The Yaris sucks.

[Connoisseur_of_fine_cars]

You suck if you don't know how to change a serp belt.

Automatic tensioners aren't all that great. They break without warning, and they're expensive to replace.

[Betrivent]

^I'm actually nto entirely sure, because it seems so simple I feel liek I've got a wrong idea of how to do it

[JumpmanYaris]

OP SUCKS FOR RANT AND DON'T KNOW SHIT OHHHHH SNAPSS SON

[Kal-El]

OP, I imagine the Yaris would also suck if you got a flat tire.

Your case is extremely rare. Most easily go 90,000 miles without needing to touch anything once. And normally, it's just preventative maintenance, not failure.

[paperboy]

no car that is mass produced in the US really 'sucks'

they have to pass rigorous testing to even get the things into production

you know how people say 'there are no bad dogs, only bad owners' ?

well, it's the same with cars

[firemachine69]

Right. I only tore apart (and rebuilt) the last engine in my last car. But like hell I know what I'm talking about, right? My absolute bottom-of-the-barrel ex-Sunfire came with an automatic tensioner.

Scott:

Shop re-tightened it once, a few days after getting home from the initial repair. They recommended I do it at every oil change, and consider 30k belt swaps. Of course, this is nowhere in the service intervals online.


I'll add, it squealed one final time this morning, I'm under the impression that it's finally at it's full-length stretch. I'll check the service manual...


<EDIT>


Manual does call for a tension bar, and to loosen two bolts: One is the "pivot point", the other the top bolt on the alternator to adjust tension (Please refer to EM-8 in the Service Manual). If she squeals tomorrow, I'll re-adjust the belt myself. The specs for deflection seem quite low, I'm also very unsure how one goes about measuring that with any sort of accuracy...

[SAV912]

30K serp belt swaps, ROFL. If you listen to that rubbish, you DESERVE to get hosed for every penny they'll take you for. That's just stupid.

I'm at 73K on mine, and there was no record it was changed by the previous owner. I've looked at it twice in 50K miles and it's still tight as a virgin. Me thinks constantly messing with the bolts in that area has done something negative to your tensioner.

-C

[firemachine69]

Originally Posted by SAV912

30K serp belt swaps, ROFL. If you listen to that rubbish, you DESERVE to get hosed for every penny they'll take you for. That's just stupid.

I'm at 73K on mine, and there was no record it was changed by the previous owner. I've looked at it twice in 50K miles and it's still tight as a virgin. Me thinks constantly messing with the bolts in that area has done something negative to your tensioner.

-C

Ok, let me set things straight here.


The bolts were NEVER touched previously. I do all my own maintenance. I simply check for major cracks and tension in my belt, neither of which indicated an upcoming problem. In other words, my belt looked "mint" (no kidding, it didn't even have 35K last time I checked). However, when I blew my belt this past weekend, I had neither the tools nor the breaker bar to add tension to the new belt (that my friend so kindly picked up), so I had to get the yaris towed to a shop (while far out of town) for them to replace the belt. Part of the other reasoning to go to the out-of-town shop was that belts usually don't give in so young in their "lives", thus the possibility of some other major failure (coolant pump, etc.) It turns out, none of the pulley'ed items seemed to be "dead".


Now upon my return home, the belt started squealing on cranking over the engine. So I brought it to my local Toyota dealership to bitch and moan that I thought the alternator was on its way out (my VIN was right in line with the batch of Yaris's that had a bad batch of alternators). This was not the case, they claimed my belt was installed too loose, or had gotten so loose it needed tightening. Fine by me, they did it for no charge, and the squealing disappeared. At which point, they recommended frequent belt changes, and retensioning of the belt around every oil change (of which I've never heard of).

Until this morning on the first initial cranking of the day I hadn't heard a squeal, but I haven't heard it since.


Looking at the remains of the blown belt, you'd be damn hard-pressed to find an area that could even remotely lead on to imminent failure.

[bronsin]

Well you just had a bad experience. It happens. Before you take your Yaris and put it out of its misery evaluate the car as a whole.

Yes there is no belt tensioner. That may be a blessing. It very hard to change one of those serpentine belts. Especially with a sideways mounted engine! The dealers got to do it. Also the tensioner can fail and when it does, the belt comes off or breaks leaving you stranded. Also its usually a dealer fixed item for the average home mechanic although people DO replace them.

Conventional setups like the Yaris usually dont fail. My ECHO was eight years old and had 55,000 miles on it when I sold it and it had the origional belt. My sons 2000 ECHO we bought used has 160,000k+ on it. Its still on its second belt.

The Yaris is a great car. Great mpg. Great quality of construction. One of the best in terms of reliability (but stuff happens) Massive interior room. Excellent visibility. Two glove compoartments and plenty of places to put things. My 2 door has to be the easiest car on the market to get in and out of for older/screwed up physicially people. And you can gets lots of stuff in it!

My son and his GF are in awe of their ECHO. I bought it years ago with 117k on it for $3000. They have taken two 8000 miles trips out west the past two summers. I think they only thing that went wrong was the alternator belt squeeked for a while and the CEL came on beause the MAF failed. But I put the one from my Yaris in it (and bought a rebuilt one for the Yaris) and the CEL is out.

When someone makes a better car I will buy it.

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by firemachine69

Right. I only tore apart (and rebuilt) the last engine in my last car. But like hell I know what I'm talking about, right? My absolute bottom-of-the-barrel ex-Sunfire came with an automatic tensioner.

Scott:

Shop re-tightened it once, a few days after getting home from the initial repair. They recommended I do it at every oil change, and consider 30k belt swaps. Of course, this is nowhere in the service intervals online.


I'll add, it squealed one final time this morning, I'm under the impression that it's finally at it's full-length stretch. I'll check the service manual...


<EDIT>


Manual does call for a tension bar, and to loosen two bolts: One is the "pivot point", the other the top bolt on the alternator to adjust tension (Please refer to EM-8 in the Service Manual). If she squeals tomorrow, I'll re-adjust the belt myself. The specs for deflection seem quite low, I'm also very unsure how one goes about measuring that with any sort of accuracy...

Measurement of belt deflection is done with a belt deflection gauge.

Checking the belt and needing to tighten it every oil change are completely different. Remember that at most auto service places the people doing oil changes are the least skilled mechanics, which is a strong argument for doing your own oil changes.

[Connoisseur_of_fine_cars]

Did you use aftermarket belt? That might be why failed.

[toy_toronto]

OP< you really should change the thread title from

The Yaris sucks -> MY Yaris sucks


-toy

[A-Dingo-Ate-My-Baby]

Originally Posted by toy_toronto

OP< you really should change the thread title from

The Yaris sucks -> MY Yaris sucks


-toy

That's right, Toy_Toronto's Yaris -does- suck

























mine too

[toy_toronto]

Sry but i think claims like these shows why some members feel the forum has gone downhill the last little while

[firemachine69]

Originally Posted by Connoisseur_of_fine_cars

Did you use aftermarket belt? That might be why failed.

This was the original belt. I used an aftermarket as a replacement in a pinch, all dealerships are closed on Sundays up where I broke down. My spare belt in the back is an actual Toyota OE belt (I learned my lesson, ALWAYS carry a spare! )

Originally Posted by toy_toronto

OP< you really should change the thread title from

The Yaris sucks -> MY Yaris sucks


-toy

You know what, my BFWB (best friend with boobs ) has a yaris, but other than people constantly doing hit-and-runs on her car , hers has been mechanically perfect.

So perhaps I should change that title.

Originally Posted by A-Dingo-Ate-My-Baby

That's right, Toy_Toronto's Yaris -does- suck




mine too

What's up with your Yaris?

[jambo101]

If you are going to label a car as "sucks" just because it has a minor inconvenient mechanical malfunction let me know when you find a car that never has a mechanical problem.i want one eh!

[A-Dingo-Ate-My-Baby]

Originally Posted by JumpmanYaris

OP SUCKS FOR RANT AND DON'T KNOW SHIT OHHHHH SNAPSS SON

lollerz!

you just won +1 internets

[firemachine69]

Originally Posted by jambo101

If you are going to label a car as "sucks" just because it has a minor inconvenient mechanical malfunction let me know when you find a car that never has a mechanical problem.i want one eh!

Mechanically, my Sunfire was perfect for the three-ish years I drove it. I killed an ABS sensor, but that was my own fault for using a super-pressure-washer on my alloy rims.

I should add, I've had other major failures on this car. If you go to True Delta auto reliability surveys, you'll notice my Yaris consists of about 90% of the mechanical issues.