Yaris Advice from Owners...

[Gosatalla]

Hello. Was thinking of getting a Corolla, now thinking about the Yaris. (or something with great gas mileage...no Prius)
Anyway, can any 1st hand owners tell me the negatives of the Yaris?
I would be using it mainly for work, 50 miles round trip highway miles.
Occasional 1000 mile round trip with a family of 4. (2 times a year)
It'll be a Toyota, with whatever I get. It must have a timing chain, this time around. Thx for any advice.
PS. Maybe somebody can give me advice about skateboard? I enjoy skateboarding and want to buy new board, found this website with reviews and maybe somebody can help me to choose?

[bentjazz]

Bought my Yaris hatch new in 2010, and 10 years later literally nothing has gone wrong with the car. Just basic wear and tear items. Based on my unbelievable experience with the Yaris, I recently without hesitation bought a used Yaris. I can't really think of any negatives, except for the fact with a family of 4 it might not be as large as a Corolla on a long trip. But if you're looking for reliability, the Yaris is a superstar. Good luck.

[Leegamer]

Totally agree. When it comes to maintenance cost the Yaris is hard to beat. For a small car I also find it comfortable, though I'm only 5'6"

Definitely not great for driving around a family of 5, but we've done it in a pinch and it's not awful.

[bronsin]

Very few negatives for the Yaris. Possible corrosion if you live in Canada but then that would be true of any car. I especially like the two door hatchback I have Parkinson’s and it’s very easy to get in and out of more so than any other car.

Because of the drive by Wire feature shifting in manual may be more difficult.

[Leegamer]

Originally Posted by bronsin

Because of the drive by Wire feature shifting in manual may be more difficult.

Yeah, this sucks. I have had my car since brand new in 2008 and I still hate the DBW and rev hang. I am of course used to it, but trying to teach someone to drive manual in this car is difficult.

[Konstantin88]

Originally Posted by Gosatalla

Hello. Was thinking of getting a Corolla, now thinking about the Yaris. (or something with great gas mileage...no Prius)
Anyway, can any 1st hand owners tell me the negatives of the Yaris?
I would be using it mainly for work, 50 miles round trip highway miles.
Occasional 1000 mile round trip with a family of 4. (2 times a year)
It'll be a Toyota, with whatever I get. It must have a timing chain, this time around. Thx for any advice

I have owned 3 second generation Yarises (one manual and two automatic), and the exhaustive list of negatives I have personally experienced is below.

1. There isn't much room in the engine bay, so it is sometimes tricky to work on this vehicle due to tight clearances.
2. There is no serpentine belt tensioner, which means you might have to tighten the belt manually once in a while.
3. The interior is prone to developing various kinds of rattles that could be hard to pinpoint.
4. The engine feels a little noisy from the cabin due to a combination of factors, including light sound insulation.
5. The automatic versions exhibit a quite noticeable vibration while in "D" on brake.

This list is, of course, entirely subjective. Others complain about a multitude of things such as poor handling in cross winds or a rather limiting rear legroom.

[mitch9521]

-The rev hang is BRUTAL on the manuals.(Can be remedied to a point with an NST crank pulley and 1ZZ throttle body)

-I wish it had another 15-20hp, Its fine for city driving or flat highway but I usually have to hold it in 3rd or 4th to climb steep hills on the highway.

-The Canadian market radio on the 2012-2014 cars is horrendous. I fixed that by putting in a 2015-2017 Yaris radio/infotainment.



I have never driven an automatic one, but I suspect 99.9% of people will say the manual is the way to go. I can't imagine a 4 speed slushbox behind 106hp is gonna be very fun at highway speeds. Other than that I LOVE my 2014 LE 5dr, 5 speed Yaris. Im trying to convince my girlfriend to buy an automatic 3rd gen aswell for her A-B commuter. I also find the 3rd gen engine bay to be roomier than the 2nd gen, maintenance stuff is a breeze.

[bentjazz]

Having both an automatic and manual Yaris, I've gotta say the automatic is just totally awesome. Sometimes my manual has trouble getting out of its own way (probably more of a commentary on the driver, because I'm not the best stick driver in the world), but my automatic always performs like a subcompact Batmobile. That little sucker is as peppy as the day is long, and I have never had any trouble keeping up with anyone, anywhere in the auto variant.

[06YarisRS]

You didn't mention whether you are looking at a used or new car. If a used Yaris, then 1st, 2nd or 3rd generation? Basically, the Yaris is an extremely reliable car. Parts seem to last forever, whether they be normal wear parts, such as brakes and shocks or drivetrain and other suspension components. Engines and transmissions are, IMO, easily good for over 500 000 kms if properly maintained. My theory is that the car is so light that everything just lasts forever as there is little strain on parts. What Bronsin says about rust is true, but I can't see that being a problem in your climate.

[mitch9521]

My 2014 Yaris still has the original battery in it, and its an Ontario car.

The 5 year old Interstate in my F150 will barely hold a charge for 24 hours at 0°C.

[Mister]

Originally Posted by Gosatalla

Hello. Was thinking of getting a Corolla, now thinking about the Yaris. (or something with great gas mileage...no Prius)
Anyway, can any 1st hand owners tell me the negatives of the Yaris?
I would be using it mainly for work, 50 miles round trip highway miles.
Occasional 1000 mile round trip with a family of 4. (2 times a year)
It'll be a Toyota, with whatever I get. It must have a timing chain, this time around. Thx for any advice

The water pumps are known to be rubbish. Bunch of threads about it. Even i had a pump fail on me.

[kimona]

2007 and 2014 both driven to close to 100K miles. Tyres, battery, and wipers. That's it! Have no fear. Bullet-proof reliability.

[Leegamer]

Originally Posted by Mister

The water pumps are known to be rubbish. Bunch of threads about it. Even i had a pump fail on me.

Mine failed as well around 120k if I recall

[thebarber]

lack of cruise control...

[kd5oldx]

i have both 2010 and newer corolla and yaris. i miss the space side to side. the backseat room and having a trunk -i don't care about. the front leg room is plenty in both. it boils down to side to side room for me. being able to rest my elbow on a console that was the right height.

cruise control can be added to anything toyota pretty easy

i have 2 yaris and 2 corollas 150k-310k miles no water pumps needed since i have had them.

[Kaotic Lazagna]

I've had two Yarii now (sold them both as well). First one I bought new and had it for a good 7 to 8 years, put over 100k miles on it. Had to replace the water pump on it around 60k miles I believe. Second one I had for 3 years or so and put on close to 90k on it in that time. Also had to replace the water pump on it.

I managed between 40 to 50 mpg with them without any crazy hypermiling techniques. Both were manuals. The sedan had a tach, the hatch did not. They're good commuter cars, and I found the seats to be comfortable.

I also sold Toyotas for some time, and I would not get an automatic Yaris (the Toyota made ones, not the Mazda made Yaris iA). Being a 4 speed automatic, the gearing was a bit on the long side, and acceleration was pretty slow. It's still quicker than a Prius c acceleration. The manual's acceleration is adequate. Anything Toyota with a 4 speed automatic is rather slow in acceleration, so I would plan intersections and merging carefully.

They're easy to maintain, and really just need the basic maintenance to stay happy.

[Leegamer]

Originally Posted by Kaotic Lazagna

I found the seats to be comfortable.

This is one thing that surprised me when I started looking at buying a yaris in 2008. For an economy car I think the seats are great. I've done many 8+ hour drives and been comfortable.

[Kaotic Lazagna]

Originally Posted by Leegamer

This is one thing that surprised me when I started looking at buying a yaris in 2008. For an economy car I think the seats are great. I've done many 8+ hour drives and been comfortable.

Yeah, they're more comfortable than any rental cars I've rented, excluding the Land Rover that had to be given to us . Although, the third gen seats, at least the SE, I found to be very uncomfortable due to the placement of the "lumbar support." It was no where near where my lumbar curve is, so my back started hurting even after 5 minutes in it.

Only downside to the second gen hatch seats is they're not height adjustable.