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Comments
Have not had to do the brake lights yet. It was all in the manual that came with the car.
Good Luck. The bulb units were $10.50 each at Autozone.
The service guys push changing those fluids everytime I go in for service. I make them look at the fluids with me on a clean white paper towel which I take with me and tell them if it looks good to me and I check the fluids in between times. I am at 77,000 and have only changed the t. Don't forget they are all on commission and probably have to bill a certain amount per hour if I understand it correctly. They replaced the front brakes this time - my idea and I asked for the old brake pad so that I can monitor the wear.
When they replaced the brakes, the guy called me while the car was down and told me the O ring on the timing chain (?) had an oil leak and also that my brake fluid needed to be changed AFTER we had looked at it. I told them it could all wait.
Make them show you what they want to do. Make them show you what those fluids look like on a clean white paper towel. They sound terrible to me if they didn't even rotate your tires. I mark one tire so that I know they have been rotated everytime. Everytime they tell me something, I get that manual out and show them it's not on the list for that mileage and make them explain it to me. Also, I have a son who knows a lot about car. I am so sorry.
They don't like it but I don't care.
The Sandman
I have a 1996 Corolla DX (1.8 L) which has 201K miles with the following issues:
1. For the past several years, when it gets really cold out (below 20F) you turn the key and the dash lights come on, but nothing else happens (no crank or start). However, if you hold the key in the start position long enough, it will start (unless it's below zero, in which case I take a different car to work).
2. New problem (started five days ago) - when you start the car, there is a strong air sound coming from the engine compartment. I have theorized that it may be a belt rubbing against something (no squeak) or something with the air intake or vacuum line. The noise stops after about 30 seconds. This happens upon start up even when the car is warm.
3. Every once in a while, the check engine light goes on (no, it's not the gas cap) and will turn off after 2-3 days, or 2-3 weeks. I have replaced both O2 sensors.
I would like to sell the car, and a friend has expressed interest. I would not sell to him with these issues, though. Please help me out!
Thanks,
Steve
I have tried every trick (and believe me I mean every thing) in the book to stop the mice entering into the cabin without success (glue traps, etc., etc... - even covering holes with mesh per the dealer mechanic's suggestions - at a cost they could do that for me - I wonder why I ever bought a new car - to provide free transportation for mice?????). They have eaten into two air filters. I have never had mice or such get into any of my other cars. These were parked in the same spot as this new Toyota. Right now there are two other cars parked right next to this one and have never seen this problem. I am sick and tired of the dealer and others telling me that I don't understand the problem. Let me tell you - it not the mice that are the problem. It is the dumb design of Toyota that allows the mice to find their way in. If that is not the case, then I have been sold a lemon of a car. The dealer who is supposed to help me with this only wants to make more money out of the situation that Toyota has put me into. Do you consider this as a feature and I should be so happy for. These dealers were so happy to sell me this car - and once bought they don't want to know about the problems. I will join the line of people who will not touch another Toyota even with a barge pole.
Let me tell you something else. The people who bother to write about problems with their cars do so after exhausting most normal channels. I have been struggling with this problem for over one and a half years. I take offense at comments that outright tell me that there is nothing wrong with the car. If you really believe that there is nothing wrong with the car, than why don't you buy this junk off me for a mere $15,000. I'd be more than happy to give you this simple problem to fix. You have no idea how I lost my excitement of purchasing a new car transformed into disgust within the first two weeks and subsequently into utter stress because I can never drive this contraption with peace of mind.
Let me know if you are interested in purchasing this car from me. You'd be most helpful. I say shame on Toyota!!!!!!
Apologize for the long reply and no personal anger intended, but that's how cheesed-off I feel with such ill-considered responses.
Geeta3
http://www.wombatnation.com/2005/01/mice-ate-my-car
The baby powder near the bottom of the artical i thought was a good idea
MNF
A MOUSE DEFECT ? :confuse:
Not sure how many Toyota vehicles made and sold over the years, but yours is the only one with a mouse problem and you claim Toyota is covering up some sort of defect. :sick:
Wow what an ego :shades:
Secondly, if people are having problems with mice getting into their cars and want to ask for help with that, they are welcome to do so.
Let's not jump on other posters, please. Skip the post if you can't be helpful. Thank you.
About 4 years ago, I had a seat belt release button that would stick sometimes. It needed to be replaced, but I was past the warranty by about 3 or 4 months. I called Toyota (the 800 number in your owner's manual, not the dealer) and explained the situation very nicely, how I was just a little past the warranty, how much I like Toyota (I was not lying), etc. and how I was a little disappointed that this problem occurred. Guess what? They covered the repair free of charge. They called the dealer and told them to do the repair and gave them the authority to bill it back to Toyota Corporate. I was very happy with this! I heard that Toyota is generally pretty good about this kind of thing, and my experience proved it.
It is probably a long shot now, but it's worth a try. At the minimum, I hope that someone reads this and can benefit from it in the future. My dealer told me I would have to pay for it, so it is a good thing I heard about calling Toyota and did it!
Good Luck!
I've seen no sign of wire-chewing or electrical damage. I'll be moving to a much wetter and colder place within a month and I also hope that whatever rodent species that's taken to my vehicle will vacate or die with the climate change. Whatever the case, I'm concerned that whatever is living or dead inside the vehicle may be in the vent system. Since it's hot, I run the air conditioner frequently and have noticed that the smell from the vents is much better than the interior. Is this a good sign? What about when I start running the heater? Are there major mechanical differences between running the heater and running the AC? That is, if there's no odor when I run the AC (suggesting that the rodent is not in the vents), should I be confident that there will be no problem when I turn on the heater? People always mention turning-on the heater when they first recognize that there's a rodent problem...
If I don't idle the car and start driving, car would start choking and then turn off. I have to idle for 1-2 min and then it would run without any problem. I live in Florida, so cold weather is not a issue. it just started few months ago. Before that I never had this problem. Can anybody suggest, what should I be looking at ?
Thanks in advance for the help.
Yes, change it yourself (under 5 minutes) and save big money!
or it could be a simple misfire.
What's the story on semi-synthetic oil? If the oil is being changed at a large Toyota dealer, why is there even a price differential on such a basic repair (and I'm past my 36K powertrain warranty)?
I do it myself, I use full synthetic oil and Mobil 1, K&N, Purolator Pure One filters.It costs me around 25-30 dollars and it is the best a car can get.The satisfaction of knowing you are doing it yourself is the extra benefit.
Follow auto stores sales.
Thanks for your help
If the amount of drained oil is about the same as the amount of new oil, there should not be much difference on the dipstick. Are you sure it is the actual level and not the smeared oil on the dipstick? If it is the actual level and it is really way up there you can drain a little bit, if not it should be OK, especially if you are going to keep the oil change interval shorter than usual this time.