Auris TR 1.6l - the good, the bad and the ugly!

[American Friend]

Greetings all. Thinking of trading in my trusty old 2006 Corolla (1.4 Colour Collection manual petrol ) for a 2012-ish Auris (TR 1.6 manual petrol). What sort of issues have they had? Among the negative points, Honest John says the petrol 1.6 had a dual mass flywheel. Is that right and something to be concerned about? Anything else? Cheers!

[FROSTYBALLS]

Hello Jesse - welcome to Toyota Owners Club.

According to the Honest John website, the 1.6 does have a dmf - have as look at the review, especially the Good & Bad section: http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/toyota/auris-2007/

Seem to get few queries on the dmf on this forum.

Avoid the MMT - multi mode transmission.

Also look at any Colour Collection versions, which was a run out trim level, and is almost the same as the TR.

[American Friend]

Thanks, Mike. Honest John is always my first port of call but he is not infallible. Be interested to get feedback from actual owners.

[yossarian247]

I've never heard of a dual mass flywheel giving trouble on these, in fact I didn't even know they had one!! I wonder if it's actually true? I've emailed HJ in the past to correct info on his site and he admitted he only goes by what people tell him on his forum.

In my experience the petrol-engined Auris is basically bulletproof, mechanically. The only issues tend to be trim rattles and water leaks into the boot, which can affect any early Auris, although the facelifted version was apparently improved in this respect.

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

6 minutes ago, yossarian247 said:

In my experience the petrol-engined Auris is basically bulletproof, mechanically. The only issues tend to be trim rattles and water leaks into the boot, which can affect any early Auris, although the facelifted version was apparently improved in this respect.

I've had a pre-facelift (2009) and post-facelift Auris, and not had any issues with water leaks or rattles. Leaks from the rear lights tend to be from the seals.

The only issues over the 7 years of ownership were for a broken cupholder (2009 Auris), and a failed tailgate strut (2012 Auris). Both fixed without quibble under warranty.

[yossarian247]

Just now, FROSTYBALLS said:

I've had a pre-facelift (2009) and post-facelift Auris, and not had any issues with water leaks or rattles. Leaks from the rear lights tend to be from the seals.

The only issues over the 7 years of ownership were for a broken cupholder (2009 Auris), and a failed tailgate strut (2012 Auris). Both fixed without quibble under warranty.

My 2009 rattles a bit and has suffered from leaking rear light seals (the latter fixed by me with bathroom silicone sealant!) but I know my particular car did have a hard life with the original owner.

 

Going back to the DMF, none of the online parts suppliers list a DMF for the 1.6 petrol, which suggests it either doesn't actually have one, or if it does it rarely needs replacing.

Anyone with 'insider knowledge' eg Parts King like to comment?

[Konrad C]

I am sure that the Auris 1.6 1ZR-FAE does not have DMF, because I know that my Avensis 1.8 2ZR-FAE does not. The worst thing about the clutch, is the slave cylinder is concentric and part of the release bearing, which means it is inside the bell housing on the input shaft. It will be changed as part of a clutch replacement.

The engine should be trouble free so long as regular oil changes and general servicing is carried out. going by my slightly larger 1.8 in the bigger Avensis body, the 1.6 should be okay, but may need higher revs when more power is called for. The torque is not like a diesel, but okay for everyday driving. The engine has no known issues.  

[American Friend]

I'm not concerned about the engine and transmission. I'm on my third Corolla in twenty years. A dealer selling a 2012 Auris 1.6 TR told me they have a DMF. He said there wasn't an issue with them, but he would say that wouldn't he. Honest John implies there is an issue but doesn't mention any specific complaints. Seems a bit odd to stick a DMF in a petrol car with low torque, but hey what do I know. 

[yossarian247]

I've emailed the HJ site for the source of this information, but I suspect that they are mistaken. By the looks of it they are basing this on the fact that just one owner of a 2007 1.6 Auris claims to have had a 'clutch and dmf failure ' at 27k. If I get a reply I'll post it here. 

Incidentally there are a few people selling used Auris 1.6 petrol clutches and flywheels on eBay from cars being broken for spares. If you look at the pics they certainly all appear to show a conventional solid flywheel not a dmf...

[Konrad C]

15 hours ago, American Friend said:

I'm not concerned about the engine and transmission. I'm on my third Corolla in twenty years. A dealer selling a 2012 Auris 1.6 TR told me they have a DMF. He said there wasn't an issue with them, but he would say that wouldn't he. Honest John implies there is an issue but doesn't mention any specific complaints. Seems a bit odd to stick a DMF in a petrol car with low torque, but hey what do I know. 

 

9 hours ago, yossarian247 said:

I've emailed the HJ site for the source of this information, but I suspect that they are mistaken. By the looks of it they are basing this on the fact that just one owner of a 2007 1.6 Auris claims to have had a 'clutch and dmf failure ' at 27k. If I get a reply I'll post it here. 

Incidentally there are a few people selling used Auris 1.6 petrol clutches and flywheels on ebay from cars being broken for spares. If you look at the pics they certainly all appear to show a conventional solid flywheel not a dmf...

No disrespect to Honest John, but we as Toyota owners plus the forum know more about Toyota's long term. The ZR engine came in 3 sizes 1.6 (1ZR), 1.8 (2ZR), and 2.0 (3ZR), none of which came with a dual mass flywheel. HJ likes diesel cars because of their 'torque'. He drives lots of cars. Remember he is a motor journalist, though he does report on faults when he gets them from public reports, recalls or his forum. Never take one source as the only place for info. At least you asked on this forum to get a definitive answer.

I fully researched my car previously and also did similar searches as yossarian247. All flywheels are solid in the photos from Google searches I made, including eBay. I also checked a couple of Toyota parts sites.

I would be more worried about buying an abused car, which has not been serviced, stolen clone or a repaired write-off, than if a clutch is DMF!   

[Countrylad]

I've had my 64 reg 1.6 Touring (manual) for ten months now, and very happy with it. MPG isn't as good as I'd hoped - 37 for the long term, 43 on a run to the south of France, and 33 at the moment on short hops in cold weather. But I can forgive it all of that for its (relative!) simplicity compared with some of the highfalutin' and complex/expensive diesels I've had in the last twelve years or so. Although the trusty 1.6 petrol engine isn't being plugged these days (has it been has been discontinued?), I suspect that's got more to do with emissions than because the design was bad. Makes light work of the autoroute, even with 300kg in the boot.

Mine has a tendency to spin its wheels on take-off, which is odd because I'm not a traffic light cowboy. I think it might be the Michelin Energys on the front. Never did like Michelins much.  

 

[American Friend]

As I said above, Honest John is not infallible, however a Toyota dealer selling a 2012 Auris petrol 1.6 TR did tell me it had a DMF. Sounds like they are both mistaken, which would be good.

Another little potential annoyance I've been wondering about is the tyre pressure sensing valves on the Auris. I've also looked at a facelifted 2014 Auris 1.6 Icon Plus at another Toyota dealer and saw it has the valves. Does anyone know if Toyota already fitted them on the 2012 Auris, before the EU legislation, or did they only appear afterwards?

Neither of these two issues is a deal-breaker. Just trying to get as much info as I can before I p/x my trusty old 2006 Corolla, which I have had for the past 8 years and has proved to be as reliable as the previous two I had.

[American Friend]

1 minute ago, Countrylad said:

Mine has a tendency to spin its wheels on take-off, which is odd because I'm not a traffic light cowboy. I think it might be the Michelin Energys on the front. Never did like Michelins much.  

I had those terrible Energy Savers on my Corolla too. Swapped them for Michelin Cross Climates a couple of years ago when they first appeared. They are flippin fantastic tryes. Grippy all year round.