Does any other auto tranny Yaris owner regret not getting the MT?

[david_827]

i bought an AT and i dont regret it at all, even tho i first learned to drive in a MT. I honestly think the MT vs AT fuel economy debate will become a moot point as the technology gets better. In my AT i still get 32-34mpg and 95-97% of my driving is IN THE CITY!!!!

[edmscan]

Originally Posted by david_827

In my AT i still get 32-34mpg and 95-97% of my driving is IN THE CITY!!!!

I get better gas mileage in the city than the highway as I am able to take advantage of DFCO and such techniques which I cannot do on the highway. I am getting pretty good at timing red lights in the city .... it all helps.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by daf62757

My AT is so smooth in shifting and the ease of using it far outweighs any gas savings you might get from having the MT. The MT gets very old...all that moving your feet and constantly switching gears while in heavy traffic.

I will never have another MT. ATs last so much longer and help your resale value.

It is not just the gas savings. If driven properly, the brakes last longer on the manual transmission version of a car.

The automatic transmission does usually equate to better resale...BUT..."ATs last so much longer"....ARE YOU JOKING?....Re all the cars I've owned I've NEVER replaced a Manual Transmission nor had one go out, but let the tow driver keep an automatic transmission car I inherited when the transmission gave out. All of the people I know, as a whole, have owned a much higher percentage of automatic transmission cars than I have and many have had to replace those transmissions. The ones with manual transmissions....not one replacement needed. The first car I got to drive to school when I got my license (an old, old 67 Firebird Convertible that my dad had as an extra car) before finishing saving up to buy my own car, went through three automatic transmissions in the few years my dad owned it.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by Brianr4

I only wish my 5 speed was a 6!

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by NZ-FE Vios

I just read about a toyota truck owner that had 258k on original clutch, this was coming from the Toyota owner's website, of course there is no way to prove validity, but if true, that says a lot.

Yarisworld member trini_per4mance didn't replace his clutch until after 440k ++ miles. His most recent 'inclusive maintenance post' includes what he's done up to 6-25-2012. I don't think CNN would have profiled his car unless they were satisfied he's legit.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by yaris2010RS

my mom had a 87 corolla that she went 14 years on oem clutch, it only had just shy of 200,000km. it is possible but as i see my clutch i defenatly wont get to 200,000 on this oem clutch, it really is a shit clutch imo.

i will drive MT as long as i can and i really loved the yaris MT vs AT

I hit 221,000 miles (not kilometers) yesterday and I'm still on my original clutch.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by thepartsmancometh

the yaris is fine with an AT, but I couldn't imagine anything sportier with an AT. I drive an MT as my DD and don't find it bothersome even in heavy/construction traffic. Once you get used to it, its second nature. I strongly believe in having control over my vehicle.

and now...
to get on my soapbox....if everyone drove MT cars, there'd be less distracted/drunk/cell phone blathering idiots driving. it wouldn't eliminate them all, but its harder to do those things and shift at the same time!

I'm right up there with you on your soapbox. If anyone drives south on Biscayne Blvd in Miami for any length of time, on that experience alone, they will realize the truthfulness of the words you speak from your soapbox.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by daf62757

Or actually increase the distractions since stupid people will do stupid things no matter what they drive.

So you don't think it is harder to do those stupid things if you have to shift? REALLY?

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by yaris0128

Untrue! They might upcharge them a few years after it was new but later down the road people dont want used automatics with over a 100k on them. How many people are hunting down old 90's Honda's with an auto right now? None. Cuz they suck and people know they suck. Autos suck.

....nothing is as bitingly funny as the truth.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by NZ-FE Vios

The reason the "vast majority" in the states are automatics is because Americans are lazy. We have too many things to do (eat a burger, drink a big gulp, smoke cigs, put on makeup, yell at the kids) or be concerned with(billy's soccer practice, work, school, spouse, making more money) rather than being engaged (literally) and it total control while driving.

Personally, my mind is at ease and I'm not thinking about all of the concerns and issues in life. All I'm doing is driving. I don't find working the clutch and gearbox a chore either, really I don't even think about it, I just do it. My subconscious is most likely continuously planning responses and actions to any and all scenarios that may arise. But again, all I'm able to concern myself with is the task at hand, which is very satisfying considering the unending multitasking required on a daily basisnl.

We've had at least five fords that had the auto trans fall out under 100,000 miles. And this is with respectable adults driving (not being dogged out).

My truck kept the original clutch until about 190,000 miles. I'm at 275,000 now. I don't think the truck would still perform the same if it was an automatic.

Those who think the manual transmission is a thing of the past will meet their end before the manual trans does.

Or the way manual transmissions die is when gas engines die. All you need is one gear if its electric.

.....especially your first paragraph. This is not universally true, perhaps not even true for the majority....YET....but it is true re large swaths of the population.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by MadMax

That'd be a great theory if the same wasn't happening in a lot of other countries!



Seriously? You're comparing Ford transmissions with that of Toyota? Ford can't make a good transmission, manual or otherwise. I drove two brand new Fusions a few weeks back and both were horrible.



Right, you've really convinced me with that one! Anyone who still drives a 1994 truck is the one clinging on to the past!

Do you still own your old 8-track cassettes as well?!?

....but it might be happening in those other countries for a different reason...doesn't mean that laziness isn't the reason in the U.S.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by jayeh

Everyone is forgetting the best part of having a MT, not having to loan your car to anyone because they can't drive it.

I'm on the fence about getting the MT. I've been looking for an auto, but the MT ones are so much cheaper its incredible. For $6000 you get a 2004 echo auto with 160,000km, or $6000 for a 2006 Yaris MT, loaded, with 90,000km. :eye bulge:

I also want the MT so I can take off on second. I find the automatics toyota uses are ridiculously steep in first year.


Really?
I'm having trouble finding an automatic one here.

I don't think there is a manual option for the chevy suv's, ford suv's, ford crown vics, or chevy impalas that the police use here.

I love the first paragraph of this post. I would only lend my car to...1. Someone whose driving I trust and 2. Someone I'm certain would NEVER sue me. Those two qualifications reduce the pool to a very small number. If I add 3. Knows how to drive a stick....this reduces the subset to one person....my cousin....and she is the only person I have ever lent my Yaris to.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by daf62757

I am guessing that some people love to drive manuals for the sporty feel. I drive an auto because its effortless and you don't even have to think about it. I have done the manual thing in the past and while Toyota makes an almost automatic manual....they shift so easily and smoothly (this is based on a 1980 Corolla SR5 I owned) I prefer to spend my limited attention span on operating my radio and pretending to pay attention to the road in front of me. My wife thinks its a miracle that I haven't already been killed running into a tractor trailer.

This post doesn't surprise me.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by why?

the only thing i wish i could add to my car is cruise control, and only occasionally. And of course I could if I really wanted it.

I've never understood why people don't like rush hour traffic in a manual, when i'm stopped i don't have to keep pressure on any pedal at all, rather than mashing the brake all the time.

Oh, and how many have mistakenly had drive when they wanted reverse? I've done it in an auto before, never done it in a manual.

but it is whatever, auto's are finally getting better ecu's and better programming so they don't really resemble the slushboxes of even a decade ago.

Paragraph #2 I've never understood it either. Paragraph #3 - In 2009 I was sitting in my Yaris reading a newspaper in Fremont, CA in the parking lot in front of one of the locations of the virtually nationwide health club chain I belong to. The only other car in my part of the lot was hesitating to start and it was very loud, so it caught my attention. The person finally got the car started. It was an old clunker. The person eventually, after lots of gunning the engine, got the car warmed up....and then BAM! The car jumped the curb and kept going....through the glass wall of that side of the club and up onto some treadmills. Thank goodness nobody had populated that part of the club for that part of the day. The driver thought she was in reverse, but was in drive.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by CrankyOldMan

Understood, just passing on what info I have found. My egg is quickly approaching the magical 36k mile mark, and will shortly thereafter get a custom gearbox.



Agreed. I think the automatic transmission has made it too easy for people to become a passive participant in driving. Just look at how many people do everything but pay attention to the road. It would be nice to have cruise control for longer trips, but again, that's just another thing that disconnects you from controlling the car.

Paragraph #1 - Any more recent threads on your progress on this if any?

Paragraph #2 - Exactly.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by MadMax

Nor does an automatic divorce you from the process of driving versus a manual transmission.

If anything, it can be argued that the latter is a distractor due to the additional functions required to operate the vehicle. Once an auto is in Drive, you can focus on driving.

It is like the ridiculous argument that new drivers should learn on a stick. Bullcrap. I am teaching my teenage son how to drive with my auto Yaris, and once he has the basic techniques down I will then introduce the added actions of a manual transmission.

I have owned many manuals over my 35+ years of driving, but see the wisdom in automatic transmissions and with the advances that have been made in technology, you can see how the manual transmission will slowly fade into the status of 8-track tapes and rotary phones...

If you thing that manuals will fade to the status of 8-track tapes and rotary phones, then why bother introducing your son to them at all? You must see some intrinsic value to it.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by why?

while I agree learning on an automatic is the way to go, manual transmissions are not going anywhere. There is to much passion and joy from driving a manual transmission and nothing will replace that. Just like paper and pen still exist even though we have computers. Sometimes the tactile senses of something make it so much better.

.....I couldn't have said this better myself!

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by daf62757

Yea...keep on dreaming that wish. The days of manuals are marked. But look on the bright side, in a few years, you can probably go to the Smithsonian in DC and they might have one on display in the American History section.