Winter and Clutch! - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

kniterider09 · 11-23-2010, 01:53 AM

so is it just me or is it normal for this to happen. its -20 to -30 C these days in edmonton and doesnt matter if i warm the car up and drive for half hr or if my car is in the garage and then i drive out, my clutch becomes stiff and sticky making it quite hard and unpleasant to shift gears. Because the clutch sticks it takes more effort to first push it in all the way then for it to pop back to normal to engage the gear......its making me not want to drive my car anymore in winter

. and like i said, doesnt matter how long i drive it for, it stays the same way.

so any of you XRS guys have the same issue ? or whats the general opinion from all of you older experienced drivers ?

MiniPacou · 11-23-2010, 06:03 AM

I don't have an XRS but a base model, and the clutch does have that sticky effect when its very cold. Its also slow to return at extreme temps. Mostly due to the fact that our clutch is operated with a cylinder. The viscosity of the oil come very high at low temps. It's quite annoying, but there's not much we can do..

thestone11 · 11-23-2010, 09:59 AM

It is normal...But mine goes away eventually as the car heats up. Yesterday it took me about 30 minutes driving to bring the car up to normal working temperature, needle at half way. It was insane under -33 degree (with wind chill) last night..

ZO6_Vette · 11-24-2010, 06:34 PM

Although I do not own a sick corolla If it were mine I would check the manual and see what fluid the hydraulic clutch calls for.
Most use brake fluid. I would replace the fluid and bleed the clutch slave cylinder as the fluid is hygroscopic (absorbs water).

qcfc88 · 11-25-2010, 01:53 AM

It's normal, I have the same exact issue at those tempersatures, which we have yet to experience on the east coast, btw

kniterider09 · 11-25-2010, 01:56 AM

k thanks guys

zroeffectz · 11-25-2010, 11:22 AM

this happens with most manuals that use hydralic fluid,or (equivilant) system. I drive a 2010 corolla 5SPD, and havent experienced this yet since the weather here in N.E hasnt stooped that low yet, but I did own a 2008 Nissan frontier and I had the same issue. I think toyota uses their own special fluid for the tranny/clutch, they may need to use a different type of fluid that will be more resistant against this.. Honda had a recall a while ago about transmission fluid needing to be changed to a different type because of viscocity if I am not mistaken. Or something along those lines