly more consistent. The only thing I could think of was the clutch throw-out bearing, although typically, a release bearing gets noisy when it’s depressed, not the other way. Could it be a transmission bearing; or something else?
In May of 2007, with 15,400 miles, I finally took it to my local Toyota dealer for diagnosis. They concurred with the release bearing diagnosis, and replaced the bearing, along with the whole clutch assembly along as a goodwill gesture, all under warranty. Aw shucks! They said it must have been a fluke; a random bad release bearing from a supplier. Shit happens, even at Toyota. OK; I can buy into that theory, lacking any better. Still, it seemed somehow less than 100% convincing.
20,000 miles and a bit over two years later (2009), it starts again! So what exactly are the odds of me getting two randomly-bad Toyota release bearings in a row? Any mathematicians out there? I’m increasingly convinced that there’s something endemic to the car that’s causing this.
By then, the warranty had expired, and the Toyota techs are a bit dubious, as it’s somewhat intermittent. I come back again when it’s chirping good, even in neutral. It didn’t always do it in neutral. But it did that day, right in front of their desks. They couldn’t miss it; or have a flock of birds gotten into the service department?
Without any viable explanation, they come up with the same diagnosis: another random bad release bearing. This time they only replace the release bearing, and “lube all contact points”. They give me a goodwill discount on what would have been a pricy repair bill: my share $293.01; the only repair bill to date.
The noise goes away, but the clutch has developed a bit of a shudder on take off. What’s up with that? It’s worst when cold; when warmed up it’s almost unnoticeable, although I’ve also learned how to minimize it. I never took it back.
That was at 35,125 miles, in July of 2009. Here it is almost exactly 20,000 miles (and three years) later, and it’s back. Let’s get one thing out of the way, which the Toyota techs grilled me repeatedly on: I DON”T RIDE THE CLUTCH! Sorry for the caps, but clutch-riding is a major peeve of mine; it drives me nuts when I see someone with their left foot even grazing the pedal. I lift off briskly after each shift, and once I’m in a cruising gear, my foot is firmly planted on the dead pedal. I’m obsessive about this. And no, nobody else ever drives my car, Toyota!
I just found my way to a Toyota Tech Training manual, and it confirms that release bearing noise happens when the clutch is depressed, not released.:
And it suggests that it’s transmission bearing or noise if it stops when pedal is depressed. Yet the two times Toyota diagnosed and “fixed” it, they did so by replacing the release bearing.
What does it sound like? A metallic chirping, with a decided rotational aspect (sounds like something turning is chirping). Loud enough to hear fairly readily at lower speeds with the window down. Eventually, it got loud enough to hear (slightly) with the windows closed.
I’m rather convinced that there’s something fundamentally wrong with my car that’s causing this happen every 20k miles. Maybe the transmission input shaft is out of round or off-centered? But the Toyota release bearing is self centering, and compensates for that, to an extent. Right? Or??
FWIW, the clutch is hydraulic, the pedal is self adjusting, and it “takes up” right where it should, in the center of the pedal’s arc of travel. No slippage, and full release. First gear syncro is not the hottest, sometimes a bit hesitant to slide in on a downshift from second unless the speed is very slow, or almost stopped. But then that’s been the case all along: any connection?
I need to get this diagnosed properly and fixed; once and for all. I really want to keep the car for the long haul, but I’m not ready for this every 20k miles.
OK; your turn.
Paul,
what is the set up of the clutch actuation? Is it a linear moving hydraulic unit in bellhousing, or is it a cross shaft (with clutch slave outside bellhousing) with 2 “ears” that presses on TOB?
If latter, could a mis-aligned cross shaft, or ears, affect life of TOB?
alistair
The clutch slave sits outside.
still have it? my 2009 corolla was making a similar noise and this seems to have stopped it http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/132-9th-gen-corolla-1st-gen-matrix-2003-2008/668953-diy-2003-2008-corolla-matrix-pontiac-vibe-squeaky-clutch-noise-fix-pics.html
No; the noise is gone, but I still have a shudder in my clutch when starting out.
Your noise is very different than what I had; mine only occurred when the clutch was fully released (up), and went away as soon as I started to depress it. My noise is/was from the throwout bearing; there’s no question about that. The reason appears to be because the shaft that the throwout bearing rides on was never quite right from the factory.
Your noise is something altogether different. Good that you found a ready fix for it.
oh okay weird and from what i read the throw out bearing makes noise when u press on the clutch and mine only made the noise when i had no pressure whatsoever on it when my foot was to the side on the rest pad if i put a light finger pressure on the clutch the noise would stop completely , I looked under the hood and the clutch slave cylinder/ fork was always shaking but when pressure was applied to the clutch it moved and stoped the noise and shaking 😛 but yea i bought a can of Jig-A-Loo white lithium spray grease and theres a small spot on the boot of the fork i stuck the nozzle into and sprayed around it all and it went away instantly i figured maybe they just lubed that up while they were replacing your throw out bearing and that was why it would stop temporarily just thought id throw my two opinion out there in case other people were having the same issue and needed a fix 🙂
the noise is coming from the clutch slave and clutch fork mine was doing the same all it cost to fix was 10 bucks for a thing of good white lithium grease and no more chirping
I’m thinking it might be the bearings on the input shaft.
The throwout bearing does nothing UNTIL you put some leverage on the clutch lever…pressure on the pedal. So for the noise to DISAPPEAR when you do that, tells me the noisy part is getting a break.
The pilot bushing should only be noisy when the input shaft and the flywheel are rotating at different speeds. This doesn’t sound like that.
That leaves only something rotating close to the clutch mechanism; where when you actuate the clutch the environment changes. Since it’s not the throwout bearing, and not the gears themselves (if it were it would be noisy anytime they were under load) it can only be the input shaft.
Sounds quite logical, and a scenario I’ve played out in my head. But how to account for the fact that the noise went away both times after the TOB was replaced? That’s what throws a bit of a monkey wrench into that theory. Or?
Either the bearings were replaced; or alignment of the gear subsets slightly altered – as will always happen; or some external lubrication applied.
Short answer is…I dunno.
Bottom line is, it’s a job for a shop. No matter who or what. A dealer would be the logical choice, except you don’t know who would be assigned your work-ticket. Better, if possible, is a COMPETENT independent that you can TALK TO – and get on the same page with.
If he’s good, and interested, he’ll keep it in mind as he’s ripping into it.
I’d say it is likely the throwout bearing that is making the noise but not because it is bad. When the clutch pedal is released there should be some clearance between the bearing and the fingers. As the clutch disc wears the pressure plate moves farther until it stops making the fingers stick out farther than they did before eliminating that clearance between them and the bearing. So my thought is that those fingers are just touching the bearing but w/o enough friction to make the bearing actually spin. When you depress the clutch pedal you increase the friction enough so the bearing spins and the noise goes away.
Notice in the chart above it says that if it is the release bearing it starts to make noise as soon as the free travel is taken up. So is there any free travel before the noise stops? If it was a bearing or other issue inside the trans then it would take pushing the pedal all the way to the floor to allow the input shaft to stop rotating and the noise to stop. If it stops with just a light touch it the problem isn’t inside the trans.
How to remedy the problem? That is the hard part, if it was old school like the Corolla then a quick adjustment of the slave cyls push rod would restore that free travel and clearance and you’d be good to go for another 20K. The problem is it does not appear that the push rod is adjustable. The return spring on the throwout lever or the pedal could be getting weak. If the pedal is not returned all the way the master cyl may be retaining some pressure on the system keeping the slave cyl slightly extended. If the return spring on the throwout lever is weak then it could be allowing the bearing to slightly touch the pressure plate.
It is not an alignment issue with the trans to engine if their center lines are out by more than a thousandth or two you would have ripped the center out of the clutch disc long ago.
edit: If it is the bearings on the input shaft the noise would not go away if you are rolling with the shifter in gear and the clutch depressed because the car would still be turning the input shaft though the transmission.
Eric, There is an adjustment on the push rod behind the pedal; it’s threaded and has a nut. Also, there is a small but distinct amount of “free play” in the pedal-pushrod assembly; meaning that the pedal has about 3/8″ or so of slop before the pushrod actually starts to move into the master cylinder. And the return spring is good; the pedal fully retracts as far as it physically can.
Does any of these help/make a difference?
But does the noise go away as soon as the pedal moves, or after it takes up the free play?
Since the pedal “slop” is so small, I’d say realistically it happens after it takes up free play. But ti doesn’t take very much, just a bit of pressure, and it starts to go away.
Well that does rule out the master cyl keeping pressure on the system but doesn’t tell whether the slave cyl’s return spring is doing it’s job and is able to provide the needed clearance between the throw out bearing and the pressure plate fingers. Can you get to the slave cyl w/o major dis-assembly? If so can you push the lever back tword the slave cyl? Can you do that while it is running and making the noise? If so does the noise go away then? How about pushing the lever in the direction the slave cyl pushes it, is there any travel in that direction before you can’t push it with your fingers?
Eric; I’ll try to check. But note that the Toyota Tech manual I linked to says that the “the release bearing is always in constant contact with the diaphragm spring. The outer race of the bearing is always rotating with the clutch cover”.
Does that mean something relevant?
Yes and no. It means in theory that it is designed to always be in contact but the question is whether or not there is enough friction in that contact to make sure that the outer race is actually always rotating and not scraping. Another related possibility is that there is indeed a problem with the bearing where the play that has developed due to the wear of always turning allows some part of the bearing assembly to scrape on another part when it does not have much pressure on it. That could be due to a defective design of the bearing but if that were the case I’d suspect you’d be able to find many others on the web with the same experience. If I were to do this job I would not get a factory Toyota bearing knowing the history, and that includes the brands that use the OE supplier and put them in their own box.
I just checked the slave; there’s no play in either direction; I couldn’t move it, but then I could only get two fingers on it; it’s quite tight between the fan and under the intake manifold.
The big question is why it keeps happening every 20 k miles, and only to mine?
It’s not just yours. Mine is doing it also, sounds kind of like crickets chirping and just like yours it stops as soon as you put any pressure on the clutch. I was thinking TOB also. Thought id’ look around on the web and see if anyone else had the same deal going on.
Jim, Oddly enough, the noise in mine went away, not long after I posted this. But i still get the clutch chatter, mainly when it’s cold and wet. In the summer, it’s sometimes barely noticeable. So I’m just living with it. A more abrupt start avoids the stutter; let the tires do the slipping 🙂
Clutch shudder on take-off sounds like grease on the clutch or pressure plate, which may be consistent with the “lube contact points” comment (possibly over-lubed something inside the bellhousing if they were in there and it splattered on the wrong area).
We had an input shaft bearing going bad on our ’90 Honda Civic when we sold it to my brother (he had it repaired and the car was still going strong 60K later). Didn’t sound anything like what you’re describing.
What’s the cycle of your noise? Does it track to engine speed, vehicle speed or neither?
Yes, that’s what I assume too. And pretty annoying after just having them “fix” another problem.
If the noise varies with engine speed, it’s more likely to be in the driveline (clutch, throwout bearing, etc.). If it varies with vehicle speed… hmmm, can’t think of anything there that would cause it to go away with slight pressure on the clutch pedal, other than maybe a vibration-induced squeak in your clutch pedal assembly.
It’s not 100% obvious, because its so high pitched to start with, but if there’s a correlation, its engine speed.
I’m quite sure it’s not a squeak from the pedal assembly.
It’s been a while since clutch release linkages actually pulled the throwout bearing away from the pressure plate fingers- even just a little.
Release bearing has a small amount of pressure against the fingers when not in use. Getting into the clutch of something like this shows notches in the release fingers/springs of the pressure plate + red dust around.
How much it bothers you is up to you- the usual customer remedy was to CRANK UP THE STEREO.
If there’s a way into the clutch housing, you may try a spray can of some sort of lube directly onto the fingers/bearing interface, but not much.
Changing the freeplay on the clutch pedal probably wouldn’t do much; clutch slave cylinder piston these days is supposed to follow along with the clutch release mechanism, holding the bearing against the release fingers.
I recall that VWs used to have some intermittent noise @ idle, which I diagnosed as the release bearing tilting & making contact with the release face of the pressure plate. It sounded like a good enough diagnosis, with no further complications. Nobody wanted to pay the $$$ to take it apart & find out.
Hmm. Last time, it eventually got pretty loud. I’ve never heard anyone’s car do this. Three times in a row, always at 20k miles? There must be something causing it. Lots of Toyota clutches last 150-200+ miles.
Since a Toyota Dealer did the repair, would the Toyota warranty apply at a second dealer. Toyota Stealerships abound in large numbers.
In my daughter’s case, GM took care of her Trailblazer fuel gauge float problem. Diagnosed and on the record where she bought it and had it fixed at my Chevy dealer, no charge. So I assume Toyota works the same way. Sometimes computers are wonderful if the issue is entered in the system.
As for the bearing issue, I wish I could offer a clue, obviously something’s not quite right.
The only similarity I experienced was water pumps in the 1980 LeBaron with a 225 slant six I owned for a couple of years. Kept eating the bearing. Finally, my buddy discovered the cooling fan clutch was shot and wobbly, putting excess stress on the pump bearing, eventually shaking its bearings and wearing them out.
Three water pumps and a fan clutch later, it was fixed for good.
Raise any hints?
After three years?? I wish.
Paul I think the ultimate solution here is to let it run it’s course. Once it finally gets so loud you can’t stand it or it finally break, dis-assembly should reveal the broken, scored, burned, or otherwise part. Sure, it’s a bit risky but it is a sure bet to find the problem eventually.
Oh and I had this exact same problem on a Bronco II once. But I just turned up the stereo. I always assumed it was something similar to Eric’s idea.
Interesting recommendation. There’s really no doubt that it is the release bearing making the noise, since it was replaced twice and each time the noise went away. The question really is: what is causing them to go bad every 20k miles? Letting it go until the release bearing fails won’t really answer that, especially if it’s by the side of the road, or twenty miles into a forest road.
That logic doesn’t necessarily follow. You know that replacing the bearing temporarily cured the problem, but you don’t know if it was the bearing, or something else that got touched in the process. Maybe it’s the lube between the bearing and the fingers that only lasts that long. Or something gradually going out of alignment that gets reset when the clutch is split. Or?…
I’ve cured electrical failures by replacing a component. Component was fine, the connection not so much… I would have acheived the same result by simply removing and reinstalling the original. Did anybody inspect the two replaced bearings to verify that they were, in fact, failed?
+1
steve65, thank you. That’s what I was trying to say earlier.
In replacing the throwout bearing, incidental procedures may have stopped the problem, lubricated the friction point, or even, as part of the procedure, replaced the real offending point.
A Toyota shop technician should be able to tell whether they lubricate or replace anything related to the input shaft during such a job.
Your logic only leads to saying what it might not be, but not what the problem is. I need something mores specific, like what else would have caused the noise in the first place. The first time it happened, the car only had 15k miles on it.
It’s a contact point which when in OPERATING mode, is under some sort of stress; but when the throwout bearing puts pressure on it, the stress is relieved; the noise quits.
What can that be? Only the input shaft. Only the input shaft has the points of contact which would change with pressure on the throwout bearing. The input shaft has contacts on the pilot bearing; the throwout bearing; the bearing and seal of the shaft entering the transmission, and then the bearing on the far end.
I am assuming the gearset is fixed on the input shaft and dogs engage on the output shaft. That may not be the case; but IIRC, that’s pretty much standard.
The driver puts pressure on the throwout bearing, and noise ceases. WHY? The throwout bearing is taking a load off the noisy friction point. With the clutch depressed, the problem point is relieved of pressure.
The pilot bearing? No. With the clutch depressed and the car stationary, the transmission shafts will be static or rotating at a much slower speed than the engine. The clutch REMOVES mechanical contact with the engine; allows either to operate at different speed. A pilot bearing failure would show up when the engine is operating at a different speed from the transmisssion, i.e. stopped with the clutch depressed in gear.
The throwout bearing? Most throwout bearings have NO restriction of movement of the collar when the clutch is released. Only when the clutch is depressed, do the fingers bear on the collar and hold it stationary. A noise won’t be made when there is NO resistance to motion.
The gearset? That would be constant anytime the gears were moving, whether or not there was pressure on the clutch. A worn bearing on a gearset on the driven shaft, would quiet when that gear was engaged…that doesn’t sound like what you have.
So…why does replacement of the throwout bearing stop it for 20,000 miles? The only way to answer that is to know what the throwout-bearing replacement kit includes.
However complicated is a mechanical problem, it’s always straightforward logic and physics. We cannot know the answer based on what we, you and us, know. What we need to do is identify what we need to know.
Which is what is done when the THB is replaced.
Fix it and trade it in after a few months on this repair before you have to fix it again. The next buyer will have a warranty and it will be fixed by whichever dealer sold it and they may actually find the problem. You may have bought a ‘lemon’, albeit a very small lemon that’s still driveable if you have a loud stereo. Cynical, I know, but a realistic way to deal with the problem.
Trade it in on what? This is a future classic 🙂
Yeah…Paul has a problem in that he’s in favor of the original XB.
The new one, as he’s noted elsewhere, is bigger outside and smaller inside…not what he wants.
I can relate. I’m not sold on XBs; but I can relate, as my favorite cars and trucks were taken from my ideals to something Yuppified and idiot-proofed…
So…Paul would have to trade laterally. Sell his XB and buy another XB of the same vintage.
A friend was being driven crazy by this on his Tacoma. Three throw out bearings later and finally a new clutch and maybe the problem is cured?
Sure sounds like a wobbly input bearing though.
Lots of ideas in this thread about the Tacoma problem which may give you a clue.
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/17819-throwout-bearing-again.html
The one element not mentioned by the service information is the pilot bearing sleeve. The pilot bearing slides back and forth on the sleeve during operation, and it’s conceivable some sort of interference problem keeps the bearing riding in the wrong spot.
If the sleeve has never been replaced, it may be the “20k factor” you’re looking for.
However, anytime the symptoms don’t fit typical patterns, we end up where we are today- Making a series of wild-ass guesses.
Quite a few Toyota trucks had a similar problem. Lots of info in this thread which may give you some clues.
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/17819-throwout-bearing-again.html
Johno; thanks for that link. It explains the issue quite thoroughly. Now to find out if Yaris/Xb owners have had similar problems, and what remedies there might be.
Time for a Hyundai??
Same but different: the 1971 Mk 1 Ford Escort I had as my first car 20 yrs ago had a random chirping noise that eventually grew to a shriek. Turned out the return spring on the clutch was weak and getting weaker, so the pedal wasn’t fully returning, and the noise was something to do with the resulting loose linkages. Keeping my foot under the clutch pedal and applying constant pressure to keep it fully out solved the problem but gave me awful cramp. A new clutch and pressure plate helped, and trading the Esky on an auto Ford Sierra made the noise go away for good haha. But that was an old car even when I got it, and I’d be seriously annoyed if any modern car I had did anything like what yours is doing Paul!
I’m deaf in one ear, and I have a heck of a time diagnosing where noises are coming from. With one ear you don’t get much directional input, so I either enlist the help of wife or kids, or I take a rubber tube, stick one end in my good ear and put the other end on or near suspect items. Using this with the car up on ramps you might be able to narrow it down, say if it’s a transmission bearing vs noise within the bellhousing.
Also don’t forget that the thrust from the throwout bearing goes into the crank, so the crank could be shifting forwards causing a noise at the other end of the motor. Of course that might not help much since the noise disappeared with new bearing.
And my final point Paul, our 2001 Focus had a light noise with zero clutch pedal pressure, sort of a ticka ticka ticka. After listening and wondering for months I finally decided that it given the value of the car I was not going to tear everything apart for a ticka ticka, and that it would have to sound more like clanging bells for me to do something. A very difficult decision for an Engineering type guy, but maybe you should consider a similar position for now. The Focus finally got a new clutch 7 years later which cured the tick as well.
I have thought about this for quite awhile. I have only had one clutch apart in my life, so while I can visualize everything, I am no expert. My wild guess would be that something in either the clutch or the tranny is ever so slightly misaligned. The new part can handle the slight misalignment, but it starts to wear a bit, and you get a symptom 20k later.
Here is the really hard question: What is your XBox? Is it a puzzle to be solved – how is this one different from all the others? Or is it just transportation? Or transportation that promotes serenity and peace of mind?
If just transportation, Michael Freeman has the answer. Drive it. Always with music. Me? It would drive me crazy because I would focus on the issue every time I got into the car. And keep thinking about it after I get out.
If it is a puzzle, then you certainly have a stumper here that will bring you many many hours of fun and enjoyment. Or aggrivation. It has already stumped two Toyota techs who got into the mechanism and failed to find the problem. Maybe then you need to open it up yourself. You are probably smarter than the Toyota guys, or have at least thought about this a whole lot more. Maybe a junkyard transmission may be worth a try. You do say that it has never felt quite right.
If it is supposed to be a car that is reliable and does not drive you crazy with either time-consuming and/or expensive repairs of difficult/impossible to diagonse issues, then I think that Mark Kyle may have the answer. Something is still wrong with your car after two tries at fixing it. Just because it may be possible for you to finally solve the problem doesn’t mean that you actually have to. I spent way too much time and money trying to get my 77 New Yorker to run right, and it never did. Sometimes we just have to cut our losses.
Or you could teach someone else to drive a stick and then blame that person for screwing up your car, which should get you a quick guilt-sale. 🙂 Seriously, there are few things worse to people like us than a car that is not “right”. What to do about it is a tough question.
I wouldn’t say that it has stumped 2 Toyota techs they likely didn’t try to look for the problem they just fixed the symptoms as that was all they were told to do and all they were paid for.
Good analysis, and food for thought. Thanks.
You’ve got the ghost of a baby bird in there somewhere. Me? I’d just live with it.
It’s just barely possible that the slave cylinder is sticking, either from wear, or just plain defective, and making the throwout bearing touch the cluth either more or less than it should. This can also cause clutch chatter when starting out.
I have heard of Toyota slave cylinders doing this, though not very often. Sometimes it’s caused by using the wrong fluid in the system.
Bob
Indeed, throw out bearing noises start when you press the clutch pedal, usually stop when you let the clutch pedal up. It is likely that engine vibrations are causing the clutch fork to vibrate against the slave-cylinder push rod, or against the pivot. While the engine is running and you hear the sound, either push the fork towards the push rod, to take up the play, the space, between them, or push it away, to increase the play. If both of these maneuvers stops the sound, I think that would support my hypothesis. Putting grease where the push rod contacts the fork, would lower the sound, but not remove it completely. Hard to get grease on the piviot, without separating engine and transmission. But you might be able to get a drop of oil in there, using oil bottle with long flexible extension tip.
Paul, funny how the name is Paul and we have had the same problem. After about 1-1/2 years from new I had the first chirping noise. The dealer replaced the throwout bearing under warranty. It was a dog and pony show becasue when I went to pick it up my entire exhaust system was all loose and the truck sounded like a vacuum cleaner. They fixed it but I was stuck driving away with a rented vehicle. After that I switched dealers to a much more reputable one. The noise came back about a year later. This time the new dealer told me that the shaft was scored and that they should have replaced the transmission the first time it was repaired. This dealer replaced the transmission under warranty…. 1 year later just before my warranty ran out I was having the noise again. I begged the service guys to believe me that it was back but it was more prevalent on a cold dry day and they couldn’t hear anything. Out of desparation I met with the busniess manager and they agreed to let me pick up an extended warranty in case something like this came up again. I am arguing with the dealership now becasue they can’t hear anything. “Bob-Sled”, I recorded the noise with my phone. Chirping bird on steroids. Now they are telling me that the bearing is not covered by my extended warranty even if they could hear it.
I am on the verge of being the dealerships squeeky bearing. I paid full price and took the warranty to have the coverage. I am not going to be messed around.
This is a shortcoming with the design that I should not have to make up for.
This could go reasonably well or extremely poorly.
Welcome to the club. Let me ask you, does your clutch also have some chatter when its chirping? Because mine does, and it clearly is worse when it’s also chirping. And there’s no doubt, after having researched this further, that its an issue with the transmission shaft. But than yours came back! Two bad shafts in a row?!?
Mine is pretty intermittent, and I’m just living with it for now, but the stuttering clutch is the bigger annoyance than then the chirping. But if it gets worse…I’m not sure yet what I’ll do, because i”m way beyond any warranty or good-will adjustments. I assumed I’d look for a used transmission, but the fact yours came back makes me even more worried about that.
“they agreed to let me pick up an extended warranty in case something like this came up again.”
That is some funny stuff right there. Why wouldn’t they want to sell you an extended warranty it’s good profit for the dealership.
I don’t have a clutch chatter. Just the noise that makes the neighbors and passers by give me the dirty look.
As of today the dealer won’t rip it apart again. We are waiting for the dealer’s business manager to come in an make comments. I bought a warranty from him in good faith becasue they would not look into my previous chirping complaint. I had been assured that the extended warranty would cover anything that may re-occur. Before they sold me the package they did a full front to back inspection to avoid a potential claim.
I will let you know how it works out.
Hi Paul,
So the dealer did finally come to my rescue and repaired the Clutch Release Bearing and also replaced the fork. “No Charge”. Under warranty. Almost a full day’s work and all the exhaust system had to be dropped as well.
I got the impression that this is a know issue but not published. I was told that this should happen again with the bearing type that they installed.
Everything is nice and quiet now.
I am expecting that this is a re-occuring issue and that in about 1-1/2 years we will be back again if I haven’t managed to trade in before that time. This is the 3rd time on this problem in under 6 years. I have had the truck since new.
Good luck with your issue.
That sounds about right; all the way around.
Mine continues to be quite intermittent; and as is the stuttering clutch. I am starting to think about another car, though. The Xb’s ride and noise levels are starting to wear on me. I’ve sworn off long drives in it.
Surface rust on the pressure plate and/or flywheel. If it’s on the rotors (front brake) it’s on the flywheel, often along with the moisture that caused it. This is your cold shudder. Once it grabs and pulls a few times it will soften the mounts, exaggerating the whole thing.
Did this ever get solved. I have a Scion XD that has the same issue and I dont want to pay the labor of replacing the clutch and TOB only to not get the issue fixed. Im contemplating doing the easy fix that involves taking the clutch slave and cleaning and greasing the fingers/fork through the opening that the fork goes through.
No. I still live with a somewhat jerky clutch. It’s worse in the cool, wet winter, and gets better in the summer. I’ve just learned to let out the clutch at a somewhat faster speed than I normally would, which avoids any jerkiness. But sometimes I forget, and it can be pretty obnoxious.
I really like my xB and plan to keep it for quite some time yet, so sometimes I consider the idea of getting another transmission from a junkyard and swapping it in. It’s probably the only permanent fix.