Poor reliability Yaris 2011 - 2020

[haelewyn]

Hi all,

Just saw a whatcar reliability test quote in our own press here.

According to this, the yaris 2011 to 2020 is poor in reliability where the aygo does very well.

I am kind of reading everything on toyota and reliability of cars I can find but never bumped into the yaris being a problem.

Does any of you know to give me some things that are known to malfunction and stop drivability of this particular car ?

[Max_Headroom]

 

Having read the article i wonder how they came to the conclusion the Yaris isn't reliable they even said it is a reliable car in the quotes below - 

If you look art the list of cars below Yaris came joint 7th with Suzuki Swift  a well known reliable car and one which was on my shortlist when looking for my next cart, i wouldn't say 7th out of 28 is unreliable.

What should I look for in a used Toyota Yaris hatchback?

Being so easy to drive and cheap to run means the Toyota Yaris makes a great first car as well as a good urban runabout. As a result, it’s important to check for damage to body panels and alloy wheels. Check for signs of a worn clutch, such as a very high biting point. In addition, Toyota’s almost bulletproof reliability record could tempt some owners to skimp on servicing, so aim for a car with a fully stamped service book.

 

Is a used Toyota Yaris hatchback reliable?

You’d hope that buying a Toyota over another brand comes with the reassurance of a solid reliability record – and the Yaris doesn’t disappoint. In hybrid form, it scored well in the most recent What Car? Reliability Survey, managing a respectable eighth place finish out of 14 cars in the hybrid category. Toyota itself was fifth out of 31 car brands – an exceptional result.

 

[wildtapholer]

At least Toyota haven't got timing chain failure like BMW's and the mini

[Max_Headroom]

 

Here is a list of things to look out for from the honest john site, you will notice most problems reported are on the early 1.4 D-4D.

 

What to watch out for

26-08-2014:

Two engine failures of 2011 Yaris 1.4D-4D purchased in May 2013 with 40k miles. First engine failure after 2 months required new short engine. 2nd engine failure in July 2014, same problem, lots of white smoke, short engine replaced again for 2nd time in 38 months life of car.

05-09-2015:

Service light spanner on dash coming on and off at irregular intervals in 2011 Yaris 1.4 D-4D, couples with drop in mpg. Owner took it to Toyota dealer, who found a code for high oil level. Car has done over 18,000 miles in the past year alone and the DPF is only showing as 44% used, according the Toyota garage.

22-02-2016:

Problem reported with Multidrive S CVT where the gearbox briefly changed down and then back up when the revs rose on a level road at constant speed of no more than 40 mph. It happened several times over a couple of hours and since then, no problem.

09-03-2016:

2015 Toyota Yaris 1.4 D-4D needed a forced DPF regeneration and oil change at 18,000 miles, costing £275. Might not have been actively regenerating, and this might be because owner filled it with Millers longlife ACEA C2 5W30 instead of the correct 0W30 at the last oil change. Problem occurred despite almost all mileage on motorway on 800 mile road trips at 2,000rpm.

03-08-2016:

Another report of DPF problems with the Yaris 1.4 D-4D, this time twice in 50,000 miles in a Yaris used for driving school work. Steering column universal joint has also needed to be replaced twice due to driving school abuse.

20-08-2016:

DPF regeneration problems reported with 27k mile 4 year old Toyota Yaris 1.4 D-4D.

14-10-2016:

Further report of DPF problems, this time with an independently serviced 28,000 mile 2012/62 Yaris D-4D: " Hi It went back to Toyota who did several regenerations on it and the engine management light went out. 29 days later it came back on despite me having driven 1,599 miles in that time." Toyota is now questioning the independent service that owner had done prior to all of this a happening. New DPF estimated at £800.

28-05-2017:

Hot starting problem reported on 9,000 mile 2016 Toyota Yaris 1.3 CVT. When the car has been driven anything over 10 miles, parked and left for half an hour or so the engine is very difficult to start. It starts eventually but after many turns.

03-08-2017:

Complaint that on a new 2017 model Toyota Yaris hybrid the left-hand indicator stalk does not self-cancel.

27-03-2018:

Problems reported with the mapping of the satnav of a 2017 Yaris Hybrid Excel: Someties gets an overspeed warning on roads where the driver knows he is under the limit and, living on the coast, the satnav sometimes shows the car as in the sea.

05-07-2018:

Report of 'anti-trap' electric window mechanism on new hired Toyota Yaris hybrid failing, trapping the passenger's arm and refusing to release.

02-08-2018:

R eport of two issues with 2012 Toyota Yaris 1.33 CVT now at 65k miles. The offside front coil spring snapped, happily replaced under an extended Toyota warranty. But also has keyless entry and go which is playing up. The central locking has been malfunctioning with symptoms that include unlocking some doors and not others (completely at random). When in the vehicle we can hear the central locking "clicking" for a brief period as if something is slipping. As yet dealer has been unable to replicate this so not yet fixed.

11-12-2018:

Report of 2011 Toyota Yaris 1.4D-4D showing a yellow light which on diagnostic by local garage said fuel errors. Mechanic has changed all filters, cleaned the diesel tank and cleared the errors. But when the car is driven it "pulls" and then loses all power. Suspect EGR and or DPF.

24-05-2019:

Report of clutch thrust bearing failure on 2012 Toyota Yaris 1.33 SR at fairly low mileage, mostly suburban use. Replacement thrust bearing and clutch £1,000 at outer London Toyota dealer.

 

https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/toyota/yaris/2011/

[haelewyn]

Having had a renault megane before,  I could say and think : at least the engines don't mass fail at 12.000 to 90.000 km (1.2 tce) but I'd rather have a car from the other side of the spectrum now.

 

On the 1.4 d : had a 2007 corolla with the 1.4 d engine. Must say it made me a happy owner all the time. Wish I still had one 😀

[flash22]

tbh all brands have issues especially if not maintained, HJ is full of nuts take the yaris diesel 18K between oil changes, high oil and DPF issues, their data is very skewed

22 minutes ago, wildtapholer said:

At least Toyota haven't got timing chain failure like BMW's and the mini

the PSA (BMW N series tritec and prince) engines are junk anything over 50K they turn into an oil colander, VVT and tensioners are a mare

Anything small Nissan is Renault - Hr16de (Nissan engine) is an ok engine but is a mare to work on (intake has to come off to get at the coils and plugs

[haelewyn]

I personally stick to 10.000 km oil changes. I think/ hope that's ok.

Maybe stick to the 10 year warranty too. 

Strange the aygo does so well in this review as they are know here to be not flawless. Strange the yaris does so bad. Maybe one day I will understand why.

[tfc]

1 hour ago, Max_Headroom said:

 

Here is a list of things to look out for from the honest john site, you will notice most problems reported are on the early 1.4 D-4D.

 

What to watch out for

26-08-2014:

Two engine failures of 2011 Yaris 1.4D-4D purchased in May 2013 with 40k miles. First engine failure after 2 months required new short engine. 2nd engine failure in July 2014, same problem, lots of white smoke, short engine replaced again for 2nd time in 38 months life of car.

05-09-2015:

Service light spanner on dash coming on and off at irregular intervals in 2011 Yaris 1.4 D-4D, couples with drop in mpg. Owner took it to Toyota dealer, who found a code for high oil level. Car has done over 18,000 miles in the past year alone and the DPF is only showing as 44% used, according the Toyota garage.

22-02-2016:

Problem reported with Multidrive S CVT where the gearbox briefly changed down and then back up when the revs rose on a level road at constant speed of no more than 40 mph. It happened several times over a couple of hours and since then, no problem.

09-03-2016:

2015 Toyota Yaris 1.4 D-4D needed a forced DPF regeneration and oil change at 18,000 miles, costing £275. Might not have been actively regenerating, and this might be because owner filled it with Millers longlife ACEA C2 5W30 instead of the correct 0W30 at the last oil change. Problem occurred despite almost all mileage on motorway on 800 mile road trips at 2,000rpm.

03-08-2016:

Another report of DPF problems with the Yaris 1.4 D-4D, this time twice in 50,000 miles in a Yaris used for driving school work. Steering column universal joint has also needed to be replaced twice due to driving school abuse.

20-08-2016:

DPF regeneration problems reported with 27k mile 4 year old Toyota Yaris 1.4 D-4D.

14-10-2016:

Further report of DPF problems, this time with an independently serviced 28,000 mile 2012/62 Yaris D-4D: " Hi It went back to Toyota who did several regenerations on it and the engine management light went out. 29 days later it came back on despite me having driven 1,599 miles in that time." Toyota is now questioning the independent service that owner had done prior to all of this a happening. New DPF estimated at £800.

28-05-2017:

Hot starting problem reported on 9,000 mile 2016 Toyota Yaris 1.3 CVT. When the car has been driven anything over 10 miles, parked and left for half an hour or so the engine is very difficult to start. It starts eventually but after many turns.

03-08-2017:

Complaint that on a new 2017 model Toyota Yaris hybrid the left-hand indicator stalk does not self-cancel.

27-03-2018:

Problems reported with the mapping of the satnav of a 2017 Yaris Hybrid Excel: Someties gets an overspeed warning on roads where the driver knows he is under the limit and, living on the coast, the satnav sometimes shows the car as in the sea.

05-07-2018:

Report of 'anti-trap' electric window mechanism on new hired Toyota Yaris hybrid failing, trapping the passenger's arm and refusing to release.

02-08-2018:

R eport of two issues with 2012 Toyota Yaris 1.33 CVT now at 65k miles. The offside front coil spring snapped, happily replaced under an extended Toyota warranty. But also has keyless entry and go which is playing up. The central locking has been malfunctioning with symptoms that include unlocking some doors and not others (completely at random). When in the vehicle we can hear the central locking "clicking" for a brief period as if something is slipping. As yet dealer has been unable to replicate this so not yet fixed.

11-12-2018:

Report of 2011 Toyota Yaris 1.4D-4D showing a yellow light which on diagnostic by local garage said fuel errors. Mechanic has changed all filters, cleaned the diesel tank and cleared the errors. But when the car is driven it "pulls" and then loses all power. Suspect EGR and or DPF.

24-05-2019:

Report of clutch thrust bearing failure on 2012 Toyota Yaris 1.33 SR at fairly low mileage, mostly suburban use. Replacement thrust bearing and clutch £1,000 at outer London Toyota dealer.

 

https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/toyota/yaris/2011/

I'd say that's pretty good reliability, there's no car that is 100% reliable.  You can pretty much find most of them faults ,not all of them have happened with other manufacturers,  there's nothing new in Honest John's review that you won't find elsewhere. 

[FROSTYBALLS]

From the table in the second post of this topic, the hybrid Yaris is =7th, but the petrol Yaris is 26th - but still above the current Polo and the current Fiesta.

[YarisHybrid2016]

Mini and VW did better? LOL! Now I know the ranking is BS.

As an owner of an 86.5k miles 2015 Yaris hybrid, it has been outstanding. I drive it hard a little too much, but I look after it and look after it when cold, and it runs without any issues. Serviced to schedule.

[Max_Headroom]

53 minutes ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

but the petrol Yaris is 26t

Strange how the honest john list of things that go wrong  in my earlier post  doesn't mention a single petrol i bought the MK3 petrol after doing a lot of research i really don't understand where they got the figures from, the Yaris petrol and Hybrid are basically the same car so should in theory share the same faults other than engine and drivetrain.

[Derek.w]

I owned a 2014 Yaris 1.33 petrol No reliability problems kept car unto 2020 when it was written off by my insurance company.

[FROSTYBALLS]

The Honest John website isn't what it used to be.

They went into administration early in 2020, and was bought out of administration by Heycars - an online marketplace for selling by cars.

The journalist (Peter Lorimer) who started Honest John ceased to have anything to do with the site after it went into administration.

Heycars parent company is backed by companies including Volkswagen, Mercedes and Renault.

[haelewyn]

2 hours ago, Max_Headroom said:

the Yaris petrol and Hybrid are basically the same car so should in theory share the same faults other than engine and drivetrain.

The (or most) years that are mentioned, the hybrid was using the 1.5 while petrol engine cars had the 1.0 (= Aygo) and a 1.3 petrol + 1.4 diesel?

I guess there are other things that could go wrong more on the petrol and diesel versions, like starter, alternator, different brake system, clutch and gearbox, ...

Hybrid cars could have other parts or even production plants. I don't know about the last though.

Here, whatcar gives a list of things that went wrong with the Yaris  (go to page 3)

https://www.whatcar.com/toyota/yaris/hatchback/used-review/n782/advice

In 2022, whatcar wrote

""""""With a fault rate of 17%, the petrol Yaris doesn’t uphold the brand’s robust reputation for dependability. Brake and suspension issues were the main bugbears. Only 14% of work was done for free and three-quarters of owners paid out between £201 and £750. All cars were put right in less than a week, though.""""""

They seem to have changed their minds in 2023 although not clear if they are talking about non hybrids here too.

https://www.whatcar.com/best/small-cars/n16997

Whatcar does say nice things about Toyota too. Here's an example :

"""""The Toyota Aygo city car and other affordable petrol models did just as well as its larger hybrid models. Only 6% of Aygos went wrong, and all were fixed within a week at no cost to owners. No wonder it gained a reliability rating of 99.1%, making it the most dependable small car you can buy.""""" (Text : Wharcar website)

 

To list defects, whatcar seems to evaluate type of breakdown, cost and repair time.

So the new question could be : do we know of break problems or suspension part failures being problematic on the Yaris?

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

28 minutes ago, haelewyn said:

They seem to have changed their minds in 2023

Different generation Yaris though - the best small cars article features the 4th generation, whereas the reliability article features the 3rd generation.

Also the UK version of the 4th generation Yaris is hybrid only - the petrol version (1.0 litre) isn't currently offered.

[FROSTYBALLS]

33 minutes ago, haelewyn said:

.... while petrol engine cars had the 1.0 (= Aygo) and a 1.3 petrol + 1.4 diesel?

A 1.5 petrol (a development of the 1.33) replaced the 1.33 in 2017.

[Max_Headroom]

13 hours ago, haelewyn said:

Here, whatcar gives a list of things that went wrong with the Yaris  (go to page 3)

To save members going off site - 

 

Wheel hub might become loose

One or more of the rear hub retaining bolts may have not been tightened to the correct specification at the factory on examples made between 8 September 2014 and 9 January 2015. Affected vehicles should have had the bolts checked for tightness as part of the recall, so contact your dealer to make sure this has been done.

Brake fluid might leak

Some front right-hand brake calipers weren’t manufactured correctly and it’s possible that brake fluid might leak out. If a leak occurs, the brake warning light should illuminate to warn you. Affected vehicles produced between 10 April 2014 and 15 April 2014 should have had the front right-hand brake caliper replaced.

Brake fluid

On cars made between 2 April 2013 and 23 May 2013, there’s also a possibility that a brake fluid leak could develop from one of the brake pipe unions of either of the rear brake calipers or rear brake cylinders. A warning light should illuminate in the instrument panel to tell you about it, because a loss of fluid will impact the braking efficiency of the vehicle and increase its stopping distance.

Directional control could be compromised

On some Yarises built between 13 January 2015 and 27 February 2015, there’s a possibility that a strut top mounting bearing in the front suspension could be damaged when the vehicle is driven over a large bump. You might hear an abnormal noise when driving on uneven roads or when turning the steering wheel. Over time, the mount could fail, causing a loss of vehicle stability. Improved bearings should be installed as part of the recall.

Driver’s airbag might rupture

This applies to some vehicles constructed between 24 August 2011 and 30 December 2014, as well as between 5 January 2015 and 14 September 2016. There the potential for moisture to get into the assembly, causing the airbag to rupture during deployment, putting occupants at an increased risk of injury. Any vehicle that this recall affects should have had the airbag replaced.

A short circuit could cause the power steering to fail

A short circuit relay in the electric power steering control module can cause the loss of power assistance to the steering of examples made between 20 July 2011 and 21 March 2012. Any car affected by this recall will need to have the power control module in the power steering system replaced.

Rear seatbelt could fail

It’s possible for part of the webbing of the rear seatbelts on cars built between 30 August 2011 and 26 January 2016 to be cut by a sharp edge on the seatbelt anchor plate that attaches the belt securely to the floor. If this happens during a collision, rear seat occupants might not be correctly restrained and are therefore put at an increased risk of injury. Recalled cars should have been checked by a Toyota dealer and the seatbelt assembly replaced where necessary.

Hybrid system

A fault in the hybrid system of some examples manufactured from 6 February 2018 to 2 April 2019 could cause it to stop working. If your car is affected, it'll need to be inspected at a dealership and potentially have the DC converter replaced.

Front seat wiring harness

The wiring harness to the front seats of Yaris' made between 30 June 2014 and 17 February 2017 could be damaged and prevent the side and curtain airbags from deploying as intended in a collision. Speak to your local dealer to find out if your car is affected by this because the harness will need to be inspected and potentially replaced.

Fuel leak

The seals around the fuel injectors for the engine could fail on cars built between 18 July 2017 and 12 April 2018 and allow fuel to leak out. Any car affected by this will need to have the seals and bolts holding the injectors in replaced by a technician at a Toyota dealer.