While in the shipyard for maintenance on 31 March 1911, a benzene explosion in the ship's aft-most boiler room killed one man and injured several, preventing "Yorck" from taking part in unit maneuvers. On 1 October, "KzS" and "Kommodore" (Commodore) Franz von Hipper replaced Spee, after which the ship joined a cruise to Norway and Sweden in November. She visited Uddevalla, Sweden from 3 to 6 November during the cruise. "Yorck" did not take part in the unit maneuvers conducted in February 1912. In March, "Yorck" and four light cruisers filled I Scouting Group's role during fleet exercises, and during the maneuvers now-"VAdm" Bachmann came aboard "Yorck" to direct their participation. During the exercises, Hipper temporarily transferred his flag to the new battlecruiser , but returned thereafter until 28 August. In September, "Fregattenkapitän" (Frigate Captain) Max Köthner replaced Reuter as the ship's captain, though he served in the role only briefly before departing in November. The ship suffered an accident on 2 November when one of her pinnaces accidentally detonated a naval mine, killing two men and injuring two more.