Toyota Mechanical Reasoning Test

Toyota looks for employees with a high mechanical ability. Applicants have to pass a mechanical test before being offered a position.

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Ben Hopgood Updated:

About Toyota Mechanical Reasoning Tests

Founded in Japan in 1937, Toyota is a Japanese global automotive manufacturer. Toyota is one of the world's largest employers, employing approximately 365,000 people worldwide. While Toyota employs many people of various skill sets, there is an extensive selection process in place to ensure only the most suitable candidates progress successfully and a high calibre of workforce is maintained. Psychometric testing is adopted throughout the recruitment process, as a means of screening out candidates who lack the abilities necessary for a career in this area. Typically, candidates are asked to complete diagrammatic, numerical and verbal reasoning tests, although further tests may be used for some positions. Candidates are informed in advance as to which tests they will be required to take.

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Mechanical reasoning tests are a fair and objective way for Toyota to assess a wide range of applicants, each having different experiences and different qualifications. By analysing the results of a standardised mechanical reasoning test, Toyota are able to quickly see which candidates are suitable for the role and which are not. This sort of information about candidates’ skills is difficult to glean from interviews and qualifications alone, so they use professional psychometric tests.

Toyota Application Process Stages

Here is the typical process for your application to Toyota.

Stage 1

Application

Applications are made online and require candidates to provide their contact details, education and work experience. They are also required to complete a few screening questions, which are used to ensure that the candidate is suited to their selected role.

Stage 2

Online Aptitude Tests

Selected candidates will then need to undertake a selection of psychometric tests; including some of all of the following: numerical, verbal and diagrammatic reasoning, a situational judgement test and personality questionnaire.

Stage 3

Interview

Successful candidates are required to attend an initial interview, which is usually conducted in person, but is sometimes administered as a telephone interview. Later on in the selection process, this is often followed by a second interview which will be either technical/functional or competency based. It is recommended that candidates adopt the STAR approach when formulating answers, while remaining mindful of the Toyota competencies: Leadership, Commercial Awareness, Thought Processing, Delivery, Personal Effectiveness, and Personal Style. These interviews allow opportunities to demonstrate strengths, areas of interest and experience.

Stage 4

Face to face interviews

Toyota also use face to face interviews as a last stage process to really determine who the right candidate is for the position.

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Toyota Mechanical Reasoning Test Questions

Like most mechanical tests, the one used by Toyota look at your ability to interpret a situation from a visual representation and any written information and answer questions which require analysis of the data provided. The mechanical test will be assessing your speed and accuracy. The answers are multiple choice and you should try to work quickly within the time limit, but also accurately. Negative marking is unlikely to be used but do not guess answers, as this will show up in your accuracy score. Sometimes you will find that you can make a best guess estimate by deducing that some of the answer options are incorrect. This approach to mechanical tests will come with practice, and you will become familiar with the type of mechanical tests used by companies such as Toyota.

Mechanical reasoning tests and who uses them

Companies are using mechanical reasoning tests more and more in their application process that candidates must go through. Mechanical reasoning tests are favoured when the role being recruited for requires interpretation and manipulation of the physical world on a regular basis. A person's score in a mechanical reasoning test is a good indicator of their general intelligence and ability to assess physical aspects of the situation they find themselves in. This is of particular importance to the Toyota.

Toyota use mechanical reasoning tests as part of their recruitment process to help them select the best candidates for a particular role.

So as a graduate or senior candidate applying for a job at Toyota you might feel like the mechanical reasoning test is an unnecessary hoop to jump through. But you should bear in mind that Toyota are asking you to complete the mechanical test as much for your own benefit as theirs; if you are not suitable for the role, a psychometric test will usually identify this. Research has shown that psychometric tests, such as those used by Toyota, are a better predictor of job performance than traditional selection metrics such as level of degree achieved.

What you should know before taking your mechanical reasoning test

The mechanical operations required in standardised mechanical tests are of a level which most applicants can achieve. The difficult aspect comes with carrying out the calculations quickly and accurately within the time limit. Here is a list of the most common operations you can expect in your mechanical test:

  • Displacement of water
  • Air and water flows
  • Mass, fulcrums and levers
  • Distances

Different types of mechanical tests

Most questions in most mechanical reasoning tests follow a standard format displaying a situation, the question and answer options on screen. These can be arranged differently, but each test will stick to the same layout throughout. The question text may contain extra information which adds to what's already given in the image, this might also be necessary to answer the question correctly. Lastly, the answer options are almost always multiple choice. Multiple choice answers can vary, however. You may have 4 options to pick from, 5, maybe 10, or more. The more answer options to pick from, the slimmer the chances are that you can obtain the correct answer by guessing.

Answered questions

Are these tests suitable for Toyota?

Yes. Toyota use Test Partnership's reasoning tests to assess applicants in the recruitment process. The practice tests we provide have been designed to mimic Test Partnership's style to create an environment similar to the real assessment. This provides you with confidence that the questions you practice with us now are an accurate reflection of the real assessment.

How difficult are your tests?

The same difficulty as real tests. Generally real employer selection tests don't differ that much in terms of difficulty which is why they compare your score against norm groups. Our practice tests are pitched roughly at graduate level, but this means they are actually suitable for preparing for all levels of job: entry; apprentice; graduate; senior; director.

Are they compatible with my Mac / Tablet / Phone?

Yes, and PC, and Linux and smartphone and Android and...everything. Our practice tests will run on all systems and they are responsive so they will work well on tablets and smartphones too!

How many times can I take the tests?

Unlimited. You can take our practice tests as many times as you like; there is no limit. But to be honest, after taking the same test a few times you start to remember the answers, so that’s why we have lots of tests.