2009 Yaris sedan problems

[BennyLava]

Hi all. I have a 2009 Yaris sedan. I have two problems.

1. There is some kind of clunking noise coming from the suspension. When I go over bumps, it goes "clunk". Now, I have not gotten under there and checked everything out. Chances are, I might find the problem when I do. The reason I'm asking, is in case I can't find the problem. As in, its not one of the more obvious culprits like a ball joint or a tie rod or a rubber bushing. Is there a common problem that might be causing this? Are the shocks prone to failure on the Yaris?

2. Sometimes the transmission acts... strange. Sometimes when you're just starting off in first gear, if you give it just a little too much gas, the car acts like it wants to go into hot rod mode. The RPM's go way up and it tries to just take off. As well as a stock Yaris can take off, anyway. I don't like this behavior from the transmission. It scares me. By which I mean, I'm afraid that its bad for it. Cause when it does this, it shifts really hard from first to second. Its very unlike its normal behavior. It never shifts rough, until it does this weirdness. I don't like it, and I want it to stop. Is there some kind of factory programming, or something that causes the car to act like this, when you mash the pedal a little too hard?

The car just reached 90k miles, and I am about to have the toyota dealership flush the transmission. Maybe that will help?

3. I know I already asked something about shocks, but this is more of a routine maintenance thing. If indeed the shocks are causing the clunking noise, I'm not going to give toyota a second chance on their shocks. I'm going to go with something better. How long are the tockio blues supposed to last, and are they valved correctly for a smooth ride? I know they're better shocks than stock, but do they actually last very long? Not all monotube shocks are created equal.

[Kaotic Lazagna]

One way to check if your shocks are blown (while they're still installed) is to push down on each corner one at a time. If the car bobs up and down for "a while" opposed to just going back up, then chances are that corner is blown. I take it your sedan is not lowered, so it can't be hitting anything, and most likely the shock is blown and hitting the bump stop harshly.

Transmission fluid/lube should be changed every 30k. So that, paired with a dirty TB valve can be causing your transmission issues.

The Tokico blues should last pretty long, especially if you're using stock springs. I installed some in our Camry (since traded in), and it had over 100k miles on those dampers, and they were still good. Made the Camry corner pretty well despite having only "B" grip rated tires (using stock springs).

[Kaotic Lazagna]

If you want to take out the dampers (without the springs in the struts), compress them. If they do not rebound, then they're blown. If they take forever to rebound, they're just about done. hahaha

[BennyLava]

Thanks man! I had forgotten about that little method of testing the shocks. Do the Tokico Blues ride like stock shocks? I'm not really looking to have a stiffer ride. I drive my Yaris for MPG, and to get away from the bumpy ride of my 87 silverado and my Mustang. They don't ride awful, but they aren't like the Yaris either. So I don't want the ride quality to go down any if I can avoid it.

[Kaotic Lazagna]

No problem ;)

Kinda hard to compare since the Camry uses four struts (so I'm sure the characteristics are very different from the Yaris). To me, the Camry felt better with the Blues. I can't compare suspension with my Yaris since I went from complete stock to Tein springs and TRD dampers. With that said, the Tokicos should not be overly firm and should still provide you with a comfortable ride when used with the stock springs, and at the same time should handle the rough roads you may be encountering there.

[Georgechris]

I bought a 2009 Toyota Yaris they hit a deer in it passenger side not very much damage it will crank over it got fire is getting fuel but won't start