Toyota'07 issues with clutch - worth fixing?

muffinek

I am after a bit of advice. I own Toyota Auris T-SPIRIT VVT-i S-A, 2007 reg.I had this car for the last 9 years and no major issues until now.

I have recently noticed issues with a slipping clutch. I need to take it to the garage for them to have a proper look but I got initial quote online in region of £800 for a replacement. I am based in London. Reading online the issue may be actually with Actuator as the car got only 52k on the clock.

I am trying to work out whether it is worth spending £800-£1000 on 19 year old car or should I look for a replacement.

I dont need a new or a better car but I want to avoid spending £1k now and then another in few months time and so on due to the age of the car.

I have been really lucky with this car until now as it didnt need any major investment but looks like my luck may be running out. This £1k will represent about 40% of the current cars value but I just had a look at the second hand cars and wow, they are really expensive.

Any views or advise? This is my first car so I dont have much experience dealing with this type of scenarios.

Isthisforreal99

Personally I wouldn't go to that expense on a car that old,. And who knows what will be next to go wrong.

Think you have had your moneys worth and time to move on.

Bengal21

Shop around for a few more quotes but £800 probably isn't unreasonable in London. Toyota's are normally pretty reliable for years as long as they are maintained and this is wear and tear rather than becoming unreliable. I imagine the clutch gets a fair bit of use. Plus you are probably going to have to spend an awful lot more to get another reliable car.

sheenas

I would take to an Independent Toyota garage and ask them for their opinion and a quote.

Goudy

I presume S-A is the semi automatic or Multimode gearbox?

These are prone to a few faults, but it it's just the clutch slipping rather than it falling out of gear, then it should be fairly cheap to fix, if you take it to the right place of course.

The first thing would be to reset the actuator. This involves diagnostic software connecting to the ECU and reset the bite point.

There should be a set gap but as the clutch plate wears, the gap gets bigger until it's too large for the system to cope with.

The actuator motor that pulls the clutch in is prone to wear. Over the years the motor bushes give up but usually they fail to go into gear.

And of course as this is just a manual gearbox and clutch that is operated for you, it has a normal friction plate clutch disc and that can wear, just like a manual car.

How long a clutch friction plate lasts in any car is hard to gauge, My old mum could ruin one in around 30 minutes, but others that steam up and down motorways for hours on end might last 150,000 or more.

You need to find an good gearbox specialist or indie Toyota garage that understands these gearboxes. Your normal garage might be able to change the parts, but the electronics need reset after they are changed.

Grumpy_chap

If the car is a good one and it is just in need of a new clutch, then it is worth taking the chance on the cost and hoping for the car to keep going for a good while yet. Shop around for a competitive price on the clutch replacement.

It may not pay off. Something catastrophic might go wrong only a few weeks down the line and you will feel as though you wasted the cost of the clutch.

However, your option is to sell this car as scrap (as no-one will pay top $ for the car with slipping clutch) and then buy something else. You could spend £5k on a different car and still find that in a few weeks the clutch goes or something catastrophic fails.

It is all a game of chance. Sometimes, better the devil you know.

rocketrob5

How do you know a new(er) car will not have an abused clutch that will need replacing in 12 months? Unless deep down you will be itching for a new car?

It's not generally worth replacing a car for an unknown one just because of a big bill. Is the timing belt due soon? Or any other major service items on the horizon? If you get an automatic, some need 4 yearly gearbox service at £300+ You could easily spend £800 on a replacement in the first 12 months.

muffinek

I have had this car for 9 years and so far didnt need to change or replace anything so yes, I assume the timing belt will be up for a replacement soon. Same goes for brake discs and pads. I appreciate this are all expected maintenance costs but if they all come at the same time then I need to ask a question whether it is worth spending all of it on a 19 year old car.

I want to take the car to a garage so they can have a look and let me know the cost of fixing the clutch.

I am not feeling positive though, I called my usual garage and they said they would prefer no to deal with it as apparently clutch issues in Toyotas with semi automatic gearbox are difficult to diagnose and expensive to fix. So I am now calling local garages to see if there is anyone who can have a look at this for me.

tom192

There's a lot to be said for better the devil you know.

You haven't mentioned what the budget is for replacement but say for a sub £5k replacement you are not going to be immune for the new car needing repairs.

You also need to have a look back on what you have spent on this one in the last 9 years. Realistically there should be a couple of hundred budgeted per year for wear and tear above normal servicing for things like disks and pads/ batteries cambelt etc to cover the more less regular bits of maintenance if you have done none of these you might just be catching up with previous years.

Is there any mention of issues with rust on the previous MOTs? This is usually what kills Japanese cars, everything else on them is generally bomb proof (currently on my 5th Honda product)

You need to find a good garage that will give you an honest opinion on what other bits it's likely to need, does sound like there might be some bits but if it's wear and tear stuff tyres etc, you have had the use out of them over the previous years.

muffinek

I haven't got a single advisory over the last 9 years during MOTs and any comments I was getting when collecting the car was that all is good.

I am ok to spend some money on the car if needed assuming this makes financial sense. I recognise I got lucky over the years with no expenses until now.

I will be calling some more garages on Monday to see if I can get them a proper look and quote.

Is there anything else I should ask them to check before making decision whether to fix the clutch or not? I mean in a way it should impact my decision?

tom192

I'm assuming you must have had some work done over 9 years if it's never had a set of tyres in your ownership they will be getting due on age alone at this point.

Brake pads and disks are another likely not being far off ready for a change

Suspension is a bit more variable depending on a number of factors, none of these are ridiculous but can mount off if all 4 are needed

Battery if you have never changed is very likely to be on borrowed time, again not the end of the world price wise

You will need to do some googling for your specific engine but most Japanese stuff is chain driven so no cambelts but again you will need to check.

When is it due it's MOT? You can present early for test you will obviously loose any remaining time but it does cover majority of things likely to be an issue down the line.

You might find it easier going forward having a separate money pot for on going maintenance set a transfer up for say £30 a month into a separate savings account for longer term maintenance things (tyres etc) that way you build a bit of a buffer up to pay for these over time as things like tyres obviously do wear/age.

It sounds like your car must be in pretty good nick from what the garage has said previously but I suspect a few bits may be getting due if it has just needed oil changes so far