How Hard Do You Drive Your Yaris?

[Raeman]

Well this is a bit of a strange one, basically i was driving yesterday and was giving the car a bit of a workout.

When i started to drive slowly again, and then stopped at traffic lights, i opened the window slightly and i could hear a light rustling noise like the cam-chain was rattling a bit. :o

So i get home, lifted the bonnet and left the engine running. Then i could hear the engine rattle a bit on slight throttle and also the airbox was vibrating and shaking a bit!

This left me a bit puzzled as the car has never done this before, so i turned it off and left it for a few hours.

Then before i drove it again i checked the oil level and that was ok. Then i checked everything for any looseness and still everything was ok.

Then i started the car up and listened to it again, but it was fine then, no rattle or other noises, just a smooth sounding engine.

The oil level is allways the same, the car has never used oil between services and was last changed with filter some 1500 miles ago, Castrol Edge fully synth was put in then.

Thing is, every now and then it does this but if i drive it normal all the time, i get good MPG and all's well mechanically wise.

Now i'm a bit worried about driving it quite hard in case the cam-chain snaps!

Car has done 80k now and is in perfect condition, having been pampered by me and it's original owner.

So the question is, has anyone else had a similar thing happen? And it is not wise to drive it hard now it's done 80k?

Cheers all. :)

[Yaris SR Kid]

The yaris engine is basically bullet proof as with most toyotas, aslong as the car has been looked after you should be able to drive it as hard as you want.

Unsure of the rattling noise you talk about as you say everything external was secure!

I would be very shocked if you broke the chain by driving it too hard ...

I do drive it hard sometimes and never had any problems from the SR or the T sport

[Raeman]

Cheers Adam, that kinda puts my mind at ease a lot.

Guess i'll just have to keep an eye on it as i need it to last until i get a T-Sport! :D

[reece]

I drive mine like a Nun on a Sunday afternoon :D

[Cyker]

Funnily enough I've been experiencing something similar since I had my shunt on the ice.

I found that some plastic fasteners, that hold the plastic shield where the horn is, had snapped off and were rattling around. Took them out, cable-tied the panel in, job's a good'n I thought.

Then a few days later, noticed the rattle was back, checked the engine bay, couldn't find anything. Was most noticeable when the car is cold, or when it's on an incline (Forward, backward, sideways...!)

Gave the car a blast on the M25 last weekend (4000rpm up hill in 4th gear makes a hell of a racket in a D4D!! ) and weirdly that seems to have gotten rid of it for the time being

[Cherry Red Pocket Rocket]

Every now and then I give my X Reg 1 litre Yaris a good blasting to get rid of all the crap in the engine on the dual carriageway or motorway and take it through the rev range and just before it hits the red before changing gear. Its done just under 80k too and so far I've not heard it make any unusual sounds or display any unusual behaviour.

[Vitz_man]

Just took my T reg over the 100k miles mark today - anyone else in the same boat or am I in uncharted waters? - and I give it a little bit of a thrash now and again and its never failed on me yet. I've notices a misfire occuring very very occasionally, but thats just under normal driving and im not too worried. Had a problem with water getting into one of the spark plug housing so im assuming this is whats causing it, even after its been sorted (to the best of my abilities!).

Mines has been up to the red line a few times recently and its been fine, although its obviously something im not planning on doing lots. >< You should be fine in the mean time! ;)

[Craig Sheffield]

I take my 1.8 SR to 6,400 revs at least once every couple of days all the way though the gears (well to 70 - OK, I know in 3rd gear I hit 83mph).

The car is designed to be driven this way, as was our previous MR2 Roadster and Celica which share the same engines. Maximum torque is up there!.

It doesnt harm the car, and what was the point in buying a 1.8 if it wasnt "driven". Normal town driving I try to change gears before hitting 3k revs, but only for an easy life. I have driven mine like a granny and like I stole it and a tank of fuel is around 10 miles difference, so no point driving like a granny.

[Cyker]

Yeah, very typical japanese engines in these cars, even the diesel ones!

They seem to prefer being revved a bit ;)

[sphinktar1988]

Yaris SR 136,000 miles on it and that was given a good thrashing most of its life sold it and it was fine

its a toyota dont worry yourself

[z-tune-z2]

I've got a T-S... And with the engine only engaging the upper bounds of the VVTi jazz at the high revs... So I figure I'll have to take it up there occasionally. Very occasionally, maybe one or twice a week because I don't drive it often.

Throwing it around corners and such.. I do that a whole lot less during most the year as I'm far from country roads.

[gar]

I drive mine like a Nun on a Sunday afternoon :D

What do you drive it like, the rest of the week?

[gar]

Regular servicing, espesh. oil changes, warm it up PROPERLY, let it cool a few mins before turning off at the ond, to allow heat to dissipate, and driving hard should be ok... just dont stay in the red range too long!