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I have 1 2003 Corolla with 35,000 miles on it,and the light has come on 2 times, both times after highway travel.
Thanks for any help you can give.
The left side Front will not engage. Will replacing the Proportion Valve do the Trick? Is the valve right next to the master cylinder? HELP !
Does anyone under impression that too many things on this car required dealer visit?
If I wanted Mercedes (some geezers just love it for the sake of customers lounge with free doughnuts) , I would have gotten one
we put in a new distributor...new spark plugs....and battery..alternator..and yet it still dont work..
anyone know why it wont start then?
A good first step is to test for fuel delivery (a fuel-pressure gauge is safest) and then test for spark (you can buy a spark tester real cheap at Kragens, Autozone, etc.) and if you have fuel injection (can't recall on a '90 model, sorry) then you can buy a noid light to test for impulse to the fuel injectors.
One of those should reveal your problem.
Are you quite sure the new distributor was timed correctly?
on running slow. Also speed will reduce. please help me.
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This happened to me when having to drop off my Corolla at a dealership for diagnosis and work under the basic warrantee. First I was informed that they will have to find out whether the problem is due to owner neglect, then the service adviser indicated that the actual diagnosis is not covered by the warrantee. I politely challenged both notions and left the car.
Even though the fix was covered by the manufacturer, my hassle didn't end there. I never took my car to be serviced at a Toyota dealership before, therefore the dealer didn't have any loyalty to me as a customer. They tried to manipulate me and scare me into performing more work than needed and charge me accordingly.
Your first scheduled maintenance svce. will not be costly, although it will be somewhat higher than an independent shop. It will behoove you to keep in mind that if your car ever needs repairs while under the three years/36000 guarantee, you may find yourself in a difficult situation. The owner's manual says one thing but the reality may be different. Once your vehicle is left with the service department, you're at their mercy. Of course the customer is not totally defenseless or without recourse.
My 2 cents only.
I have a 2003 Corolla. My battery has died down a couple of times. If I need a battery replacement, how much does it cost? Is it better to get it done at a dealer or a local repair center? Does anyone know of good places in Boston that I will not be ripped off at?
Thanks!
Sure you'll pay more at a dealership.
Pricewise......50-100 bucks
And they'll put in the new one for you!
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Wondering what my repair options are? My mechanic has advised that the cylinder head must be pulled (4hrs labour) and sent to machine shop for necessary work and for valve repair/replacement as required. Am told that re-assembly could take longer, perhaps 6hrs. In total about a $1000 job at best case scenario I am told! Was very impressed that my mechanic performed about 1hr of diagnostic work (test drive, checked timing, spark plugs, wiring set and compression tested each cylinder)at no cost to me, so trust his opinion.
In past 3 years I have spent about $3000 to replace the clutch, fuel tank, fuel pump, brake & fuel lines front to back, alternator etc. so would really like to keep vehicle, but also don't want to open up a can of worms in the engine. Body is in good shape and I have mounted on rims summer & winter tire sets.
In my local area have found the identical vehicle for just $300, running but body badly rusted with 397,000 km although no apparent engine problems and also a fairly new radiator that I could use (mine is original). Wondering how complex it might be to just switch cylinder head & valves between the two vehicles?
Any advice that might be provided from this forum would be much appreciated.
Thanks
I've had head jobs done on two different vehicles in my early days, both went on to run many many carefree miles.
Thanks for the quick response and advice. Yes, it is probably better to stick with the "devil I know" than introduce other cylinder head/valve parts with about 150,000 more Km's on it.
My mechanic estimates that to re-do the cylinder head at the machine shop and replace valves could run around $500, plus around 10 hrs of labour for dis-assembly/re-assembly @ $60/hr (shop rate) = $600, so fairly expensive job on a 17 yr old vehicle, although I have already put $3000 in these past 3 years. To find an engine mechanic working from home for less hourly wage and no tax (15% here)would be an ideal solution.
The mechanic who did the diagnostic work did indicate that when you resolve a "top end" compression issue in the cylinder head, it sometimes puts more strain on the "bottom end" which can create further issues down the road. Would you agree with this? You seem to have had good luck with your cylinder head repairs down the road!
But you are into the whole debate, at what point do you throw in the towel and stop fixing an old car. Some will say never invest more than the car is worth on trade in. Others will say okay to make some big dollar expenditures, it's still cheaper than buying something new, or pre-owned newer. Reliability and Safety come into play as well.
I personally work on my own vehicles, tend to keep stuff forever, and have more garage space and vehicles in the household than drivers so it doesn't matter if one starts to have a problem that needs worked on at my convenience. The girls get the newer reliable cars, I putz around on the older ones.
I happen to like the style of the old wagon you have, and would buy a new one if either Honda or Toyota made it (Matrix and CRV aren't quite the same). So, if I were in your shoes I'd have the head rebuilt since it sounds like you've kept up the other aspects of the vehicle.
On the other hand, the Matrix,CRV, or Subie Outback are somewhat tempting, and if you need the higher reliability and can afford it....certainly now would be the time to consider stop throwing money into the Corolla and upgrade to the newer safety platforms (Side curtain/knee airbags, VSC, disc brakes all around, etc).
Regarding "letting go" of a vehicle, in hindsight, I should probably have done this about 3 yrs ago (before spending $3000!), but this Corolla wagon (only made for 3 yrs I believe) it is a great commuting car and very good in winter conditions with the AWD/4WD + two sets of good mounted summer/winter shares. I have been the sole driver of this vehicle for 17 yrs and have also not "beaten" the engine. It is also safety inspected until June 30th, 2008 so if I get the head work done successfully I should have at least 9 mths of trouble free driving ahead of me before next inspection. At my last MVI the mechanic commented on how "tight" everything was for an old car and the body still very solid.
I have 5 daughters (6-14 yrs old) who just returned to school, so this has already been an expensive few weeks for our family and this was the last additional expense I needed at this time. We really require 2 cars though with a very hectic busy family schedule.
While I procrastinate on a repair decision, do you have any idea on what additional damage I might be causing the engine driving a little around town on 3.5 cylinders? It runs but is "rough".
Well another thing to consider is you eldest daughter of 14. Not sure what state you are in, in NC here kids get their permit at 15 and drive with a parent for a year before off on their own. Voting to replace it is the fact that a newer vehicle would have airbags and safety features. Voting to keep it would be that you'd have low insurance, and it's a great sized and stable car to learn to drive on (and have minor fender benders, if they happen). With 5 girls coming up, you are going to have your own fleet of vehicles before long.
Before embarking on this road, they would like to attempt a valve adjustment and conduct a WET/DRY? compression test, to possibly try and improve the #2 cylinder compression up from 110 psi, closer to the 150 psi of the other three. This would cost around $200. They say if you were to pull the cylinder head it is better to just replace the affected valves in that #2 cylinder to prevent the oil burning issue that I mentioned above.
They also indicate that no further damage will be caused by running the car short distances around town in the meantime. When I brought one of my daughters to an early morning swim practice yesterday, on a cold engine, I noticed very little "miss" in the engine, but it developed more later in the day on a warm engine. On the hwy I have no problem maintaining the 110 km/hr speed limit.
I live in New Brunswick (NB) Canada and the age to start driving on a graduated license, accompanied, is 16 yrs old, so extra vehicles will no doubt become an issue for our family in the near future. With the "graduated" license the child can drive the car alone sooner, assuming they pass the applicable written & driving test if they take a course of instruction from a designated driving school.
Regarding vehicle maintenance, I never compromise what I consider safety issues related to brakes, steering, tires etc. but could live with "cosmetic" issues like a rust spot fixed up or a pin-prick hole in the exhaust system etc. To pass annual MVI must have no holes in exhaust system or rust perforation holes, but in between MVI's I would let some these things go.
Certainly if there was a chance that by simply adjusting the valve you could get the compression up in that cylinder, that is the thing to do as it is non-invasive. If on the other hand the valve is burnt or valve guide noticeably worn, and you are going to have to take the head off (to have 'something' done) (and financially in your circumstances it makes sense to fix as opposed to dump), then you have a risk situation decision to figure out. Is it riskier to a.) only fix the one valve, minimizing any potential unknown ring situation, but maximizing the potential 'other valves have a problem risk' ....or b.) fix all the valves, minimizing valves ever causing a problem in the near future, and increasing the risk that you may have piston ring blow by.
I personally am a proponent of preventive maintenance, and if one valve has a problem, it is reasonable that since all the other valves have gone thru the same mileage/oil/pressures/temperatures over the years, they all are reasonably worn at a similar rate, and are not too far behind. Since it is incrementally cheap to do and have the financial means, I'd do it. If it turns out the rings become a problem, dump the car. Likewise if you only repair a single valve, if you later have another valve problem, dump the car.
If you knew the odds this would be an easy decision. Otherwise, you're taking a chance no matter which alternative you decide. If financially you can afford to replace, spend the 200 bucks to try to adjust the valve if they can and you think you'll get that much more back in selling the car, then dump it before you run into additional problems.
Good luck with whatever alternative you choose. It's only a car and at some point it's going to the junk heap, you've certainly got your money's worth out of it up to this point.
This evening on a relatively short 15 min drive in traffic I noted a "hot" smell coming from the engine when I stopped, although water temp is normal, but the tunnel to the rear axle was also becoming noticeably warm and also around the gear shift.
So things are definitely not improving, and it would appear that in that in cylinder #2 where the valve is sticking, it is perhaps getting well and truly cooked!
110 psi should fire the cylinder just fine. Yes you might have a lumpy idle but if you had a burned valve or a sticking one your compression would be much lower than that.
Your valves might merely be tight or you could be heavily carbonized.
I wouldn't pull the head just yet, not by any means.
First I'd try a valve adjustment
Second I'd try to de-carbonize the engine.
Yes, the idle is a little "lumpy", but not stalling, and acceleration has some "hesitation", but overall performance at cruising speed only somewhat compromised.
I will ask about your suggestion to possibly de-carbonize the engine. Is this a major job? Could using higher octane premium gasoline have contributed to the engine issue I am having, or perhaps after 17 years 238,000 KM this is just "par for the course". I have regular oil changes every 6,000 KM and use Castrol GTX 10W30 oil.
Toyota would also like to do a "WET/DRY" compression test. The other mechanic who performed the initial diagnosis indicated that his was a "DRY" test and the actual cylinder compressions were 110 psi (Cyl 2), 145, 155 & 160.
This is the 1600 cc 16 valve OHC engine. The mechanics book time to remove/re-install the cylinder head is 8.4 hrs (@ $60/hr) + about $350 for machine shop to re-do the head and replace all valves & guides.
It has been explained to me that my concern over the "hot" smell coming from the car is just the catalytic converter burning off the excess fuel products not being properly combusted in cylinder 2. Mechanic says no issue in driving vehicle for short trips around town until the valve adjustment is attempted.
If 110 lbs is accurate, that shouldn't result in non-combustion of fuel either. Again, it doesn't add up.
Perhaps the dry compression test is WRONG (it often is) and you have lower than 110 psi---in which case your symptoms make more sense to me.
Sometimes a couple cans of very strong fuel additive (decarbonizer) and a long hard run at high speed will do the trick.
The Toyota mechanic said the split on the plug wire to the #2 cylinder was quite bad and noticeable since it was arcing. I cannot believe that the non-Toyota mechanic didn't pick up on this and was suggesting that a $1000 valve job might be necessary!
Thanks for your help and others on this forum in trouble-shooting this issue.
How to remove the door panel and check it out??
Any information helps and thanks.
Last weekend, after starting the car normally, a cracking noise came from under the hood and the battery warning light came on. After turning the car off, a billow of white smoke exited from under the hood. The engine continued to slowly try to crank and finally died. Upon opening the hood and waiting for the smoke to clear, I noticed that cable from the positive battery terminal to the starter had melted about half the cable insulation. Also damaged was some of the injector wires. The battery was super hot. It seemed like the starter cable grounded out, but I don't know that for sure. Has anyone else had this experience and determined the cause?
Fortunately we were already thinking about buying a new car anyway, however the old Corolla was a total loss except for salvage value. A mechanic mentioned that it wasn't worth fixing since a new wiring harness alone would have to be ordered from Toyota at a cost over $1000. So I got rid of it, as-is.
Oh, by the way, if this fire happens to you, don't open the hood until it's cooled off, just in case the battery explodes. I was very lucky not to get injured and didn't realize how dangerous this fire could have been.
The good news is that I bought a new 5-speed CE Corolla for under 14k out the door. What a way to have to get a new car. However, I love my new candy-apple red car!
First, you should always carry around a ABC fire extinguisher. These come in real handy when you have smoke under the hood and are usually available at auto and discount stored for under $20
Had you taken it to an independent shop, the shop would have called around to a junkyard and FOUND a USED harness. I have done this on several occasions with good success.
You might have a claim against on your comprehensive due to the engine fire. Did you call your agent?
I plan on buying a fire extinguisher soon.
We were planning on getting rid of the car within a year, otherwise I would have pursued fixing it. My schedule just got moved up.
Unfortunately, I don't have comprehensive coverage anymore, so I'll just take my lumps and move on. A mechanic offered me the equivalent of a used motor, so I sold it to him for that price. Yeah, I know I lost money but the aggravation is gone.
Thanks.
Thanks.
I guess i have no real complaints as the car has over 200K miles on it and keeps on going. With 35+ MPG a little "meltdown" from time to time isn't bad although i am happy that it didn't catch on fire.
I have my tool box back in my car as a result...