How reliable is the Yaris?

[Lucas13]

Mine with 62k

-Two front seats replaced almost entirely
-Exhaust mid section replaced due to faulty catalytic converters
-Water pump started leaking at 56k
-Manual Transmission replaced at 58k
-Passengers control arm need replacing now, I'm waiting until is destroyed to change it.

There are many other small things that I experienced with the car, I understand is a cheap car but with other cheap car I owned in the past I have never seen so many issues one after the other. I think I'm still going to keep it because I have spend to much of my time getting it to work fine.

[fnkngrv]

Originally Posted by Lucas13

Mine with 62k

-Two front seats replaced almost entirely
-Exhaust mid section replaced due to faulty catalytic converters
-Water pump started leaking at 56k
-Manual Transmission replaced at 58k
-Passengers control arm need replacing now, I'm waiting until is destroyed to change it.

There are many other small things that I experienced with the car, I understand is a cheap car but with other cheap car I owned in the past I have never seen so many issues one after the other. I think I'm still going to keep it because I have spend to much of my time getting it to work fine.

Wow, sorry to hear all of your issues that you have encountered. I think that you perhaps got one of the few lemons.

I have 43k over the 4 years and items that have been dealt with outside of personal upgrades are the following:

1) ABS Sensor per TSB
2) Door pillar insulation per Safety Bulletin
3) Missing Cabin Air Filter from dealership...did a DIY Filtrete
4) Reset ECU done by dealership since my gas mileage was all over the map last winter. One tank I could get 34mpg and the next 17, then the nextx could be 25, then 32. Once the dealer reset my ECU and it relearned the mapping it has done great. Might have been because it sat for a year while I was in Afghanistan without a battery.
5) Stock battery died 100% after 3 years. This must have been due to my stereo system hammering the crap out of it.


Oh yeah, and for some reason I have had to put new oil in it every few thousand miles...what is up with that?

[Lucas13]

Originally Posted by fnkngrv

Wow, sorry to hear all of your issues that you have encountered. I think that you perhaps got one of the few lemons.

I have 43k over the 4 years and items that have been dealt with outside of personal upgrades are the following:

1) ABS Sensor per TSB
2) Door pillar insulation per Safety Bulletin
3) Missing Cabin Air Filter from dealership...did a DIY Filtrete
4) Reset ECU done by dealership since my gas mileage was all over the map last winter. One tank I could get 34mpg and the next 17, then the nextx could be 25, then 32. Once the dealer reset my ECU and it relearned the mapping it has done great. Might have been because it sat for a year while I was in Afghanistan without a battery.
5) Stock battery died 100% after 3 years. This must have been due to my stereo system hammering the crap out of it.


Oh yeah, and for some reason I have had to put new oil in it every few thousand miles...what is up with that?

I have no doubt that my Yaris is a lemon or maybe a Tangerine!

I had my A/C drain clogged up too because of the lack of air filter, which for me is totally dishonesty from Toyota of not throwing that filter in they must know what happens without one...

I think you battery went t out like mine and many of the rest, they last about three years, the oil thing doesn’t sound that good with only 43k, you have car checked for leaks or something, an engine may consume some oil if you drive it too hard all the time.

A Daewoo I owned like 4 years ago was supposed to be a piece of crap and turned out much better than my yaris, I put 120K on that thing and all I did was basic maintenance. I’m sure the yaris is the last Toyota I will have.

[fnkngrv]

Originally Posted by Lucas13

the oil thing doesn’t sound that good with only 43k, you have car checked for leaks or something, an engine may consume some oil if you drive it too hard all the time.

I was being silly with this one. I know that there are those out there that would flame me for it however I change every 7500 miles right now. I have been ASE certified since 1995 and have always been a firm believer in the right products can go a long way. Once my turbo installation is in place then I will probably reevaluate my consumption however with how cheap the motors are for this car at this point if I blow it up then I will just pick up another one. I plan on picking up another one to slowly rebuild it anyway for greater performance.

My parents always bought Nissan and Toyota growing up. For the most part the only issue had been how both manufacturers had issues with the body rusting out well before the mechanical would give. That really isn't the case now. I have had my share of lemons...or should I say lemon lines? 86 Escort, 88 Plymouth K car, and 1990 Cutlass calais S -442 model with the infamous Quad Four. Nothing for nothing, but if you notice a trend there all 3 cars were from the Big 3 and they were all infamous for being lemons. Nuff said on that one.

[Eatoman]

Originally Posted by Lucas13

Mine with 62k

-Two front seats replaced almost entirely
-Exhaust mid section replaced due to faulty catalytic converters
-Water pump started leaking at 56k
-Manual Transmission replaced at 58k
-Passengers control arm need replacing now, I'm waiting until is destroyed to change it.

There are many other small things that I experienced with the car, I understand is a cheap car but with other cheap car I owned in the past I have never seen so many issues one after the other. I think I'm still going to keep it because I have spend to much of my time getting it to work fine.

Guess all Yaris's aren't made perfect...I just hope my Yaris lasts as long as my old car...a '97 Geo Tracker. After 13 long years of daily driving that little Tracker never let me down. Finally decided it was time for a change, so I settled on a Yaris. Guess I'll have to wait and see how this little car tackles these crazy canadian winters!

[Lucas13]

Originally Posted by Eatoman

Guess all Yaris's aren't made perfect...I just hope my Yaris lasts as long as my old car...a '97 Geo Tracker. After 13 long years of daily driving that little Tracker never let me down. Finally decided it was time for a change, so I settled on a Yaris. Guess I'll have to wait and see how this little car tackles these crazy canadian winters!

Not all the Yaris have all the things I’ve had with mine, they have the common problem such as the Water pump going bad soon. Right know I’m hopping everything goes well, I need to fix my right control arm and I hope that’s it for while will see

[Eatoman]

Originally Posted by Lucas13

Not all the Yaris have all the things I’ve had with mine, they have the common problem such as the Water pump going bad soon. Right know I’m hopping everything goes well, I need to fix my right control arm and I hope that’s it for while will see

What exactly is a "right control arm"? Is this a costly repair?

[Lucas13]

It is exactly what severous01 Explain, In my case the Lower Ball Joint (attached to the wheel hub) seems to be the responsible one that makes a hard noise when braking a little bit hard.

The Dealer quoted $564 and I told them , I'll change it by my self, With an after market part and aligment will total $160 I will save $404 not bad...


A decent shop with aligment included may not be as expensive as the stealer!

[Eatoman]

Originally Posted by Lucas13

It is exactly what severous01 Explain, In my case the Lower Ball Joint (attached to the wheel hub) seems to be the responsible one that makes a hard noise when braking a little bit hard.

The Dealer quoted $564 and I told them , I'll change it by my self, With an after market part and aligment will total $160 I will save $404 not bad...


A decent shop with aligment included may not be as expensive as the stealer!

Why am I not surprised! The stealership was asking $75 for a bloody hubcap! Not a tire, or a steel rim....a HUBCAP! I was happy to oblige with as well! LOL! Thanks again guys for clueing me on what a control arm is!

I did notice my front suspension makes somewhat of a knocking sound whenever I go over a small bump...is this normal or does this mean that my bushings are starting to go as well?

[Lucas13]

Originally Posted by Eatoman

I did notice my front suspension makes somewhat of a knocking sound whenever I go over a small bump...is this normal or does this mean that my bushings are starting to go as well?

We have seen here many yaris with front suspension noises, it seems that its common but I don't consider it Normal. There could be different reasons not just the bushings.