Please help: Exactly the same issue (car stalled) I had two months ago happened again. What needs to be fixed in my Auris?

[caruser]

Hi,

I am a little unsettled as I my car again stalled on the morotrway at rush hour.

This is the first time I reported it: 

 

 

The exact same symptoms happened again.

Here's what happened:

I am driving 80mph+ for 40 miles

Then I hit some motorway traffic where my car stops and starts, stops and starts while flowing with the traffic. I am driving in the slow lane on the left.

Then traffic comes to usual stand-still and my car will not accelerate.

I press the accelerator but no kick, it just revs.

Some thankful driver behind me gave it a push so I could park it in the hard shoulder.

I shut down the car for 30mins knowing it's not worth driving in heavy traffic as the issue seems to happen when I am braking and accelerating a lot.

Once the traffic quietens I drive home at a steady pace for 20 miles without an issue.

What is going on with my car?  It's lovely and reliable except for this one repeating issue that's now happened twice.

Just last week I took the car in for a full service.

When I took it to the mechanics two months ago for the same issue they could not find an issue with it.

Please help.

[Mooly]

You're other thread was all about Battery problems... you actually called the thread 'Car Battery Problems' and so that is the direction that the thread headed .

Now you say the engine just revs but will not accelerate or drive. So what you describe now does sound like a transmission problem. You are describing something totally different to before when you said you had perhaps 'drained' the Battery and it would not start.

You need to be very clear on your fault description and imo, seek advise from a main dealer. 

 

 

[alan333]

The MMT gearbox is actually a manual gearbox with automatic clutch and gear selection.  When stuck in slow moving traffic there could be some clutch slip or lots of gear changes, which could cause overheating in the transmission, which would then stop working properly until it cools back down.

[caruser]

Sorry it was my fault that I took an uneducated guess that it was a Battery issue in my first thread.

It sounds like a transmission issue from both of you? I am learning about cars so a transmission (my car is automatic with Manuel options) shifts gears for you.

The car also jerks a little bit when going from braking to accelerating, I don't know if this is expected behaviour but the car always has done that since I bought it.

I have owned it for 2 years and it has been the best car I have had and runs so perfectly, have take it out for very long 3+hr drives without a problem many many times and even in congested cities with traffic so I don't know what's happened lately.

I've had it full serviced last week and all they said was the brakes and air conditioning filter needs changing.

I am taking it to a dealer.

[Cjohnston1982]

How long was you stuck in traffic for?

Now that I know it’s a MMT gearbox what did the display show? Did the gear indicator flash when the car wouldn’t move? Final question is do you put it into N every time you stop?

[caruser]

Hi Cjohnston,

It showed me icon similar to 20 here in red:

And once I shut the car down for 15-30mins and started, it acted like normal and I shifted from N (Neutral) to E (drive).

Not sure what a gear symbol looks like in a dashboard, all I saw was 20. Then I parked in the hard shoulder and shut the car down for 15-30mins until traffic was cleared.

 

[Cjohnston1982]

Thanks for the picture. Icon 20 suggests there is a gearbox issue. It can come on when the clutch overheats due to heavy stop/start traffic or some other issue.

[Cjohnston1982]

The MMT has a tendency to change between 1st and 2nd gear when in heavy slow moving traffic which can overheat the clutch.

When I’m stuck in heavy stop/start traffic I put it manually into 1st gear and I don’t let the car creep forward which slips the clutch, just accelerate then stop when the gap is big enough.

Every time you completely stop the clutch is disengaged  (even in D or M) which allows it to cool down. 

[furtula]

Maybe your driving habits need to be adjusted.  I usually let a small gap form, then let the car creep on idle in 1st gear. 

Maybe you are slipping the clutch too long when starting in 1st, or are you one of those who let a  gap form, takeoff, then break?

[caruser]

Perhaps but I've always known this car in automatic mode as my understanding was it would be OK with it so I never switched it from automatic to gear.

Am I doing it wrong?

[alan333]

Generally, no, just let it do it's thing.  However, in prolongued stop/start traffic it might be an idea to use manual mode.  Think of driving a manual car - in stop/start traffic you would leave enough space such that you could let the clutch all the way out to move off, rather than 'riding' the pedal.  Try to do the same with your MMT - let it 'let it's clutch out'.

[caruser]

Thanks, it's nice of you to share this as I did not know. From now on I am going to leave a distance before taking off, sounds like I had been 'riding' the pedal unconsciously.

Also thanks to @Cjohnston1982 for sharing the manual and what it says on this.

I am taking it to the Toyota dealers. When I describe the problem to them I will describe what happened (twice), the warning sign that came on. Anything else to help them get right to the issue and fix it?

[Cjohnston1982]

Once you describe the issue to them they should be able to locate the issue. You may need a new clutch or it may just be a overheating issue as described above.

Let us know the outcome

[caruser]

Hi they said it was the clutch causing the issue and replaced it.

Haven't yet taken this car on to the motorway since the change but I am losing confidence in the car.

Found a similar thread on this forum on Auris and the MMT gearbox from a few years ago: 

 

[Cjohnston1982]

4 hours ago, caruser said:

Hi they said it was the clutch causing the issue and replaced it.

Haven't yet taken this car on to the motorway since the change but I am losing confidence in the car.

Found a similar thread on this forum on Auris and the MMT gearbox from a few years ago: 

 

I’ve had a quick look at the post and again this was in heavy traffic. Follow the suggestions that I put above and you should be ok

[caruser]

Thanks @Cjohnston1982 really helpful I really appreciate you sharing the knowledge :)

From now on I have started using M1 gear in heavy traffic.

And at a stand-still I usually put the car in neutral. Is this a good habit to do? Or should I leave it in Gear 1?

What about parking wise? Normally when the car is parked I leave it in Neutral and with the handbrake.

[Cjohnston1982]

1 hour ago, caruser said:

Thanks @Cjohnston1982 really helpful I really appreciate you sharing the knowledge :)

From now on I have started using M1 gear in heavy traffic.

And at a stand-still I usually put the car in neutral. Is this a good habit to do? Or should I leave it in Gear 1?

What about parking wise? Normally when the car is parked I leave it in Neutral and with the handbrake.

When stopped at traffic lights or stop/start traffic I leave it in E or 1 as occasionally it can take a few seconds for the gearbox to select E from N (flashing N) which can be quite unsettling if you are at the front of the queue. I only select N if I am going to be stationary for a decent amount of time.

Remember the clutch will be disengaged when stationary and the foot is on the brake or the handbrake is engaged. When the car is creeping at very slow speeds in 1, 2 or E the clutch is slipping which will cause overheating and excessive wear.

As for parking, just keep doing what you’re doing and you’ll be fine.

Generally the new MMT system is decent technology and works well. It sometimes gets caught out but generally it’s very good. Perhaps better information in the handbook will allow people to understand and adapt their driving styles accordingly.

 

[caruser]

Thanks,

So I only have R, E, M (M1 or M2), and N options.

Is the equivalent to D in your case E in mine?

When accelerating from standstill should I be in M1 and then switch to E when the speed picks up?

I am probably asking silly questions but I am learning so these questions help me understand. Will also read the manual that comes with the car more.

[Cjohnston1982]

My mistake, yes I mean E (I’ve edited last post).

I select M1 (for accelerating from standstill) in long lines of slow moving traffic and maybe select M2 when the gap or speed increases. I think the car automatically reverts to M1 when slowing back down to prevent the engine from stalling.

Once I see that the traffic is speeding up or I need to go faster (like approaching a roundabout or junction) I select E

You can swap between M and E without stopping.

[alan333]

1 hour ago, caruser said:

So I only have R, E, M (M1 or M2), and N options.

Is the equivalent to D in your case E in mine?

When accelerating from standstill should I be in M1 and then switch to E when the speed picks up?

I am probably asking silly questions but I am learning so these questions help me understand. Will also read the manual that comes with the car more.

You only have M1 and M2 (Manual mode 1st and second gears) options whilst stationary, but once you're moving it'll give you more.  For example if you move the gear lever to the side at, say, 30mph it'll probably show M4.  From there you should be able to select M3 or M5,  and from there you can go to M2 or M6 respectively, but not M1 since the car knows it's going too fast for 1st gear.

Choose the M gears when you want to change gears manually, change back to E when you want it to take over the gear changes for you.  You can do this at any speed.

edit... our 2011 version had 6 gears, yours might only have 5.

[alan333]

2 hours ago, caruser said:

Thanks @Cjohnston1982 really helpful I really appreciate you sharing the knowledge :)

From now on I have started using M1 gear in heavy traffic.

And at a stand-still I usually put the car in neutral. Is this a good habit to do? Or should I leave it in Gear 1?

What about parking wise? Normally when the car is parked I leave it in Neutral and with the handbrake.

Leave it in E if it's a short wait, change to N if it's a long one.

Personally, we parked ours in N with the handbrake on.  However, if for some reason your handbrake didn't work, then the car could roll away.  Leaving it in gear works the same as it would in a manual car, ie it would only roll a short distance before the gearbox 'held it'.  Obviously it could still roll away if it's a steep enough incline you're parked on.

[caruser]

Thanks alan333

I drive it for 80 miles the other day after clutch replacement and following the advice of switching to M1 from a standstill to accelerating.

When driving in normal clear roads, is it better to drive it in manual mode if possible? Or it doesn't matter and E is fine? 

 

[Cjohnston1982]

57 minutes ago, caruser said:

Thanks alan333

I drive it for 80 miles the other day after clutch replacement and following the advice of switching to M1 from a standstill to accelerating.

When driving in normal clear roads, is it better to drive it in manual mode if possible? Or it doesn't matter and E is fine? 

 

You only need to really select M1 in heavy stop/start traffic that goes on for ages. (Remember when your clutch overheated) Any other time then E is fine.

When driving on normal clear roads  it doesn’t matter what mode you select. I always drive in E except for the very heavy traffic that I mentioned above.

[alan333]

As Cjohnston says, just drive it in E normally.  Not much point buying an auto then changing gears yourself lol.

[caruser]

Thanks @Cjohnston1982 and @alan333 I appreciate your help and info 😊 Have a great Easter.