It's been a few weeks now and I have been paying extra attention to what's going on.
The reluctance when downshifting issue seems to be whenever I try to enter a lower gear, even from 6 to 5th I have issues.
Double clutching and rev matching does fix the issue, and I see this as a good short-term solution until my next service is due so I can get Toyota to have a look.
I have noticed that it's easier to enter a lower gear by pulsing my foot on the gas pedal, while my foot is on the clutch. This increases the rev's, and as the revs are falling it then enters the lower gear easy.
I thought that because my foot is on the clutch, revving the engine should have no effect on the transmission. I assume that the clutch should 100% disconnect the transmission to the engine when fully disengaged. This has led me to believe that my clutch may not be 100% disengaging.
I tested this by placing the car in first gear on flat ground, held my foot on the clutch and revved the engine to see if the car moved forward. It didn't.
When down shifting you place your foot on the clutch and move out of gear. If the clutch was dragging as soon as I move out of gear, the transmission would still be slightly engaged with the engine. Because the revs are at minimum while my foot is off the gas pedal, it would slow the transmission speed down to the lower rev’s, instead of allowing the transmission to freewheel. This would then make synchronising into a lower gear harder.
I got Toyota to change my brake fluid 20,000 kms ago. I discovered that the clutch fluid shares the same fluid reservoir. Could I have air in my clutch fluid line? And could this mean it's not disengaging 100%. f the above is correct, it must only be the slightest bit of drag.
Cheers.