Toyota Corolla Maintenance and Repair

corolla1987 · July 2005

Your car might be different than mine--I have a '87 Toyota Corolla.It has a fuse box near the battery cable that has 4 fuses in it.One of them is an alternator fuse.

If your car is also made like that I would recommend checking the fuse;one of them may have blown.
I am having the same trouble as you are having,only my car has went through 3 alternators in a short time! I have yet to find out what is going on.
Someone told me those rebuilt alternators may be poor quality.(Autozone)
Good thing I have a lifetime warranty.

You should check your alternator belt to make sure it is tight and in good condition.If the belt is just a little loose it can cause trouble.

Hey--when you discover what is wrong with your car and the solution,please post it here.It could be helpful to me in figuring out my car's alternator trouble.
I will do the same when I find out what is causing my trouble.
Good luck. :confuse:

jessica_ann · July 2005

My 2000 toyota corolla has the same problem except for the fact that i have never had to change the oil in it because its been having the problem since we bought it.. and it goes back to the dealership every month to get fixed. Its gone back 5 times and no success.

where2turn · July 2005

I HAVE A 1998 TOYOTA COROLLA, I HAVE HAD TROUBLE WITH IT EATING ALOT OF OIL,OVER HEATING. SINCE I HAVE HAD A REBUILT ENGINE,GONE THREW 3 THERMOSTATS AND STILL HAVE TROUBLE WITH IT OVER HEATING AND NOW TAKES UP ALOT OF COOLANT. IT HAS BEEN CHECKED OVER MANY TIMES THEY FIND NOTHING WRONG! IS THERE ANY ONE WITH PROBLEMS LIKE THIS !!

rjay2 · July 2005

I have a 1988 Toyota Corolla SR5. When driving it there is a sound sort of like rattling cans coming from the left front area. Right now it's not too loud. I brought it to local mechanic and he told me he thinks it may need new wheel bearings at about $ 200 a pop per wheel. I don't know a lot about cars so I'm wondering if this is a likely problem and a fair cost to pay to fix it or what else the problem might be? Any ideas of what this sound means and how much it should cost to fix?

sandman46 · July 2005

Using all capital letters is considered "shouting" and rude when using a computer. It's also difficult to read the messege. Please use some computer courtesy and refrain from doing it in the future!
Thanks.

The Sandman

lostwrench · July 2005

Cranking and turning over are the same thing. Do you mean the engine does not fire up?

where2turn · July 2005

Where is the book on rules ? I am hear to get fedback on my car troubles, not to have such remarks made back. Forgive me for making a mistake.

mike8946 · July 2005

Initial problem---Car would not shift out of park. Had to use a screwdriver to activate the overirde featrue to get out of park. Repair shop said it could be a number of problems--switch in brake thta sends electrical current to solenoid to release park gear, wiring in this sytesm, or the solenoid. They checked and it was the solenoid. At the same time they alos told me thta one of the brake lights was not working. Strange because I had just replaced thta bulb the week before.

One week later, the problem returns---stuck in park. Repair shop keeps 2-3 days but can not replicate problem. Three days later same problem. In adiition the cneter brake light will not work. Repair shop said that when they looked at the brake lights, none were working. After further study, they said thta the fuse had blown and thta the current had burned (fried) 2 of the 3 brake light switches.

Question---what is causing the system to prduce this excess current. Does something else need to be repalced or repaired to prevent the same problems from occurring again?

poliva2 · July 2005

Hi
Im new to this board, so here it goes.. Today, I went to Sears to get the tires on my 1999 Toyota Corolla changed . The technician said im going to need a Wheel Alignment, So I agreed. The car dries like a dream. No pulling and it drives straight as an arrow. Now i go online, and im blown away to see how many complaints and reports of fraud that were aimed at Sears, My question is , will this wheel alignment cause problems down the road? The technician gave me a printed before and after summary report on the alignment. it seems like its in the specified range. I would like to share it with this board for your advise... Please help!!

beernut · July 2005

Congratulations!

You are now on the Sears hook! They won't start reeling you in until your next visit, but they will get you. I assume they sold you the "life-time alignment"?

Know what your car needs before having anyone blow your money on their crappy advice. This is the subject for a different board's discussion, but my experience is that Sears WILL rob you over time.

To answer your question, the wheel alignment that Sears did is probably fine and will not cause problems. All cars need their alignment checked and almost every car on the road right now could stand to be adjusted. Quality new tires, alignment and most importantly!!!!! - - balance!!!!! Will make even my Ford Windstar drive very well. The work you had done is simple and Sears probably did a fine job, but with THOUSANDS of shops available who can do as well or better, why go to Sears?

BTW, my family and all of my friends have been boycotting Sears since the summer of 1986. Go to the any of the Sears compliant discussion boards and you can read my story played out over and over by others across the country.

poliva2 · July 2005

Thanks

mcdawgg · July 2005

Slow starting - take to dealer. There is a TSB out for this problem - something with the engine computer. Paint chips - normal on all new cars.

mcdawgg · July 2005

All cars do this first thing - it is moisture on the rotors. Normal.

sandman46 · July 2005

I had this for my '88 Corolla FX and I was very happy with the price and the service of my local Sears. They did it about every 3 months for me and I used it for almost 8 1/2 years!

The Sandman

tjdepere2004 · July 2005

I have been using Sears automotive products and services for just over fifty years all across North America. No problems. Secret is to be able to express your situation to the service writer with the vehicle, what will they do to correct the situation and what will the cost be. Get it written on the work order so the situation clear to you and the tech. and when will it be done.. Not that difficult.
Honey always get more than vinegar

beernut · July 2005

"Not that difficult" - for someone who knows what they are talking about, has been doing it for 50 years and has the time to invest in micro-managing their car maintenance - that's you and me, tj, not the overwhelming bulk of the population! Sears doesn't prey on you, or me. They prey on those of us who don't know, don't want to know, never will know..... they just want their damned car fixed. People who want the speed and convenience of Sears and want desperately to THINK they can trust someone with their car and are willing and able to pay the asking price - - they will get screwed by Sears. At the risk of sounding sexist, tj, these are our wives and daughters I'm talking about.

Why would anyone trust someone with their car if getting simple service done requires one to "be able to express your situation to the service writer with the vehicle, what will they do to correct the situation and what will the cost be. Get it written on the work order so the situation clear to you and the tech. and when will it be done."?

That's not a TRUST relationship, tj, and is exactly the issue with Sears.

sandman46 · July 2005

Guess we should just agree to disagree. My experiences with Sears have been top notch going back to 1973 when I got my 1st car. Tires, batteries, oil changes and alignments have all gone pretty well I'd say. Sure I had to go back about 5% of the time to adjust a tire...they don't road test the cars after servicing them. If they did, I think the return rate would decrease signifigantly.
Some folks have good experiences...some have had bad. Seems like their on par with most businesses in the U S!

The Sandman

sweetmomma · July 2005

Thanks for the suggestions. I ended up getting a diagnosis and goodyear told me the oxygen sensor was messed up (as well as many other things they wanted to do to get money outta me:) but I got one at advanced auto for about 65 bucks compared to the 200 something goodyear wanted to charge for the part itself. I had another place put it in and they told me the wires that connected to the oxygen sensor were melted(goodyear didn't mention that). Since these were not something I could get from a parts store, I got it from the junk yard car place and pulled it off an old car. Changing the oxygen sensor hadn't helped one bit, it was the wires that done the trick! So now about 400 dollars worth of work later, IT"S FIXED!!! :shades:

beernut · July 2005

OK. So althought it may SEEM like I'm out-voted by 100%, I'm really only down by one.

toyotaken · July 2005

I'm glad it all worked out in the end for you. Knock on wood you won't have to worry about it again anytime soon.

Ken

sandman46 · July 2005

You're not down anything. I happened to have good luck at Sears, as did TJ. You had bad luck. Probaly a 50/50 split on this subject.

The Sandman

snhoj2u · July 2005

Most vehicles including your Toyota have a low pressure cut-out feature to save the compressor in the event you lose freon. There will not usually be an electrical indication when this happens (i.e., fuses ok, no blinking lights, etc.). Can you confirm through the sight glass that you have a good freon charge? If you do have a good freon charge there is the outside possibility the compressor clutch has failed...This is not at all common, so start with the easy stuff first, ok.

One tell tale you may have a leak is that the area surrounding the leak will likely be oily. Common areas include near the compressor, hoses, and on the front of the condenser (per someone else's post).

snhoj2u · July 2005

Having an intermittent problem where after warm up the car will stall for no apparent reason. Happens in gear and neutral, under load, no load and idle. I can rev the bejezuz out of it and it'll run fine, but let it get below 2,500 RPM and the warning lights come on and I'm restarting the baby.
Shop changed the MAP to no effect. After a week all I got was a shrug. I want to believe it is the throttle position sensor, but at $150 a crack at NAPA, I want one of you experts to weigh in before going the trial and error route. What symptoms will an occasionally shorting/failing TPS give. I can't find a direct cause and effect...any ideas?
Full disclosure: I replaced the hydraulic power steering line behind the engine (disconnected various plugs) and washed the engine after changing the line so I have caused something to go amiss and or water soaked.

wifescar · July 2005

My wifes car (cheasy board name, but helps me remember them all) is an 03 LE with 40k. After a trip across I-80 from Utah to California the AC blower chirps (faster or slower depending on blower speed) and seems to do it randomly. I am a car nut and thought about trying to dig it out and get some electric lube on it, but found this board and you guys probally know more about this car than I do, so I thought I would ask. Any suggestions would be great, I love the car, comfortable, good power and great gas mileage, high 43, low 29, average 38.
Thanks guys.

Shane

thewood_14 · July 2005

my air cond recently quit , while i was driving i noticed the a/c button was pushed in but not lighted up and my air no longer worked. i checked the fuses all showed to be good, is there any fuses to check besides the fuse box located on driver side by door . could the a/c button gone bad itself? if anyone can help me i would really appericate it.

thewood_14 · July 2005

sound like a blade on the fan may be cracked

tara4 · July 2005

I just had the starter replaced on my 1997 Corolla. Everything else was fine when I took it in. When I picked it up it started easily, but it felt like I was driving in low gear. The automatic transmission revs up pretty loud and then I can feel it shifting rather suddenly.Then it seems to drop back to low gear frequently. It never did that before. It just feels like the car is laboring to move. I returned to the garage and they told me the starter would have nothing to do with a transmission problem. That makes sense, but why is my car not running properly immediately after the starter was replaced? I'd appreciate any advice anyone can give me. I'm near the first 100,000 miles on this wonderful car and I'm hoping for 200,000. Thanks!
--Tara">

katou · July 2005

The hood of our 2000 Corolla just flu up and open, hitting the windshield last night as my husband drove down the highway. He was able to pull off to the shoulder of the road. Luckily the windshield did not shatter and no one was injured. Has this happened to anyone else? We can't even remember when was the last time we opened the hood of the car. We called our Toyota dealer who claims he has never heard of this happening on our model. Any suggestions?

toyotaken · July 2005

I can say this is the first time I've ever heard of this happening too. When was the last time you had your car serviced? Maybe they left it unlatched and you haven't noticed? Strange all the way around in either case.

Ken

teressa · July 2005

I bought a 2005 Corolla S automatic transmission and had it for a few days when I got into it and drove onto the interstate and realized it wouldnt shift into 2nd gear :sick: . I was shocked cause this was the first brand new car I'd ever owned and I called my dad and he said to pull over and turn it off and turn it back on. I did that and it fixed it. This happened a few times and I told the dealer about it each time but they didnt have a clue what was wrong, kept saying it had to do it while I was there (which I have a light to tell me when my tires need air, I don't see why a light didnt come on when my car wouldnt shift gears). At any rate, after a few trips to the car lot that is about 80 miles away I got them to be in the car with me and it did it and I have a loose valve shaft in my transmission. This made them seem mad at me like you have a toyota they arent supposed to have problems. I acted like I bought a new car I thought it wasnt supposed to have problems either. They finally got it fixed I hope I just got it back today. I just want to warn anyone that gets one that if their car has episodes where it won't shift gears it just goes into really high RPMs, and you have to shut it off or put it in a different gear to get it to stop, to tell them morons its something in the transmission, it doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure that out when your car wont shift. When I bought the car they gave me the book about :lemon: and said you wont need this toyota doesnt have :lemon: I was beginning to think I got one :lemon: I'll have to wait and see I might just have.

dave594 · July 2005

My manual transmission never had that problem.

mcdawgg · July 2005

You are just very unlucky! I have never heard of such a thing with a Toyota, but it can happen. Obviously, it was a manufacturing (assembly) error, not a design issue. They will fix it and I am sure your car will be fine. Don't worry, Toyota builds the most reliable cars.

luvalwazme007 · July 2005

after getting my car fixed from having a small animal eat several hoses in my engine compartment I noticed that at 90mph or above my car begins to whistle. It seems to happen after the ac has been on about 10min, also it comes and goes with the wind changes or lane changing. any ideas or thoughts what it might be? my dealer thinks I am crazy and that there is nothing wrong. :confuse:

poliva2 · July 2005

Hi
I recently began feeling my Brake pedal pulsate when i come to stops. Today, While i was washing my car, i noticed my rotors were filthy black . Could this have anything to do with my problem?? Thanks :confuse: ">

alacrity · July 2005

I have a problem with my 2005 Corolla XRS. At approx. 5,000 miles, the A/C stopped working. Took it to the dealer and was told that it would be covered under warranty. 2 hours later they called and told me that a rock or some other object caused "road damage" to the condenser and that this was NOT covered under warranty. As I was looking at the damage with the service tech., I noticed that there was a HUGE gap between the road and the condenser. I commented to the tech that the condenser looked extremely fragile and that there was very little to protect the condenser from road damage. He said that it was "tough luck." When I mentioned that I thought the design was maybe not the best, I got no comment.

Well, for the last 3 days, I've crawled underneath the front grill of at least 25 different models of cars. Almost all offer protection in the form of either: 1) small holes in the grill or 2) a plastic plate to protect the condenser.

In my humble opinion, the 2005 Toyota Matrix and Corolla have very poor protection for their A/C condensers and very fragile condensers. I believe that this is a design flaw that could be easily corrected with a plastic plate similar to that found on the Sienna and older Camrys.

I've complained to both the service department and Toyota USA (the toll free number given to me by the service dept.) and as of this afternoon, the party line seems to be sorry, but "road damage is not covered under warranty."

Bad luck may be the problem, but I don't think so. I believe that there is simply not enough protection for the condenser.

A new condenser runs $650 plus tax. IF I was convinced that this was a freak accident that had very little probablilty of occuring again, I'd quietly bite the bullet and pay to have it fixed. As it now stands however, it's 92 degrees out and I'm almost positive that, thanks to the poor protection (in my opinion) of the condenser, that this is going to happen again during the lifetime of this vehicle.

I am very unhappy.

jpf · July 2005

Check with your insurance company. It may be covered if you have comprehensive coverage. Good luck.

poliva2 · July 2005

Anti lock brakes pulsate when you use them.

beernut · August 2005

That is true. But I have two questions:

1) Its August in New York. Why is the ABS kicking in? How often are you asking your car to protect you from locking up a wheel in the summer?

2) If it is the rotors that are black and not just the wheels from dust build-up, why are they black? Are both of them black, or just one?

hachi_roku1 · August 2005

hi,

I have an 88' corolla DX with a 4AF engine. I had purchased it a year with a bad transmission. Since then, i have had the tranny' rebuilt by a local garage. Everything seemed well, but the acceleration was below normal. I fear that this "garage" had intentionally did so.

But thats not the problem im having today. The problem is that the engine wont start on command. I have to 1st step on the gas a few times(which is normal in a carburater type engine) but then when i turn it over, i haer a clunk sound. Only after i turn it over numerous times will the engine actually start. My first opinion was that the battery had died, so i've tried charging i multiple times with no progress. So my conlusion would be that the ignition is bad....

what do you guys think?

lostwrench · August 2005

I was looking at a 2005 Corolla last weekend and looking underneath the car I saw how the gas filler pipe is so low and parallel to the ground. I immediately pictured in my mind going over packed snow and ice chunks next winter and tearing out that filler pipe from the gas tank. I probably won't buy a Corolla because of this design.

toyotaken · August 2005

????? Living in Buffalo, NY with over 90 inches of snow every winter I've never even heard of any problems with this. I have to say that's a new one to me...

Ken

reba05 · August 2005

I currently have an ECHO which I really do like, mainly because of the great gas mileage, however, my annoyance is with cross winds on the open road. My first inclination was to upgrade to a Corolla because it is about 500 lbs. heavier yet still a small car. I have read some reviews with complaints on the cross winds on this vehicle as well and wonder if its even worth it.
Advice is much appreciated!

mcdawgg · August 2005

Lots of the same complaints with the new Honda Ody and Accord - rocks taking out the compressor. Many of the Honda owners are putting in there own screens to keep the rocks from damaging the compressor.

scvrage · August 2005

A friend of mine has a slow leak of dirt brown coolant. It happened over night and seems like it is coming from the center of a belt pulley. If anyone has a suggestion on what the source of the problem is or how I can fix it please let me know.

kalm2 · August 2005

hi,
im new at this so be patience with me. anyways i just got a new toyota corrola 2005 and my odometer went. i was wondering what fuse do you replace?

mcdawgg · August 2005

Take to dealer - under warranty.

beernut · August 2005

And don't let them tell you "that's normal".

kalm2 · August 2005

ok but cant i do this myself? how hard could it be to change a fuse. so if i dont want to go to a dealer but spend money on the thing what fuse would i take out?

beernut · August 2005

You can do anything you want, but take mcdawgg's good advice.

mcdawgg · August 2005

It's a good idea to have the dealer do this to get the problem documented in case something else is wrong. My question is what is causing the fuse to burn out, if that is the problem. That's why I think you need to go to the dealer. Besides, I have never heard of anyone having a problem like this.

Toyota Corolla Maintenance and Repair

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