Clutch Release Bearing, Dealer Diagnosis?

My corolla has 2 weeks and 1k miles left on powertrain warranty. Would clutch related repairs be covered under warranty or are they normal wear items (****uming it wasn't caused by misuse)? I only ask because I believe my throw-out bearing is done for and the dealer diagnosis was that heatshields were causing the rattles. I only hear the rattle when the clutch is released, when at a stop, in neutral. I push the clutch in and it stops so I don't see how the heatshield could be affected when there is no load change, pushing the clutch in and out is the only thing that determines when it makes a racket. They bent the heatshields to "help" me but there is no difference. All they can offer is the ****urance that by doing things like aftermarket sway bars I am making the car something they can't really help me with, I've been careful not to mess with powertrain related items thus far. I walked in there asking for a price on clutch replacement and was well on my way to getting it until they asked how many miles it had, it was then determined that a diagnosis was in order ( which I appreciate, but not if it's going to end up costing me more once the warranty expires). I see no reason why they wouldn't stick me with a $1k clutch replacement unless it might be considered a warranty item. Personally, I was expecting to pay for it, I just want to make sure I am not hurting anything by driving on a worn out release bearing if that is the case.

Seeing as how it's not a warranty item I will stand by their diagnosis, no reason for them to tell me the clutch is fine when it's not if it would be my financial responsibility anyway.

It just seems that the response has always been the same, as soon as an aftermarket piece is found on the vehicle all of a sudden any concern with the car, no matter how unrelated, is beyond their comprehension (and I understand that, they are Toyota technicians). By now I should be afraid that my Bosch wiper blades might be the reason why my rear defroster has never worked correctly. I had a 20 minute conversation with the service rep about how the TRD parts on my car were a big mistake and I was only asking for trouble by installing them.

I'm no mechanic, but I'm fairly confident that a TRD exhaust will not cause an underhood rattle Associated with clutch position.

Doesn't inspire much confidence.

I went in with a legitimate concern and left with a printout of every aftermarket component on the car. The diagnosis took 1 hour, probably 55 minutes of that was spent crawling over the car, finding everything that wasn't purchased from them and indicating that I've "been advised".

Toyota makes a great car, I just need to stop letting them perform their free diagnostics and take it elsewhere.

I'm sorry, there's no real point to this topic. Bottom line is I'm going to change things with my car, and I try very hard to make sure the part I'm installing is the highest quality available for my particular vehicle. I spend 2-7 times as much money in the hopes that reliability will be compromised as little as possible and it frustrates me that Toyota will tell me these parts are inferior, when in fact they're not. But hey, everyone wants to make money.

TRD is a problem??? Are these techs aware that TRD stands for "Toyota Racing Development?" If that's aftermarket, it's THEIR aftermarket. Sorry to hear about your bad experience. It's all too common.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I always thought that TRD parts installed on Toyota vehicles did not void any warranties, and were, themselves covered by the vehicle's warranty. The problem you're having with your Toyota dealer doesn't make much sense to me. I don't see what sway bars would have to do with the clutch release bearing. What kind of an automobile are we talking about here? A Corolla S, I suspect. How have you been driving it? If you have been driving for maximum performance, I would expect problems such as you are having. After all, a Corolla S is just a Corolla with some odd-looking do-dads and a few different interior changes. The powertrain is identical to a Corolla CE or LE. It is not up to the abuse usually inflicted by Boy/Girl Rice Racers.

It is a corolla S, the problem with the TRD parts, I believe, is that I installed them myself. My driving is not too hard on the vehicle, I don't spin the tires, don't excessively slip or sidestep the clutch at higher than normal rpm's. I enjoy driving it but I don't race from stoplight to stoplight. It probably does see more trips to 5k than your typical Corolla but that's unavoidable for me and I am very particular about maintaining it religiously. 95% of my driving is city driving, many stops, many gearchanges, I expect to have a shorter clutch life than average.

They tell me the clutch is perfectly fine, most likely they are right, I need to worry less about every little thing I notice about the car and just drive it. It's a corolla.

I'd probably drive myself insane with noises I notice if I owned a less reliable car.

A bad release bearing makes noise when the clutch is pressed in, usually a chirpy/grindy noise related to engine speed.

It is possible it could be rattling around a little with the clutch out, but that kind of rattle wouldn't hurt anything.

It is very possible for pushing in the clutch to have an effect on a heat shield buzz. Just the slight release of transmission drag with the clutch in can move the engine a teeny tiny amount, or cause a slight rise in engine speed. Those weirdo heat shield buzzing noises are very sensitive to the frequency of the vibration that sets them off.

Sorry, can't help you with the dealer's void-your-warranty scare tactics.

You ARE using Geunine Toyota Windshield Washer Fluid, aren't you? It's distilled from rare bonsai essences by an ancient order of ninja gnomes in a secret location high in the Japan Alps, and is carefully formulated to contain the delicate balance of emulsifiers, surfactants, conditioners, and elk urine needed for the maximum performance of your sensitive Genuine Toyota Windshield Wiper Blades.

If you think Toyota's OEM parts bias is bad, you should try owning a Volkswagen.

The price of a new alternator includes the cost of building a German-engineered copper mine deep in the Black Forest (yup, that's in Germany) to obtain the special premium copper ore required by Germans for the finest German-engineered wire, wound Germanically by bony-fingered German craftsmen into the precise German-engineered pattern for maximum current, as measured by our exclusive (because it's German, you know) incredibly sensitive voltmeter, which was invented by a German guy. In Germany. Which is a long way from Indiana.

What with all the bony-fingered German craftsmanship and that world-renowned German engineering, one must ask why Volkswagens have such an inenviable record for reliability? I was seriously considering a diesel-powered Jetta or Golf prior to purchasing my present '03 Corolla, but all of the reliability ratings were dismal, compared to the Corolla. I also have a good friend who owns a passat, and had several other VW's before that, and he is always complaining about the thing being a reliability nightmare. One problem after another, and those problems seldom get fixed well or for very long. I was very disappointed because I really liked the diesel Jetta, but wasn't about to throw good money into a potentially troublesome car.

I've also heard that other German makes, such as Porsche, Mercedes, etc. are also quite reliability-challenged. Why is this? I would think that Germans would want to have a superior reputation for reliability...so far, everything I've seen points to the opposite being true. What gives?

Now that we've totally steered this thread off-course...

You'll notice that I now own a Corolla...

Actually, my passat was a great car. I bought it used, so the former owner (actually the lessee) had to deal with the new car glitches. The sunroof mechanism broke, which was a common problem, but there were no other quality issues with my sample.

There's a big difference in VWs built in Mexico vs, the ones built in Germany. As of a few years ago, the New Beetle and Jetta were built in Mexico, and the passat was built in Germany. Not sure about the new Touareg...

That said, there were definitely far too many quality problems with new VWs. They are wonderful machines, but nowhere near the same sheer dependability we've come to expect from Toyotas. VW needs to hire away a few Toyota engineers, I think. Of course, Toyota makes about many times more cars than VW, so you would expect them to have more of the sheer statistical data to make a dent in quality problems.

Part of it is problems with suppliers -- VW still isn't getting the best parts and materials from their suppliers, sometimes because they don't have the sheer purchasing power of larger auto makers.

Part of it is simply that their cars feel so wonderful (when they're moving) that they encourage hard driving and thus things break more often. That said, I flog my Corolla like a rented mule and nothing has broken yet (97,000 miles and climbing fast).