Transmission issue?

[Twistoffate0817]

Hello all, I have owned my 2009 yaris for a year now, and have become very frustrated with how this car drives. I need to hear your opinions on if this is how the vehicle is, or does it sound like something is wrong, causing the vehicle to drive in this manner.

Okay, so I have had two incidents where the engine would not start. This is when i was using shell gasoline. So i switched to Sunoco. The problem fixed itself so far.

Next, Whenever I go from 20-40 mph, the car feels like there is a thousand bricks in it. It feel like its heavy and drags. I have to push the pedal down hard, and even then it still wont go much faster. Once im over 40 mph, it does a bit better.

Once i take my foot off the acceleration pedal, and the speed gets down to 25-20 mph, it jerks out of gear. It is the strangest thing, and it ALWAYS does this. I have had this jerking sensation when i hit 30 mph too.

The car sometimes shifts in weird intervals. A few days it will shift at 30 and 40...then sometime 35 and 45. It is always all over the place when shifting.

I have taken the car to the toyota dealer twice, and they have found nothing wrong with it,and have claimed they cannot feel the jerking and shifting sensation.

I am at a loss because the problems with this vehicle have caused me to start looking for a different car. It only has 8000 miles on it, and i love this car, just not the issues it came with.

What should I do?

Is it because i use synethic oil?

Also, In the mornings, when i turn the stereo on, you can barely see the numbers and what not. Very dull lettering.
Thanks.

[supmet]

First, I have a hard time believing any brand of gas could cause your car to not start. Second, synthetic oil won't cause anything you are describing.

I have an auto and can't get it to jerk in or out of gear unless I use gear limiting. If I keep it in D, its smooth as butter, and I already have 80k miles.

Does anyone else drive your car? My only guess besides a shot transmission is that someone else drives and "retrains" your ECU, which is getting confused when you come back to drive

[JBIZZ]

I would go to a different dealership and test drive the same model. If it drives differently I would contact a lawyer regarding lemon laws. The dealership will give you a different car once the lawyer presents them with a pending suit. That being said I am not familiar with the automatic transmission, but think it stays in a lower gear until warmed up. I've had similar problems regarding starting issues, but only once or twice. I attribute it to sudden changes in air temperature, but don't know if that's what causes it. Could be a faulty sensor or initial lack of fuel pressure.

[yaris-me]

The Yaris engine and transmission is controlled by a computer, ECU. The ECU controls the warm-up from a cold start. The up-shift is delayed and will not up-shift to 4th until the engine is warmed, 2 to 5 miles. The ECU is adaptive and will adapt to your driving style. If you drive slow then switch to spirited driving the car will seem very sluggish until the ECU starts to adapt to the new driving behavior. There are a lot of threads on this type of complaint with new Yaris owners.:smile:

[woof]

The ECU controls the warm-up from a cold start. The up-shift is delayed and will not up-shift to 4th until the engine is warmed, 2 to 5 miles.

I wonder if using a high quality transmission fluid like Amsoil would reduce the auto warm-up time? Is there a fluid temp sensor?

Any ideas?

[Altitude]

I wonder if using a high quality transmission fluid like Amsoil would reduce the auto warm-up time? Is there a fluid temp sensor?

Any ideas?

I think the warm up time is based on the engine temp.

[jamal1984]

Hello all, I have owned my 2009 yaris for a year now, and have become very frustrated with how this car drives. I need to hear your opinions on if this is how the vehicle is, or does it sound like something is wrong, causing the vehicle to drive in this manner.

Okay, so I have had two incidents where the engine would not start. This is when i was using shell gasoline. So i switched to Sunoco. The problem fixed itself so far.

Next, Whenever I go from 20-40 mph, the car feels like there is a thousand bricks in it. It feel like its heavy and drags. I have to push the pedal down hard, and even then it still wont go much faster. Once im over 40 mph, it does a bit better.

Once i take my foot off the acceleration pedal, and the speed gets down to 25-20 mph, it jerks out of gear. It is the strangest thing, and it ALWAYS does this. I have had this jerking sensation when i hit 30 mph too.

The car sometimes shifts in weird intervals. A few days it will shift at 30 and 40...then sometime 35 and 45. It is always all over the place when shifting.

I have taken the car to the toyota dealer twice, and they have found nothing wrong with it,and have claimed they cannot feel the jerking and shifting sensation.

I am at a loss because the problems with this vehicle have caused me to start looking for a different car. It only has 8000 miles on it, and i love this car, just not the issues it came with.

What should I do?

Is it because i use synethic oil?

Also, In the mornings, when i turn the stereo on, you can barely see the numbers and what not. Very dull lettering.
Thanks.

You are one in a million got a bad one in a bad batch.

[Twistoffate0817]

No one else drives my vehicle, except me.

So the main suggestion is to take it to another dealership and see what they say? If they come back with nothing wrong with it, then what should I do?

[Twistoffate0817]

The Yaris engine and transmission is controlled by a computer, ECU. The ECU controls the warm-up from a cold start. The up-shift is delayed and will not up-shift to 4th until the engine is warmed, 2 to 5 miles. The ECU is adaptive and will adapt to your driving style. If you drive slow then switch to spirited driving the car will seem very sluggish until the ECU starts to adapt to the new driving behavior. There are a lot of threads on this type of complaint with new Yaris owners.:smile:

This might be the case for me, but I do not want to get my hopes up. For most of the time I do go very easy on my yaris, and then once in a while i push it. If this is a case of my cars ECU being used to my driving style, then how can it explain my feeling of heavy-ness even when i am driving my normal slow way?

[yaris-me]

I wonder if using a high quality transmission fluid like Amsoil would reduce the auto warm-up time? Is there a fluid temp sensor?

Any ideas?

The cool light turns off at 130 deg, and the engine is warmed up at 180 deg. This is the engine temp, not the transmission temp. I don't think the ECU monitors trans temp. I don't have that on my PLX Kiwi.

[yaris-me]

This might be the case for me, but I do not want to get my hopes up. For most of the time I do go very easy on my yaris, and then once in a while i push it. If this is a case of my cars ECU being used to my driving style, then how can it explain my feeling of heavy-ness even when i am driving my normal slow way?

You've taken it the dealer twice. I'm sure they have run a diagnostic and any code would have told the dealer the problem. Be patient and work with the ECU. The Yaris is a great car, but different.:smile:

[Twistoffate0817]

Yeah, i guess i will just play around with the yaris until i see a difference in how it runs. Thanks for the help everyone. :D

[Kal-El]

Are you noticing it more in the cold weather?

As others pointed out, the auto tranny delays its shifting until fully warmed.
Your description seems more erratic. Maybe a test drive of another is in order. Just make sure it's in the same conditions (cold weather).

As for your radio display, that's normal as well when cold on startup. Usually brightens up in immediately anyway.

Remember, the Yaris is literally one of the top 5 most trouble free cars in the world. So if you feel yours isn't, get to the bottom of it.

[Twistoffate0817]

Now that you mention it, this has only occured since its been cold out. I do not travel far (maybe 7 or 8 miles) everyday, so i guess by the time i reach my destination the car is finally warmed up. During the summer my yaris is not bad.

If there was a problem with the transmission wouldnt my engine light come on?

I also think my ecu is used to my light foot. As i mentioned earlier i am going to drive differently for a week or two and see if that plays a role in how the car is handling.

If my problems still persist by the time it gets warmer, i am most definetly going to be taking it to a few more toyotas to have it looked at.

Thank you for your help everyone!

[auxmike]

I dumped my stock head unit for a SCION t1808 oem stereo. Yes, the display on the original green factory deck fades sometime. The SCION stereo has nice thick deep black digits.:biggrin:

Sometimes I hit a dead flat spot at 30 MPH when trying to merge. It's scary! I floor it and the tranny does'nt react. I have to realease and floor again to get a result. Dangerous....

I'll bet there's nothing wrong with your car, it's just spookin' ya a bit. :laugh:

[yaris-me]

Now that you mention it, this has only occured since its been cold out. I do not travel far (maybe 7 or 8 miles) everyday, so i guess by the time i reach my destination the car is finally warmed up. During the summer my yaris is not bad.

If there was a problem with the transmission wouldnt my engine light come on?

I also think my ecu is used to my light foot. As i mentioned earlier i am going to drive differently for a week or two and see if that plays a role in how the car is handling.

If my problems still persist by the time it gets warmer, i am most definetly going to be taking it to a few more toyotas to have it looked at.

Thank you for your help everyone!

If you keep stomping on the gas the ECU will adapt and eliminate any delays with the drive by wire throttle. You'll get instant wide open throttle. Switch back to slow driving and you'll find the the DBW throttle will open slowly and drive sluggishly. Occasionally, you'll stomp on the gas and the engine seems like the throttle didn't open.:frown:

Now that you're aware of the warm up, the trans won't seem erratic.

Driving spirited will take a toll on your gas mileage, because you've taken it out of economy mode.:smile:

[JBIZZ]

Another thing you might want to try is to disconnect the battery for like 20 or 30 minutes, resetting the ECU's learning, before you change driving habits.

[Yawesh]

Hello all, I have owned my 2009 yaris for a year now, and have become very frustrated with how this car drives. I need to hear your opinions on if this is how the vehicle is, or does it sound like something is wrong, causing the vehicle to drive in this manner. Okay, so I have had two incidents where the engine would not start. This is when i was using shell gasoline. So i switched to Sunoco. The problem fixed itself so far.

Could be clogged fuel injectors or the system itself, even though so early...but it could be bad gas which caused it. Try some fuel injector cleaners, follow the directions. It should help.

Next, Whenever I go from 20-40 mph, the car feels like there is a thousand bricks in it. It feel like its heavy and drags. I have to push the pedal down hard, and even then it still wont go much faster. Once im over 40 mph, it does a bit better.

Yea, the first few gears are like that(well, auto anyway). But dirty fuel injectors could attribute to the won't go much faster part. But our cars only have 100+ hp anyway, our pickup is not great.

Once i take my foot off the acceleration pedal, and the speed gets down to 25-20 mph, it jerks out of gear. It is the strangest thing, and it ALWAYS does this. I have had this jerking sensation when i hit 30 mph too.

Yea, Yaris trannys are not smooth at all. It has been noted with many people. Definitely drive 'hard' - which mean don't baby it, like another member said - this way the ECU gets used to the particular way of driving. Don't worry, I feel it too sometimes.

The car sometimes shifts in weird intervals. A few days it will shift at 30 and 40...then sometime 35 and 45. It is always all over the place when shifting.

Just 'train' the ECU, i guess and hope. :smile:

I have taken the car to the toyota dealer twice, and they have found nothing wrong with it,and have claimed they cannot feel the jerking and shifting sensation.

yea, these cases are hard for them to find out.....and they will charge you for testing too?

I am at a loss because the problems with this vehicle have caused me to start looking for a different car. It only has 8000 miles on it, and i love this car, just not the issues it came with.

What should I do?

Is it because i use synethic oil? No, but synthetic is highly recommended

Also, In the mornings, when i turn the stereo on, you can barely see the numbers and what not. Very dull lettering.

yea, u gonna have to deal with that.....eco cars!

[Sidicas]

Okay, so I have had two incidents where the engine would not start. This is when i was using shell gasoline. So i switched to Sunoco. The problem fixed itself so far. Does the Shell gas have ethanol in it? If not, then your problem might be that your gas line is freezing.. A gas additive would fix that, or just use gas that has 10% ethanol..



Next, Whenever I go from 20-40 mph, the car feels like there is a thousand bricks in it. It feel like its heavy and drags. I have to push the pedal down hard, and even then it still wont go much faster. Once im over 40 mph, it does a bit better. It's a small engine, that's fairly normal..



Once i take my foot off the acceleration pedal, and the speed gets down to 25-20 mph, it jerks out of gear. It is the strangest thing, and it ALWAYS does this. I have had this jerking sensation when i hit 30 mph too. If you're rough on the pedal, it will shift rough.. If you're delicate on the pedal, it will shift more smoothly.. Move your foot less and it will start to shift more smoothly.. If you send the engine RPMs through the roof right before it shifts gears, you're going to get a rough shift whether you're on a manual or an automatic.



The car sometimes shifts in weird intervals. A few days it will shift at 30 and 40...then sometime 35 and 45. It is always all over the place when shifting.
Most likely temp related.. It will stay in lower gear if the engine is cool (the little temp symbol with "cool" on it shows up to indicate delayed shifting on my 2010 yaris).



I have taken the car to the toyota dealer twice, and they have found nothing wrong with it,and have claimed they cannot feel the jerking and shifting sensation. Again, Might be just how you're driving it. Move the pedal more slowly, and you'll get smoother shifts. Pressing the pedal hard and then letting the pedal go is a recipe for rough shifts..




I am at a loss because the problems with this vehicle have caused me to start looking for a different car. It only has 8000 miles on it, and i love this car, just not the issues it came with.

What should I do? Smell the tranny fluid, if it smells like burnt toast have the fluid and filter replaced.



Is it because i use synethic oil? No.



Also, In the mornings, when i turn the stereo on, you can barely see the numbers and what not. Very dull lettering.
Thanks. It's a cheap radio, mine does the same thing.. A little disappointing, I agree.. If you really have a problem with it, have it replaced by a nice aftermarket radio.. None of the OEM radios on my Saturns are as weak as the LCD display on the Yaris, so it was a shock to me as well.. Doesn't really bother me, but if it does get on your nerves, have the radio replaced. As the weather warms up, the display will be more responsive. Buying an aftermarket radio with a more responsive display while it's cold will sap more power though, and that can hurt your gas mileage (though it'd be so small you wouldn't likely be able to measure it without a scangauge or something). Usually the way to make an LCD display more responsive when it's cold is to just give it more power, the Yaris clearly does not automatically adjust the LCD display voltage to the temp of the display.. Most aftermarket displays just use a higher power level all the time on their LCD display so the liquid in it remains responsive even when it's cold.


I wonder if using a high quality transmission fluid like Amsoil would reduce the auto warm-up time? Is there a fluid temp sensor?

Any ideas?
I'd think it would be the OPPOSITE, a higher quality tran fluid would mean less friction which means less heat which means the engine will spend more time in lower gears and high RPMs. Heat is generated in both the tranny and the engine, when the combined heat gets above a certain temp, then it will shift normally. My '93 Saturn SC2 was the same way. I think when the engine is up to temperature, you'll get much higher gas mileage because you'll have more fuel combusting and less fuel going out with your exhaust. Also, when it's up to temp, you also start to get warm air from the heater.. So the delayed shifting and running at higher RPMs to warm the car up, is important for both engine efficiency and comfort.


It's very important to keep in mind that the Yaris isn't like an American muscle car at all.. In an American muscle car you can go from 0-60 with only 1 gear shift, the Yaris can't. It just doesn't have the engine for that kind of thing.. You're going to get much more shifting going on which can lead to a less smooth ride if you're aggressive on the pedal. The smaller engine is what gives the Yaris it's gas efficiency.