Hi all.
 
I desperatley need some advice/help. A proud owner of a late 2002 MR2 Spyder 5M,  well looked after and only 90, 000km, I have noticed that the car will make a beeping sound all the time and at random times. The last time I drove it it had a massive loss of power going up a steep hill, and it seemed pretty obvious that the clutch was slippping and had gone. So I took it into Toyota dealership, and I figure I would just need a new clutch, simple enough.... (ive been told at 100km its normal to need a new clutch). However, this is what the toyota guy said.
 
" Checked and roadtested vehicle for clutch slipping and power loss. After further diagnosis we have confirmed slipcodes displayed in the vehicle diagnostic system. Have advised the customer that the vehicle will require a replacement clutch and possible clutch acuator/ecu control. Have advised customer that the repair may cost more than what the vehicle is worth".
 
Surely this car is not a write off??? my gut feeling is Toyota mechanic just put it in the too hard basket? Any advise, what costs would be or mechanic suggestions would be amazing, not ready to let this car go. Anyone had anything similar??
 
Thanks

what state are you in, if your in Sydney take it to Al Palmer in Penrith, I wouldn't take my Mr2 to Toyota for anything

Yeah in Sydney, in the city.

I haven't heard of anything similar, but I've taken mine to Toyota Glebe.
Speak to John Elias and ask for Louis to work on it.
 
Check to see if there are oil marks/leaks on the garage floor where the car is standing.
It could be something as simple as low fluid levels which is resulting in the gears not changing accurately.
 
Be careful where you take your car as there are some really dodgy mechanics in the city area.

I wouldn't take a >5 year old Toyota to Toyota either. Something about apprentices working on cars that no one has seen before makes me nervous.

Just to check, since your description is "loss of power", normally a slipping clutch means the engines revs its tits off (if it's a female) without accelerating. THAT is a slipping clutch with or without some fancy actuator.
  Secondly the dealer's response sounds dodgey, like the ones that are followed with an offer to take the car off your hands for $500.  If that was the case, then I wonder if the dealership owner knows of the antics of his service team, smelling up that dealership's reputation.
 I don't know these actuators but I suspect it may throw an errorcode when faulty. So you need to search how to check the errorcodes - likely to be a paperclip in the diagnostic plug.
Then you have more info to protect yourself against wild quotes.

Alas, there are some mechanics working for Toyota who only know the newer cars.
Seriously, they suggested the ECU could require replacement?  What a load of bollocks.
 
Just get your clutch replaced and if your not sure how to reset the ECU, a battery disconnect and reconnect should do the trick.
 
As another user suggested, a gearbox oil flush is a good idea(I take it you have your gearbox oil replenished at the required intervals) and definately make sure you are talking with a mechanic with some experience on the MR2 models, I've had issues with mechanics who didn't know the vehicle and simply getting someone who understands MR2's relieves a whole lot of stress as other users have also mentioned.
 
Sometimes it can also help to purchase your own clutch kit as often Toyota or any mechanic and auto-shop will not have the spare part in stock.  Exedy to a nice kit but there's also even cheaper alternatives if you want to save some cash.  Repco can obtain cheaper kits.  Oh and on the clutch kit purchase, don't be fooled by race style kits, you will find them to be harder and hence require a touch more pressure to engage the clutch, so if your used to the stock clutch, then Exedy or if you can still get the original(myself I have an MK1 so I didn't have a choice but to source an aftermarket) is your best bet.
 
Please let us all know how it goes and I hope your driving off into the sunset in that glorious MR2 pumping your favorite tunes from your stereo soon.
 

Thanks guys for your help and suggestions. The more I think about it the more I think that the Toyota guy was just trying to get a kickback if I was to trade it in for a new car. Probably saw that I'm a bit of a novice and was just trying to rip me off me.
 
I guess if it was just a clutch problem the beeping sound would happen anyways, so in theory fix the clutch, no more problems.... will just try some other mechanics and see, hopefully there is a solution that simple.

Pretty much should cost you too much more then a normal clutch swap, if they say they need to disconnect smt parts walk away cause non of that needs to be touched! Make sure they have an obd2 reader as this is the only way to read codes not as easy as the aw11 way! As once they have done clutch it needs a relearn!
Here's the code list if interested http://www.midshiprunabou...des-the-complete-list/
Also get them to change the smt fluid will make shifting smoother. Bottle smt fluid from toyota is $100.
Hope this helps and hope to see you cruising soon!

Hi all,

Thanks for everyone who contributed. I managed to locate a mechanic who wasn't dodgy, knew what he was talking about and had everything working as if it was brand new. Striped it back put it together again with new clutch and it's perfect. Hardly a write off as Toyota said. Thanks guys!!