What's Good
Small Toyota 3 & 5-door hatch replaced Starlet, initially all with same 68 bhp 1.0 litre 16v VVTi iron block engine, but 85 bhp VVTi alloy 1.3 and 4-speed auto option from October 1999. 3,615mm long x 1,660mm wide x 1,500mm high. Low parts prices, good repairability, low insurance groups, combined finance and servicing package, three-year 60,000-mile warranty, slide-forward back seat, option of 'Free-Tronic' automatic clutch with 5-speed gearbox. High seats make it easy for the elderly to get in and out of. Praised by road testers for its excellent steering, good handling and the roominess of its interior (far better than a Polo in all these respects). Unusual central digital speedometer set in a tunnel is clear and easy to read. Light years ahead of the Starlet it replaced. Price competitive with alternatives on UK market. Did reasonably well in German TUV front offset crash tests. Excellent Four-Star-plus rating in Euro NCAP crash tests. European 1999 Car of the Year. Prices cut to from £6,995 from October 2000, still with three year warranty. 1.5 T Sport launched March 2001 with sub 9 second 0-60 and 119mph top speed at a price of £11,995. S and T reg cars came second in 2001 Top Gear / JD Power Customer Satisfaction Survey. High used values. Japanese built 74bhp, 125lb ft torque chain-cam 1,364cc D4-D diesel from March 2002 offers 12.6 seconds 0-60, 106mph top speed, 67.3mpg combined economy and 113g/km CO2 output for prices from £8,395 in S trim with PAS. Engine is quiet, smooth with linear power delivery. Handling good. A great little car to drive. Immensely strong residual values for base spec cars with PAS. See also Yaris Verso mini-MPV.
Raft of improvements in May 2003 facelift include power steering on all models from base T2 up; option of 86bhp 1.3 VVTi engine, introduction of Multi Mode Manual electric clutch transmission with 1.0 litre, three point belts for all five seats, ABS and EBD on all models. Smart model distinguished by teardrop headlights. Price range now £6,995 (including PAS) to £12,495. Swivel front seats available for people with disabilities from August 2003.
Colour Collection edition from March 2005 based on T3 with metallic paint, front fog lamps, chrome exhaust finisher, alloy wheels (1.3-litre versions only) and body colour-matched door mirrors and bumpers. Five colours: Twilight Blue, Carlo Blue, Thunder Grey, Eclipse Black and Crystal Silver.Inside features include colour keyed interior trim in blue or red (depending on exterior colour), carbon detailing for the vent dials and door inserts, scuff plates, colour keyed carpet mats, height adjustable leather trimmed steering wheel with built-in audio system controls and a leather and chrome finished gear knob. Regular Yaris T3 spec already includes a four-speaker sound system with CD player, remote central double locking, split-folding and sliding rear seat, electric front windows and vanity mirrors for the driver and front seat passenger, front and side airbags, ABS with EBD and front seatbelts with pretensioners and load limiters. Prices same as equivalent T3 models, in spite of the additional features which have a combined value of £900 or £1,250 in the case of the 1.3 versions with alloy wheels.1.0 or 1.3-litre VVT-i petrol engines in three or five-door hatchback body styles and with five-speed manual transmission. On-the-road prices for Colour Collection models start at £8,595 for the 1.0-litre VVT-i 3-dr and £9,095 for the 1.3 VVT-i 5-dr (including alloy wheels). 5-dr models cost extra £500 and air conditioning plus roof spoiler available as £500 option.
1.0-litre VVT-i Yaris was one of the cheapest cars to own in the UK thanks to combined fuel consumption of more than 50mpg, 2E insurance group rating and carbon dioxide emissions of 134g/km that place it in Band C for Vehicle Excise Duty.
BMW, Toyota and Ford jointly suffered the fewest breakdowns attended by German ADAC during 2001. 3rd top for reliability in Auto Express 2002 survey. Top in 144 car 2002 JD Power / What Car? Customer Satisfaction Survey of V and W reg cars. Toyota had fourth lowest average cost in warranty claims for cars up to 10 years old in 2002 Warranty Direct index. Joint third top of 2002 Which reliability survey of cars up to 2 years old; came out 98% fault free; 259 cars surveyed. Joint 2nd top make in 2002 'Which?' reliability survey cars 2000 - 2002; 3rd for cars 1997 - 1999. 99% breakdown free in 2003 Which survey. 2nd top supermini, 2nd overall in 2003 What Car? J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction Survey. Toyota generally 10th lowest average warranty repair costs in 2003 Warranty Direct Reliability index (index 74.95 v/s lowest 31.93) Link:- www.reliabilityindex.co.uk All models petrol and diesel from 1998-2003 had frewst breakdowns, problems and faults and rated 'Best Buy' in 2003 Which survey. Second top car out of 137 in 2003 Top Gear survey. Joint 4th top model in and Toyota 4th top marque in 2004 JD Power Customer Satisfaction Survey. £1,350 DVD based satnav option from July 2004. Which? Best Buy 2004. Which? used best buy up to £5,000 2004. Which? used best buy £5,000 - £10,000 2004. Came 3rd top in 2005 JD Power/What Car Survey of 23,000 cars reg Sep 2002 to Aug 2003 with satisfaction score of 85.1%.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. See also Toyota Soluna Vios.
10th in 2007 UK J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction Survey with 83.6% score.
Road test 2002 Yaris D-4D at www.honestjohn.co.uk/road_tests/index.htm?id=52
Last updated 26-3-2009
What's Bad
Freetronic NOT recommended.
Annoyingly, 5-door versions originally only available in GS trim. This pushed starter price of D-4D 5-door to £9,895.
From Year 2000, petrol versions built in Valenciennes France and at first quality was not up to original standard. (Early reports of misaligned panels and 'dry' clutch release bearings.)
A few complaints of gearbox whine.
Bonnet is prone to paint chips.
'Space saver' emergency wheel not liked by Brits.
Used demand exceeds supply and used prices have remained relatively high.
Replacement model arrived in UK in January 2006.
What to Watch Out For
Some early build quality problems.
On Freetronic models, loss of automatic clutch system fluid via the accumulator seals can cause total loss of gear selection. Not monitored by warning light. Smart one costs £344 + fitting. Owners advised to check reservoir level regularly. People have been told the automatic actuator is faulty and it needs an ECU costing £1,500.
VVT-i engines can start to use up to a litre of oil every 600 miles after 40,000 miles. Timing chains of 1.0 engines have been known to snap without warning, maybe due to dirty oil. Timing chain cover gaskets of VVT-i engines can fail and leak oil.
On early D-4Ds up to 02 reg the head gaskets can eventually fail. Modified on later cars.
A few cv joint failures reported.
No boot light on base versions and rear parcel shelf very flimsy (strings pull out).
Anti roll bar bushes prone to cracking after about 4 years. Symptom: clonking or knocking noises over bumps. Described by dealers as 'front stabiliser link bushes starting to split - cost to correct £135.00.'
Rear suspension arm bushes quite a regular MOT failure point.
Lightly braked Yaris with rear discs can suffer from corroded brake discs.
Ancillaries drive belt should be changed at 40k miles.
Look for rust around rear springs / rear suspension arms.
Radiator corrodes due to stone chips.
Corroded alloys common. Scuffed wheels and uneven tyre wear signs of kerbing abuse. If buying a Yaris with alloys, make sure locking nuts not missing and make sure space saver spare is under boot floor.
Rear exhaust back box corrodes on low mileage petrol cars.
Pollen filter is often neglected (under glovebox squeeze both sides together at rear when open to remove glovebox tray).
(Thanks to 'madf' for some of this.)
If central locking fails, try this:- a.. Driver’s door open and key removed from ignition switch.
b.. Insert key into ignition switch, then remove it.
c.. Within 40 seconds: Close and open drivers door twice.
d.. Insert key into ignition switch, then remove it.
e.. Within 40 seconds: Close and open drivers door twice.
f.. Close drivers door.
g.. Insert key into ignition switch.
h.. Switch ignition ON and OFF once to program a key code whilst retaining the original codes or twice to program key code whilst erasing the original codes.
i.. Remove key.
j.. System should now lock and unlock vehicle, once or twice depending which mode has been selected.
k.. Carry out the following button procedure within 20 seconds:
l.. Yaris built in Japan and Yaris Verso: Simultaneously press and hold key lock
and unlock buttons for 1-1.5 seconds.
m.. Yaris built in France: Press key lock button for a minimum of 1 second and
release.
n.. Within 3 seconds:
o.. Press key lock button for a minimum of 1 second and release.
p.. System should now lock and unlock vehicle.
Rear wheel bearings are not replaceable. Have to replace whole stub axle/hub assembly. Only four bolts, but Toyota charges £240 - £250 for the part. Can get pattern parts for £140 - £160.
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