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Who plans on keeping their Corolla for 200K+ miles?
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I have taken good care of maintenance items - change oil every 4000; change transmission oil every 30,000;- most of driving is interstate. It has been mostly in Illinois but 2 years in Colorado.
Mileage still is around 30 mpg and no loss of power just burning up oil. I think it is the valves but repair seems expensive..
Ideas?
I have had a couple of old Corollas out to 250K, so I know it could be done in the old days. Whether today's Corollas are still up to the task is something I am going to try to find out. I will report back in, oh, 12-15 years! :-P
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
I drive a 94 Corolla, 165K on it, 3 times in the garage. Plan on keeping it until the wheels come off.
Oh and by the way, check out 500,000 mile accord post on this forum. It links to youtube "to the moon and back chrinicles" in whicha guy documents in video cast his 86 Accord which is about to turn 500,000 miles and is still going strong!
If my Corolla can get anywhere close to this I won't need a new one until 2015 or later!
I will be able to wait until the 11th gen Corolla! (The one after this coming redesign)
I am now at 191k miles and haven't had any issues besides a tail light burn a bulb.
This car was seriously abused prior to me taking it over. It wasn't uncommon for it to go 6k-10k miles between oil changes. My dad finally replaced the spark plugs at approx 150k miles prior to me getting it. If I had known better I'd think this car belonged to an crack house because it was so trashed out. It took my wife and I 3 hours just to clean out the interior. It had gotten so much hail damage it was totalled my the insuruance company and they bought it back. One day, my mom couldn't get it out of park.. she took it in and the mechanic took apart the shifter and it had so much spilled coke and half eaten french fries that it had clogged it up and it could switch out of park! :sick:
With 190k miles and an extremely rough life it is still chugging along and the AC blows ice cold. It leaks some oil which I have to keep an eye on....but for as old as it is and with as many miles as it has, I can't complain.
Every morning when I go out and it starts right up, I'm am absolutely amazed! I'm hoping to get at least 220k miles out of it. At the rate its going, that may not be a problem.
I have an 01 Corolla in which I just hit 102,000 and still running strong. I have never had a problem with it other than replacing bulbs, etc. I always keep the routine maintenance on schedule...oil changes every 3000 and I change the radiator, tranny, and plugs every year as well as tires, (just to keep safe) since I mostly do highway driving.. (80 miles a day just for work). I did have a check engine light come on with a "bank one lean" code and a hesitation on acceleration which turned out to be a dirty mass airflow sensor...I cleaned that and it ran perfect once again.
The only thing I dont like is the lack of power..I wish I could get more horsepower out of it... "if anyone knows a way let me know "
In conclusion, I'm very happy with my Corolla and definitely plan on keeping it well over 200,000!
well any ideas give a shout. I'll post more later as i learn more and gain better mileage.
Just my worlds of minor wisdom i've learned in the past yr of woning my car. and changing to synthetics can give you longer time between changes, i've heard studies say least 40,000 miles, but im surely not gonna test that theory...lol
I got every 5,000 with an extending life fitler. works great. 5spd trans, and remember to shift up, more times then not my father has caught me and told me to shift to 5th, and wow what a diff. in mileage, so if you can use 5th at 45mph, do so.
thanks
85 SR5 - drove till 110,000 - had 2 years
89 GTS - drove till 150,000 - had 10 and a half years
95 DX - drove till 217,000 - had 11 years
I currently have a 1990 4wd Toyota truck with 192,000 miles on it that I plan to keep it until Toyota imports their diesel or maybe puts a hybrid in a 4wd truck, both of which I figure are still a few years away, so I'll have well over 200,000 miles on the truck when I finally sell it. I bought this truck new in 1990 to replace a 1982 Toyota 4wd truck that had 180,000 miles on it. It was still running like new. I only sold the 1982 truck because I made the mistake of ordering it without air conditioning and because I wanted an extended cab.
I change my oil every 3,000-4,000 miles and do regular tune-ups.
From my past experience and the teaching of my father (mechanic for many years) i know that if a vehicle calls for 10w30 then its best to stick to it. What ever the vehicle ask for "weight" wise keep it that way. As for the synthetic oils, i have had very good luck with part synthetic from Castrol 10w30 in my 03 Corolla. Thing is that i have heard from others is that if you try a synthetic and you experience leaks, one that are more often then usual oil, then change back to the regular. The thickening and sticking to the sides of the motor and pan are what keeps it from leaking. Now if it is leaking anyways and someone says put a thicker oil...hmmmm
ask yourself if you put something thicker into something of the same mass and apply the same pressure what do you think it will do. my thought it would bust something cause the oil is too thick to move and give. don't bandaid it. im not a ASE mechanic but i have learned enough to keep my face out from under the hood. Best thing i can say is stay with regular oil and have someone else look over the motor, or wash it down yourself and look for the leak, if its the pan area, it may be a very easy fix. Im sure others have opinions on this....
enjoy,
scott
1990 4Runner - totaled at 167k miles with original clutch. Was going to keep that one "forever."
2002 Sienna - current kid-hauler with 136k and planning to get 200k out of it too.
Since then I have replaced the timing belt and water pump an additional 2 times (3rd one replaced 3 weeks ago)
I have kept up with the routine maintenance at the recommended milege, gone through 3 sets of tires, 2 batteries, brakes,and replaced parts that started to get worn.
This year, 2008 is the first year where I have spent the most money on my Toyota.
I need to replace the struts, distributor cap, spark plug wires, engine mount for now. I have a feeling the alternator will be next.
I found a good mechanic shop and am taking Nellie in tomorrow morning (2nd time this month) for complete disgnosis and servicing mentioned above.
She is definately aging, and I am hoping that she will last up to 300,000K miles.
I have been fortunate that she has lasted this long.
Once I was sure I had not died I looked around and found out that my car went to the left of the highway I was driving and plowed through barb wire fencing taking out several t posts and the car had turned around and was facing the highway on the other side of the fence. What happened I learned later was that my back rear tire and completely came off the rim.
Being on Social Security Disability Income I have little choice but to keep this car running as long as I can. I could never afford to make payments again so I do the best that I can.
Have been told that this car should run for at least up to 250,000 miles or more. I also read that the 1995 models were the best Toyota Corolla's built.
Over the years I have done all the basic things and kept up maintenance up to this time. The oil engine is as clean as when I first bought it brand new. The Triple A loves me as only five times in the last 12 1/2 years since I got this car I have had to use it. Two times was the battery, two times was tire trouble and one time the alternator.
My favorite of the Toyota's was my little FX. I loved that car, but it was having some major electrical problems, probably why they do not make them anymore.
My recommendation is that if you are a women that drives a lot alone, the Toyota is the most reliable car one can get. You just do not want to get stranded.
Liane
I love it! I am debating just putting a new engine, struts and clutch in in the coming months.
Uses little to no oil, and I have just changed the coolant, PS fluid, brake fluid (ABS brakes), plugs, air filter, PCV, cleaned throttle body, and replaced thermostat (just because it is old, was not causing any problems).
Nothing ever done that was not routine, except I had to replace the blower motor at around 70k miles - cost me $50 and about a half hour of my time.
Good to hear yours is doing well also!