Slipping Clutch?

About a month ago I got a 2012 Tacoma 4x4, 4 cylinder, 5 speed manual, Toyota certified preowned with 36,000 miles on it. Everything seemed great with the car until I noticed today that the clutch seems to be slipping under power, at least I think.

Basically, when the clutch is engaged and the engine is at some RPM where I can get decent power, say 2500 RPM, if I give it a good amount of gas, I can see the RMP shoot up fast to 4000 or so, depending on how much gas I give it (with no or very little speed increase), then when I let off the gas, the engine drops back down to normal RPM for that speed, and I can feel a little lurch or clunk, which I assume is the clutch reengaging.

Do you guys think that it's a clutch problem? There are only 36,000 miles on it so I didn't even think about it, but I don't know what else it could be.

It is "certified" by Toyota, but they gave me their "160 point inspection" with everything checked off as sat, including cruise control (no cruise in this truck), power windows and lock (no power windows and locks), so it's pretty obvious that the techs just checked on down the list.

 

Sounds about right for a clutch issue.

 

Clutch.

 

yeah I've got the same trans and while I feel like the clutch is slipping it's more than likely the pivot bearing not being lubed. I don't get much power right away until I lube that sucker and the fork acts smoothly.

I do not have the same issue with rpms shooting up and so it sounds a lot like one of my old cars that did have the clutch failing and would do the same thing. Should get replaced by them since it's obviously their mistake.

 

Take it back to the dealer and ask them what they are going to do with your slipping clutch.

Be nice, but be firm.

 

Clutch slippage for sure, or you are driving on icy roads like I was today. There is a known issue with one brand of clutches that Toyota installed on the assembly line on the 4cyl Tacomas (LUK), and TSB's out on the issue. Like Jimmy said, it's time the dealer you bought it at is challenged to step up to the plate and play ball. Be nice, but firm as he said, and if the response isn't what it should be (a new clutch and flywheel resurface at no cost to you), move up the ladder 'till it is.

 

Good thing for this forum, I never would have known about a TSB for slipping clutches on 05-13 tacomas. There have been a few threads, like this one:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2012-clutch-problems.254190/

Toyota was definitely replacing these free within the 36,000 mile warranty. I'm kind of pissed that I bought mine just over 36,000, didn't notice it slipping before I bought it. I now have a 1 year warranty from Toyota Certified program, I have the TSB 0066-11 for some leverage, and their "160 point inspection" sheet that shows that the dealership probably didn't really check much on the car before certifying it and selling it. I'll take your advice and be nice about it, but I'm definitely going to push to get this done at no cost. Too bad the dealership I bought it from is over an hour away and there are a couple other Toyota dealers much closer.

 

Just like the original warranty does not require you to use the dealer you purchased from, 'Toyota certified' means Toyota.

Go to a local dealer.

 

I was hesitant to go to a local dealer instead of the dealer I bought it from. If it was a clear warranty issue with a TSB, I would have no problem taking it to any toyota dealer, but with a wear part like a clutch, outside of the 3yr/36k warranty but within my certified preowned 1yr/12k warranty, and because the dealer far away sold it to me, I figure I'd have the best chance at arguing my way to a no cost repair with the dealer I bought it at. In addition, if they won't pay for the fix, I believe I have lemon law protection at that dealer since it has less than 40k miles, purchased at a dealer, and to me a clutch problem does affect the "vehicle use."

That being said, I'm betting I can get it fixed at no cost just based on the TSB with my 1yr/12k warranty, so I just dropped it off at the local dealer 5 miles away. If they won't do it at no cost I guess I'll bring it down to the one where I bought it and push them harder.

 

Bought my 13 with 34000 miles. It had the same exact problem, the dealer replaced the clutch prior to my purchase. I imagine it is the reason the truck was traded in. Mine is also certified Toyota and I totally agree that the certification process is a joke. It took me minutes on a test drive to determine the clutch was slipping but a tech couldn't figure that out on the certification? Clearly they just check all the boxes and hope that it's all good.

 

they just LOOK and say yes the clutch is still there...and move on to the next question...

 

And by look you mean don't look lol.

 

lol...its there...just may not have much clutch pad left but its there!

 

I'm guessing you'll be fine right where you are.

IF they won't do it where it's at now, call Corporate and find out why a dealer won't honor a warranty.

Yes, the whole 'pre certified' can be a bit of a joke, as we see here. What you have to remember is the vehicles that make pre certified status are likely all un-modified, very clean, low miles for the year examples, maybe with some new tires and a detail. The folks doing the 'certifying' have no personal skin in the game. A corporate level warranty is being issued, so the dealer doesn't really have much skin in the game either. But the dealer does get more profit for a 'certified' vehicle. So if one out of 25 actually pukes on warranty work that should have been caught in an inspection, no big deal.

Would it be better to actually inspect the vehicles and run TSBs? Sure. But TSBs aren't recalls. So if that item isn't 'broken' it's not subject to repair. In this case the under 36k repairs were 'parts brand installed based', not 'every vehicle'. The inspector probably never drove it more than moving it in the lot, which would not reveal the slippage at this point.

Point is, it should be fixed, with new parts.

 

No luck with the local toyota dealer. They contacted Toyota "region" with the problem for permission to replace under warranty and it was denied, so they won't do it.

I called Toyota, they took down all the info, and said that if region said it does not meet the requirements for a warranty repair, then it doesn't. They didn't care about the TSB, and said that there is a TSB for everything on the car. I noted that plenty of other people have had the clutches replaced under warranty, and this TSB was used, and they basically said that every car is different.

Next I called the service department at the Toyota dealer where I bought it a month ago. They said that if another dealer already contacted Toyota region and the claim was denied, there is nothing more that they can do, and that my next step would be to contact the sales department since I just bought it. So that's where I am, just left a phone message with the sales manager telling him what's going on, that I'm unhappy about it and want it replaced at no cost. We'll see what they say.

 

Sometimes you have to be an A-hole...I bought a used Toyota and not even a month later the front knuckle on the driveline blew out and almost wrecked me into a semi-truck. As the knuckle departed my truck it smashed into the bed and dented the gas tank so bad that they had to replace half of the bed. I called the place where I got it and they said its up to me to get it towed back. I got really pissed and told them its less than a month in my ownership and THEY need to come get it and fix it all! Needless to say they ended up towing it, fixing it and getting it back to me.

 

OP, landphil is correct about this. Up until relatively recently there were two clutch suppliers for the 5 speed 2.7l models: AISIN and LUK. The LUK has a really bad history in the 5 speed with failures common below your mileage. Most of the failures were premature slipping and others were broken release fingers on the clutch pressure plate. LUK has now been discontinued as a supplier for factory replacement parts.

I suppose it is a 50:50 chance of having either in a particular truck. Also, there is nothing in the VIN or any other info pertaining a truck that identifies the clutch mfg. as only a tear-down and examination of the logos will reveal this. Even worse, a number of trucks have had mismatched parts as though the assemblers would simple grab a pressure plate from one box and a disc from another only to assemble the clutch with both LUK and AISIN pieces.

There were three TSBs that occurred in 2011 for the 5 speed clutch. With all Toy instructs the techs to check the logos on the pressure plate and disc and replace only with a matched set of AISIN parts. Two of the three were to address noise and/or rattling and one, T-SB-0066-11 was developed to address slipping with an upgraded HD version using factory parts and pairs the pressure plate from a more powerful V6 along with a different disc. Specifically, this TSB uses the AISIN CTX-107 pressure plate originally used with the 5VZ-FE V6 that developed 190hp (yours is 159hp) and the AISIN DTX-136/189 disc. Additionally, a new clutch turnover spring was developed so the clutch pedal feel of this beefier clutch.

I'm not surprised at all that they refuse to do anything for you. I have closely followed this problem with the 5 speeds since the early reports of problems and with many they decided to treat the clutch as a wear item, like brakes, and not offer repairs, even to many still under warranty.

Shameless plug: I purchased and have all new parts for the 0066-11 TSB. I have all OEM parts including the flywheel, rear main seal, pressure plate, disc, fork, and snout of the front of the transmission, including the input shaft seal and revised clutch turnover spring. I was going to put them in my '09 5 speed but no longer have that truck. If you decide to have yours repaired, or repair it yourself, PM me and I will probably make some deal.

 

I just got the final word from Toyama after contacting customer service to try and push it through under warranty and they won't cover it. The dealership offered to goodwill the parts if I pay for labor, which is nice considering I have not been a customer before and didn't buy the truck from them, but the price is still high(1775 total, 750 of which is labor that I would have to pay). I will probably still contact the dealer I bought it from, but it's over an hour away, dealing with them has been atrocious, and I am discouraged and tired of dealing with this. I think I could argue strongly for replacement under the MA dealership used car warranty law, but I just know they will argue back with, "we didn't notice an slipping when we sold it, it's a wear part and your driving style is the problem" type of stuff.