Car Shudders when I let out Clutch in 1st

[swchach]

I have a 2005 Corolla, about 45k miles.

The past few days when I let the clutch out the car shudders/ shakes when I'm getting into first gear. Any idea what could cause this?

I've been getting some belt squealing in damper weather but I can't imagine that has anything to do with it.

[Rdkill]

Is it cold there? When its really cold here my clutch sticks a little more...

[Zembonez]

Worn clutches can and often do shudder upon take off. As the clutch face material wears off it tends to slip. Once it slips for a while, it makes hot spots on the pressure plate. These are high and low spots on an otherwise flat surface and the result is uneven hookup from a start. 45K is early for clutch wearout... unless you are a clutch slipper.

Or it could just be cold.

[swchach]

Originally Posted by Zembonez

Worn clutches can and often do shudder upon take off. As the clutch face material wears off it tends to slip. Once it slips for a while, it makes hot spots on the pressure plate. These are high and low spots on an otherwise flat surface and the result is uneven hookup from a start. 45K is early for clutch wearout... unless you are a clutch slipper.

Or it could just be cold.

It actually has just started to warm up, it was 45 yesterday.

Those are 45k city miles so the clutch has probably taken a beating beyond its age.

How much roughly should i pay to get the clutch replaced/ repaired? I'm taking it to the dealer for scheduled maintenance but want to be able to tell them to eat it when they quote me a BS dealership price.

[JasonA]

I wouldn't replace the clutch yet. The clutch has done that since day one on a co-worker's Mazda 6. The talk on Mazda forums is apparently the springs in the pressure plate are a tad weak, and the result is a shuddering on take-off. My '07 LE will do it slightly every now and again as well (you can feel 1 or 2 slight skips just once a day maybe). It's nothing I'd sink money into just yet.

[bbsgarage]

is the clutch pedal adjustable?
is it hydraulic or cable?
it may only need an adjustment.

[swchach]

Originally Posted by JasonA

I wouldn't replace the clutch yet. The clutch has done that since day one on a co-worker's Mazda 6. The talk on Mazda forums is apparently the springs in the pressure plate are a tad weak, and the result is a shuddering on take-off. My '07 LE will do it slightly every now and again as well (you can feel 1 or 2 slight skips just once a day maybe). It's nothing I'd sink money into just yet.

The odd thing is it is fine until the very end of my clutch release. If I ride it a little I can get the car moving without the shudder then just as I let it out it shudders. I've read that maybe the transmission mount (some in the biz call it a "tranny mount" but there is something fundamentally wrong with that nickname) is soft/ loose and that could be the problem as well.

[JasonA]

The fact that it only does it when you're using the clutch pedal (and not slipping in general) would lead me to leave it alone unless it flat out breaks. My suspicion is you could get another 50k miles out of your clutch. What you're describing isn't that uncommon in my experience, and it won't leave you stranded. If anything, it will be an annoyance. And with more experience, you may learn how to "drive around the problem".

[swchach]

Originally Posted by JasonA

The fact that it only does it when you're using the clutch pedal (and not slipping in general) would lead me to leave it alone unless it flat out breaks. My suspicion is you could get another 50k miles out of your clutch. What you're describing isn't that uncommon in my experience, and it won't leave you stranded. If anything, it will be an annoyance. And with more experience, you may learn how to "drive around the problem".

Yea, she moves fine, I lose a little off the line by having to ride the clutch but it is just annoying.
Thanks for the help. I'm going to have them look at it during the sched maint and if it is a quick cheap adjustment have them do it. If they try to get me for a few hundred$ I'm going to tell them to suck one and deal with it.

[Woot]

If you apply to little gas when clutching out in first the car will always shudder becouse the RPM almost drops to the stall range, happened to me all the time when i learned to drive manual, it was either a shudder or a accidental burnout