Thanks Mike (#4) & Wolfgang (#5).
Mike, No, the terrain where I live is not hilly & neither am I in constant stop & go traffic. This is also not my first manual transmission either. So that leaves your other question as to whether I am a clutch rider or not ? Not fully sure what you mean by that but if you are asking whether I drive, with my left foot constantly pressing the clutch pedal, then no. In fact over the last couple of years both myself & my wife are very conscious of this fact & try to take utmost care with the clutch.
Wolfgang,
Really not sure what you mean by that. Please elaborate.
No
Again not sure what you mean by that. But one thing I do is say I am on the highway & about to take the next exit. Then instead of successively changing gears from 5, 4, 3 ,2 ..., I put the car into neutral strainght away. My reasoning being, less gear change, means less amout of time the clutch is pressed.
No, No, No, No.
Yes, that was the case the first 3 times. This time the Toyota dearlership from where I went for the oil change said so though I did not feel anything yet while driving. But given the recent history, I would tend to believe him.
I have the the clutch from the last time it was changed. Not sure what to look for or how to tell what is worn out.
Not sure of all this. But all the time the replacement was done at quite reputable places (twice at Toyota dealerships). I guess they would/should have done that. But I don't know. (You can see that I am a complete novice in such things.)
For sure. Though I have been driving 5-speed for last 12 years, never again am I going to buy another one.