Hatin' on the Yaris

Maintenance/Repairs
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21

Toyota is rightfully legendary for the durability of its designs. However, handling and interior comfort are two of the negatives frequently cited for Toyotas. Even the pricey Avalon has a bouncy, floaty ride at expressway speeds, thus proving that there are significant engineering compromises inherent in all car designs unless one wants to pay more than…perhaps $70,000. And even then, not everyone will be happy with a particular car model’s design in some manner or other.

But, anyway, you did get a very durable, reliable, economical car. So it will likely last far longer than your interest in it will last.

How does one find out about things like handling, ride quality, interior comfort, and other factors that might be important to that person? By reading every review available, by listening to advice from others, and by doing an extended test drive. Unfortunately, otterhere, you did none of these things. Hopefully you will learn from this hard lesson.

As to the “perfection” of the Suzuki Swift’s design, the marketplace’s reaction indicates otherwise. If this was such a perfect design, then why were so few of these cars sold in the US, despite their presence in both Suzuki showrooms and in GM showrooms under the GEO Metro guise?

What I am trying to indicate is that your values as they relate to cars may not be similar to many other consumers’ values, hence the need for you to take lots of time, to keep an open mind, to listen carefully to advice, and to take LONG test drives–on a variety of pavements–with any prospective car model.

Like the others, I suggest that you sell this car and move on. If you invest a few thousand $$ in upgrading the suspension, you may wind up with ride and handling characteristics that are no better, and may actually be worse. Even if the ride is improved, you would still be driving around in a car whose interior layout you consider to be very bad. What would you have gained, except to have sunk so much money into this car that you wind up having to keep it for an extended period of time, during which you would resent the car every time that you drove it.

Move on with a different car.

22

Yeah, VDC’s right. While a spring change may or may not improve your car’s ride, it sounds like you still have issues with other aspects of your Yaris. That’s why I suggested you research and go from there - you may finally conclude that trying to change the car to your liking may not be worth it and that you’re better off looking for another vehicle that would better suit your needs. Good luck!

23

Agree; doesn’t sound like the springs/shocks are a guaranteed remedy and also sound expensive; Voiding the warranty or compromising resale value also wouldn’t be good.

Seems that wouldn’t be a wise course of action after all.

But you don’t know till you ask.

24

At this point in time, you are fortunate because small, fuel efficient cars are selling better than larger cars and you will lose less in depreciation in actual dollars on an econobox than on a large car. I made a similar mistake back in 1985 when I bought a new Ford Tempo. This is the only car I have ever owned that I didn’t drive well past 100,000 miles. The car ran fine, but it wasn’t really enjoyable on long trips. Three years later, we traded the car for a Ford Taurus which we really liked.

Also realize that there may be a certain vehicle in a vehicle that may be an advantage for one person and a disadvantage for another. I currently drive a 2006 Chevrolet Uplander. It is several inches narrower than other minivans. Most people would appreciate the extra width. However, I have to back my minivan off a busy street into a narrow alley and get the vehicle between a telephone post and the building to load musical instruments. I don’t have to fold in the right side mirror on the Uplander as I did on the Ford Windstar that I did own.

Remember, nothing is a good deal if you don’t like what you purchased.

25

would this be the time to say “you get what you pay for” ?

26

The OP outsmarted herself.

27

Hate to keep repeating myself – really, I do – but were not the old (boxy) Toyota Corolla, Nissan Sentra, VW Bug (original), Geo Metro, and Suzuki Swift all CHEAP cars, too? Yet they were good cars. I’ve heard even the higher-end Toyotas have design flaws and aren’t what they used to be… Maybe it’s those US factories…

28

Many Toyotas models are manufactured in the US, but the designs originate in Japan.
And, trust me–the older models that you listed all had their own design flaws, but they were flaws that you didn’t notice or were not problematic for you.

All of the “problems” that you have noted about the Yaris could have been detected by you prior to purchase if you had simply engaged in the due diligence that any prudent car buyer should have done. In essence, all of this comes back to YOU as being the cause of your current dilemma.

29

True; I’m not denying that.

30

If by “good” you mean, small, underpowered, gross polluting deathtraps, then yes they were “good”.

31

FYI…

I found this on another message board. Some dude has 300K miles on his '07 Yaris and it’s still going! Here’s his message board entry w/o the links:

Hey guys,
it’s me again! I’ve recently turned 300,000 miles on my yaris in less than 2 1/2yrs. I’m still running on the original factory equipped brakes, clutch and sensors. I’ve NEVER had any mechanical problems with the car. The car still runs like a dream. The only things I’ve done on the car is regular oil changes @ 5000 miles using Wal-mart Super Tech 5w-30 Synthetic oil with Toyota OEM oil filters, install new tires every 60,000 - 80,000 miles, replace spark plugs with OEM Denso iridium spark plugs and Toyota OEM drive belt every 100,000 miles, and replaced shocks and struts with Toyota OEM shocks and struts on the car’s 2yr anniversary. The brake rotors are still smooth like glass to where you can still see your reflection in it and it has no lip on the edge of it and the brake pads have about 3.5mm remaining on them right now. All the mods on the car were done after 150,000 miles. I have a Weapon R short ram intake with an Arospeed SUS filter, Megan exhaust headers, NST under drive pulley, Tanabe lowering springs and front upper strutbar, TRD rear swaybar, and custom 2 1/4" magnaflow exhaust.

Check my youtube video of the car turning 300,000 miles.

Apparently there are quite a few aftermarket items for these cars.

Pretty cool I thought.

32

Hehehe, sounds like the kind of car that I like to embarrass at the stop light. Bonus points if it has a V-Tec sticker.

33

“…replaced shocks and struts with Toyota OEM shocks and struts on the car’s 2yr anniversary…”

Why?

34

…probably because they were worn out with more than 200,000 miles of use.

35

Or he was hatin’ on that high, bouncy ride for 200,000 miles and couldn’t take it anymore…

36

I have owned a Yaris for a little over a year now and I find it hard to hate a car that gets 40 to 46 mpg even now that gas has quit costing $4/gallon. I have to ride my motorcyle carefully now or my car will beat its gas mileage.

37

Mine ain’t gettin’ that. You find enthusiasts on the Yaris Fan Sites bragging about 45-50, but the majority are left scratching their heads wondering why they average 32, even with hypermiling techniques. If it really got 45 on a regular basis in normal driving, I believe Toyota would would be advertising it as such.

Still, most “consumer reviews” are favorable; they seem to be, for the most part, young drivers, and this is their first car. They love the MP3 player and “cute.”

38

You hit the nail on the head when you said this car was designed as a entry level car for first time car buyer. This was definitely not you

39

Maybe I got one of the good ones or maybe I can’t figure gas mileage right. Check my numbers and see if I made a mistake.

40

I said it before and I’m saying it again. If you’re going to throw money at the problem, I would suggest a good look at the Honda Fit.

Good handling does not depend stiff springs alone. The entire car has to be optimized for it. I think my ‘04 Scion xB has pretty good handling for what it costs. It was no Celica but it felt a lot more machine like than most Toyota products at the time. However, I can feel every bump and expansion joint on the road. The ride is so rude it is definitely not my parents’ Toyota.

Then my mom bought a Honda Fit, which is a textbook example of how chassis engineering should be done. One drive and you can feel the much lower center of gravity. They keep the car stable without resorting to a stiff suspension.

If you’re going to put on stiff springs, you’ll also need to stiffen the body. If the car isn’t design to handle the constant pounding by the xtra stiff suspension, it will go down the road flexing a lot more than it should and will creak and rattle way before the end of its useful life.