62 Reg Yaris Problem - Urgent!

[ItsMe2]

My sister has just bought a Yaris from RMB Toyota Teesside. She was driving along at 60mph last week when the car lost all forward momentum and consequently someone drove into the back of her! Luckily she wasn't injured.

I had it towed to RMB Toyota who have checked it out and have said that they can't find any faults so we should just take the car away.

When it happened the engine continued to run, the electrical system continued to function but it was as if someone had just put the brakes on (she hadn't!!)

The car has only 124 miles on the clock and yet we are having a very hard time getting either RMB or the Customer Relations Dept to do anything as they both keep saying we should deal with the other one! (ie, RMB say deal with Toyota and Toyota say deal with RMB!!!!)

Has anyone else had or heard of similar problems?

Thanks in advance.

[Madasafish]

Until you tell us the model we have no idea.

Model, engine size, auto or manual transmission...

We try to help but we cannot guess with zero information...

[ItsMe2]

Sorry, it's a 1lt but I'm not sure of the model. It's a manual gearbox.

[Parts-King]

Sorry but brakes do not apply themselves, and for somebody to run into the back of her, there must have been a major slowing down/ braking action

Legally, you bought the car off RMB and your contract is with them

Sorry, but I think something does not add up here, are there mats in the car? Are they secure? ive driven cars with insecure mats that got jammed under both brak and clutch pedals

Kingo

[ItsMe2]

Kingo, that's exactly my point mate. She was just driving along when the car just lost all forward momentum. It was rush hour and the road she was on is one of the busiest in Teesside and was extremely busy just then (6pm) and it was belting down with rain so the old woman behind didn't realise that my sisters car was stopping due to their being no brakes lights to warn her. (my sister didn't touch the brakes hence the brake lights didn't illuminate).

She was just trundling along at a steady 60mph and had no reason to operate the clutch so the mats (which were fastened down) couldn't have caught the clutch. And getting caught UNDER the clutch wouldn't have caused the car to suddenly slow down.

RMB have since tried to say that she must have been driving with her foot on the clutch (at 60mph!) but have also said there is no sign of excessive wear and tear on the clutch. If she had been driving at 60mph with enough pressure on the clutch to cause it to slip to the point that the car slowed to a halt then I would expect to see some damage on the clutch plates.

When she had the crash both myself and the attending copper could detect a strong smell in the car which we both agreed smelt like a burnt out clutch.

Something went wrong with the car and I'm hoping to hear of similar problems so that when i go to RMB tonight for my meeting with the manager I can provide him with some historical evidence that there IS a problem with the car.

[Madasafish]

A burned out clutch would not cause the car to suddenly slow down. At 60mph it would coast for a few 100 meters.

A jammed clutch and no acceleration might slow the car quickly.

The story you are telling sounds incomplete...

Was the handbrake put on by mistake? That would account for the smell..

[ItsMe2]

Handbrake? That would be done by the driver. She did nothing other than just sit there with her foot on the accelerater and hold the car in the lane when it suddednly started to slow down for no reason at all.

I was thinking along the lines of maybe accelerater failure? Aren't they all done by radio signal rather than cable nowadays?

[Madasafish]

Accelerator is electronic. Even if it failed, the engine would not immediately cause the car to stop quickly.

The story you are being told does not sound complete.

(The driver who hit her is at fault.. So the following car's insurer pays pays. Standard insurance.)

I give up. Sorry.

[Parts-King]

Well that acrid smell of burning would usually come from a worn out clutch, which would not bring the car to a sudden halt OR a stuck on brake. If a brake stuck on, it would make the car pull and you would notice that. Brakes do not apply themselves. I do not feel like we have all the facts. I was clutching (no pun intended) at straws when I said check the mats were not stuck under the pedals, it is far more likely to be something like that, you need to look for the obvious first

Kingo

[Geoff Peace]

My sister has just bought a Yaris from RMB Toyota Teesside. She was driving along at 60mph last week when the car lost all forward momentum and consequently someone drove into the back of her! Luckily she wasn't injured.

I had it towed to RMB Toyota who have checked it out and have said that they can't find any faults so we should just take the car away.

When it happened the engine continued to run, the electrical system continued to function but it was as if someone had just put the brakes on (she hadn't!!)

The car has only 124 miles on the clock and yet we are having a very hard time getting either RMB or the Customer Relations Dept to do anything as they both keep saying we should deal with the other one! (ie, RMB say deal with Toyota and Toyota say deal with RMB!!!!)

Has anyone else had or heard of similar problems?

Thanks in advance.

I wonder if your sister has done the same thing I did when my wife bought the new Yaris. I do not really like driving it because the pedals are offset to the left, as in many front wheel drive cars. My own car is rear wheel drive and the pedals are not offset, consequently when I drive the Yaris the brake pedal is in the same relative position as my clutch pedal. I needed to change gear in the Yaris, I put my foot on the clutch, only to hit the brake pedal instead of the clutch, causing the same symptom you describe, like a sudden loss of power, because I had unwittingly pressed the brake instead of the clutch. Fortunately there was nobody close behind! Just a thought.

Regards Geoff Peace.

[Adam C]

ItsMe2, what were the tyre pressures like on the car? I'm wondering if there could've been a puncture that may have cause the deceleration. Currently still sat here scratching my head at this . .

[Hartside]

Have RMB checked it over fully? It's possible a partial engine seizure could cause that sort of deceleration in gear.

[Chris81]

You say the car lost all forward momentum but what do you mean? Sounds like you mean it was as if the clutch was depressed rather than the brakes being applied (i.e. gradually slowing down rather than suddenly decelerating). Whilst not ideal, the car behind should have had plenty time to react and not just drive into the back of her.

It doesn't make a lot of sense but if you're adamant that it was nothing to do with mats or driver error (as Geoff points out) then I'd be pushing for a more thorough examination by the Toyota teenagers (sorry, technicians) and the provision of a written report.

Where's the car at now? You say you towed her to RMB so presumably the car is damaged. Is it going to get the bodywork repaired somewhere else?

[alfiejts]

Brake material and clutch material smell the same when overheated.

So I suspect its the brakes that are the cause of the deceleration rather than the clutch - after all, as others say, just depressing the clutch wouldn't result in sudden deceleration.

So my favoured suggestion is that your sister accidentally left the handbrake on (maybe just slightly).

That would cause the rear brakes to cook and if she simply lifted off the accelerator as you would do many times under normal driving, the car would slow down quickly due to the effect of the handbrake.

(And I'm no expert in thermodynamics and the coefficient of friction of a cast iron brake drum, but its just possible that as the brakes were overheating and getting hotter and hotter, the cast iron brake drum and the steel brake components could have expanded at different rates and braking effect could increase from when they were cold...)

So I really think from all the posts here that the handbrake was left on slightly causing a drag that initially may not have been noticed, but then caused the slowing effect when the driver simply lifted off the accelerator without actually pressing the brake pedal.

The alternative would be for some other issue to have caused the brakes to come on and "drag" but that would have to be a fault somewhere rather than a simple oversight...

[SRsmithy]

i have a new 2013 yaris trend and ive not found it to come to a sudden stop, drives very well, just as good as my 2012 auris sr did.

im really impressed with it