5th Jul 2012, 16:52
I just did an engine swap in an 08 model, due to a massive oil leak from the timing cover.
6th Jul 2012, 16:33
I definitely would not buy any new Japanese car. The quality is awful. Just look at Toyota. It is the most recalled car ever built. And Honda owners on here discuss early transmission failures a lot.
I don't agree, however, with the commenter who says to hang on to older Japanese cars. Our 80's Japanese cars (both built in Japan) fell apart before 100,000 miles. Neither of them was as reliable or as well-built as our very worst domestic.
12th Jul 2012, 13:49
The squeak you hear at low speeds could be your bushings. Make sure someone has them checked.
As for keeping the older Japanese cars, I fully agree! I own a 1992 Accord with 322,000km that is absolutely perfect! I used to have a 1995 Accord (but someone hit me and wrote it off) with 407,000km, and this one was also perfect!
I now have a 2002 Accord, and so far I must say that this car is perfect as well. But I would not buy anything 2010 and higher!
27th May 2013, 22:49
The first gen Yaris was weird looking, but despite its limits, it's a very well designed vehicle.
The second generation did look better, was more stable on the road, but boy it's a mess of a design: bad seats hurt my back on any drive longer than 10 minutes, there's a bad distance between the steering, pedals and seat, and the horribly calibrated suspension made the car feel like it was soulless.
19th Sep 2013, 18:11
"The car feels like it's pulling to the left at high speed. The dealer assured me this is normal due to the light electronic power steering."
Oh God, you should have answered right in his face: Why are you lying?
Normally that's from out of specs wheel alignment.
19th Sep 2013, 18:13
"The chassis feels weak, and car wobbles when you hit an uneven surface at speed."
That's because the car has very cheap shock absorbers. The only thing that could help is to use larger and better quality tires than the original ones.
If the steering feels too light at higher speeds, it could be both because of cheap tires and bad wheel alignment.
12th Feb 2016, 06:49
Lower-end Toyotas generally have a problem with being unable to hold an alignment for long. After a short time, they always want to "pull" to the left (or sometimes the right). Every Toyota I've ever driven and all of my friends' Toyotas have this same issue.
From what I know (there could very well be more), the Toyota B platform, MC platform, and the K platform all have this issue.
15th Mar 2017, 01:11
"Most recalled car ever built"? Nay, I say. I understand your willingness to do battle with Toyota's seemingly Teflon reputation, however, for the most recalled cars, you must check out the domestics of the '70s and '80s. The Dodge Aspen, Plymouth Volare, Ford Tempo, Mercury Topaz, Chevrolet Celebrity, Buick Skylark, Oldsmobile Omega, and Pontiac Phoenix stand as proud records of a time when cars could rack up 5 or even 10 recalls in a year. Toyota's recall, massive though it is, lacks the variety of disaster that could beset you in any one of the aforementioned wrecks. Few of them survive, thanks be to the crusher.
15th Mar 2017, 12:27
So what does that have to do with Toyota's massive recalls? It doesn't make it better for owners that have one. Solace being that they could have bought an Aspen instead or a K Car. You can buy your new Toyota model today, not the listed antiques.
15th Mar 2017, 21:32
Wow I rented a new Phoenix once in the late 70s. Is that what a new 2016 Yaris owner could have looked for instead? Some comparison.
18th Jan 2021, 16:12
The 1st generation 1999-2005 Yaris (Echo) was an extremely well designed car but had very cheap interior plastics. It had really comfortable seats and was very easy to drive on long trips and good on gas. The 2nd generation 2006-2013 was a completely different vehicle, with poor seats, less good fuel economy (same engine but heavier car), very nice interior, very poor suspension setup. The Sedan version had limited headroom for taller drivers (the roof would sit much lower than in the hatchback version). The Yaris did poorly in crash tests against heavier vehicles https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei1BD3FrEJs
4th Jul 2012, 20:56
My cousin has one (here in the US). Sucky car. Very bad interior, and no power even with the accelerator to the floor. Very disappointing, Toyota!!