Open the Hidden Diagnostic Menu

Last updated: June 11, 2026

The Toyota Yaris (Mk4/XP210, 2020–Present) carries a built-in combination-meter test mode — a self-check baked into the instrument cluster that any owner can trigger without a diagnostic machine. It drives the gauges through their full travel, lights every part of the screen and cycles the warning lamps, which is the quickest no-tool way to confirm the cluster hardware is sound on this TNGA-B platform car.

What the hidden meter test mode does

This is Toyota’s combination-meter “operation check”. Once started, the analogue speedometer needle (and, where fitted, the second pointer) sweeps from its rest stop up to maximum and back. The central multi-information display and any LCD segments flood fully so you can see dead pixels or missing segments, and the warning icons flash on together to expose a failed LED. Because the Mk4 Yaris and Yaris Cross share this binnacle, the routine is a fast sanity check before you assume a gauge or the digital speed readout has failed.

Every Mk4 Yaris uses push-button start (ENGINE START STOP), so reaching IGNITION ON is done with the button, not a key.

How to enter the test mode

1. Get in with the car fully off and your foot OFF the brake pedal. Make sure the meter is showing the odometer, not a trip figure.
2. Press and hold the trip/display reset button — the small switch on the cluster (or the stalk control) that you use to step through ODO, TRIP A and TRIP B.
3. While holding it, press the ENGINE START STOP button twice without pressing the brake. The first press wakes accessory mode, the second brings the car to IGNITION ON — the state where all warning lights normally illuminate, but the engine or hybrid system stays off.
4. Keep holding the reset button for a second or two after the cluster lights up, then let go.

The cluster runs the self-test: the needle drives to full scale and returns, the display lights every segment, and the warning symbols cycle. A pointer that stalls, a blank area of screen or an indicator that never lights points straight at the faulty element.

How to exit

Press ENGINE START STOP once to switch everything off. The cluster reverts to normal at the next ignition-ON and keeps no record of the test. It changes no settings, resets no trip totals and touches no service counter.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does it work on the Yaris Hybrid and the Yaris Cross? Yes. Both share the XP210 cluster, so the same hold-trip-then-START sequence runs the meter test. On the Hybrid the hybrid-system power gauge sweeps in place of a rev counter.

Why press START twice with no brake? Pressing the button without the brake cycles ignition modes instead of starting the car. Two presses lands you on IGNITION ON, which is exactly what the test needs.

Will this read or erase fault codes? No. It is purely a display test. Reading stored codes still requires an OBD-II scanner on the port beneath the dashboard.

My digital speedo looks dim in one corner during the test — is the cluster failing? A patch that stays dark when every segment should be lit usually means a localised screen fault. The gauge logic is fine; the panel itself is the issue.

Can I damage anything by doing this? No. The car never leaves ignition-ON, so the engine and hybrid drivetrain are untouched, and the meter test is a designed-in factory function.

If the test surfaces a real warning rather than a dead segment, look up the stored trouble code at autodtcs.com before paying for diagnosis.