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What have I done to my car?!
Lidtop2013
Posts: 4,364 Forum Member
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So I was coming home from work, at a very busy roundabout, I had the rpm at around 4k ish, as I lifted the clutch I head a little click sound, and then I lifted the clutch all the way up to the top whilst in first gear, but there was no drive at all, all I could do is put the handbrake on to stop rolling forwards. Clutch feels fine and still pushes down and springs back up as usual, just that releasing the clutch whilst in gear doesn’t actually do anything.
The RAC recovery man reckons it’s the drive shaft? It was making a terrible knocking sound whilst on tow, he was only doing around 20/30mph, nice and steady.
What do you guys think? Drive shaft?
What a bad end to an otherwise decent week!
The RAC recovery man reckons it’s the drive shaft? It was making a terrible knocking sound whilst on tow, he was only doing around 20/30mph, nice and steady.
What do you guys think? Drive shaft?
What a bad end to an otherwise decent week!
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He's going to be in a far better position to advise than users on a forum! In my experience RAC/AA are rarely wrong with what they say.
I wish it was a hired car!
I knew this was coming, set myself right up
For it didn’t I 😂
Yes I know, but there might be some mechanics on here, or mechanically minded people, or someone might have had this exact issue and say “yes it happened to me last week, it was the drive shaft and cost xxx”.
As I know I won’t find out for sure until at least Monday when the garage opens up, or maybe not even Monday if their really busy, so thought I’d ask the question on here
Toyota Avensis petrol.
The RAC man said they are bullet proof cars, but obviously parts do wear out/break.
Kind of. I couldn’t help myself. Anyway, I do wish you the best of luck - it’s just really irritating when something like a car packs up and lands you with the sheer inconvenience and expense of it all, so I hope it all turns out to be not that bad.
Sounds daft to say, but try to put it out of your mind. There’s nothing you can do, and if it’s going to be Monday at the earliest then that’s that. Little point dwelling on it or it’ll just cloud your weekend. Once they’ve looked, you can think more.
For years I had a car I loved. While sitting innocently at a junction one day someone cut in too quick and near and took the wing, parts of the engine and most of the drivers door off. It was clearly a write off, but you’ve got to laugh haven’t you.
The windscreen looked like a shattered mirror, part of the engine had come through the floor, and the part of the door still attached was bashed in such a way I couldn’t get out. Climbing over to get out the passenger side I said ‘not going to cry’.
I didn’t cry, but I still miss that car. It’s annoying, it might be expensive, but you’re safe and well and you don’t know it’s not fixable. Try not to worry about it too much and don’t let it wreck your weekend. One day you’ll laugh, even if not today.
No I won’t let it spoil my weekend, it can’t be helped, and it’s fixable, just got to endure the inconvenience for the next few days at least. It could have been a lot worse if it happened when I was more than 10 miles from home(where my breakdown service won’t cover me). Got to look at the bright side I guess!
Agreed. German and Japanese cars are the most reliable but they all suffer wear, tear and the odd hissy fit or dicky do I guess. On the plus side, once you get whatever it is fixed, chances are you'll have peace of mind and not need to worry or lose confidence in driving it again afterwards.
That’s the spirit.
My guess is the clutch. What's the age, mileage and typical driving patterns of the car (e.g. 90% town and 10% motorway)?
I previously mentioned the Lamborghini Diablo that Paddy McGuiness wrote off on Top Gear, the owner was once out in it and showing off at a junction roared out with his right foot down - this sheared the drive shaft and left him dead in the junction
In the Diablo case the car was placed on a trailer, and taken down to London to be repaired - he never mentioned what it cost
Rather than taking Tanya's cool, level-headed and reasoned approach I much prefer to deal with these sorts of issues with supposition, inference and substantial fear-mongering. So putting on my prophesier's hat - mystic buttplug, if you will - if you are at 4k in 1st gear at the roundabout it sounds as if you are really giving it the beans. Of course, you do require to be a bit proactive at roundabouts from time to time but, nonetheless, that is quite heavy usage and over time you will start to endure wear on the drive train, yes, even on a Toyota.
But, I reckon the RAC man is correct...it's the drive shaft wot dunnit. One thing it is worth doing before you experience these sorts of problems is to have a regular browse around the front axle/drive shaft area to check the rubber gaiters that cover the drive shaft's CV joints. There will be four of these gaiters: two outer (L&R) which cover the CV (constant velocity joints and two inner (L&R) which cover the splined end of the drive shafts where they join the transmission. If either of these outer gaiters look as if the rubber has perished in any way and there are signs of the grease leaking out then you need to get it dealt with promptly. The grease lubricates the joint but should the gaiter leak and dirt start to penetrate the joint then it will start to wear very quickly. Anyway, not much that you can do for the moment except spend a lot of time worrying. Meanwhile, for some light relief, here is some bloke changing a drive shaft on a Toyota Corolla.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQ2hh4Miwv0&ab_channel=TRQ
But it's unusual to fail without any warning. There are usually symptoms before it gives up completely.
I used to have a Renault 5GT turbo that ate driveshafts. But that was mainly due to hard driving and they never failed completely and left me stranded. The knocking noise was a sure sign that it needed attention.
If it is the driveshaft on your Avensis I'm surprised you never had any knocking noises before it gave up.
119k, short journeys too and from work, only 2.5 miles one way, mostly 40mph limit roads around here.
The majority of the time I’m driving within 10miles from home, and it barely added any cost to my insurance to have it, so it’s definitely justified for me.
There was no beans given at all! The car was stationary the whole time, I just gave it a lot more gas than usual to get out onto a very busy roundabout at peak times, the clutch was still pressed down, then as I lifted it up to move away, that’s when I heard the “click” and then the clutch lifted all the way up whilst in gear, and the car was acting like it’s in neutral. I drive very smoothly and within the speed limits most of the time, this was just a one off to get going quickly. So it’s certainly not brought on by me driving it like I stole it everyday, more like the part(s) are very old and worn out, and gave up, whatever that part maybe.
Sorry for that, then. I probably misread. Out of curiosity how many miles has the Avensis done?
I said above, 119k, so nothing for this age, and the bullet proof engine
Anyway, you were safely rescued, and the garage will probably be able to fix the car for you. Then you should get a few more years' use out of it. Let us know what the garage finds.
Nope haven’t hit any pot holes.
Hopefully the garage get round to diagnosing it today
In way that's a shame, as otherwise you might be able to make a claim off your local council!
Should be a simple diagnosis anyway.
You don’t know how much you depend on your car until it’s taken away do you! It’s like someone’s nicked my left hand! Can’t wait to get it back
What do I win?
Seemingly the going rate for garage labour these days could be near £150/hour so for four hours that could easily reach £600, plus the cost of parts so your £800 estimate may not be far off. On the other hand, if they are charging nearer £100 an hour and get it done in three, that's under £500. Just need to wait and see.
Ha ha well done you, you get a gold star badge to stick on your shirt 😂
£150 per hour labour? Thought it’s more like £70-100?
We will see soon