Mk1 Yaris exhaust rattle

[2003YarisT3]

Hi all 

My Yaris has recently had a rattling noise come from the exhaust at the rear of the car , this only happenes when the car is up to operating temperature. I got out to check with the engine on and I can see the exhaust bouncing about , is this one of hangers that’s failed or could it be a heat shield loose. Also when the engines cold the exhaust does not shake at all. Any thoughts would be appreciated 

[Stevie J]

Rattles could be caused by a broken joint, usually the joint where the middle section pipe enters the backbox behind the axle - they rot on that joint and when the joint comes apart it can cause rattling. This would also make the car more noisy though and you would hear more noise when driving.

Could also be caused by the internal metal tubes or baffles corroding away and coming loose within the rear backbox - that can cause really bad rattling at idle - I had this issue with my last Yaris - its baffles had collapsed within the back box and it would rattle loudly at idle.

Wobbling about at Idle - some wobbling is normal, most cars do it, but if you can grab the tailpipe and wobble it a lot, then it could have broken off the mid section pipe just where the pipe goes over the axle and enters the back box - it is common for them to fail at that point.

The backbox on a Mk1 has 2 hangers, one at the rear above the tailpipe joint, and the other one at the other end of the backbox, so you could check both these rubbers.

Heat shields can rattle yes, so you could check that by trying to move the heatshields about by hand.

 

[donkeychomp]

I agree about the pesky heat shield. Held on by 2 bolts and after a while the shield becomes loose. You can bend it a little to clear the exhaust but eventually the mounting holes get bigger than the bolts and it falls off! Mine did, and I've left it off for a year now with no issues.

Alex

[Derek.w]

When the heat shield droped on my Mk1 car I just used a long bolt or self taping screw and mudwing washers to allow some flexing depending on its location (remove space saver wheel first for rear heat shield).

[2003YarisT3]

Hi all 

firstly thanks for the replies 

I took some pictures quickly this morning before going to work and the whole exhaust pipe does look fairly rusty so guessing it could be a joint that’s rotted away. I need to get under and have a good look but will probably book it in at the garage as the tracking is way off anyway ( dam potholes !) guess I was just hoping for an easy cheap fix. 

[Derek.w]

Have you looked at the exhaust hangers (U) bracket welded on and supported with a large runner rings have they rusted away.

Also have a look at front/rear box joining clamp if its leaking its have a black exhaust around clamp just cut the bolt out and then retighten clamp with a new bolt.

[Stevie J]

The exhaust doesnt look too bad from those pics, but they dont show the back box which is under the drivers side of the boot floor, so would not be able to comment on that area of it. When I had a Mk1 (a 1999 1.0 model), I had the pipe fracture just on the other side of the spring loaded flange in the first picture - that is also the place I had another failure on a later yaris mk2 I had, so again, a common place for them to break, and they do rattle as well if they break at that point. Probably best if you do get the garage to have a good check of the entire exhaust system though if you are taking the car in for tracking to be done. They might find it is just a loose heat shield, but if the exhaust has broken, then back box section is not too expensive, it only starts costing more if the front section with the cat in it needs replacing. The exhaust usually comes in 3 sections: The front pipe and cat; the centre section including the middle box (in your second picture), and the rear section including the back box.

 

[TonyHSD]

Loose heat shielding or broken exhaust bracket more likely. The exhaust and the car overall underneath looks way better than many 10 years old Toyotas I have seen, almost no rust imo. You are lucky 👍

[Derek.w]

I suspect its not a original factory fited exhaust look for signs of soot or with a frend put a rag over the end of the exhaust for a couple of seconds help detect leaks from the system.

[2003YarisT3]

Hi everyone 

I have only just had the chance to check everyone’s suggestions as I’ve been busy with work and the rain has interfered. 
I have checked the rubber hangers and all seems good however I’m not sure about the heat shied ( have included more photos ) looks okay to me though.  
The brackets all look good and the exhaust doesn’t have any excess movement when I checked. The strange thing to me is that on shorter trips the noise is a lot quieter and you can’t hear it at idle. Will definitely get booked in the garage to check everything through. 

[Stevie J]

That looks like the original exhaust, or if its not, someone has replaced it with a genuine Toyota system, as you can see Toyota stamped on the back box. If it is the original exhaust, it may be that at 20 years old, the internal pipes and baffles within the back box could have corroded and started rattling. I did have this issue with a previous Yaris which had a bad rattle at idle caused by this issue, the baffles had rotted away inside the box and collapsed, so when the box vibrated, the displaced baffles rattled. Banging the back box hard with you hand should get it to rattle if that is the issue.

If the exhaust is not the issue, then its likely that a heat shield fixing has broken and it is vibrating, but a garage inspection should soon find out the cause. If that is the original system, then it has done very well indeed to have lasted so long - aftermarket cheapo exhausts from the likes of Klarius you'd be lucky to get 4 - 5 years out of before they fail. Toyota do seem to do very good quality original equipment exhausts, and its not uncommon for the original systems to last in excess of 10 years.

For a 2003 car, that does look in remarkably good condition underneath, its been well looked after. By this age, most mk1 cars would have seen the MOT garage's welder a few times to say the least.

[2003YarisT3]

Thanks for the response 

when the weather picks up I will check the heat shield and back box again. My guess is that the baffles have gone in the back box. Regarding the lack of rust the car only has 33,000 miles on ( I’ve put the last 3,000 on since sept last year ) and was garaged all its life until 2020 when my friends grandmother gave it her as a first car. So yeah I was very lucky to find one in that condition. I’m guess the exhaust is original too. 

[Stevie J]

I had a feeling it had been a car that was owned by a pensioner, as they often do very few miles and keep their cars well looked after. Every Yaris I have owned have previously been owned by my mother, who is now 78, and she does about 2000 miles a year, and keeps the car in her garage when she doesnt need it. The car I had originally was a 1999 Mk1 which she owned from 5 years old, and I had it at 12 years old, with 50K miles on the clock. I kept it for 5 years, and sold it at 17 years old with 70K miles on it. All it needed was welding for a couple of MOTs, no other rust on it.

The second Yaris I had from my mother was a 2006 Mk2, in 2016, with just 22K on the clock for 10 years old. Was still on the original exhaust on that too, but it did fail shortly after I got it, when the backbox sheared off the centre pipe, and dropped down onto the road due to only 1 hanger on it. The replacement I put on was a Klarius, and within 3 years of this, it started rattling like mad at idle like it was full of old screws, lol. Baffles corroded and collapsed. It blew at the joint with the mid pipe by the spring loaded flange eventually. But that car had no rust on it either, as mother kept it garaged.

The Yaris I have now is a 2014 and that was her car too - I got it in February this year, and it had 29K miles on it. Immaculate for almost 9 years old, and that still has the original exhaust on it too.

My father had a 2001 Toyota Corolla as his last car, but had to give up driving due to getting Alzheimers, and he garaged the car every day, and this was also immaculate. When we sold that car, in 2019, at 18 years old, it had the original exhaust on it also, and only 42K miles on.

Getting a car from a pensioner with low miles, and garaged most of its life is one of the best ways to buy a car, but does have a few down sides though - often the tyres will be original, or very old, and potentially cracked or perished. It may have the original timing belt on it which will need changing due to time elapsed rather than miles. Brake calipers could be seized due to lack of use. Buying such a car, always check the age on the tyres using the date code on the sidewalls, if the tyres are older than 8 years old, they will be ideally needing changing.

I hope you get your rattle sorted, and keep onto that Mk1 - they are very reliable cars, but rust will be the killer in the end - they go on the sills and rear wheel arch areas, so if you can underseal it all, you may hold the rust at bay.

[2003YarisT3]

Hi all,

Regarding the exhaust rattle turns out it was a loose bolt on the heat shield after all , the garage said it’s the original exhaust and is still working perfectly after all these years. Good old Toyota.  
 

Stevie j I agree with what you’ve said about pensions car , they are always the best route to go with mostly , if it a good car to start with. My grandparents have previously had a Citroen saxo ( love that car as a kid ) and a Chevrolet Matiz. Both cars were well kept and looked after , serviced every year and yet almost each mot was a fail. The Chevrolet Matiz was the latest car to go to the scrap yard as it failed it’s not massively. My Yaris is my first car and even my grandparent said it feel more modern and well built compared to the previous cars mentions. They currently have a Renault captur and my grandad prefers to drive and be in my Yaris. It’s  the first Japanese car they’ve been in / driven as my grandad worked at Rover in longbridge , Birmingham all of his life so they always drove Rovers untill he retired in 1999. Yaris for the win !

[Stevie J]

Good news about the exhaust then - indeed, Toyota original factory fit exhausts can last a very long time. My late father's last car before he had to give up driving due to ill health was a 2001 Y reg Toyota Corolla GLS 1.4, and when we sold that car, in 2019, it had 42K miles on the clock and had the original exhaust on it, with no blows or other issues. The guy that bought the Corolla, which had no MOT and was stood for 2 years before we let it go, said what a lovely car it was for 18 years old, and yes, it was garaged all the time my father owned it. All it needed to re-commission it was a new rear brake caliper as  it had seized through lack of use due to being stood for 2 years as my father was unable to drive it any more. He owned it since 2005. We let it go for just a few hundred quid as it needed MOT, but he got a bargain really, as that shape Corolla was VERY reliable.

Funny you should say about Rover, as that was the car I had before I got my first Yaris, back in 2011, I had a 2003 Rover 45 1.8 Auto, and that car suffered an inlet manifold gasket failure at high speed on a dual carriageway, hydrolocked one cylinder and it threw a rod through the block - all over for that Rover - I had to scrap the car and lost 3 grand that the car cost me. A previous Rover 400 I had back in 2007 suffered head gasket failure at 70K, and to be honest, after coming from many other makes over my driving life, owning a Toyota Yaris has been pretty much pain free, since I had my Mk1 Yaris back in 2011, I've had another 2 following that one, and they have all run rings round the Rovers I had.