06 Tacoma clutch problem

[stevegittings]

Hi everybody!

I have a little problem with my Tacoma ....

Bought a new 06 Double Cab 4WD TRD off road in January. It's a stick shift. Has a little over 2K miles on it now.

From the very first week, I noticed a vibration problem when engaging the clutch in first gear. Basically, the truck "shudders" until the clutch is fully engaged. The problem with this problem is that it's sometimes so bad that the whole truck shakes, and other times it's almost gone, and everything seems fine. I can not find any pattern - it seems to be random (sometimes it happens when the truck is cold, other times when it was driven for miles and miles ...).

I just came back from the dealer. Of course, when I was there, the problem was almost unnoticable. But the mechanic who took a test drive noticed the shaking, but told me it would have to be much worse for them to diagnose it. I told him that it was really really bad at times, but he replied it would have to be that bad all the time for them to even try and diagnose it any further.

Of course, I am not happy about this at all, having just spent almost $30K on a brand new truck, and now this! Has somebody else experienced this problem or something similar? Any help is highly appreciated!

Thanks!

[86Toy05Taco]

I have an ’05 6-speed and have experienced the same thing. In my case, the chattering usually occurs more often if the truck hasn’t been driven within the last 24 hours, and tends to do it worse the longer it has sat. I’ve also noticed that it tends to chatter more if there has been a dew or rain. Typically, it takes about 15 to 20 minutes of driving for the chatter to go away.

I did take it to a local dealer a few times before I realized that clutch chatter was the issue in an attempt to diagnose the problem. Of course, it drove perfectly both times! I really have to wonder if moisture is getting on the clutch components and contaminating the surfaces, thus causing an issue. I haven’t taken it back yet to have them look at the clutch specifically. Dealer service departments tend to make me queasy; I’m always concerned about what else they’ll break trying to fix something.

[86Toy05Taco]

Here's some more anecdotal evidence:

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/t99547.html

[stevegittings]

Thanks for the reply!

Darn, after reading your reply, I thought about it. Last time it was really bad was last Saturday. And I had not driven the truck on Friday! And yes, it was drizzeling both days. When I pulled out of the driveway, that truck was shaking like crazy. Even my wife noticed (and believe me, that means it was bad!)

I don't think it should be that way with a brand new truck. It would be interesting to know if others have the same problem. One would think that if excessive moisture is the problem, it's a design flaw.

Is that clutch enclosed and could there possibly be a defective gasket or something?

Sorry about my bad English, it's not my native language.

Thanks again for any input here!

[stevegittings]

Maybe whenever I experience this problem after driving for miles, it's because I went through a puddle or something, and the darn clutch got wet.

Yes, it is raining here pretty much constantly since I bought the truck. And yes, after it happens, the symptoms are gone again after a little bit of driving.

Yes, I do want to get that fixed!

[86Toy05Taco]

I'm not sure how or if the bell housing is sealed (I need to become more mechanically educated!), but my theory is that in my case, if it were a problem with the actual clutch disk, pressure plate, etc., that the clutch would chatter all the time. The fact that the problem goes away and moisture seems to a factor would suggest to me that it may be an issue of water/condensation on the clutch plate. Maybe someone with more mechanical knowledge could shed more light on the situation...

I found the below post awhile ago when I was looking into this issue that supports the moisture theory. It was from some BMW message board (can't remember which one):

"I have a 04 325i and started experiencing clutch chatter at around 4000 miles. I noticed that it only occurred when the car sat in the rain for a period of time. I brought the car to the dealer and by time I got there it was warmed up and the chatter was hardly noticeable. So I decided to fix it myself. After some investigating I came up with a solution. On the hood there is a vent, which takes in air for the interior. When it rains water runs into this vent and 2 ducts, 1 on each side are used to drain it. These rubber ducts are at a 90 deg. angle and send the water towards the firewall of the car. What must happen is the water flows down and somehow gets into the clutch assembly. If you remove the ducts and rotate them 90 deg. so that they point towards the inside of the wheel wells it will solve this problem. Its only takes a few mins. to do this. I now have 9000 miles on the car and it has been in rain, snow and cold weather and I still have not experienced clutch chatter since."

[stevegittings]

Thanks again for replying and for posting the link to that thread on the other forum! This may have really helped me here!

Here is an update:

After reading your post this morning, I printed out the thread you had provided the link to. Took that printout right back to my Toyota dealer, and talked to the service manager. He read through this thread, and told me that they will look into the issue and call me back today in the afternoon. At 5:00 PM, I had a message on my answering machine from the guy. He told me that he has contacted Toyota, and that Toyota has acknowledged that this is a known problem, and that they are working on a resolution. He said that he will take care of the problem for me. He went on to say that they have just gotten another truck in, just like mine, and that they will check out tomorrow morning if that truck has the same problem. And that they will decide after that what to do, whatever that means.

He told me to expect a call from him before noon tomorrow.

Maybe you should think about going back to your dealer with this, as this is not how a brand new $30K truck is supposed to run.

Thanks again!
Steve.

[86Toy05Taco]

Excellent...sounds like you may be on your way to getting it fixed! Please keep us posted!

I definitely intend to have mine repaired as well. Fortunately, I have less than 5,000 miles on it, so I've got a while longer under warranty. I've been waiting a little while to see if other people were having my same problem before I took the truck in again. I'd like for the dealer to have an idea of they're looking for before they tear into things. Sometimes it seems that it can take forever for manufacturers to acknowledge that there is a known problem and issue a TSB.

[stevegittings]

Talked to the dealer again --- they don't have a solution to the problem. He told me that replacing the clutch won't do anything, as it's a problem with the linkage.

They are not sure what they will do with my truck. He told me to wait until later today or tomorrow. They are discussing it at the dealership.

This really sucks.

[TacomaOffRoadGrl]

Tell them to buy it back from you if they can't fix it....or just out right Lemon Law

[ordance]

i know what you mean, i suppose my is a 4 cyclinder instead, and mine does not vibarte that bad, also sometimes in 3 gear it takes a second to engage? Like slippage? I use this everywhere all over arizona hills, rocks, mud, camping, four wheeling. and it sucks.

[stevegittings]

Still no final words from the dealer --- they are waiting for a call back from the regional manager now.

The service guy at the dealer told me that they tested another stick shift they got in last week. He said they let it sit over the weekend, and he drove it this morning. It has the same problem! And the guy acknowledged that it is "horrible". (that's what he said) According to him, it's a linkeage binding. Whatever that means. I raised my concerns about this "chattering" negatively effecting the lifetime of other components of the drivetrain / engine, and he agreed.

I am surprised that this problem is not discussed more. Maybe there are very few 6-speeds out there, and many of those who do have one drive it every day, thus never really noticing this bad design flaw.

[Moto_rr]

I've noticed the same thing on my truck. Mainly when the weather is cold. I drive my truck everyday and still have the problem so for me at least it doesn't have to sit for an extended time. Mine does it after just sitting a few hours sometimes. Haven't been able to link it with any wet weather, mine does it sometimes when it's dry out. I can feel it chatter but it doesn't shake the whole truck severly. Though mine is not as bad as some are experiencing it's still not right and I wonder if it will get worse. I need to take it in but I live at least 1.5 hrs from the closest dealer and don't have the time to take it in to have them tell me they can't find any problem.

If you guys/gals do find out a fix please keep us informed. I'd like to be able to go to the dealer and tell them exactly what is wrong.

Thanks for the info everyone.

[86Toy05Taco]

I've probably noticed the issue more than most people because I frequently leave the truck sitting for 24-48 hours. I carpool several days a week and drive my other truck one or two days a week. Over the last week and a half, however, I've driven the Tacoma almost every day (including a little bit of snow) and haven't experienced any chatter.

[sl3000gt94]

UMM do you know how to drive it. It sounds like your are not pulling out properly and just about to stall it or your are pulling out all retarded and getting mad wheel hop