Toyota Yaris Faults

The Toyota Yaris is the subcompact of subcompacts offered by the Japanese company in America. In this article, we take a look at the Toyota Yaris faults and the subtly of the company.

The Toyota Yaris is a somewhat humorous offering from the company. How so? Well, Toyota first issued a subcompact called the ECHO. It was only around for a year or so because it took such a beating in the press and from owners. The Yaris was released as its replacement. There is only one problem. What is the Yaris? It is European version of the ECHO! Obviously, Toyota has made some major improvements, but there are still plenty of Yaris faults to talk about.

First we have to present a caveat to this discussion. The Yaris is intended to be a very cheap mode of transportation that will get you from here to there with a minimum of fuss. When you buy a car that retails for between $13,000 and $15,500, you can’t exactly expect to get top performance and luxurious interiors. In short, you get what you pay for and many of the Yaris faults should be viewed from this perspective.

The Yaris comes with a tiny engine. There isn’t anything wrong with that. The car is surprisingly quick given its small engine, but that engine has to work hard to get the car going. A side effect of this is it can be really loud and the stress on the engine can sound a bit frightful. If you are looking for a smooth, quit car, this is one Yaris fault that is going to really bother you.

A second fault of the Yaris is the impact of the small engine on your driving. If you live in a flat area, the engine will suffice. If you live in a mountainous or hilly area, you might want to avoid the Yaris. The problem is going up hills. The little car that could…does…but just barely. The engine has to work incredibly hard and you know that can’t be good for its long term health.

What about the design? I actually like the exterior. It looks a ton better than the ECHO did and actually has some nice lines. The interior is another matter. Given the low, low price, Toyota needed to cut back somewhere. The interior is where that happened. Things are Spartan and the word plastic will be used a lot when discussing what you see. For the price, you could hardly expect anything else, but it is very noticeable.

It should be noted that the 2007 Yaris had a recall. The issue was related to the front seat belts. There is a mechanism that pulls them tight when a front end collision is sensed. The mechanism was faulty. If you are looking at the 2007 model, make sure it has been replaced. The 2008 and later models did not have the problem.

The Toyota Yaris really doesn’t have many faults. It is a solid little car that actually gives you a lot for the price. Just make sure you test drive it. If you live in a hilly area, make sure to drive it up a few grades to get a feel for what it can and can’t do.

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