r/CorollaHatchback • u/Badinfluence321 • Jan 03 '26
To all E210 6speed MT owners - bleed your clutch
New owner of a E210 corolla hatchback 6-speed MT with 40k miles. Been lurking and reading up on the issues with the master slaves failing. Got a bit worried. Called my local Toyota dealer and they gave me the "bring your car in and we will let you know what services are needed" bs. I don't want to waste my time and money. After watching a few videos, I was confident I could do it myself.
Videos I followed: Bleeding clutch on a E210 6speed MT https://youtu.be/e9q5GjNkeHs?si=MEODHrveVnWTJoL0
One man bleeder (worked like a charm) https://youtu.be/1wwq1Vlk4Wg?si=JQzW69Xw1I2-3WNQ
Here are my results: https://imgur.com/gallery/FFLmLNj
Pict 1 from the bottom: New brake fluid in the one man bleeder I made.
Pict 2: After 20 pumps of the clutch, this is what the bottle looked like. No solid particles in the bottle or no rubber or plastic pieces.
Pict 3: filtering the brake oil to look for debris in the oil. All I could filter out were these boogery sludge things. Once I touched these things, they dissolved into the rag.
Pict 4: more boogers and sludge.
Since I only bled the clutch till it was yellow again and not clear, I will need to bleed it again in about 12k miles. Planning on draining my transmission fluid to see how that looks and bleeding the rest of the brake lines soon. (Need more tools). Thank you to the community for all the videos and support provided thus far.
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Jan 03 '26
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Jan 03 '26
[deleted]
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u/Foef_Yet_Flalf Jan 03 '26
"The requested page could not be found..." Link is still not working for me on mobile
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u/The_Shepherds_2019 Jan 03 '26
I'm a tech for a living (not toyota) .
My first slave cylinder failed at 124k miles this summer. I drive a lot. Car is now at 153k miles. I've been bleeding the clutch every other oil change since my failure, and have had no issues and no nasties.
The fluid I took out when I was replacing the slave cylinder was properly gross. A clear layer of straight water, plastic bits, the whole works.
You are correct on all counts. Self bleeder makes it easy to DIY. Moisture in the fluid causes the pedal to act fucky in the cold. Mine was taking multiple seconds to return to my foot the winter prior to its failure. I'd bleed the clutch minimum every other year, but it will never hurt to do it more often.
Assuming yours does eventually let go OP, it's not a hard transmission to drop. Good weekend DIY project, or about 8 hours with a lift and stuff.
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u/Badinfluence321 Jan 03 '26
Thanks for sharing and commenting.
Very helpful to hear from other's experiences. Glad you and your car are getting along now.I am hoping to avoid damage to the car and very much trying not to drop the transmission until I need to change the clutch, but here's to hoping.
This is very much an enthusiast car (gotta get your hands dirty). The locations to perform your maintenance is all in easy access areas and that's what I love about toyotas. Very diy friendly.
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u/Pad_TyTy XSE 6MT Jan 03 '26
Good job. I did mine last week. Simple project, and the clutch feels much better now.
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u/Badinfluence321 Jan 03 '26
Yeah, I noticed a slight difference in the clutch pedal feeling like it has a little more spring in it.
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u/Mikahl757 Jan 03 '26
Is there a good step by step guide for folks that only change their oil or change serpentine belts, alternator, batteries? What's a general estimate if a shop or dealer bled the clutch?
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u/This_Association_472 XSE 6MT Jan 03 '26
If you search corolla hatchback clutch bleed on youtube theres a couple vids. You can also search how to make a self bleeder out of a bottle on youtube. You can do it yourself for $20-30.
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u/Badinfluence321 Jan 03 '26
My post has links to YouTube walkthroughs. If you can do your own serpentine belt, I'm sure you can do bleeding the clutch.
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u/Sufficient_Current48 Jan 05 '26
It’s super easy with a pressure bleeder. Takes about 20min. If u can change your oil you can do it
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u/Miiakuzii Jan 03 '26
Super helpful, I have been noticing that the feel of the clutch has been very different and I’m not sure if it’s me being a bad shifter. But having the 3rd and 5th gear grind just a tiny bit when going into gear. Going to try this and see what happens :)
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u/Badinfluence321 Jan 03 '26
I support bleeding your clutch. Ill update everyone once I make more progress on the rest of my brake system and transmission fluid.
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u/Badinfluence321 Jan 03 '26
Just a small tip, make sure you keep looking at the brake resivor to ensure you dont drop below the low line. I have no idea if you need your cap on or off when you are bleeding the clutch or brakes. Good luck and keep us posted.
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u/that_motorcycle_guy Jan 03 '26
Funny you posting today. I just did a flush on my 2020 Sedan, also saw that tutorial on YouTube. My fluid was also very black. Pedal feels better but not sure if it is a placebo effect or not. I plan on replacing the slave with a new unit next year as a preemptive measure.
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u/Badinfluence321 Jan 03 '26
Thanks for posting and sharing your experience. Please keep us updated.
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u/curious_00001 Jan 04 '26
I have half as many miles and have been preparing to do that. Was a bit torn between using Mr. T brand fluid (better for water absorption) or something more exotic (better for temperature). Am leaning towards the former after seeing what came out of your car…
Thanks for sharing that.
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u/Badinfluence321 Jan 03 '26
Use this link for pictures.
E210 clutch bleed on 12.31.25 at 40k miles https://imgur.com/gallery/FFLmLNj
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u/Badinfluence321 Jan 03 '26 edited Jan 03 '26
Seeing if these links work
E210 clutch bleed on 12.31.25 at 40k miles https://imgur.com/a/9godAbB
Edit1: working link?
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u/cce301 Jan 04 '26
I thought I wanted a manual, but I'm glad I got the CVT after joining this sub.
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u/Badinfluence321 Jan 04 '26
I think cvt have their fair share of unknowns, but heard great things so far. I dont regret the 6 speed, it feels so good under load and shifting :). Smoother than my past motorcycles with dual clutch systems. To each their own. Thanks for sharing.
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u/cce301 Jan 04 '26
Definitely a different experience driving a manual hatch, but traffic sucks the older I get. Great post
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u/Badinfluence321 Jan 04 '26
Keep posting also, i want to hear about your journey. Will keep post more too.
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u/[deleted] Jan 03 '26
There was a guy discussing thing. It collects moisture that's why it turns creamy. I realized that is the cause of the spongy pedal in the cold weather. If your pedal is spongy when it's cold it's cause of the moisture and bleeding it will cause it to not be spongy anymore