Hello,

I have a question in which I'd like someone's opinion on. So my 04 TL 6spd has on occasion an issue with getting in or out of any gear . I'd say I'm having trouble 40% of the time with the other 60% having no issues at all. The clutch seems to be catching instantly with a low engagement point; this makes me believe that there is some clutch wear however the pedal always felt low. There's no squeak or chatter being made when in gear or upon depressing the clutch. When in gear it remains there without any slipping, the rpms don't fly up upon heavy acceleration.
In any event, when I can't get into gear, I let go of the clutch and press it again until the gear goes in; sometimes it requires I pump the pedal a few times. So I took the car to the dealer and they suggested I replace my clutch. I didn't feel it was diagnosed correctly because if it was a mechanical issue it would have these symptoms 100% of the time. Before I spend $1700-$2200 on a new clutch and flywheel I thought I should perhaps replace the slave cylinder since this sounds to be a hydraulic issue more than anything. I went ahead and replaced it this past weekend and the car seemed initially to have improved however a few days later it seems like its doing it again. I bleed the clutch and removed any possible air pockets to the best of my ability. I can't imagine its the clutch master cylinder thats failing however this may be a possibility; hard to tell since its not combined with my brakes master cylinder.
Any ideas?

 

If the clutch is catching low and there is not slipage, I would not think it is the clutch. If you replaced the slave cylinder and bled it correctly, I would think it is the syncros.

Take it to a good independent shop and not the dealership as it could be a transmission/electronic sensor as well.

Good luck.

 

My 06 had similar issues at 18k miles, except all of a sudden I couldn't get it in any gear.
These cars have a self-adjusting pressure plate; my guess was mine over-adjusted.
After a bunch of back and forth with the dealer, they replaced the flywheel, disc, pressure plate, and throwout bearing under warranty.
I wasn't able to get mine in gear by repeatedly depressing the pedal, though.
Is it still under warranty? If they take it apart and the disc isn't worn and shows no sign of abuse, then that would be rationale that there is something wrong that needs to be replaced under warranty.
If the master or the slave cylinder is the problem, they should be leaking fluid.
How far do you have to depress the pedal before it feels like you are compressing the clutch spring? more than 1/2 inch or so could indicate a pedal misadjustment or air in the line.
Good Luck!
Mike

 

Thanks for the replies ltkaufman/6spMike...

My car has an extended warranty up to 100k miles and I'm at 82k right now. unfortunately the clutch isn't covered therefore the repair cost will be entirely absorbed by myslef.
I don't believe its a syncro issue, but the more I drive it the more I could be wearing out the syncro mesh.

So your clutch pedals engage higher up or are yours somewhat low as well? Wondering if i need to set up the clutch pedal positioning differently.
- ltkaufman; there's an electronic sensor for the transmission? What does it do?

As for clutch replacement I believe that's my best bet; I looked at the service manual and it doesn't help me much as far as parts removal to access the clutch system. The manual is kinda vague in some areas where there's troubleshooting sections for automatic trannys and none for manuals; somewhat dissapointed.
Just by inspection, the sub frame needs to be removed to replace the clutch; this isn't a small job...

 

It's true the clutch is a wearout item.
However, if the clutch doesn't show signs of abuse, and the clutch isn't worn past the service limit, then they should cover whatever the problem is under warranty.
But at 82K, it could be simply worn too far.
My pedal was really low before it failed.
Now it starts to grab about 1 inch from the floor, about 7k miles after they replaced all those parts.
Mine's never been abused, I don't race it or run it hard, and I don't have any clutch bad habits.

 

At 82k a clutch and associated parts may be in order but just saying so is not a good answer from a dealership. They need to diagnose the problem to keep you from having to pay thousands. If it is the clutch so be it, but better to have an independant shop who works on Japaneese cars diagnose it. There are sensors that monitor transmission speed, rpm, etc. If a sensor is bad it could be causing problems. A friend had a 2002 TL that everyone told him needed $3k in transmission work. He took it to an independant shop and they diagnosed it to be a sensor, under $200. He now has 165K on the original clutch with no problems.

As I said above, it is hard to diagnose thru e-mail but your best bet before spending alot of money, which the dealership wants you to do, is have someone else take a look at it.

Good luck

 

This friend's was an manual?
What sensor failure can mimic manual transmission problems?