Clutch Frozen?

[yaris2010RS]

So this morning was one of the coldest days of this winter here in the GTA. i woke up to a -26ish *C with wind chill. my car is parked in the garage, although it is not heated it does protect it from the wind and it does feel a tad bit warmer then outside. i have about a 50min drive to school and about 40 of those mins i couldnt use my clutch. it was very stiff, wouldnt come back up, it would very slowly return and my leg actually got tired (i have used rigs before and it was stiffer then those clutches)
when first pulling out of the garage and to the gas station i didn not notice any issue, after filling up my car with gas the clutch was stiff. it was very hard to move and continued to be like this for the next 40 mins. it slowly got a bit better then it got light again, almost instantly.

i have had this happen on another cold day before but it went away as soon as the cold light turned off. i am assuming this is caused as the hydraulic fluid gets colder and thicker but does anyone else have this issue? annd also with the fluid thicker and the pedal stiffer, what damage can this cause to the clutch cylinder (i dont know if that is the correct term)

[sleey0]

If in warranty, dealership time.

If not, then you can take a look at your linkages. It may not be the actual clutch pedal.

Oh, and RL MT90 is recommended as many of us felt the difference as soon as the tranny fluid was replaced.

[33OH]

My clutch freezes as well on extremely cold days. This morning was around 5 F and it was frozen.

[thebarber]

was -18C this morning (w/o windchill) and my clutch was pretty stiff too

the transmission fluid also gets pretty tacky which makes it hard to get into gear

its a normal thing as far as i know.

while i warm up the car, ill often pump the clutch a dozen times or so to get things moving...

once the car was up to operating temps, it was fine

[yaris2010RS]

Originally Posted by thebarber

was -18C this morning (w/o windchill) and my clutch was pretty stiff too

the transmission fluid also gets pretty tacky which makes it hard to get into gear

its a normal thing as far as i know.

while i warm up the car, ill often pump the clutch a dozen times or so to get things moving...

once the car was up to operating temps, it was fine

i was worried to pump it..... i found it very very odd. on my next oil change i will ask about it. im sure its nothing serious but its concerning

[thebarber]

i drove the yaris in -35C in new brunswick....was stickier than this morning...

[Vinceb]

Add a block heater and warm up the car before driving, it was -17 this morning, my clutch was stiff, but no issues. if it gets colder than this then I plug in the block heater. I never had any problems when living in New Brunswick using the block heater (-30ish)

[johnny_vitz]

Yaris2010RS - I'm in hamilton/burlington area and I had my own issues late sunday night. It was tough going into gear, clutch pedal was hard and slow coming up. So I go to start my car, it immediately stalls, start it again, stalls. CEL came on. Had to fiddle with the gas pedal and keep it at 2500rpm so it would stay running. The light was a code for the Mass air flow sensor, I think it was frozen. The whole way home it wouldnt go over 3000 rpm, but then by the time I was home it cleared itself. Haven't had an issue since (4 starts). I think my scanguage said intake temp was 1 degree F LOL Damn cold. I'll update if I have more issues, but I doubt it.

[thebarber]

Originally Posted by johnny_vitz

Yaris2010RS - I'm in hamilton/burlington area and I had my own issues late sunday night. It was tough going into gear, clutch pedal was hard and slow coming up. So I go to start my car, it immediately stalls, start it again, stalls. CEL came on. Had to fiddle with the gas pedal and keep it at 2500rpm so it would stay running. The light was a code for the Mass air flow sensor, I think it was frozen. The whole way home it wouldnt go over 3000 rpm, but then by the time I was home it cleared itself. Haven't had an issue since (4 starts). I think my scanguage said intake temp was 1 degree F LOL Damn cold. I'll update if I have more issues, but I doubt it.

maybe moisture on the maf sensor? you run a cai year-round, right?

3000rpm is limp mode, btw

Originally Posted by Vinceb

Add a block heater and warm up the car before driving, it was -17 this morning, my clutch was stiff, but no issues. if it gets colder than this then I plug in the block heater. I never had any problems when living in New Brunswick using the block heater (-30ish)

i might be wrong, but a block heater only warms the engine block, not the transmission (and its fluid) or clutch

[Vinceb]

Originally Posted by thebarber

i might be wrong, but a block heater only warms the engine block, not the transmission (and its fluid) or clutch

No I don't think you're wrong, but the whole thing is metal and it all conducts heat, the heat eventually transfers through to the transmission probably not to the linkage though.
When I use the block heater, the entire engine hood is free of frost and snow

[johnny_vitz]

maybe moisture on the maf sensor? you run a cai year-round, right?

3000rpm is limp mode, btw

Yeah, my thoughts exactly. I do run a CAI all year

The block heater only heats the coolant, so very little heat will make its way to the transmission.

[thebarber]

-23C (-9F) this morning

clutch was gummy even with redline tranny fluid...

[yaris2010RS]

i was talking to a friend of mine the other day about it (he is a small shop mechanic) and he told me its a sign of fluid failure. either air or moisture in the lines. today after class ill give toyota a call and see if i can get the system bled or flushed or what they recomend.