Toyota Yaris Transmission Problems

brylmrrs

Hi! I have a 2003 Yaris T3 semi-auto, regularly serviced. It has done 43,000 miles and has developed an intermitant series of bleeps after driving 2 miles or so. If I stop car and turn off engine when I start up there are no bleeps until another 2 miles. The pattern of bleeps are irregular, say 6 bleeps then pause then 10 bleeps pause then, perhaps, 6 bleeps. There is no pattern at all!
Any suggestions, please?

DoctorDoots

I am guessing you have a bag or something heavy on the passenger seat!!
The bleeping is the seatbelt warning signal - the item on the seat is triggering the sensor as if someone was sitting in the seat without their seatbelt on.
??????????????

mattwmdb

I recently purchased a used yaris. I have noticed when the engine is cold, the transmission does not want to upshift. I can get in the highway and get up to speed and the car will still be in 3rd. Is this normal? The dealership is stating they cannot find anything wrong and saying the car just needs to warm up. This is a newer car and seems odd to me. This also happens when driving at lower speeds. I am concerned that this will cause damage to the engine/transmission in the long run. Any ideas? Thanks.

bamacar

I have a manual, but the behavior sounds normal. See the following post:

Edmunds Post

dake

Yes, in short, it's completely normal. If you look in the left hand corner of your instrument cluster, you'll see a small light that looks like a thermometer. That means the engine is cold. It won't upshift until that light goes out.

herb18

bought mine new 5/07. i was told the delayed upshift when cold is computer controlled and normal.

aztec1972

Well after looking at this some will say i got taken hook line,sinker so thats why i decided to post this for thread for any comments or suggestions for future references:
Well i went and picked up a 2009 Toyota Yaris (3dooor hatchback ,automatic) from A toyota dealership
Sale Price of Car$15,423.29
Manuf Rebate - $1,500.00
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sale Price $13,923.29
Texas Sales Tax$870.21
Dealer Vehicle Inventory Tax$26.45
Documentary Fee$50.00
Deputy Fee$5.00
License Fee$59.80
Title Fee$49.00
State Inspection Fee$36.25
Extended Service Contract$3,900.00
Total Insurance Product(Gap/Credit Insurance$1903.47
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal$20,823.47
Down Payment$2000.00
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Amt Due$18,823.47
What i would like is someone that is really knows toyota contract to look this over and tell me those fees that i can avoid next time i go and get another car.

backy

That's easy. You paid way way WAY too much for the extended service contract and the gap insurance, where "too much" is probably anything over $0. With a reliable and low-maintenance car like the Yaris, you really don't need any extended warranty or service contract. Certainly not one that's $3900. And for what you paid for Gap insurance, you could have just increased your down payment by that amount and pretty much eliminated any chance you would be "upside down" on the loan, given that the Yaris and Toyotas in general hold their value well.

The other thing that stands out is that it appears you did not get any discount on the car except the manufacturer's rebate. If so, you paid too much for the car. The Yaris is not selling very well right now, so you should have been able to get a discount on the car above and beyond the manufacturer's rebate.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. I wish you had posted your question before you bought the Yaris. :sick:

aztec1972

iwell i guess we all live and learn but i will be better prepared next time i walk into a dealership.Backy quick question after looking over my note for example most dealerships charge you (Sale price of car,sales,tax,title,license,but you never see when a car is being advertised being charged for
1.Dealer Inventory Tax $26.45
2.Documentary Fee$50.00
3.Deputy Fee$5.00
4.State Inspection$36.25
If you have any friends that work for toyota or have connectionscan you or they explain these other charges

backy

The only one that looks out of the ordinary to me is "dealer inventory tax". You might call the dealer's finance person and ask them to explain that fee. Actually, the time to ask the finance person what the fees are was when they presented the paperwork to you at the dealership. But I suppose you realize that now.

kavi

I recently bought a yaris 1.0 (yr 2005) - automatic transmission and changed the gearbx oil. Its running fine exept that while idling for about 4mins in the morning gearbox oil drips out of a tube, apparently an air tube. At first the quantity was consequent, gradually diminishing to about 20 drops but does not stop. Can anyone advise me please.

lhanson

Backy, I hate to admit it, but you are right on every point you made in this post. I would only add that I have never seen a bigger rip off than these charges for the extended warranty and and gap insurance. Actually, they are almost criminal in nature. All of the other add-ons are inconsequential in comparison. It reminds me of William H. Macy in Fargo with the undercoating scam, only worse. I think that the dealer should be reported to Toyota. The extended warranty shouldn't be much over $1,000 for this car.

dake

HOLY CRAP, I'd go back to the dealer and demand a refund on the extended warranty or threaten a lawsuit. It hasn't even been a week (since your post anyway) and I think in Texas you get 30 days. Tell them if they don't a) reduce the cost of the plan or b) remove the plan completely with a full-refund you'll give them the car back. At the absolute minimum, tell the sales manager you will report their dealership to Toyota and the Better Business Bureau for unfair business practices.

Just for reference, I paid 1170 dollars for the Platinum Extended Warranty on my wife's '08 Yaris (7 yrs or 70k miles). I really only bought it b/c I got more than double for my trade-in than what I expected so it was basically free in my mind. In the grand scheme of things, I doubt I'll ever need it. 3900 bucks is the cost of a good, used second car - that's just outrageous.

backy

Actually that's an excellent point--these extended warranties usually have a refund clause. I just got nearly all of an extended warranty on my car refunded because it was totaled (the refund wasn't dependent on the car being totaled).

phllbit

no it is not completely normal - I too have a 2007 yaris auto and mine won't even get out of 2nd gear when it is cold let alone 3rd! True, until the engine coolant has reached about 68 degrees I am told by the dealership, it won't go into top gear and that is for emissions control they say?

I have found some error codes with my code reader even though the dealership say there is not a problem and the codes all point to air intake and coolant sensor issues - the might be intermittent or there could be an open circuit somewhere. This is all happening right now in May and the air temperature outside is well into the 70's!

If your coolant light stays on for more than a few minutes and it is warm outside take it back now and demand they check/change the sensors. Before that if you can, go to your local automotive shop and purchase a code reader they are about 100 bucks or have some one check your car with a code reader - if any codes come up this will help your cause.

Good luck.

raggy1

i purchased this car used (37k miles) last week. 1 owner car with carfax report. so far i've put approx 150 miles on car. noticed in morning when starting car down street at 20 mph slight jerking sensation. jerking sensation seems to go away when car driven a bit longer. yesterday at highway speed 70 mph still noticed very slight jerking sensation. anyone experience similar situation, or is my change of vehicles from long term ownership of saturn causing me this discomfort.

PF_Flyer

Sounds like you're pretty new to the vehicle and you may simply be noticing the difference between what you're used to. Once you notice something in a car, it's hard to "not notice" it, but I'd try to keep track of when it happens and see if there's a pattern. That could help determine if there's an issue and what exactly it might be.

girlcarbuilder

I would have purchased the extended warranty from someone like AAA! The credit life is very pricy as well. Cheaper to buy term insurance! If they insisted you buy, say it is this or I walk. You have 10 minutes to revise the sale or I walk! And do so!

If you have trouble at the sales counter.....wait till you need repairs!

1275gt

hi my dads yaris 1L AUTO keeps sticking in drive and whont let you dissengage it till you have locked the car again allso it keeps sticking in a drive gear and whont change when driving any body else having this trouble and any body know the fault causeing it as no faults are show on my friends snap-on fault tester?? thanks

lhanson

I think you need to go back and get your GED before you appear in public again.

backy

Note the "1L". Quite possible this poster does not speak English as a first language. Even if he does... GED is not a requirement for Town Hall participation.

lhanson

Perhaps you would care to translate his posting to English. I was getting a headache trying to do so.

backy

Aspirin might help. Try reading it phonetically and inserting a couple of periods, that might do the trick. PgDn would work also, if the message is that much of a pain for you.

flaps

To ANY Toyota Mechanic: How can I get rid of the auto-downshift system for down hill driving and also for the auto-braking system? When I go down any kind of hill--even a very slight, short downhill--the Yaris will downshift into 3rd as soon as I touch the brake pedal causing a very unconfortable ride. I also note a big change in RPM and I still need to use the brake to slow making the shift un-necessary.
No wonder the car---which by the way is the replacement for the Echo ( a GREAT LITTLE CAR)---gets MUCH less milage on gas. I always thought HUMAN inventions GOT BETTER--at least they used to when I was growing up.
We lost a few people, machines, and some rockets; BUT we DID end up on the moon at the end. If we tried it today, it would cost more, break down more often, and the public would have to bail the scienctists out for over planning and under estimating.
Help me pull the 'plug', or in this case, 'wire' so I can have a much longer life from this car.
Oh yes, just one more thing. How do you turn off the Maint Needed light when all the fluids have been changed?
Thanks. If you can help, and it works, I will put something in your Chirstmas Stocking this year.
Flaps--or Bill for short.

lhanson

The instructions to turn off the Maintenance Required light are in the Owners Manual.

gilzara

Hello everybody, newbie poster here - love this place - and new to Yaris too.

I am sorry in advance if one of the posts I see covers my problem, but as ignorant in mechanics as I am, I am not entirely sure about it being the same issue.

We have bought recently a nice used automatic '08 hatchback Yaris, with very low mileage on it.

What I notice (and haven't been able so far to get across to the Toyota mechanic!) is the following. When I let go of the gas pedal, say at 30 MPH, on a perfetly flat and seemingly horizontal pavement, no strong wind blowing, I barely make it to 150 ft before stopping. (Yes, the trans is at Drive and not the "3" position.) If I drop the pedal at 15 MPH (on a similar pavement surface), I feel the engine downshifting to the point of ALMOST pulling the upper body of driver and passenger forward... (We're not fat, yet not skinny types either...) Not to exaggerate, let's say to a point that does NOT make for a pleasant ride in the city! Yesterday was covered with a rather thick snow blanket here in Eastern Canada, and so the "dragging" effect was even more unpleasant, as I needed not be braked any further still at all (I drive slow and over-carefully).

Plus, I cannot imagine that this does not affect gas mileage in any negative way...

Any hint as to what my problem might be, or is this normal to this model, and I simply grew too old with the previous car we had?

I am a previous owner of a Corolla '98 (bought new) and have never noticed any of this effect. Plus my wife and I both have the impression of not getting any better mileage out of that Yaris over the old (280 000 km under the belt) Corolla, contrary to what we were expecting. But I did not measure this gas mileage yet. (I am not sure I even know how to do it!)

Thanks in advance for any help!

jlbetsworth

I'm glad to hear that both you and raggy1 noticed this as well!

My 2010 Yaris automatic also jerks/applies the brake while I am coasting between 20-25 miles an hour. I also noticed it between 30-35, so I figured it was related to the downshift. However, when I notice this issue it happens for 4-5 seconds and does not happen every time the car downshifts. (I can feel the downshift when it feels normal too, and it only lasts about 1 second, if that)

I took the car in to the Toyota mechanic at the dealership and they told me I was only feeling normal downshifting - which makes me think that it just did not happen while the mechanic was driving the car. (Unfortunate, because it does this to me all the time) I did not get charged for the visit, but I am still concerned. I know what a downshift feels like, and 4-5 seconds of jerky braking is not it.

Has anyone else experienced this?

dake

I think it's normally "abnormal". What I mean is that the transmission is strange on the Yaris automatic - it's my one major complaint with the car. It doesn't bother my wife who is the primary driver, but it annoys me and were I to buy one to replace my Echo, I'd buy the manual or nothing.

It definitely seems to not quite shift when you expect it to. Whether forcing a downshift to accelerate which takes a heavy tromp on the gas pedal and then not upshifting as quickly as you'd think either.

So, it is normal, it's just a little weird. You get used to it pretty quickly, but I always notice it at first after I've been driving my car for a while and then I drive my wife's.

flaps

I own 2 Yaris's---an 07 and an 08 and they are quite different cars. Both with same transmission and engine, but the 07 has less power, does NOT shift when cold, and I found that if you press the brake lightly when down hill, it will downshift---but when you press the brake hard it will NOT downshift.
I am looking for a professional Toyota MEch that can tell me just what to disconnect for the down hill braking, and also what sensor monitors the Cold Temp for up shifts in the morning. My Echo was a FAR better car than this will ever be.
This car with same engine gets less milage because of shift points and RPM changes. It also has less overall perfomance. IF there is a Toyota man out there, email me at FLapswgm@aol.com Thanks

dake

The Yaris is also heavier than the Echo - that's the biggest factor.