Slow acceleration/ loss of power

[seashell]

Does anyone have any issues with acceleration from a standing start on the 1.6 petrol engine? I've had a brand new verso for 3 weeks and have noticed that when I need to pull away and get speed up quickly at a junction or roundabout, there is a complete lack of power which has already caused a few near misses.

I have switched from a 2006 2.2 diesel verso to the new one & I certainly wasn't expecting such a dramatic change in the acceleration. There is also at least a second's delay between putting my foot on the accelerator and the revs starting to increase. My husband has also had the same situation and even managed to stall the car on the M25 when we were crawling along in traffic.

I have taken the car back to the Toyota dealer today and was told they can't find a fault and it is just our driving at fault. I have noticed that the exact same problem has been mentioned on the Yaris forum pages, but this was going back to 2011 and was resolved by the ECU being replaced.

I have already lost confidence in driving, especially when there is heavy traffic and I need to get away quickly. I have been driving for over 30 years & have never had this issue with any other car, including 1.0 litre Nissan micra hire cars.

[Heidfirst]

 hi Michelle, welcome to TOC.

Normally aspirated petrol &  turbo-diesel have very different power/torque delivery characteristics & therefore driving impressions ( I have just gone from a 2.2 D4D Avensis to a 1.8 Valvematic petrol so understand your feelings). TD has lots of torque low down but is starting to run out of puff by 3,000 rpm & no point in going past 4,000 - by contrast the Valvematic is only just starting to wake up at 3,000 rpm ...

I have realised that years of driving turbo-diesels have made me lazy at changing gears relying on the mountain of torque - na petrol shows this up where it is more important to be in the right gear for the situation. :O

Also, I suspect that as both your car & mine start to get out of the running in period they will start to loosen up a bit more.

[nielshm]

The revs should build up right away, but rather slow since the car is without turbo. Is the gearbox manual or automatic (cvt)? Since you are driving in junctions etc. both speed and gear selection are low, and a 132 hp engine should have no problems making a proper accelerationen. 

[Mike37]

Hi Michelle,

Just seen your comment of October 2017. It could have been me writing it word for word as I have exactly the same problem. Even to the extent of coming from a 2.2 verso diesel. I do not believe it is our driving skills or lack thereof. There is a definite lag after pressing the accelerator, which as you say is dangerous at junctions, and I also find that it continues to accelerate long after I take my foot off the pedal.  Did you find a solution?  

Kind regards, Mike.

[seashell]

Hi Mike, 

I never found a solution, I just got used to revving the engine and not changing up the gears so quickly. It's still not as powerful from a standing start as the diesel verso was, but I have slightly more confidence now. I think the engine does loosen up over time, I'm now up to 6500 miles. 

Let me know if you find any further info as I'm still not convinced the lag is  normal. 

Kind regards, 

Michelle