Static Shocks from my car

[Ileana]

I love my Toyota Yaris car. 4 doors, automatic, 2008. I need help...there are days (frequently) when I turn off the engine and getting off the car I received a strong surprisingly static shock. It has me very nervous. Sometimes I don't know how to get off without that bad experience. In the rutine checkup at the dealers services I explained it and the answer was it cannot be. I told them maybe it has some problem with the electric ground or something, but no help was recieved. Has anybody had that experience with the car? Can someone help me or tell what I should do? I love my car but I'm afraid of it already. Thank you.

[WeeYari]

I get zapped all the time.

[zachryboles]

idk ive had to Yarii and never had this.... must be weather conditions your clothes and something else causing it.

[Ileana]

YES, I ONCE THOUGHT IT WAS THE CLOTHES OR WEATHER. AND I HAVE EVEN CHANGE CLOTHES AND SHOES AND STILL HAVE THE SAME SHOCK.
IT ALSO HAS HAPPENED IN SUNNY AND BRIGHT DAYS. APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS. BUT I REALLY WANT A SOLUTION WITHOUT GETTING RID OF MY CAR. I'VE HAD DIFFERENT CARS IN MY LIFE AND I HAVE ASK OTHER WITH NO ANSWER THAT HELPS. THANK YOU.

[YAR1S]

you fidgit your feet too much on the carpet, and cold weather makes static worse, plus the wooly clothing you may wear....

dnt worry when it warms up and you stop figiting so much in your car... it will go away and try grounding the static using non-skin surface before you exit your car, LOL.

[127.0.0.1]

USE A STATIC STRAP

[_S7V7N_]

I usually to just rub the back of my hand on the glass when i know it's a dry cool day, Here's a site with people having similiar probs to yours with getting shocked.

http://www.static-sol.com/articles/static_shocks.htm

How can I stop static shocks?

Unfortunately cure is not always easy. Indoors, you can try raising the air humidity to 40-50% rh with a humidifier. (You can check the humidity with a cheap humidity meter from a gardening shop.) Also, look for shoes with leather soles. In the electronics industry, and in areas where electrostatic sparks could cause a fire hazard, people often wear specially designed static dissipative shoes to reduce electrostatic charge build-up on the body. It is less likely that problems will be experienced with non-polymer floors, such as cement or wood (although varnishes can cause problems). However, replacing the floor can be expensive!

It is possible to treat some floors with static dissipative treatments - but the benefit of this will probably wear off after a while.

Furnishings and car seats can be difficult to treat - there are some antistatic sprays available you could try. Or, you could try rubbing the fabric with fabric softener sheets, or spraying them with diluted fabric conditioner.

[Cosmonaut]

same happens to me too. i just make it a habit to hold on to the metal part of the door as i exit.

[Betrivent]

Open the door through your sleeve, or start by touching a plastic part of the door, then shift over to any metal, should ground you

[sex]

try this http://cgi.ebay.com/350321438169

[toast]

It's cloth seat rubbing on your clothes combined with dry air. I've learned two ways to deal with it. 1. When you open the door touch the top of the metal door frame with your open palm. It will snap and not hurt. 2. Drive nude.

[zachryboles]

It's cloth seat rubbing on your clothes combined with dry air. I've learned two ways to deal with it. 1. When you open the door touch the top of the metal door frame with your open palm. It will snap and not hurt. 2. Drive nude.

ill start up option 2 once ive tinted my windows

[TLyttle]

I always touch the car with the key FIRST, then open it and get in. Sometimes the snap can be heard at some distance, but because the discharge is spread over your fingers and thumb, there is no bite. I tried a static strap, but it changed nothing; not sure why...

[Meteorite_Marty]

try this http://cgi.ebay.com/350321438169

Was going to suggest the same. Official Toyota part too.

[Altitude]

Happens to me all the time, but it doesn't bother me at all. A seat cover made of natural fiber will likely reduce this a great deal.

[marlondog]

I remember posting about this awhile ago...Your car is just showing you love, and reminding you to never get rid of her. "Yarisa" reminds me here and there.

[Ryu]

I love my Toyota Yaris car. 4 doors, automatic, 2008. I need help...there are days (frequently) when I turn off the engine and getting off the car I received a strong surprisingly static shock. It has me very nervous. Sometimes I don't know how to get off without that bad experience. In the rutine checkup at the dealers services I explained it and the answer was it cannot be. I told them maybe it has some problem with the electric ground or something, but no help was recieved. Has anybody had that experience with the car? Can someone help me or tell what I should do? I love my car but I'm afraid of it already. Thank you.


Try to touch your automatic gear shifter or other metal part while you are still inside the car, and then open the door right away without trying to touch anything else, this way should prevent getting shocked after exiting the car.

[WeeYari]

To the OP,

As you should be seeing by now, static shocks are not abnormal. No reason to be afraid of your car. There is nothing wrong with it.

[BailOut]

The explanation of why this happens is easy to understand but somewhat difficult to prevent. Static buildup occurs when a synthetic material rubs upon an organic material. Most of us have a mixture of organic-based clothing (cotton and wool blends) and synthetic-based clothing (polyester, nylon, rayon, lycra) This is why things can go nuts in your dryer sometimes.

This is how shuffling your rubber-soled, leather and cotton upper shoes with cotton socked feet on a nylon carpet allows you to build up a static charge. Did you ever notice that you could build up huge charges by shuffling your winter wool socked feet on a nylon carpet?

The material covering the seats in the Yaris is fully synthetic, so when you wear organic-based clothing the act of getting in and out of the car and shifting around in your seat is enough to build up a static charge. As my own wardrobe shifts to all organic materials (mostly hemp-based clothing) this is becoming more and more of an issue for me in my Yaris.

It is, of course, more prevalent and more pronounced in drier climates. However, while certainly annoying and discomforting the exit shock has never caused me pain, so I just live with it.

[RedRide]

As others have said, it is normal for any car and it is nothing to wory about.

This is why it is always a good practice to dissapate any staic charge before pumping gas into any car.

[TurnOntoTheDirtRoad]

Static electricity may occur whenever two nonconductive materials are passing each other, e.g., dry wind passing over the car, tires rolling on the road, clothing rubbing against upholstery, spinning engine components. Usually the static electricity finds a natural conductive path to ground and dissipates without notice. At one time, all car tires used conductive carbon black filler in the rubber compound and it was an excellent grounding path. Modern tire compounds may use a less conductive silicon. So in cool, dry areas many owners experience a buildup of static electricity. This is normal, but annoying. When I lived in Montana and Colorado, I found it so annoying that I installed an inexpensive grounding strap. Problem solved.