'04 Corolla S ... clutch problem ?

[NeatO]

Hey everyone. I have a 2004 Corolla S stick-shift and I'm concerned about a vibration I'm feeling in my clutch pedal. Everything seems normal when the car is cold but once it warms up and I have been driving it for a little while, starting from a stop, especially on an incline, usually causes a profound vibration in the pedal (as I engage the clutch) and a sputtering noise from the engine. It's usually not too bad until I get to my driveway which is at a relatively steep incline. I have to come to a complete stop before pulling my car up, so I put it into first and as I engage the clutch, the vibration and sputtering return with a vengeance.

I've tried various things like giving it more gas or letting off the clutch a bit slower. As it is, I never drive up the driveway with the clutch fully engaged to prevent stalling and because it's not that long. When I do give it more gas (about 2000-2500rpm), this tends to burn the clutch. I've also never stalled out while this has happened (except while I was learning to drive stick )

Any ideas as to what is going on here? Perhaps this is normal and I'm just paranoid? When I bought the car used back in January, I had a local mechanic inspect it and he said that everything was fine. I can't imagine I've caused any major damage to the car since the majority of my driving is to and from school!

Thanks for any and all help!

[REN69]

Just curious... what gear are you driving the car in when you're going up this hill??

sounds like you learned to drive stick with this car.. maybe you burnt the clutch.

[NeatO]

Since I usually come to an almost complete stop, I always go up the hill in first. However, I don't think I'm going to worry about it, at least not yet, because it seems to only be doing this seriously when the car is warm and has been driven for an extended period of time.

No worries... at least not yet...