Yaris mk1 reliability

[2003YarisT3]

Hi all ,

Just wanted to start this topic to see what everyone’s experience is with reliability with the MK1 Yaris. I’ve had mine for just over a year and all I’ve changed is the washer fluid cap as it crumbled away. It just passed it mot with no advisories which shocked me for a car that’s 20 years old! I’m overall very fond of the little Yaris as it always surprises me with every situation it has to deal with. 
 

What’s everyone else’s experiences with the mk1? 

[Rhymes with Paris]

Superb reliability and durability, I think the difference is that they were built right in the first place.

There are a lot of folk who have had a lot of expensive trouble with much newer cars of all makes.

The only thing that seems to see them off is underside rust, especially at the rear.

Mine too is 20 years old, and drives like new.

[donkeychomp]

Bought mine for a whopping £400 about 5 years ago. Apart from consumables it's been the most reliable anything I've ever owned. 50mpg on a long run, seats 4 comfortably, will cruise at 85 all day long and the heater is excellent. Even handles like a go kart. Like yours mine passed her MOT a couple of months ago with no advisories. If someone offered me a brand new car for my one I'd say no thanks.

Alex

[Cyker]

The Mk1 Yaris as well as the Mk9 Corolla and Avensis are probably some of the most reliable and well made cars they ever made.

The Yaris Mk1's main weakness is rust, and many a Mk1 has perished from the subframes and underside rusting out, but the mechanicals are by and large bullet-proof, even the diesel ones!

None of the later models have really matched it for build quality IMHO.

[2003YarisT3]

 

Thanks for all the replies !

Glad to see everyone’s positive experience with the mk1. 

 

Donkeychomp I agree with the handling , you can throw it into corners and you feel confident and in control , especially in country lanes.  

 

Regarding the robustness I hit a rather larger pot hole the other day and was expecting some damage however everything was straight and tight ( the pot hole was more like a ditch with how sharp and deep it was) 

 

Tbh mine is very low mileage ( brought at 30,000 now at 36,000) and was garage all its life untill 2020 so rust is minimal apart from some on the rear wheel arches which I treated. 

 

The mechanic at the garage said it was immaculate condition which gave me confidence to keep it as long as I can! 

 

Cannot fault the car one bit and it’s always fun to drive and the engine revvs high which make progress to speed feel exciting ; the 1ltr can be slow.  

 

 

[donkeychomp]

And...ULEZ compliant!

Alex

[m456an]

The side light glass fell off mine, the other came off too with little effort. I put some led ones which can fit in the opposite way with a little gap. But staying on. £10 for 2, the originals are £15 for 1.

ABS problem? not really more of the ABS sensors need cleaning but they are impossible to remove, though I have tried, removed fuse, problem gone. Never really used ABS anyway, but for learner drivers it is a must. No experienced driver will slam there brakes.

One wheel bearing.

Leak in cylinders, was bound to happen and rear wheels probably needed new brake pads. Probably the first time they were changed since 2005.

Not really that bad, though sailed through last year's MOT.

I prefer it to the Avensis 2007 for motorway driving. Did 86 without realising a couple of days ago, so easy to do. Though night time on the motorway feels like I am playing a seventies atari game. I guess it will be the same even with an expensive car?

Not bad £900 cost of car with no service history and a rusty oil filter driven for 4 years so far so good.

 

[m456an]

This vehicle meets the ULEZ emissions standards
You do not need to pay a daily ULEZ charge to drive in the zone, and are helping to improve air quality across London.

However, if you see the Congestion Charge displayed below, you will need to pay that daily charge to drive in central London.

Congestion Charge
£15.00 to £17.50 a day

[donkeychomp]

No, you are helping to line the coffers of TFL,

Alex

[Richard Davies]

The rear suspension struts needed replacing on mine, which would have cost almost as much as the car was worth so I reluctantly part exchanged it.

[Derek.w]

11 minutes ago, Richard Davies said:

The rear suspension struts needed replacing on mine, which would have cost almost as much as the car was worth so I reluctantly part exchanged it.

If you just talking about the shock absorbers that a easy fix.

Just lift up rear chassy via jack points dont rely just on jacks to hold rear of car up and undo shocks use a jack to control the axel position to ade removing refitting new shocks.

[m456an]

Rear struts may be a DIY job especially for a Yaris, you may not need spring compressors - though Avensis may be difficult as I remember the garage really struggled to take a spring off last year? Though not sure, but if the nuts can be loosened at the bottom of the suspension struts without them braking i mean breaking. But this should not be a problem as these nuts are away from heat....

[Richard Davies]

It was mostly the cost of the struts rather than how easy to change them!

[monkeydave]

are any of you guys still running with origional radiator hoses?

[Harris9dd]

Hi all,

It is interesting to read your love towards the Yaris. I am planning to buy my first car and 2003 Yaris VVTi manual 1.3 is one of my choice. Can you please let me know what to look for during the vehicle inspection before purchase?

Thanks in advance

[Cyker]

Service history and rust mainly.

If the car's been looked after the engine will last, but if oil changes have been skipped or rubbish oil used then the chain will probably not be in good condition.

The main downside with the Mk1s is because of their age they do tend to be rusty underneath. My brother lives in a damp part of the country and his Mk1 D4D rusted out its front and rear subframes so badly it failed the MOT on them!

[Tintaglia]

15 years ago I got my daughter a Yaris 1.3 Spirit Auto I bought from a customer of mine who had bought it new.  All I have ever had to replace besides annual servicing are one wheel bearing, radiator and water pump, wheel cylinders/discs and pads.  It still has the original hoses and alternator.  Even the exhaust is still the original.  It's on about 110,000 miles.  Oh I forgot, I did have to replace the fuel cap release cable last year.  (I have added a how-to-do guide with pics in the Yaris guides section above.)  

[Rhymes with Paris]

As Cyker says, I think the only things that can kill them are rusting out underneath, and mucky oil.

Otherwise I get the feeling that they would go on forever.

I can picture the headlines in 2084.

" 80 year old Toyota Yaris found in swamp,starts on the button"

[Cyker]

Yeah this is why I'm stuck with Toyota - I just can't go back to other manufacturers cars, where replacing bearings, suspension arms, shock absorbers, springs, hoses, bushes, pipes, etc. on a regular basis is not only *normal* but *expected*  

 

[yossarian247]

One of the reasons I first began buying Toyotas was due to the reliability of my stepdaughter's mk1 Yaris. She was a uni student, and during term time should would leave the Yaris parked at the bottom of her mum's garden. When she returned 10-12 weeks later she would jump in the car, flick the key and it would start, first time every time. The car was already 12 years old by that point with about 125k on the clock. It was subsequently passed onto three other family members, and the only major repair it ever needed was a new clutch. 

[Cyker]

Yeah I slowly converted my family that way too  

We were a Ford family originally, as my dad worked for Ford way back when, and even my first car was a Fiesta, but after his various Fords needed head gaskets, bushings, chokes, brake cables, wheel hubs, and at one point a whole new car, while my Mk1 Yaris didn't need a single thing, I came home one day and and he had a Corolla Verso  

[Rhymes with Paris]

32 minutes ago, Cyker said:

Yeah this is why I'm stuck with Toyota - I just can't go back to other manufacturers cars, where replacing bearings, suspension arms, shock absorbers, springs, hoses, bushes, pipes, etc. on a regular basis is not only *normal* but *expected*  

 

Exactly, it makes me think that the business model of some (well obviously is) to make short life components, and make them near impossible to fit without specialist tools.

Arm and a leg time, with flared sleeves and trousers on.

As an instance, does anyone know if the water pump impellers on Toyotas that seem to last a long time are made of metal?

As opposed to the notorious BMW impellers made of plastic that disintegrate and clog up the cooling system.

Edit: I did have two new rear springs on last year's MOT as one was broken/rusty, but on a 21 year old car subjected to the lunar landscape that masquerades as roads, not too surprising.

Edited September 10 by Rhymes with Paris
Addition

[Cyker]

I could never understand the logic of making anything like that out of plastic, or even having part of it metal and part of it plastic!

The Toyota ones are all metal.

[Tintaglia]

Some look like plastic but are some kind of hard ceramic material.  As a precaution for a recent big European trip I replaced the water pump on my VW Transporter because it had done about 80,000 miles.  This van has no cam belt or chain, it is completely gear driven (including the water pump).  The new (Meyle brand) pump with a metal impellor lasted about 1000 miles before it fell apart in the middle of France!   Almost as a joke I had taken the old one with me and ended up refitting it in the corner of a boiling hot French car park.  The original one I refitted had a ceramic impellor which rang if you pinged it with your finger.  I'm not too impressed with Meyle parts at the moment..