Just bought a 2008 Hatchback Manual Tranny and it shifts really strange

[way way norcal]

I have been driving manual transmissions since I was a wee lad. This is the strangest shifting vehicle I have ever shifted.
When I am at a stop and ready to go I push in the clutch and I have to give it a fair amount of throttle to keep it from stalling. Normally when you are at a level stop and you push in the clutch as you let out the clutch the rpms are enough to pull forward with very little throttle. If I am at a stop I have to be very careful or it will stall out. I have to ride the clutch and rev into the 1500 rpm range to get to find the sweet spot. And, when I go in reverse I have to give it gas or it will bog down and stall out. When I shift from first to second as I let off gas and push in the clutch the rpms go up slightly and then drop when I release the clutch.
None of these symptoms say to me it is a worn pressure plate. The strangest thing is when the air conditioning is on it actually shifts normally like it should.
Does any one have any idea what on earth is going on here?
I am thinking the idle might be a bit low but I don't know for sure

[rocketyaris b3]

ive had my car since 2008. if im reading it correctly, ur car is acting pretty normal.

[Kalispel]

Originally Posted by way way norcal

I have been driving manual transmissions since I was a wee lad. This is the strangest shifting vehicle I have ever shifted.
When I am at a stop and ready to go I push in the clutch and I have to give it a fair amount of throttle to keep it from stalling. Normally when you are at a level stop and you push in the clutch as you let out the clutch the rpms are enough to pull forward with very little throttle. If I am at a stop I have to be very careful or it will stall out. I have to ride the clutch and rev into the 1500 rpm range to get to find the sweet spot. And, when I go in reverse I have to give it gas or it will bog down and stall out. When I shift from first to second as I let off gas and push in the clutch the rpms go up slightly and then drop when I release the clutch.
None of these symptoms say to me it is a worn pressure plate. The strangest thing is when the air conditioning is on it actually shifts normally like it should.
Does any one have any idea what on earth is going on here?
I am thinking the idle might be a bit low but I don't know for sure

Unfortunately, it would seem that Toyota didn't bother to give the Yaris "friendly clutch" mechanics until the 2015 refresh. I wonder if people with 2007-2014 Yaris could request the redesigned 2015 version clutch if/when they ever needed/wanted to change out their clutch?

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[Mongoose7]

Yep, been driving a standard tranny for 35 years, and it took me the good part of the first year with my 2007 Yaris to learn how to shift it, it's way different than most any other car.
Mike

[way way norcal]

thats actually a relief! I thought there was something wrong with it. It is noticeable enough I really thought there was something that needed adjusting.
Is there anything like bumping up the idle or adjusting the freeplay on the pedal that help things a bit?
And what is the best method for shifting it correctly?

[Kar98]

Another vote for, been driving manuals for decades, and the Yaris clutch is the first one that you need to operate just like it said in the driver's manual for the novice driver, just like yours, OP.

[way way norcal]

didnt get a drivers manual with it. The original owner is looking for it and will supposedly send it when she finds it.

[Kar98]

Originally Posted by way way norcal

didnt get a drivers manual with it. The original owner is looking for it and will supposedly send it when she finds it.

I didn't mean an owner's manual specifically for your Yaris. I was referring to how novice drivers are being taught to operate a manual transmission. Slowly increase RPM, gently let out the clutch and as if by magic, the car starts moving. Every other car I had, the clutch was pretty much on/off. Stomp on the gas, pop the clutch, and off you go. With the Yaris, you have to follow "proper procedure."

[CoryM]

Yep, the Yaris clutch is probably (IMO) the worst part of the car. The slow throttle-body doesn't help much either. Nor does the engine being so quiet, and easy to stall. My clutch is now broken from driving for 3yrs on R-comp tires: Imagine what you have, but the engagement point changes at random. Sometimes it engages close to the floor, sometimes near the top. I'll be doing the clutch soon......

Interestingly enough my clutch isn't damaged from launching hard, but from tire slippage then biting HARD in corners. I think the previous owner took some life out of it too. I'm curious to see what a Luk clutch will do for the feel of the clutch because I'm sure not going to try an OE one again.

[attrapereves]

Originally Posted by CoryM

Yep, the Yaris clutch is probably (IMO) the worst part of the car. The slow throttle-body doesn't help much either. Nor does the engine being so quiet, and easy to stall. My clutch is now broken from driving for 3yrs on R-comp tires: Imagine what you have, but the engagement point changes at random. Sometimes it engages close to the floor, sometimes near the top. I'll be doing the clutch soon......

Interestingly enough my clutch isn't damaged from launching hard, but from tire slippage then biting HARD in corners. I think the previous owner took some life out of it too. I'm curious to see what a Luk clutch will do for the feel of the clutch because I'm sure not going to try an OE one again.

Can you explain what you mean about killing the clutch from tire slippage?

The clutch is the worst part of the Yaris. My previous Chevy Sonic (which had an issue with grinding going into 2nd) was light years better than this Yaris clutch.

[CoryM]

Originally Posted by attrapereves

Can you explain what you mean about killing the clutch from tire slippage?

It's not the slipping that hurts it, it's the sudden traction afterwards. I daily-drive (and autoX) on DOT race tires. The raw grip of these tires is far beyond what "street" tires can do. So: going around a corner hard, gas pedal to the floor to pull the car out of the corner, the inside tire spins due to weight-transfer/body-roll, then bites very hard as the weight goes back onto the inside tire. This causes a shock to the clutch similar to if you were to let the clutch out very abruptly. This usually wears/breaks the torsional springs in the clutch disc, which are there to soak up shock loads and vibration.

It's going to be about a month before I get a chance to do my clutch, but I am curious to see what it's going to look like

Cheers.

[attrapereves]

Originally Posted by CoryM

It's not the slipping that hurts it, it's the sudden traction afterwards. I daily-drive (and autoX) on DOT race tires. The raw grip of these tires is far beyond what "street" tires can do. So: going around a corner hard, gas pedal to the floor to pull the car out of the corner, the inside tire spins due to weight-transfer/body-roll, then bites very hard as the weight goes back onto the inside tire. This causes a shock to the clutch similar to if you were to let the clutch out very abruptly. This usually wears/breaks the torsional springs in the clutch disc, which are there to soak up shock loads and vibration.

It's going to be about a month before I get a chance to do my clutch, but I am curious to see what it's going to look like

Cheers.

Question about that. I was teaching my wife how to drive a manual today and once or twice she accidentally revved it to 4000rpm, then launched the car screeching the tires. I'm assuming this wears the clutch significantly?

Also, sometimes when I shift into 2nd my car will jerk a little bit. Does this jerking cause clutch wear?

[CoryM]

Originally Posted by attrapereves

Question about that. I was teaching my wife how to drive a manual today and once or twice she accidentally revved it to 4000rpm, then launched the car screeching the tires. I'm assuming this wears the clutch significantly?

Also, sometimes when I shift into 2nd my car will jerk a little bit. Does this jerking cause clutch wear?

Heh. Teaching people to drive manual is fun huh?

It's definitely not great for the clutch but, so long as the clutch is in good shape to begin with, not going to kill it while she learns. If you weren't smelling burnt clutch (strong, acrid smell that lingers), you aren't wearing the clutch too badly. If she were to continue to drive like that you would see reduced clutch life but it should be fine while teaching her. It takes time to get smooth.

Jerking should not cause wear of the friction surface, but will cause minute wear of the parts of the clutch that are there to absorb the shock loads. Nothing to worry about as you will always get the occasional poor shift. The clutches are designed with this in mind, and have a mechanism to deal with small shock loads. That being said, the smoother you can drive the more life you will get out of nearly every part of the car.

End of the day, the Yaris is hard on clutches. You need to ride the clutch a fair bit to get going, and with the poor pedal feel it can be hard to be smooth on shifts. I wouldn't worry much as the clutches still last a long time in these cars even with that. Mine is only broken because I am subjecting it to abnormally high shock loads from the race-tires. I am a mechanic though so repairs are cheap/easy .

Cheers.

[andrew109340]

Personally....I don't mind the clutch. Yes, you have to blindly rev high enough (because I have no RPM guage) but I got used to it. The clutch does require smooth transitions....I have a 2009 and it reminds me of my first car, a '94 Accord....

That's what I learned on. Driving these newer cars with 6 speeds, reverse on the other side and not needing to gas it while changing gears confuses me.

[bronsin]

Unfortunately theres no way to adjust this clutch and I get the feeling it wouldn't help if there was.

[IllusionX]

The drive by wire and the usual low RPM does not help either.

With AC on, because the compressor takes some HP out of your engine, and keep idle a bit higher than usual, you don't experience this issue.

When shifting from 1 to 2, rpm does up because you did not let go the throttle soon enough... Again, DBW issue. There is nothing you can do, and you can only adjust yourself to this.

Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk

[way way norcal]

I'm learning

[BLKHILLSGUY]

That's how my 11 Yaris was. And I constantly killed it in 1st gear. And I've driven manuals all my life. My first car was a manual 91 Ford Festiva. My 15 Yaris SE is a huge improvement in the manual from my 11. They put a new clutch in the car for 15.