New Yaris Owner

[vaironl]

Hello everyone,

I just got a Yaris with the help from my family and wanted to come to the forums and see what everyone else is talking about.
I got the 5 speed 2 door coupe windows, locks, and side mirrors are manual but I don't wine about it. I'm also learning how to drive manuals as well so I feel I might mess up the clutch a bit, I'm not the worst thought and you gotta start somewhere. If you guys have any advice please let me know. I'm glad to be part of this community.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by vaironl

Hello everyone,

I just got a Yaris with the help from my family and wanted to come to the forums and see what everyone else is talking about.
I got the 5 speed 2 door coupe windows, locks, and side mirrors are manual but I don't wine about it. I'm also learning how to drive manuals as well so I feel I might mess up the clutch a bit, I'm not the worst thought and you gotta start somewhere. If you guys have any advice please let me know. I'm glad to be part of this community.

Welcome. The only 2 suggestions that occur to me off the top of my head are:

1. Pay attention re keeping your tires inflated. Increasing PSI has more of an effect (positive) on MPG than any other car I've owned (and of course the converse is true as well). Many of us inflate our tires above the PSI rating on the tire...some of us by 3-5 PSI and a few fanatical people over 20 PSI.

2. One member posted a test that you can put your clutch through to judge its 'health'. I have found this to be quite valuable. If you search 'clutch test' that post will probably come up as a hit.

[vaironl]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

Welcome. The only 2 suggestions that occur to me off the top of my head are:

1. Pay attention re keeping your tires inflated. Increasing PSI has more of an effect (positive) on MPG than any other car I've owned (and of course the converse is true as well). Many of us inflate our tires above the PSI rating on the tire...some of us by 3-5 PSI and a few fanatical people over 20 PSI.

2. One member posted a test that you can put your clutch through to judge its 'health'. I have found this to be quite valuable. If you search 'clutch test' that post will probably come up as a hit.

Thanks for the tips. I dont plan on checking for clutch life since the car only has 27k miles on it and a family friend helped us buy it. Now a couple of my friends have told me I did a bad decision by getting a newer car but again my parents wanted a car with less chance of breaking up.We've had bad luck with those.

Do you have any dos and dont on manual? I've checked a couple of threats arguing against using the parking break to not roll on a hill and putting it in gear when parking to prevent it from rolling. I wonder if those will damage anything?

A little from me so you guys can know my prior experience.
I learned for about 1 hour on a mazda 2 and an old jeep and relative to those I feel the gas takes a bit to make the revs go up and the clutch catch point still takes me a bit to get it precisely.

Pardon the horrible grammar

[RedRide]

Putting the parking bake on when on a hill like as waiting briefly for a red light, etc is only done by rank armatures who have no idea how to drive a manual properly
Do not get into this very bad habit!

Putting it in gear when parked is the proper way to park.

All wear on the clutch occurs when the clutch is slipping..... not fully engaged .
So, always fully engage the clutch as soon as possible without stalling or jerking the car.

Experience is the best teacher.
In a short time, you will be changing gears more smoothly than if it was an auto.
It all will all become second nature to you.

Remember, there was time when even little old ladies drove a manual without the benefit of any syncros even .
It's not that difficult.

Trust me.... I have been driving manuals for over 50 years.

[vaironl]

Originally Posted by RedRide

Putting the parking bake on when on a hill like as waiting briefly for a red light, etc is only done by rank armatures who have no idea how to drive a manual properly
Do not get into this very bad habit!

Putting it in gear when parked is the proper way to park.

All wear on the clutch occurs when the clutch is slipping..... not fully engaged .
So, always fully engage the clutch as soon as possible without stalling or jerking the car.

Experience is the best teacher.
In a short time, you will be changing gears more smoothly than if it was an auto.
It all will all become second nature to you.

Remember, there was time when even little old ladies drove a manual without the benefit of any syncros even .
It's not that difficult.

Trust me.... I have been driving manuals for over 50 years.

Thanks for the motivation. I was driving yesterday and was on a slight incline. I don't wanted to roll back and dint wanted to put the e brake on. So I stalled, but luckily for me the people were patient. I'm starting to catch up ill say I do about 40% smooth starts and sometimes jerky ones along with unstable shifting. I'll try to post my progress as I go along.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by vaironl

Thanks for the motivation. I was driving yesterday and was on a slight incline. I don't wanted to roll back and dint wanted to put the e brake on. So I stalled, but luckily for me the people were patient. I'm starting to catch up ill say I do about 40% smooth starts and sometimes jerky ones along with unstable shifting. I'll try to post my progress as I go along.

Given that you live in Virginia, I agree with RedRide. There are are a few very steep streets (granted VERY few) in the U.S. where even experienced manual drivers (especially in a Yaris) might use the parking brake as RedRide suggests avoiding. I have encountered some of these, but while driving manuals that were easier to manipulate than the Yaris (and all of those extreme inclines = outside Virginia. Unless it's West of I-81, I don't think a road THAT steep exists in Virginia. For Northern California members I'm thinking Marin Ave in Berkeley steep (parts of which = a 28% grade..and there are parts of car navigable streets in S.F. that are up to a 31.5% grade). RedRide is right, the 'parking brake habit' is a bad habit you don't want to develop. As each day passes, you will gain more confidence and eventually it will become second nature to you.

[vaironl]

Thanks again for the advice. I've noticed that I'm doing good at shifting and starting. I guess it will take time like everything else in life.

[junorico24]

Change the gearbox oil every 90 k miles etc and it should be good.

Avoid down shifting to lower gear at high speed.

Always make sure that the clutch pedal is down fully before shifting.

Get your left leg stronger to cope in situations where you're behind other vehicles in

traffic or steep incline.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by junorico24

Always make sure that the clutch pedal is down fully before shifting.

Good point x 10.....and periodically...if your Yaris came with the optional floor mats....take the driver's floor mat out and drive without it for 30+ minutes to see if you notice a difference re shifting from gear to gear. I always had my mats in the designed location. Given this, I was engaging the clutch pedal as far as it would go. At about 208,000 miles, I wore a hole in the driver side optional mat and took it out. Before doing this I was getting a 'slight clunk' (perhaps a poor description, but it is the best that comes to mind) going into 2 or 3 different gears. After I removed the driver side optional floor mat, those sounds disappeared.

[yougojay]

You will love this car! AND it's a COUPE! I've had my 2013 3 months & 2 days and I am STILL excited when I drive it, totally love this car! Make sure it has a cabin air filter - Change the oil every 5,000 miles - READ through the posts here, you will learn a LOT! Have fun with your new Yaris!

[Absolutely Red 12]

Originally Posted by vaironl

Thanks for the tips. I dont plan on checking for clutch life since the car only has 27k miles on it and a family friend helped us buy it. Now a couple of my friends have told me I did a bad decision by getting a newer car but again my parents wanted a car with less chance of breaking up.We've had bad luck with those.

Do you have any dos and dont on manual? I've checked a couple of threats arguing against using the parking break to not roll on a hill and putting it in gear when parking to prevent it from rolling. I wonder if those will damage anything?

A little from me so you guys can know my prior experience.
I learned for about 1 hour on a mazda 2 and an old jeep and relative to those I feel the gas takes a bit to make the revs go up and the clutch catch point still takes me a bit to get it precisely.

Pardon the horrible grammar

Hillside clutching.

With your right foot on the brake, release the clutch slowly until you feel a slight engagement (don't stall). Then quickly slide your right foot to the gas pedal, push the gas immediately, as you release the clutch.

Until you master it, if it keeps you from stalling, parking brake use, is perfectly fine.
Too much arrogance around here!!

[Absolutely Red 12]

Originally Posted by junorico24

Always make sure that the clutch pedal is down fully before shifting.

Not really, you only need to go as far as needed, you will learn eventually.
If done right, a clutch is not even needed to shift.

51 years of driving manuals!!!

[vaironl]

Originally Posted by Absolutely Red 12

Not really, you only need to go as far as needed, you will learn eventually.
If done right, a clutch is not even needed to shift.

51 years of driving manuals!!!

You mean when the revs are at the correct point? Wouldn't that still grind the gears?

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by Absolutely Red 12

If done right, a clutch is not even needed to shift.

True, but that can be a big if (depending on the car and the driver).

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by Absolutely Red 12

51 years of driving manuals!!!

You started when you were 5 years old!

[Absolutely Red 12]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

You started when you were 5 years old!

31 Years!!
Started at 15!!

I do have a picture of me at 2, on my dad's lap, while he was driving his MG-TC!!

[Absolutely Red 12]

Originally Posted by vaironl

You mean when the revs are at the correct point? Wouldn't that still grind the gears?

You acquire the feel.
Pull into neutral as you release the gas, slide into gear as it revs down, slightly throttle as it hooks into gear.

Give it gas while in neutral, its too late. Wait too long its too late.

Learned it on crash boxes!

Even with the clutch, I still subconsciously blip the throttle while crossing neutral!

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by Absolutely Red 12

31 Years!!
Started at 15!!

I do have a picture of me at 2, on my dad's lap, while he was driving his MG-TC!!

I was doing the math from a post of yours on the price negotiation thread that had made me laugh (so I remembered it) re how you must have had the people at the dealership off their game re your appearance. I probably had the itch to drive when I was 5 . I know my little cousin who is now 11 did. Those of us who love cars/driving must have some fond memory or memories from early childhood re cars. My earliest memories include my grandfather letting me honk the horn on his car. He found someone to change the horn (whenever he got a new car) to one that copied a Southern Pacific locomotive.