09 Auris - Some Problems / Questions

[RK001]

Hello all,

i've not long purchased an Auris 1.4 D4D T3. I'd like to say I'm really happy with it but I'm not and would be interested in other people's opinions. In case one of them is "well why did you buy the car in the first place if you didn't like it?", I had little choice due to personal circumstances, time and work demands. Anyway that's all besides the point. I'll start with the least problematic first.

1. Fuel / range / mpg.

Can the fuel gauge really be trusted? I've filled the tank up to full and got 550 miles out of it, even though the range indicator indicated just over 400 miles. I can also go about 350 - 400 miles and the gauge shows a half tank of fuel, yet 100 miles later and it's down to two bars. What's that all about? I take it the MPG indicator can't be trusted either? I do just under 50 miles a day, half of which is motorway miles at about 62 mph. What mileage can I reasonably expect from the car, especially when it's down to the last bar?

2. In car audio.

Can't say I'm liking the in built stereo system - it doesn't even have an aux input! Also, it has an annoying habit of cutting to mono for some radio stations - something I cannot duplicate on any other radio device.

Will I be able to buy my own car radio with bluetooth, USB, aux etc and have it fitted in?

3. Gears.

Now this really annoys me. The car is multi modal, and I never realised how problematic this can be, but what I'm experiencing is likely to cause an accident.

The problems are around first and second gears. Sometimes it jumps into second gear too easily, and other times I'm revving the life out of it before it will change (or allow me to change it). Then there's trying to keep it in second gear in slow traffic. If I do manage to get it into second gear, it's too ready to drop into first. Strangely, it has no problem with me putting it into second gear when I'm stationary, but try doing it when I'm moving - pfff!

There is also the problem in that it doesn't always show the actual gear that I am in. Once it indicated that I was in neutral when I was actually in reverse. Another time I was changing from 3rd to fifth ever so smoothly. So smoothly it felt like I hadn't changed gears - and that's because I actually hadn't.

But the most annoying thing is when it indicates I'm in first gear and I'm actually ( and unknowingly) in 2nd. A few dozen times I have pulled out of a side road, roundabout etc, only to find myself crawling despite almost flooring the accelerator, and watching vehicle coming at me from the side wondering WTF I'm doing.

Has anyone else experienced these problems? I've driven multi modals before and know they are not the easiest things in the world, but I've never experienced anything like this in one, and I'm worried driving it now.

[FROSTYBALLS]

1. The fuel gauge doesn't operate in a linear way, and this is common across a few of the current Toyota models - Auris, Yaris, Aygo, etc. When filled right up, the first two bars of the take a long time to extinguish and the further the tank empties, the quicker the bars extinguish. Once you know this is the case, one can adjust to it quite easily. Both my 2009 Auris and my current 2012 Auris were/are like this. As an example of how it operates, see the following: http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/topic/157794-auris-133-fuel-bar-fuel-consumption-and-all-that-stuff/

As regards the fuel range, this can give false readings if one fills up with less than 15 litres - more of an idiosyncrasy than being unreliable and is shared with other models using the same system.

I also understand that the range displayed can also be affected by ECU reading how the car is driven.

The fuel consumption readings on the multi-information display are slightly optimistic (which tends to be common across manufacturers), but can provide a reasonable indication of consumption.

2. The stereo units are Panasonic. An Aux port wasn't introduced to the Auris until the 2010 facelift. On facelift models the Aux port resides in the upper glove box.

For models without an Aux port, some owners have installed equipment like the Xcarlink or Connects2, which depending on the version, can also provide bluetooth. See:

http://www.xcarlink.co.uk

http://www.connects2.co.uk

You can get an aftermarket head unit installed if you wish.

3. As regards the MMT, have a word with your local Toyota dealer in case a software update is needed.

[buklau111]

I think you just got one of em cars, should of gone for the manual and 2010 model. That would of solved all of your problems expect for the first one. The last bar gives you 30 miles on the motorway. Even at 0 miles it gives you 5 miles and that's definite since we've done it, couldn't find a pump.

[RK001]

I think you just got one of em cars, should of gone for the manual and 2010 model. That would of solved all of your problems expect for the first one. The last bar gives you 30 miles on the motorway. Even at 0 miles it gives you 5 miles and that's definite since we've done it, couldn't find a pump.

I can't drive a manual due to a physical injury :-<.