2019 Yaris

[sproutdreamer]

Thinking of buying one of these and I am attracted by the features such as satnav, reverse camera and Toyota Safety Sense. Lots of good safety features but more to go wrong. Are there any particular weak things on these cars that I should look out for when viewing and test driving.

I test drove ane with 16" wheels and the drive was really hard and with lots of road noise. I am looking at one with 15" alloys tomorrow which should be better but how much better? Any advice or views will be really helpful.

[Mojo1010]

Had a 2016 hybrid with 15" and ride comfort was good, no experience with MK3 on 16". Not a single problem in 5 years of ownership, just servicing required. 

My advise is do whatever u can to get 195mm tyres that came with whatever trim. 185mm which i upgraded to from 175mm, corner high speed road poorly. 

[RUToyota]

We have a 2019 Y20 1.5 bought new for my wife which I'm sure is on 16" wheels....drives and rides well IMO.

It's been faultless as have the previous 3 Yaris she's had.

[Ian saunders]

I have a 2019 on 15 inch 175 tyres and find the ride very good ,bigger wheels with lower profile tyres may look nicer,but will ride harsher .

[Derek.w]

The setup on lower profile tyres it not just the tyres the springs are diffrent so you can corner at high speed if you that type of driver I am.

[MikeSh]

The problem is that the wheel size is often dependent on the spec level, so you may find you can't get high spec with smaller rims, and vice versa. Back in the day you could mix and match, when buying new anyway.

[Aygolite]

22 hours ago, Mojo1010 said:

Had a 2016 hybrid with 15" and ride comfort was good...

...185mm which i upgraded to from 175mm, corner high speed road poorly. 

Yaris MK3 has 175/65R15 fitted to 5Jx15 ET39 4/100 54.1 rims.

If you upgraded to 185/60R15 or 185/65R15, changing to wider rims would have been better for high speed cornering.

You could have used 5.5Jx15 ET45 4/100 54.1 rims from the earlier Yaris MK2.

For comparison, the latest Honda Jazz fits its 185/60R15 to an even wider 6J rim.

Alcar 7890 5.5Jx15 ET45 4/100 54.1 rim (Yaris MK2)

https://www.oponeo.pl/felga-stalowa/alcar-kfz-7890#23474058

https://www.mytyres.co.uk/rims/details?vehicleId=168983392317084260&rimCode=ALCAR7890

Alcar 7615 5Jx15 ET39 4/100 54.1 rim (Yaris MK3)

https://www.oponeo.pl/felga-stalowa/alcar-kfz-7615#23474087

https://www.mytyres.co.uk/rims/details?vehicleId=170124685386715748&rimCode=ALCAR7615

As you can see in the ETRTO chart below, a 5J rim width is standard for a 175/65R15 tyre size, and a 5.5J rim width is standard for both a 185/65R15 and 185/60R15 tyre size. The standard rim width is highlighted in bold.

ETRTO approved rim widths
175/65R15 5.0-5.0-6.0
185/65R15 5.0-5.5-6.5
185/60R15 5.0-5.5-6.5

Car manufacturers don't always stick to the standard rim width for a given tyre size, but they always stick within the given range of ETRTO approved rim widths for a given tyre size.

It's quite common for a car manufacturer to use a 5.5J rim width for a 175/65R15 tyre size, and a 6J rim width for both a 185/65R15 and 185/60R15 tyre size.

[Mojo1010]

I did not want to change the rims. The 175mm was even poorer, corner even slow speed very bad. 185mm improved it but not enough for high speed corner. 

Now I have a MK4 with 195/55/16, chassis is also 37% stiffer, massive improvement. 

[Derek.w]

My MK4 My tyres 205/45R/17 84W

[YarisHybrid2016]

My Gen.3 had 16" wheels, but it's not the reason it was a bit harder. Suspension is everything.

My Gen.4 GR Sport is on 18" wheels, and despite this, rides much better than my Gen.3 ever could, and corners like f&&&! I would have crashed my Gen.3 several times had I cornered the way that I can in the GR Sport.

Note: GR Sport has tuned suspension and stiffened body, in addition to the larger wheels/wider tyres, as compared with the other Gen.4 Yarisesesusus (royalties to Cyker).

[YarisHybrid2016]

On 9/1/2023 at 5:35 PM, sproutdreamer said:

Thinking of buying one of these and I am attracted by the features such as satnav, reverse camera and Toyota Safety Sense. Lots of good safety features but more to go wrong. Are there any particular weak things on these cars that I should look out for when viewing and test driving.

I test drove ane with 16" wheels and the drive was really hard and with lots of road noise. I am looking at one with 15" alloys tomorrow which should be better but how much better? Any advice or views will be really helpful.

I had my Gen.3 from new and bought it back in 2015. Never had a problem with it right up until last Friday (Sept. 1st) when I traded it in. It had done over 100,000 miles. A solid car if looked after.

TSS on the 2019 will be the Gen.1 version of it. I didn't bother to add it to my car when I bought it (such things were optional back then). Check whether the car had a new windscreen - aligning the unit after a replacement could be a PITA from what I understand, and this can compromise the system.

By now, I would hope they got that sorted out.

[sproutdreamer]

Thanks for all the comments and links. Tried an Icon tech cvt on 15" wheels and different again to the 16"-I just ned to find a cvt that is not hybrid!

Tne two cars I have driven the hill start did not seem to do anything on a slope starting-is there  button to press or could it have been de-activated on both cars? I understand some peeps disable the lane advice and front parking sensors as they do not like the constant beeping>

[YarisHybrid2016]

18 hours ago, sproutdreamer said:

Thanks for all the comments and links. Tried an Icon tech cvt on 15" wheels and different again to the 16"-I just ned to find a cvt that is not hybrid!

Tne two cars I have driven the hill start did not seem to do anything on a slope starting-is there  button to press or could it have been de-activated on both cars? I understand some peeps disable the lane advice and front parking sensors as they do not like the constant beeping>

Why would you NOT want a hybrid? They are by far the best model to buy!

Don't get hung up on hybrids having "eCVT" or whatever marketing says it is...mechanically it is the simplest system you will find anywhere (there are about 10 moving parts in the whole thing; all gears), and absolutely bomb-proof reliable. The 2019 is Gen.3. Nothing wrong with it!

As you can see...no hydraulic actuators, no (moving) clutches, no sliding parts. Just gears that are permanently engaged, and a planetary gear set (aka power split device).

 

 

[MikeSh]

9 hours ago, YarisHybrid2016 said:

Why would you NOT want a hybrid?

Budget? They are generally quite a bit more expensive. (IIRC When we got ours 2 years ago it was about 12k and comparable CVTs were about 10k.)

[YarisHybrid2016]

8 minutes ago, MikeSh said:

Budget? They are generally quite a bit more expensive. (IIRC When we got ours 2 years ago it was about 12k and comparable CVTs were about 10k.)

Fair enough!

[Cyker]

Budget is the only valid reason IMHO - I always said, if someone wanted an automatic, the best automatic is the HSD** - Far more reliable and low maintenance than any conventional autobox.

But it's worth stretching to the extra cost if possible. The hybrids also hold their value better than any other type of car - Thanks to things like the ULEZ, their 2nd hand value has actually been going up!!

 

Regarding the hill start, there are 2 systems I'm aware off;

The one in mine is the newer sort - You have to press a button labelled Brake Hold, and from then on, any time you brake to a stop, it'll hold the brake pedal for you for up to a few minutes. (And then prompt you to press the brake pedal again to continue, or it'll disengage and switch to the EPB*)

The older type, hill start assist, you have to press and hold the brake pedal quite firmly for a few seconds, then it will hold the brake for you for a short period so you can change to the accelerator.

 

 

*Electronic Parking Brake

**Hybrid Synergy Drive, the name of the hybrid transmission

[Stevie J]

The one main thing that put me off buying a Hybrid Yaris is the cost of replacing the Hybrid Battery. If my current car which is a 64 reg, and will be 9 years old in December was a Hybrid, then I would be getting very worried about the Hybrid Battery failing as it is said that the average life of a Toyota Hybrid Battery is 8 - 12 years, and at the price I could afford to pay to get a Hybrid, it would be likely to be of the age where the cost of replacing the main Hybrid Battery is looming.

This is the main worry about buying any electric car when you are on a budget, as once these cars get to the price of being affordable to those on lower incomes, ie, by the time they are the sort of age my current car is, 9 years, they would be on the verge of needing new batteries which is so prohibitively expensive, the car is effectively a write off.

Yes, the Yaris Hybrid does need to have a functional hybrid battery and it is less expensive to replace than the battery of a fully electric vehicle, but even then, I would expect that the cost of replacing the hybrid battery of a Mk3 Yaris Hybrid older than a 15 plate would be in excess of £2000.

Perhaps someone could say exactly how much a  replacement hybrid battery would cost for an older Mk3 Yaris?

[Stevie J]

I just had a quick check online to see what a Yaris Hybrid Battery would cost and it seems to be between £3000 and £5000, which is something to seriously bear in mind before buying one that is older than 8 years - if its not been looked after and has high mileage, it is more likely to need a new Battery sooner rather than later.

I think this is leading to a time in the near future that BEV and HEV vehicles will be only expected to have a lifetime of between 8 and 12 years, unless owners want to spend a fortune replaceing batteries. ICE cars can last 20 years in comparison as they dont depend on batteries that have limited lifetimes and are eyewateringly expensive.

[Cyker]

Is that the all-in cost? The one for my Mk4 can be had for something like £700-£1500 plus whatever the labour is...!

But TBH, it's not that much in the grand scheme of things - Just put the money you *would* have spent on clutch changes or DSG servicing, and brake pads and discs in an ISA or premium bonds or something and you'll have more than enough money to replace it when the time comes... if it does!

The hybrid batteries aren't used like EV batteries - They have much easier life and only a fraction of their capacity is used most of the time, so they have a much longer useable life.

I can't think of anyone on this forum who's replaced their hybrid Battery except where there was an actual fault with it, rather than just old age, and there are a good few ones on this forum over 13 years old and still going strong!

 

Anyway, it's not like ICE cars are immune to big expensive part replacements - My brother bought an Audi A3 and didn't do his research; Turned out the DSG gearbox clutchpacks had worn out and he was getting quotes in the region of £6000 to repair/replace it IIRC!

[Stevie J]

I think its all a matter of how much risk you want to take that the main hybrid Battery in a potential Yaris will last 11 years or 8 years. The Yaris has only been offered as a Hybrid version since 2012, so the oldest ones will now be 11 years old, and it is a matter of when, not if, the batteries in these oldest Yaris Mk3 will finally give out, and the car apparently cannot be driven if the hybrid Battery fails, so it is not a matter of saying, oh, its okay, its 11 years old now, I'll just drive it on the petrol engine and I wont need the hybrid system, because once that Battery goes, its buy a new battery or the car is not going to run.

I had this same discussion when I was in the showroom down at Toyota in February when my mother was looking to get a newer Yaris. She was looking at 2019 cars, late model Mk3, and the salesman said why not just go for the Hybrid version, much better, he said, but I said to mother, what happens in 5 years time, when that 2019 car is 9 years old, and the hybrid battery fails? In addition, you are paying a lot more for a 2019 Yaris Hybrid than for a 2019 Yaris 1.33 Icon tech, and in potentially 5 years time, that £17000 2019 Hybrid could end up costing thousands to keep on the road if the worst happens. Its all as I say, how much risk you want to take. Yes, that battery could go on for 12 years, and thats cool - but WHAT IF it doesn't? Do you really want to spend that much on a new battery for a car which is then nearly 10 years old?

She ended up with a 2019 Yaris Icon Tech, very nice car, with 9000 miles on it for £12500, and that could see out her driving days, and she wouldnt have to worry about the constant issues with batteries in the Hybrids running down as she doesnt use the car that much, nor the worry that in 5 years time, she might be faced with a massive bill if the main hybrid battery fails.

At the end of the day, its for the purchaser to weigh up the pros and cons of Hybrids - ie, they cost a lot more to buy in the first place, they will save money in petrol over the years, but what use if that saving if the car costs several thousand more originally and could cost another few thousand when its 9 years old or older?

[MikeSh]

1 hour ago, Stevie J said:

The Yaris has only been offered as a Hybrid version since 2012, so the oldest ones will now be 11 years old, and it is a matter of when, not if, the batteries in these oldest Yaris Mk3 will finally give out

I guess we need to visit the Prius forum to see how their batteries are faring. They've been around for over 20 years now I believe.

[Stevie J]

Yes the Prius has been around much longer, and according to that site I looked at earlier, Hybrid batteries for them are considerably cheaper and in better supply. Its like anything with a Battery, its the life of that Battery that matters. Cordless tools, vacuums etc that use Lithium Ion batteries can vary in lifetime, but some cordless vacuum cleaners can need new batteries after just 2 years, but others can last over 5, whereas lead acid 12V car batteries usually have a life of between 3 and 7 years.

I just cannot see how with current Battery technology, we can expect a battery to last in excess of 10 years. Maybe in the future when the technology has improved, the number of years a battery will last will increase, but it is not in the best interests of car makers to have them last too long, as they want people to keep buying new cars, not drive round in cars that are 15 - 20 years old like some members of this forum do. I would expect there are plenty of older Mk1 Prius models that have had expired hybrid batteries that have pretty much lost all capacity, but with batteries being cheaper, they may well have thought it more affordable to replace them.

Maybe when the Yaris Hybrids main Hybrid batteries start failing in larger numbers prices of batteries may come down a bit as more aftermarket makers supply them, who knows. But at the end of the day, I see expensive battery packs in cars, especially fully electric cars, as being a very good example of deliberate built in obsolescence, but with the push for electrification by 2030, and many manufacturers even now stopping making ICE cars, I can see that in 15 - 20 years from now, only those with higher incomes are going to be able to afford to buy and run cars, and that is a big worry for the masses that wont be able to afford them. 

[Moleman]

9 hours ago, Stevie J said:

Yes the Prius has been around much longer, and according to that site I looked at earlier, Hybrid batteries for them are considerably cheaper and in better supply. Its like anything with a battery, its the life of that battery that matters. Cordless tools, vacuums etc that use Lithium Ion batteries can vary in lifetime, but some cordless vacuum cleaners can need new batteries after just 2 years, but others can last over 5, whereas lead acid 12V car batteries usually have a life of between 3 and 7 years.

I just cannot see how with current battery technology, we can expect a battery to last in excess of 10 years. Maybe in the future when the technology has improved, the number of years a battery will last will increase, but it is not in the best interests of car makers to have them last too long, as they want people to keep buying new cars, not drive round in cars that are 15 - 20 years old like some members of this forum do. I would expect there are plenty of older Mk1 Prius models that have had expired hybrid batteries that have pretty much lost all capacity, but with batteries being cheaper, they may well have thought it more affordable to replace them.

Maybe when the Yaris Hybrids main Hybrid batteries start failing in larger numbers prices of batteries may come down a bit as more aftermarket makers supply them, who knows. But at the end of the day, I see expensive battery packs in cars, especially fully electric cars, as being a very good example of deliberate built in obsolescence, but with the push for electrification by 2030, and many manufacturers even now stopping making ICE cars, I can see that in 15 - 20 years from now, only those with higher incomes are going to be able to afford to buy and run cars, and that is a big worry for the masses that wont be able to afford them. 

Toyota appear to have a greater confidence in their product and batteries than you and seem prepared to back that up. 

Time will tell, but many Toyota/Lexus hybrids are on road with batteries that have lasted much longer than 10 years.

15 Year Toyota Hybrid Battery Cover

In addition to the manufacturer warranty, your Toyota Hybrid Battery can benefit from up to 15 years of warranty in total. With every service at a Toyota dealer, the warranty is extended for a further 12 months, up to the 15th year of registration.

[Cyker]

TBH, I think you're worrying too much about the battery; That is the least likely thing to go wrong in any reasonable time on them - Generally the rest of the car will have started to fail by the time that's ready to let go; I reckon you'd be needing new bearings, bushes, shocks etc. long before the traction Battery goes. And as I said, in a normal car you'd spend far more replacing the clutches and brakes alone across its life if you were keeping it long term, so just put that money aside if it's so worrying.

The fact that it's been over 20 years since the original Prius and we haven't had the press go crazy about mass failing hybrid batteries - And you know they would have, given their typical animosity toward Toyota and their hysteria about all things electric and exploding batteries - show that they have enough longevity to not be worth worrying about.

 

I still remember when we were all thinking they'd be dead after 2 years, based on the typical life of laptop batteries, but they've blown those expectations away.

 

[MikeSh]

Trouble is the average Joe thinks there is concrete, bricks, metal, batteries, coffee, or almost anything, without realising the huge number of different types and permutations there are of each.