Faults With The Auris 1.33

[chrissie1]

I purchased a new Auris last October (2009) it has already had the accelerator recall but last week rolled down the carpark after I put the handbrake on tightly and now the engine seems to be overheating. Has anyone else had these problems? My car has only done 13000 miles.

[Mooly]

Haven't heard of any such problems... have you spoken to your dealer ?

Is it overheating as shown by the gauge ?

[jettech]

The handbrake issue and diesel overheating (headgasket failure) was already discussed on the forum. Auris isn't the most reliable car unfortunately.

[T Sport 1978]

I purchased a new Auris last October (2009) it has already had the accelerator recall but last week rolled down the carpark after I put the handbrake on tightly and now the engine seems to be overheating. Has anyone else had these problems? My car has only done 13000 miles.

Other cars suffers from the same potential handbrake problem, its basically where the rear discs were very hot at the time (expanded) when you applied the hand brake, when the disc cools sufficiently (therefore retracted in size) your brake caliper is no longer grabbing the same amount of disc. It is always advisable to put your car in gear whether it is parked on an incline or not. I know i always do.

As for overheating, check your coolant levels, check your oil is not cloudy or contain anything but oil/soot as this may suggest a leak of coolant into the engine system and thus may point to head gasket problem. Check that the engine bay fan works also.

I hope this helps and better be informed than to be told you have a terminal problem without any advise. As others have said, take it back to the dealer and tell them to sort it out.

To suggest the Auris has a common head gasket problem is ridiculous, a few cases does not make an epidemic.

[FROSTYBALLS]

I haven't seen any mention of the 1.33 petrol engine having head gasket problems on either the Auris forum or the Yaris forum.

As regards the brakes - this is an issue with any car that has the handbrake operating on discs.

Last year my partner had parked in a multi storey in Birmingham city centre. When she was returning to her car later in the day, she witnessed a car rolling out of the parking bay, down a slight ramp and hitting another vehicle. She reported this to the attendants, who weren't in the least surprised and said it happens at least once every week in that car park. Purely and simply down to the car not being put into gear when parked.