2004 Celica having clutch problems

Does it move in any gear, even reverse? How many miles are on the car? Did this problem suddenly happen? Does it make any unusual noise(s) when you release the clutch?

Did this happen suddenly without previous clutch slipping?

If so, it sounds as if a linkage somewhere came apart. But I'm certainly no clutch expert. Ray O?

If the clutch were not disengaging, the OP would have a difficult time shifting into gear and he/she probably would have mentioned a grinding noise.

The only transmission problem that would cause the symptoms described by the OP is an input shaft that is not transmitting power to the rest of the transmission or a broken shifter. If the input shaft broke, it would have made a huge bang that is impossible to miss and it would be impossible to shift into gear. If the shifter broke, the feel of the shift lever would change and become balky, and in a 3 year old car, I don't think a shifter would break so easily.

Given the description of the symptoms in a sporty car, the most likely cause is a burnt clutch.

I've seen more people who trash their clutch while learning how to drive a manual transmission, and have not heard of any problems with Celica manual transmissions other than difficult shifting. I'm sticking with a clutch problem. Hopefully, the OP will report back on his or her problem and learn what the actual cause is.

(Moving incredulous comments to this thread...)

WHOA!!!!

On a *2004*?!?!?!?!

HOLY CRAP!!!!! What the hell is this person doing, one foot on the gas, one foot on the clutch, one foot on the brake?!?!

I have an '85 Corolla GTS in my backyard, 260,000 miles, ORIGINAL CLUTCH!!!

And I did NOT drive the car like an old lady!

Before that was an '80 Corolla SR-5 Coupe, 244,000 miles, ORIGINAL CLUTCH!!!

Didn't drive that like an old lady, either!

Perhaps the OP needs driving lessons?

Or, stop dropping the clutch at 6,500 RPM...

I may have told this story already, but it seems appropriate again. Around

04 or 05 a young girl (16, 17) brought her new Celica in complaining that the engine revs really high and doesn't move forward like it did when it was new. Now the car only had about 12k miles, so I was suspicious of just a strictly worn clutch. The service advisor called me into the service lane to speak with her, and as I was asking her questions about the problem, I thought it odd that she kept saying "power pedal" instead of "clutch pedal". The service advisor and I exchanged a glance, and I asked her to take me for a ride around the block to show me exactly what was happening. Well, the clutch sure was slipping, and not 10 seconds out of the parking lot she started pressing the clutch pedal in just enough to slip it, lurching the car forward just a bit as she released it. I was a little confused, and after more interrogation I figured out that in her mind, the pedal all the way on the left provided "extra power" when you stepped on it just a few inches while driving! Apparently she had been doing this throughout her tenure as owner and operator, slipping the clutch constantly and effectively roasting the clutch in 12k miles! I did my best to explain to her that this was not a warrantable repair and certainly not the proper way to use a clutch pedal, and she said that we should talk to her dad. Well, the service advisor got on the phone with him, explained what the situation was and what the cost would be, and apparently he was furious that the dealer would not warrant a new clutch. The writer made a comment about how someone should take time to teach their daughter to properly use a manual transmission, and that was about the end of it. Off she went. Power Pedal.

I can't help but think that it is something in the linkage or maybe a bad master cylinder.

I agree that there would be more symptoms than just things not working.

I also wonder if it could be something on the output side of the transmission.

Jeff

If someting is wrong with the linkage, the shifter will feel very different - there will be no resistance when selecting a gear, or the shift lever will not move, or the lever will pop out of gear.

If the clutch master cylinder is bad, you will not be able to shift into gear at idle or you will get grinding when shifting into gear.

Then why are you so sure that something other than a worn clutch is the cause? If all of the symptoms point to a worn clutch, then a worn clutch is the likely cause.

On the output side of the transmission, there is the output shaft, differential, CV joints, axles, bearings, wheels, and tires. A strong metal component would have to break clean through or disintegrate to prevent the vehicle from moving without making a horrendous noise when the clutch is engaged, and even then, the component would have made a noise that sounds like an explosion when it happened.

qslim's post about the "power pedal" brings to mind several similar customers I've had to deal with. When I lived in the San Francisco Bay area, I used to see lots of people hold the car on hills by slipping the clutch. I see and hear people rev the engine and just feather the clutch to creep in stop and go traffic, you can tell by listening to the engine that people even slip the clutch even when upshifting, or downshift when coming to a light instead of applying the brakes. Nobody like to be told that they are not as skilled with a clutch as Mario Andretti, and unfortunately, installing a low backflow muffler, big wheels and tires, and a K&N air filter doesn't make a clutch immune from improper clutch use.

The reason I postulated a broken linkage to the clutch pedal is that according to the poster, this problem came up with no previous indication of a slipping clutch....one would think this would the the bitter end of a slipping clutch problem that had gone on for some time. Incidentally, didja know that in the dim distant past in California, drivers' licenses specified whether a driver was permitted to drive a gearshift auto? The license read "automatic transmission only". Now, you almost have to go to Europe to find everyday cars with sticks.(and an auto trans. rental car will cost you about double what a stick shift rental costs.) There's nothing so much fun for a driver as shifting with your left hand from the right seat!

If the linkage to the clutch pedal broke, the effect would be the same as trying to shift into gear without disengaging the clutch - you would hear a grinding noise and feel the grinding in the shifter lever, which the OP did not mention.

When you listen to people describe symptoms with their vehicle day in and day out and check out their vehicle, you learn which symptoms are relevant and which ones are not, and which ones people notice and which ones they miss. People rarely miss a loud grinding noise, ear-splitting bang, or extreme difficulty in shifting a manual transmission but they often miss constant noises and gradual declines in performance.

If the springs on the clutch pressure plate are weak, it is possible that it will allow the clutch to slip, but I have never seen this on a factory clutch so it is very low on my list of suspects.

In every case I've personally dealt with where the symptoms are the same as the OP's, the result has been a worn clutch, so that is why I think that the problem is due to a worn clutch.

BWAHAHAHAHA! I like that...Power Pedal...I'll have to remember that one!

I have taught both my wives AND my daughter...get your foot OFF the clutch AS FAST AS POSSIBLE!!! And, that it's NOT a foot rest.

Another reason I have such high-mileage clutches...