Nerves about new car!

Musefan

Hi all,

Posted a little while ago here about a choice for a new car, and all of your help was great!

I bought a new-ish yaris to get me up and running. Had a mechanic go with me to buy it & a service from the dealer.

Passed my test a week after buying it. Anyway, my instructor was dead set against me doing th test in the car because they felt that toyotas were more "revvy" for want of a better word. I don't know if this is true or not!

I class myself as a learner still, and occasionally when I am pulling away at a junction or that, I notice I might rev slightly louder than I should. I know that this is probably me just finding my feet, literally, while driving the car, but I am terrified I will do long lasting damage! To be honest, I feel guilty for having a newer model of car incase I mess it up by doing silly things like changing up the gears to quick on occasion. Basically, am I likely to really damage the car, or should it be okay given that I'm improving every day at it?

jimgoose

Don't worry about it.

djimi

At a guess you haven't yet got used to the balance between clutch and throttle, so you're revving a little while still on the clutch. You'll get used to it. If you're doing it excessively then I might worry about the clutch alright, but if you're unsure then why not book in some time with your instructor and let him have a look at your driving style?

dar83

You'll be fine, don't worry about it. Over-revving taking from lights etc... is only an issue if you start spinning the front wheels constantly and even at that, it's only a problem because you'll be going through tyres more quickly than you could otherwise. Once you get used to the car you'll stop and that should be well before any clutch damage etc...

I always have the over-revving issue when I go from driving my own car to my girlfriends Ka. The clutch bite point is so different and the cars behaviour also different, so it takes me about 10mins to get used to it and up to that point I always over-rev it. :P

MuppetCheck

I have found that some cars have a shorter pedal travel than others. I wouldn't worry - it can take a while to get adjust to a new car and you will get used to the pedal action in time.

biko

We were all newbies once. Just keep driving and you'll be fine.

ironclaw

New body (05+ Yaris) are indeed a little 'noiser' and appear to be rev-ing quite high. Depends on the exact engine but definitely the 1.0L and 1.3L are pretty loud in the cabin. The only way you'll damage the clutch is if you riding it while taking off i.e. Your too slowly releasing the clutch and keeping it slipping / biting for a little too long as you accelerate. This will wear it quickly along with using , for example, the clutch to hold a car on the hill or driving with your foot even slightly on the clutch.