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I have a question about FASing my Yaris with AT. The manual says:
"To prevent causing serious damage to the transmission
(vehicles with an automatic transmission)
Never tow this vehicle from the rear with the front wheels on the ground.
This may cause serious damage to the transmission."
since this warning is against towing it backwards with front wheels on the ground, do you think it would apply to coasting forward as in a FAS?
could anybody give me some authoritative info?
Thanks
m

could anybody give me some authoritative info?

Hopefully your dealer can explain it. Surprising that your owner's manual could provide such 'clarity.' It begs the question, can the AT Yaris be safely towed from the front, with the front wheels on the ground?

See what this site says about your year and model Yaris:http://www.motorhomemagazine.com/dinghytowingguide/index.cfm

If you Yaris can be towed with four wheels on the ground, then FASing would be fine. If it can't, then you proceed at your own risk. Maybe if someone is terribly interested, they could get a complete mechanical review for us all.

The 2007 Yaris automatic could not be "dinghy" towed, that is with all 4 wheels on the ground.

Ask a salesperson whether it hurts the AT to coast it in Neutral if the vehicle runs out of fuel.

They'll take you to service to ask the service writer who in turns asks the mechanics around him/her to speculate.

Just try it, the answer is usually the same .... likely they'll affirm it can't hurt if done properly.

I've FASed with many different automatics ... but performing the action 'seamless' and safe (ie in preparation for a fuel emergency) must be practised to perfection in remote areas, .... like when teaching a new driver to shift a 5speed vehicle.

Why do you want to FAS? Have you perfected all other aspects, or do you just want to take the shortest path to nirvana :)

FAS'ing at highway speed does not give you a significant benefit compared to neutral with engine idling

FAS'ing towards a red light will give you a benefit, and Wayne does that without problems. It is after all a short distance and short time at low speed, and the transmission should not get into trouble.

Your's is clearly not made to work without the engine running, and you should not overlook that, so be careful.

Learn first how and when you can activate fuelcut. Toyota has been very good at that for 20 years now.

Read the iFCD and see when FAS really will help to keep your average numbers good.

I can follow slow traffic at very low speed with an iFC well above my target consumption. No need to FAS and risk the stress of loosing brake boost.

Thanks Kwj & Shrek,
According to the RV towing guide the Yaris with AT is can't be towed. Oh well. The main application for FASing for me would be approaching red lights. However, I would like to try it down some hills around here on the highways. As soon as the budget allows, I'll pick up a scan gauge. until then I'll just do the best I can.
mgoeringer

I faced the same dilemma when I became interested in hypermiling my AT Toyota Echo. (The Echo has the same drive train as the Echo.) So, I did some careful reading of my owners manual to see if there was any "relief" on the flat towing issue. Toyota, in my owners manual, concedes that the Echo can be towed short distances at low speed with all wheels on the ground under emergency conditions.

So.... It's anyone's guess just "how much" the Echo and, by extension, the Yaris AT can be fas operated. I have been fas 'ing at low speed at lights only. I would not dare any high speed fas. Manufacturers are notoriously conservative with these types of issues. I have had no mechanical problems, but I've not been low speed fas 'ing for much time.

Since the Echo and Yaris both have dfco, I'm trying to develope my technique to use dfco instead of the short fas with braking. By my "back of envelope" calculations, dfco should be nearly equal to fas when stopping, since dfco provides some braking. Once stopped, the engine can be shut down. If you make the judgement that the light can be timed, simply do a short nice-on coast in combination with a dfco to time the light. Anyway, this has been my conclusions. Hope it helps.

These are just my thoughts.

Thanks Jimepting,
How do I do a Dfc? I checked the glossary and I see that is a fuel cut off, but how do I initiate that in my Yaris?
Thanks again.
mgoeringer

Try to select a gear (manual or AT?) that will get your RPM to around 1400-1600 RPM and release the acc. pedal completely. In this range, the toyota vvt engines brake very little and get into DFCO very easily. It will take about 2-3 seconds for the engine do decide to do it.

If it works, you should feel a little change when DFCO stops, and with a manual you will be able to select neutral without using the clutch at that very moment.