Yaris 1.4 d4d T spirit wanted

[dervdave]

On 5/14/2023 at 9:31 AM, dervdave said:

I've got the chance of a 1 original owner 2002 30k (18k in first 3 yrs) Yaris GLS, 1.4 d4d garaged and mot'ed every year £2500.

Well I did buy this car, it looks and drives like new and unbelievably clean and rust free underneath.

[Cyker]

Nice, good job keeping the 1.4 D4D flag flying!  

 

[dervdave]

Anybody fancy my 102k old newer Yaris T Spirit d4d 😊

[Stevie J]

I have read articles on the 2002 Diesel Yaris, and it appears you need to take care with the very early D4D engines. the 1.4 D4D in the mk1 Yaris was first introduced in 2002, and this year in particular had the issue of head gasket failures, presumably because it was Toyota's first all new all aluminium engine and being the first year of production, 2002 models look like they had teething problems with head gasket failures, causing the system pressurising with gases, not alerting the driver to overheating due to there being no temp gauge, and subsequent possible engine damage.

I think later years had the issue rectified, but worth keeping an eye on if the car has not had the head gasket replaced - heater blowing cold when set to heat seems the common warning sign that gas is escaping past the head gasket into the cooling system and causing airlocks.

D-4d Head Gasket - Yaris & Yaris Cross Club - Toyota Owners Club - Toyota Forum

Has Diesel Head Gasket Been Improved - Yaris & Yaris Cross Club - Toyota Owners Club - Toyota Forum

https://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/topic/64424-d4d-fans-and-overheating-light-question/

 

[dervdave]

Thanks for the post Steve, I did know about the head gasket problem but what could I do other than not buy it ?

[Stevie J]

Thats great - maybe your car has already had the head gasket issue and it was sorted out, but always good to know the common issues so you can look out for them.

I had a Rover 400 some years ago with the notorious K series engine, and these had a serious problem with head gasket failures, they were renowned for it, and indeed the one I had did fail. Fortunately as I knew what to look out for I was able to get the issue sorted before the engine suffered severe damage, in fact I replaced the head gasket with the uprated MLS type to prevent it happening again. 

Hopefully you should be able to enjoy your new car - I always liked my 1999 Mk1 1.0 CDX when I had it, certainly had more storage spaces and innovation than the current Mk3 I have which is much more conventional inside. My old Yaris Mk1 was one of the very first , from the first few months of Yaris prodution, I sold it on back in 2016 when it was 17 years old. Only issue it had was the original alloy wheels kept leaking round the rims, so I had to put aftermarket wheels on it.

 

 

 

[Cyker]

Yeah, I do wish they'd made the interiors of the newer ones more Yarisy - I do miss the sliding rear seats and all the storage cubbies!

[Stevie J]

I think the Mk1 was the best model Yaris to be honest, they were so futuristic when launched, they made the old Starlet so dated in comparison. The rear seats being able to be moved back and forth was an excellent idea, made the boot bigger at the expense of rear seat legroom, but if you were not carrying passengers, it was ideal. Carried on in the Mk2, but the Mk3 does not get moveable rear seats, which I was surprised about.

The centre pod digital display was very cool for a 1999 car, and reminded me of my uncle's old 1987 Astra GTE which had the same type of digital dash, and being mounted in the centre, giving that drivers side "glovebox" over the steering wheel mounting, as well as the same on the passenger side was excellent. The Mk1 had so many hidey holes, even that sliding tray under the passenger seat, which the Mk3 didnt get - I do miss many aspects of the old Mk1, but sadly they are between 17 and 24 years old now, and dwindling fast. Mine had to have the usual welding done on the rear sills and inner wheel arches, but aside from that, it was really reliable, great car to drive and surprisingly nippy for the little 1.0 engine, ran like a little singer sewing machine. 

[Cyker]

Yeah, that car was ahead of it's time!

Damned good car. It has spoilt me - After having it, finding a replacement was very difficult as all 'normal' cars just feel inferior.

The collimated dash display was the reason I had to get a HUD with the Mk4, as I'm so used to not having to refocus my eyes to see the dash, I get eye-strain switching focal distances to normal dashboards now, esp. ones with old fashioned dials! I still think it made much more sense to have the dash in the middle under the rear-view mirror instead of being obscured behind the steering wheel!

I get why Toyota went back to more conventional dashboards, as everyone who's driven my Mk1 found the layout disconcertingly weird, and I bet enough people complained about it they thought it was impacting sales, but if you discount familiarity it just makes so much more sense!

And the Mk4 really could have done with the sliding rear seats - The rear passenger space is too cramped and being able to increase that as needed would have really helped, and if it wasn't for the HUD and better driving dynamics of the Mk4 I might have gotten a Honda Jazz due to that having trick rear seats!

[Stevie J]

It took me a while to get used to the centre mounted instrument panel, but it was so clever the way it was designed, down that tunnel and using mirrors inside the dash to project the image of the speedo, rev counter and fuel gauge. Having had the same on the Mk2 I had next, I now miss that on the Mk3 which seems old fashioned compared to earlier models, but I guess Toyota must have had a reason for going back to mounting the instrument panel behind the steering wheel and going back to analogue clocks for the speedo, rev counter and fuel gauge. I do wish they had engine temp gauges though instead of a red light - I know they put gauges on the 2017 onwards mk3 and I presume the Mk4 has them too, but they are better at detecting possible overheating before it gets to the stage of being overheated and the red light flashing.

I do like the 2008 - 2014 Honda Jazz shape the best, but sadly these are really popular with Cat Converter thieves - moreso than the Yaris, which seems to have its main cat mounted in the manifold, apart from the Mk1 which was under the engine if I remember rightly.

[dervdave]

14 hours ago, Stevie J said:

Thats great - maybe your car has already had the head gasket issue and it was sorted out, but always good to know the common issues so you can look out for them.

It definitely hasn't  had mods done so I'll be watching.

I would like to know more details of the  new head and gasket if anyone knows.

[Rhymes with Paris]

Another vote for the central instrument cluster,as many of you will know, the tsport has this, but with analogue speedo and rev counter.

I am so used to it now that I think it would take me a while to get used to behind the steering wheel again.

As regards quality build, like many others here I have had a variety of cars over the years.

This old Yaris I have, and a previous Lexus 200 are in my opinion, the two best made cars that I have owned.

[dervdave]

What do you reckon on the tyres ? original 21yr old Bridgestones, plenty tread left and no signs of cracking or perishing, use or replace ?

[Stevie J]

If the car has 30K miles on it, there is a very good chance that they wont be the original tyres, as most cars need tyres at between every 10 and 20K miles, so it may be that the rear tyres might still be original as they last longer than front tyres, but even rear tyres are pushing it to last 30K miles, the front tyres would have been replaced at some time, possibly by Bridgestones. All tyres should display a 4 digit date code on the sidewall - in the format WWYY so for example if the code 2712 was found on the sidewall, that would be week 27 of 2012.

Have a good look for the date codes, and if the tyres are older than 10 years old at most, I would personally not risk driving on them - aged tyres are much more likely to suffer blowouts or even start to de-laminate. 

I recently replaced a tyre on my own car, which was still the original on the back and that had done 29K miles, had a date code showing 2014, and the car has done 30K miles now. It was the last original tyre on the car, and although it still had a couple of mm of tread left on it, I changed it as it was almost 9 years old. It is never worth the risk to drive on old tyres - even if they look OK, structurally they could be compromised due to the degradation of rubber with age, and lack of use, ie, the car sitting idle for weeks on end wont help either, so very low mileage cars should always have new tyres based on age, rather than miles covered.

[dervdave]

Oh they're the original tyres  ok, Japanese Bridgestones with an 02 date stamp.

I getting some Goodyear Vectors fitted today, I've got the them on the 04 Yaris and quite satisfied with them.

[Cyker]

Those tyres belong in a museum!  

I think you made the right decision to change them, although if I was strapped for cash I'd check the condition - By this time I'd imagine they have started to crack and gotten brittle, but if they somehow haven't I'd probably try them and test their grip levels!  

[dervdave]

To be honest they do seem and look perfectly fine but I'm not going to take the risk for the sake of £270.

Anyway at my age these will probably be the only tyres I'll be buying for this car.

[paul9]

Better to not be crashing your car due to bad tyres than to hang on to those pennies.

[dervdave]

To honest I'll feeling a little guilty that I'm going to be using such a genuine Yaris as an everyday summer/winter car 😕

[paul9]

The little fella deserves to be driven regularly and loved. I'd take it off your hands for my petroleum fuelled version, but I don't want to have to pay extra to nip over the Toon. Are those ULEZ compliant? Just for future reference.

https://vehiclecheck.drive-clean-air-zone.service.gov.uk/vehicle_checkers/enter_details

[dervdave]

11 minutes ago, paul9 said:

 Are those ULEZ compliant? Just for future reference.

 

No they not and is the reason the previous London owner sold it

[Cyker]

Yeah, that's the reason I had to get rid of my otherwise perfectly fine Mk1 D4D   (KHAAAAAAAN! )

But don't feel bad about using it as a daily - The D4D wants to be used regularly and doesn't like being sat doing nothing! Mine always seemed happiest hauling me and my mates about up and down the country, and giving the turbo a good workout  

I'm just glad you were able to rescue one from the ULEZ scrappers and give it a continued use!

 

[Madasafish]

On 6/26/2023 at 9:17 PM, Stevie J said:

 

I do like the 2008 - 2014 Honda Jazz shape the best, but sadly these are really popular with Cat Converter thieves - moreso than the Yaris, which seems to have its main cat mounted in the manifold, apart from the Mk1 which was under the engine if I remember rightly.

Err the cat on the 2011 Jazz on is mounted up beside the cylinder head and is  not accessible to thieves in minutes. The Mark 1 is under the floorpan and very easy to cut off.  Also post 2011 cars have a cat with far less platinum.

[Cyker]

If they're stupid enough to cut one off a D4D they're welcome to the lung cancer!  

Diesels aren't generally targetted because of the soot, but also they don't have the money metal (Rhodium) that the thieves are after, only the far less valuable platinum and palladium.