Little things I've learned about the Yaris

[Angry Andy]

This thread is for all the little surprises about your Yaris, good or bad, that you didn't exactly know of before signing papers. Others who have recently acquired theirs are welcome to post their own surprises, too.

Origin: Canada
Year: 2007
Type: 5-door LB
Color: Black
Transmission: Automatic
Trim: LE, B package (ABS w/ EBD, A/C, power windows, keyless entry)
Options: Cruise Control, center armrest, center console cupholder

In no particular order:

1. Don't keep loose change in the cubby pockets on either side of the climate control system. There is a small gap that coins can easily slide into, never to return unless you take the dash apart. Refusing to keep pennies anywhere else for the time being, I covered up the gaps with strips of gaffer's tape. Problem solved.

2. The clearcoat scuffs and scratches easily. This has been addressed ad nauseum in this board. I will not add anything further other than the idea that I have learned my lesson- be more careful when opening doors with my left hand, as my wristwatch is on that appendage. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to apply two coats of wax.

3. The hood is very lightweight- so light, that a waitress with next to no muscle mass could carry 3-lb. porterhouse cut steak dinners for 6 on it without breaking a sweat. Keep this in mind when closing it- either drop it from a higher position than most other cars' hoods, or push it down gently to engage the latch.

4. The engine bay is roomier than expected. One can easily get their arms around almost the entire engine block. Changing the headlamps looks to be a bit tricky, especially on the driver's side.

5. The keyless entry option included only one remote, and it's integrated with the body of the master ignition key. This is a nice design trend, making people's keychains a bit less bulky- but if you wanted to grant someone access to your car w/o access to drive it away, you're SOL. Plus, if you damage the blade, you're out $100 for the entire key, or so I'm told.

6. Forget attaching most sunglasses holders to the sunvisors- they're too damn thick.

7. The car's break-in period is approximately the first 1600km (1000mi); according to specs in the owner's manual. A bit shorter than I expected.

8. The cabin isn't as noisy on the highway as I expected- even when I race the engine. I recall reading 72 dB in a critic's review of the car somewhere. Does anyone here have a loudness meter handy to verify this? Cabin noise usually isn't an issue for yours truly- that's because Slayer and Meshuggah are frequent visitors to the car's sound system. And who wants to listen to those bands at a reasonable volume? I know that I don't.

9. The last three digits on the car's license plate are "666". I rule. One of the sales chicks asked if that was okay, to that I responded:

"Hail Satan."



10. Have fun finding the power mirror and console dimmer switches in the dark- they're not back-lit when the exterior lamps are switched on. Also not back-lit:

-turn signal, wiper and cruise control stalks
-all door-mounted power window and lock controls (only the word "auto" on the driver's window switch is back-lit)

11. The daytimer lamps cannot be switched off unless the car is turned off, parking brake applied, and the car restarted. Some other cars' DRLs can be turned off simply by applying the parking brake w/o touching the ignition key. I'm tempted to pop open the steering column and yank the DRL relay box altogether.

12. The EPS rules. Period.

13. The LCD clock display appears to support the 24-hr. standard, yet it does not address that feature in the owner's manual. Does anyone know anything about this?


More to come later.