Torque Convertor (Clutch) Smell

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Torque Convertor (Clutch) Smell

Postby specwarop on Wed, 19 Aug 2020 8:40 +0000

Hey all,

i have a 2020 SR5 automatic with about 3000km on it and just noticed the last few times when getting home after a 10min drive or so a smell thats very similar to the smell you get from clutch slippage.

I guess this is the torque converter, is this meant to slip or something? Maybe I'm over-reacting a bit but the smell surely isn't normal? I dont drive it hard or anything, but I have also noticed when turning down a road or going through a roundabout when I go to accelerate it revs up with no response then changes gear....bit weird but that could maybe be when its slipping? How normal is this?

Regards
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Re: Torque Convertor (Clutch) Smell

Postby dave g on Wed, 19 Aug 2020 4:37 +0000

It is under warranty take it in and get them to sort it out
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Re: Torque Convertor (Clutch) Smell

Postby specwarop on Fri, 21 Aug 2020 6:27 +0000

Yeh i will be, just wanting to establish if something is definitely wrong....or its just me over-reacting or my driving style or something haha
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Re: Torque Convertor (Clutch) Smell

Postby Gipsy on Fri, 21 Aug 2020 6:35 +0000

You sure it's not just the new smell as all the coatings get burned? New cars give off a strange smell when hot, probably the exhaust and turbo.
Torque converters do slip, it's how they work. It's possibly some transmission fluid spilled when last serviced. I assume you had the first service? They probably checked the transmission fluid and spilt some.
Cheers Gipsy :D although I'm sure somebody will challenge that :lol: even Einstein wasn't certain of his theories.
My 2013 auto D4D DC SR5, prefilter, 3" exhaust and Chip with egt probe, stock SR5 rims with Toyo Open Country AT2 265/65R/17's
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Re: Torque Convertor (Clutch) Smell

Postby specwarop on Fri, 21 Aug 2020 6:50 +0000

Its definitely the classic clutch smell, doesnt really smell like oil.
I thought it might just be the new smells you get as you mentioned, but not entirely sure. First impression you get when you smell these things is that it doesnt seem normal haha.

In terms of torque converters, how much are they meant to slip and at what points is it normal/fine for them to be slipping?

Thanks!
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Re: Torque Convertor (Clutch) Smell

Postby HK1837 on Fri, 21 Aug 2020 8:12 +0000

It is how a converter works. If it didn’t slip it’d stall when you stop.
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Re: Torque Convertor (Clutch) Smell

Postby specwarop on Fri, 21 Aug 2020 8:14 +0000

But when you accelerate like at a roundabout, should it be slipping?
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Re: Torque Convertor (Clutch) Smell

Postby HK1837 on Fri, 21 Aug 2020 9:04 +0000

Yes, unless the converter is locked. Slipping will more likely be the transmission and it is normally a sign of low oil level or some other problem. Is it flaring between gear changes you are feeling?
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Re: Torque Convertor (Clutch) Smell

Postby specwarop on Fri, 21 Aug 2020 9:07 +0000

Maybe yeh, for the roundabout scenario, when I go to accelerate it seems to rev up and do nothing then change gears and away we go. It seems to do this less (well havent noticed at all yet) when I have it in Eco mode.
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Re: Torque Convertor (Clutch) Smell

Postby Gipsy on Fri, 21 Aug 2020 1:58 +0000

There's nothing in your auto that gives off that clutch smell except the brakes bedding in. The auto fluid smells remarkably different to clutch. I'm not sure you understand how an auto works... The torque converter runs on auto transmission fluid.
As to the roundabout stuff, it's probably just the controller module (TCM) getting to know how you want to drive (learning). When in economy mode the change down is held so you don't get a drop from 3rd to 2nd for example. Economy mode just holds the gears for longer and doesn't shift down as quickly. That's the difference. The 'revving up' as you put it is just the torque converter slipping to multiply torque because your right foot is asking for more power (revs).
What Is A Torque Converter?
Torque converters are similar to fluid coupling (device for passing rotating mechanical power) that holds the capability to transfer power from an internal combustion engine to the driven load. As far as the positioning is concerned, torque converters lie between the flexplate of the engine and the automatic transmission.

The basic function of torque converters is to multiply torque so as to cope up with the reducing rotational speeds. These converters prove to be a boon when it comes to driving a heavy vehicle down the road.

Mate, all I can suggest is if you want to drive like a manual, select manual and change your gears as you like them to be. The auto transmission is designed to do that for you but you may prefer to select the gears manually. That's why they give you a transmission lever.
Cheers Gipsy :D although I'm sure somebody will challenge that :lol: even Einstein wasn't certain of his theories.
My 2013 auto D4D DC SR5, prefilter, 3" exhaust and Chip with egt probe, stock SR5 rims with Toyo Open Country AT2 265/65R/17's
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Re: Torque Convertor (Clutch) Smell

Postby witherz on Fri, 21 Aug 2020 3:04 +0000

Could the smell be the DPF mid-way through a burn? It might just be that it's just gotten up to temp to start a burn and you're turning it off before it's finished... then rinse and repeat the next time if you're only doing 10 minute drives. I definitely noticed the smell the first time I turned mine off and got out mid-burn... but I couldn't tell you if it smelt like a clutch or anything else... it just stunk.

I'm with Gipsy on the revving in the roundabout... took a while for mine to settle down and either it learnt how I want to drive, or I learnt how it reacted. I noticed for a while if I backed off the accelerator a bit then put it down firmly.... it would kind of hunt for a gear/hesitate a bit... don't notice it at all now tho. If you swap between eco/normal/power a bit it might take longer to adapt.
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Re: Torque Convertor (Clutch) Smell

Postby Gipsy on Fri, 21 Aug 2020 3:29 +0000

Thanks witherz, you expressed it better than I did. With an auto when you approach the roundabout the TCM doesn't know or isn't able to predict that you want to accelerate. Accordingly it selects the gear it thinks you need rather than the one you would prefer. That's what the learning mode does, predicts your style so it knows what you are likely to want. Another thing to understand is how power mode works, it will probably handle the roundabout better because it expects you may need to accelerate and probably will shift down earlier. Power mode is much more responsive to your needs but at the cost of economy.
These modern auto's with the computer technology are very different from the old auto gearbox which had a manual kickdown device which is connected to the throttle so the gearbox selects the lower gear as if like a manual selection. The computer controlled auto has some very clever technology but it cannot read your mind, (or your email :lol: )
Cheers Gipsy :D although I'm sure somebody will challenge that :lol: even Einstein wasn't certain of his theories.
My 2013 auto D4D DC SR5, prefilter, 3" exhaust and Chip with egt probe, stock SR5 rims with Toyo Open Country AT2 265/65R/17's
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Posts: 2135
Joined: Tue, 07 May 2013 2:00 +0000
Location: South Coast NSW and all over Oz


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