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Toyota Solara

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Comments

  • mimi919mimi919 Member Posts: 85
    Hello,first time poster in this forum.
    I originally ordered a Camry XLE and between the time I ordered the car and it was delivered to my dealer I read many negative posts about the short drivers seat in the Camry which started to concern me so when I went to the dealer to pick up my Camry I took it for a long test drive which confirmed the negative posts as I found the driver seat to be much too short and I just couldn't find a comfortable driving position so I then test drove the Solara and was sold on that car before I even pulled out of the dealers lot for a test drive.
    The Solara I bought was the SLE with all the options and I have to say that I find that car to be the most comfortable car I have ever owned and a fun car to drive on top of it.
    I will miss not having the trip computer that the Camry has but for my needs I feel the Solara will be a much more satisfying car.
  • rubicon52rubicon52 Member Posts: 191
    I have a 2002 red SLE that's almost a year old. Paint chipping is a known problem with Solaras and has been with my car. The paint chips very easily (quite a few chips on the front of the hood). The paint doesn't looks smooth (orange peel) either. Been thinking about getting the clear 3M film for the front. I think soft paint is just a weakness of Solaras. Maybe the Canadian environmentalists won't let Toyota use the really good solvents at the factory!
  • earlgrey_44earlgrey_44 Member Posts: 21
    Mimi, I enjoyed your post because my experience was similar. I lost my 01 SE Solara in a crash earlier this year. (If anyone wants to know how the Solara protects you when slamming it into a stationary object at 35 mph, I can testify). I actually didn't want another Solara, reasoning that the new sedan had received upgrades that had attracted me to the coupe in the first place: Lexus soundproofing, upgraded handling and ride, etc.
    A test drive changed my mind. The sedan leans much more in turns than the Solara, and the seat felt like I was sitting on a bar stool.
    There are a number of nice things about the sedan, but I ended up in a SLE Solara.
  • earlgrey_44earlgrey_44 Member Posts: 21
    EZShift, please let us know your experience with 215 tires when you change over. Anyone else who tried wider tires and can comment on handling and mileage changes, or who just like their replacement tires, please post.
  • webguysterwebguyster Member Posts: 434
    My 2000 SE V6 Blank Metallic Sand Pearl, had sooooo many chips on the hood and else where I am on my 2nd bottle of #209 Toyota/Lexus Touch up. I was lucky enough to have a hood bender in a rainstorm, and had the hood replaced, with an even worse paint job, from a "Toyota Certified" repair center. I can tell you how the car holds up in a 15 mph skid in stop and go traffic, raining, under a truck! Not a pretty picture, but a pretty heafty repair bill, so I hope they never publish any front end crash results or pics, cuz nobody will buy this car. The "OEM" replacement hood was so fragile, that when closing the hood, I did not push down hard enough for the new support struts to drop the hood, and the hood did not catch the hood lock. A gentle push down and I had a $90 hand job, palm print on the hood. My neighbor watched in a stunned look on her face. She too, has a Toyota Camry 1999 LE, and we both had a quiet laugh together, as we made clear our intentions to never purchase another Toyota vehicle, after her numerous problems, and mine. I am beginning to understand why the older generations purchase those Crown Victoria's and Chevy Caprices. Cars you can drive to a little league field, and not worry about several thousand dollars in damage from a stray ball, or kid. Over all the paint is not the worst feature of the car, but I find that the sheet metal may as well be maked from the same material used in aluminum cans. My SE has had more door dings removed than any other car I have owned. Yes, I am that guy that parks a block away from where I am going to avoid the dings, and inevidably, I get a SUV, or van full of kids parking right next to my car, with no concern for slamming into my car doors. The owners of those cars/SUVS apparently appreciate parking next to a nice, well kept car, too! They avoid door dings to their cars, by causing them.

    The paint finish on this car is the, WORST, repeat, WORST I have ever owned. Because my car is black I go out of my way to baby the finish, but the paint looks like a 5 year old car or older, that has seen many a soft cloth car wash. Clear coat has so many swirl marks, made even worse by the bodyshop the replaced the hood, when they blended the hood with the car. It was like Martha Stewart at the detail shop, deciding to "ANTIQUE" the car so the finish was consistant. My 2 years of babying, ruined worse by a rotary buffer!?! A rotary buffer on a black car!?! EECH. Looks greeeaaat in direct sunlight now, NOT. At least I can start using the soft cloth car washes now, rather than going out of my way to the do it yourself places, and worrying about leather chammois, of soft cotton towels on the finish. They did not work well anyway with the OEM paint and clearcoat being sooo soft, and the paint being prone to chips.

    IMO, this car should never, please let me repeat, never, be compared to a LEXUS, or any car other than a Toyota. After speaking with Toyota, I find that even the paint processes are different on Lexus and Toyota Solara. For those who want to make themselves feel better about your cars by comparing them to a Lexus, no offense intended, please do a reality check.
  • scottgbscottgb Member Posts: 23
    Does anyone know if there is a TSB regarding a rattle from the front struts when going over bumps? I thought I remember reading something about this a while back, but couldn't locate any posts on it. I've got a 99 SLE with a little over 18,000 miles, and I've started to notice a rattle when going over certain types of bumps. My 3/36 warranty is up in a month, so I want to get this checked out in the next couple of weeks. Thanks!
  • curlyqcurlyq Member Posts: 54
    I agree, my Solara's paint job is the worst of any car I've owned, too. But does Toyota care? Of course not. Will Toyota provide any info regarding this inferior paint finish? Of course not. Does Toyota care about keeping it's loyal customers "COMPLETELY SATISFIED?" Of course not. After owning 3 Toyotas in a row, I too have had it. The 3M film has only helped reduce the chipping on the front end. Unfortunately, with this paint finish, the entire car needs to be covered. Even multiple coats of Zaino couldn't stop the chipping. And all that Toyota will say is chipping is part of normal wear and tear and not covered by their warranty. Maybe so, but not in the quantity that Solara owners are experiencing. Any thoughts or suggestions from Shifty and Cliffy would be appreciated! Curly
  • webguysterwebguyster Member Posts: 434
    The rattle has 2 possible causes, w/o seeing or hearing your car. Strut towers or bad steering rack ends. Good luck gettin' fixed, cuz I bet when the dealer/tech looks at it or drives it they are so deaf from working in a garage all day, they wont know what you are talking about!?!

    Curlyq... The chips just go with the car, and can become one on your shoulder if you allow them. The paint is soft, and Toyota knows it, from the few phone calls I have had with them. IMO, get another car, and keep the Solara for the beater. IMO, after 2 years with this car, thats what it is, the second car, or spend $5-6,000 for a new paint job.
  • scottgbscottgb Member Posts: 23
    I pretty much expect them to say they 'can't reproduce the problem', but I want to make sure I bring it up before the warranty runs out. Maybe it'll give me a leg to stand on if it gets a lot worse later...
  • canccanc Member Posts: 715
    is not uncommon to cars these days, and is not a Toyota-related issue. Every manufacturer that has taken lead out of its formula, which I'd say is at least 75% of car manufacturers today, will have more of its customers complain about chipping paint. Because lead is horrible for the environment, most manufacturers have opted for other environmentally-aware solutions. Toyota should be congratulated on this.

    That said, I don't know about you guys here, but I can live with my car having chips here and there, but I can't live without drinkable water. It's your choice. Everybody hates a paint chip, including myself. But there are products out there that will do a pretty good job repairing those chips for you. If not, that's what body shops are for.

    I've owned an Intrepid ES and a Corolla before my Solara. My Intrepid was very prone to chips, but it wasn't better or worse than my Corolla or Solara. I therefore disagree with the people here that think that this is a problem with Toyota. Give me a break!
  • fastdriverfastdriver Member Posts: 2,273
    canc-

    I agree with you. I had a 99 Chrysler 300M that was very prone to chips also. In addition to the lack of lead in the paint for environmental reasons, the sloping hoods of many new cars doesn't help either. Best protection is a car bra for long highway trips.

    fastdriver
  • webguysterwebguyster Member Posts: 434
    I believe there are more toxic components to paint than lead, and as far as drinking water, how about the junk cars that people must get rid of before there time becaue they rust out, and end up sitting in a dump, leaching chemicals, oil, gas etc into the water. Lead in the paint is not on my list of Good Toyota, thanks for helping make the world a better place! Make a better quailty product, or lower your prices. Oh, and use good paint like you use on the Lexus!
  • canccanc Member Posts: 715
    I have to agree that it's not any better to get rid of a car prematurely. Both will eventually hurt the environment.

    All current Lexuses come from Japan. I think I read on the Toyota USA website that it does not use any leaded paints in its North American factories (http://www.toyota.com/about/environment/manufacturing/help_environment.html), but Toyota Japan might not be as environmentally conscious as we are, and so Lexuses might still come with leaded paint. We'll see with the planned production of the RX300 in Ontario if the owners will also complain about brittle paint.

    Read about what other manufacturers are doing to become more environmentally aware. You'll see that Toyota is doing a pretty good job, and they're also continously improving.
  • vinceburlappvinceburlapp Member Posts: 64
    There are 2 photos of the new Passat coupe there. It coupe be tough competition for the next Solara;

    http://www.thehollywoodextra.com
  • chop420chop420 Member Posts: 7
    I've owned my 2002 SE for about 1 month now and couldn't be happier. I got 33 mpg on my first road trip and that included some heavy traffic around Washington D.C. Mine is the Lunar Mist color so paint chips may not show as much as some of the darker colors, but after readin some of the other posts I'm concerned. Does anybody have advice on the 3M film, where can I get it and who is best to apply it. I saw it demonstrated on a car show the other day and they advise to have a professional do it -- especially for those who struggled in shop class like me.
  • jeffc777jeffc777 Member Posts: 1
    I have a Solara for just a year and there are many chips all around, especially on hood. However, the dealer and Toyota's representative insist that it had no thing to do with quality of painting job. What a shame!

    Be careful to choose dealer. I had very bad experience with Scott Clark Toyota ( in Charlotte) on service. By the way, how to rate the service of dealers in each city or state?
    I suggest Edmund provide such forum.
  • mimi919mimi919 Member Posts: 85
    I have had my Solara SLE for a week now and so far I absolutely love the car.....love the looks,the way it drives,exceptionally comfortable leather seats and very quiet car.
    The Solara lacks a lot of features that similar priced cars have but I was aware of that prior to buying the car so I feel it would be wrong for me to complain about that but overall it's a great car and I am very satisfied with my purchase.
    I have read a lot about the paint chipping problem and was wondering if that was also a problem with the pearl white color{I had to pay an extra couple hundred dollars for the pearl white}
  • curlyqcurlyq Member Posts: 54
    Some might believe its the price you pay for a better environment. But if you design a car that you know is prone to more chipping by design, then maybe there are other non-toxic additive that could strengthen the paint. Or maybe potential customers could be advised of the potential risk up front and be presented options to protect their investments such as the 3M Scotchcal film or a car bra. After recently spending many hours cleaning and applying Zaino I found over 50 new chips on my car. This can't be a norm consumers should accept, or Toyota for that matter. I had a 1999 Camry Sedan for 11 months that did not experience anywhere near the number of chips that my Solara has. I sure would like an answer from Toyota other than "road chips are normal part of wear and tear". Other than the excessive chipping, my Solara has been the best car I've owned to date!
  • tony2putttony2putt Member Posts: 31
    ScottGB, I had the strut tower work done. The rattle was ignored the first time I went in. Then they pulled the wheel off and ordered the parts. If you are persistent, you will get it fixed. It will make a big difference. Good luck Tony
  • maemarkmaemark Member Posts: 11
    I had a 3-M "Invinca Shield" installed when my Black Sand SLE Conv. was about two months old. I am fairly handy with cars and tried to do one piece myself before giving up and having it professionally installed. It has plusses and minuses. It has done a good job of preventing chips in the year I have had it on the car. No real chipping problem and I wash the car by hand at least once a week. I had it installed on the leading edge of the hood, the lower grill openings and the mirrors.

    The bad part is that the parts do not fit precisely. Even the professional installer was not pleased with the final job. There are some small wrinkles, some overlapping seams etc. if you are a perfectionist about how the car looks, you definitely need a professional to install this stuff. There are other brands that advertise a more precise fit, and may be worth investigating. I think they area all the same 3M film, but may be cut better.

    The stuff is basically invisible from more than a few feet away, but up close, you can see it and some of the flaws.

    Overall, I think I am happy with it, but it is not perfect. My $0.02 worth!
  • ezguyezguy Member Posts: 2
    I installed a K&N air filter in my 2002 SLE and can't really feel any seat of the pants difference. Love the car though, incredible refinement and could easily have been marketed as a Lexus SC300! That JBL system really honks with solid pounding bass. Gripes are the spongy feeling brake feel. Feels like the car carries so much weight and momentum when stopping. Took a while to get used to it at first. Also some creaks on the passenger door on occasions. What's with the trunk release button placed by the glove compartment door! Steering feels awfully slow when attacking tight switchbacks but then this is more of a touring luxury coupe so I can live with it. Makes an excellent long distance cruiser with superb seats.
  • suvshopper4suvshopper4 Member Posts: 1,110
    Seems to me placing the trunk release button inside the locking glove box makes it so that the trunk is inaccessible to someone who only has the valet key.
  • webguysterwebguyster Member Posts: 434
    Pearl White is a lovely color, I know it had some probs bleeding through the plastic, in the bumpers, and is very difficult to correct.

    ezguy, that the way the Solaras are. They look nice, and drive nice when you do the test drive, but after you get used to the new car feel, the ride is almost like you are in a boat, with about as much control!?! Very front heavy, especially in rain and snow, with mucho momentum when stopping. Tech that moved my car into service bay told me the brakes feel soft, in an effort to have me replace, but they were just replaced the last vist. I then got the disc/disc, needs no maintenance, that probably how they are!?!
  • canccanc Member Posts: 715
    I've been doing some experiments lately with the type of gas I'm using with my Solara SE V-6. The Solara owners' manual states that Toyota recommends ethanol gasolines as long as the amount of ethanol blended with the regular gas does not exceed 10%. Fine, I said to myself. The dealer said that I should be sticking with premium, mostly because of improved gas mileage, better performance, smoother idling, and quicker startups. I kinda cringed on using premium, since I'm used to using ethanol. Ethanol has lower emissions that regular gas, and it cleans the engine while you drive.

    I was using premium at first, but then I switched to ethanol, and I've been using it for the past 4-5 tanks. Now I've noticed that the car "chugs and tugs" a bit when I slowly accelerate. There's no difference in RPMs. It also does that when I'm going around 45 mph. Now I thought this must be because the ethanol fuel cleaned the engine, and my fuel filter's getting clogged. So I call my dealer and asked for a price quote on a fuel filter change. They said the fuel filter on Solaras are lifetime, and don't need replacement. He asked me what kind of fuel I was using, and so I told him this whole story, and he said I should either go with regular, but premium's the best. He said that some engines really don't like ethanol, like the Toyota Supra.

    Any thoughts on this? I'm thinking about switching back to premium, and I know that according to past discussions here, the extra price of premium is warranted by the extra mileage I can get from the same amount of gas.

    I pamper my car, and I really think it's one of the best cars out there. Like ezguy said, it feels like a Lexus. In any case, your comments or experiences would be appreciated. Thanks.
  • earlgrey_44earlgrey_44 Member Posts: 21
    Thanks for the K&N comment. Did you measure before-and-after mileage by any chance?
  • webguysterwebguyster Member Posts: 434
    Are you sue you just arent chugging, cuz of the winter blend gas? That's what I blamed my chugging on, after Shifty made mention of it in one of the threads. I do, however only use Shell, or Mobil premium, mostly Shell. A friend used to use cheap gas, and it clogged something in her car that cost several hundred dollars, and the car would not go over 25 mph. Not sure about Solara having a lifetime fuel filter, unless Toyota only expexts the life of the Solara to be about 60,000 miles. From my many wonderful experiences, that may be correct! LOL
  • loucopitsloucopits Member Posts: 103
    I've read many articles that firmly state that unless your owner's book specifies premium fuel, it will not do you any good. It will not improve mileage, give quicker starts, idle smoother or help in any way (except the oil company's profits). The guy who sold me my 2002 Solara proudly said that the Camry and Solara use regular fuel, vs the Lexus ES, GS and others that reqire premium.
  • canccanc Member Posts: 715
    Ok, but why would the ES300 need premium, when the Solara wouldn't? Both use the 3.0L V6, except that the ES has VVT-i which boosts the HP by 10.

    Webguyster: Winter fuel might be the problem, but I fueled with premium during winter and never had a problem. I might've just gotten a bad batch of gas?
  • chop420chop420 Member Posts: 7
    I contacted my local Toyota dealer and the service rep says he hadn't hear of the 3M film for the front hood. Anybody got a suggestion on the type of place to go to have it professionally installed and approximate cost?
  • ezguyezguy Member Posts: 2
    I've been using regular gas, 87 Octane since I got my SLE V6 and never experienced any problems. She runs great with lots of pep. All the 3-liter V6's including the ones with VVTi can run a minimum 87 Octane. But for maximum horsepower, premium is recommended. I've tried both grades of gas and couldn't distinguish any seat of the pants difference. Yes I did run two full tanks of premium for the ECU to adjust to the premium. I didn't check my mileage before and after with the K&N as I essentially put it in on the first day I got the car. There seems to be a light turbine-like whistle under full throttle which sounds pretty good. One annoying thing is the driver's seat base. The plastic end that kinda juts out on the bottom left. On a few occasions I've managed to snag the bottom of my dress pant leg (with the folded ends)when exiting the car especially when in a tighter spot. Almost tripped over a few times!! Anyone beside me had this happen to them or an I just the isolated case?
  • cliffy1cliffy1 Member Posts: 3,581
    I'll throw something odd into this mix. Have any of you ever tried Cheveron gasoline? Let me tell you about why I ask and at first, you'll wonder what this has to do with cars but stick with me.

    Yammaha makes outboard 2 stroke motors. They are the only manufacturer that requires a fuel additive to keep their warranty alive. The additive they require is called Ring Free. This product prevents carbon build up on the pistons. Carbon build up leads to all kinds of problems, including a degradation in performance.

    What is Ring Free? I've been told that it is also known as Techroline which is the additive Cheveron uses in all grades of its gas. I know also gas companies use various additives, but the one Cheveron uses seems to have a pretty dramatic effect on outboard engines. Any of you that have access to a Cheveron station may want to consider using it and letting the rest of us know if you experienced any improvement in performance.
  • loucopitsloucopits Member Posts: 103
    I put 87 octane in a Lexus ES300 and it ran just fine, but the dealer puts 93 octane in every one of their Lexus loaners - ES, IS, RX and GS.
  • curlyqcurlyq Member Posts: 54
    Go to www.invinca-shield.com for pricing and dealer locator service. At least two other companies also make kits for the Solara. Maybe if you do an internet search for 3M Scotchal you can find the other companies.
  • canccanc Member Posts: 715
    ezguy: Glad to know your Solara's doing well on regular gas. The owner manual DOES state that it'll take 87 octane gas or higher, but to use 91 octane gas or higher for "improved performance". So what you say is really what the owner's manual says.

    Cliffy: We don't have Chevron gas in Canada. It might be marketed under a different name, but no Chevron gas bars here.

    Loucopits: That might be, but I would doubt it. There would be a performance boost better that 10 HP if they'd crank up the compression ratio. I think the 10 HP is just because of the VVT-i.

    So here's Part II: After I noticed the slight "bucking" from the car, I thought it could either be: A) the effects of ethanol (89 octane here) on this engine, or B) a bad batch of gas. I still had about 35-40% of gas left in my tank, so I decided to fill it up using premium. The better gas, I thought, would dilute the bad gas. Good plan, right? Well... I took my car for a 60 mile trip yesterday, and when I got to the 4th gear and cruise to 50 MPH (90 km/h), it started bucking significantly more. It's not to the point where I thought it'd stall, but definitely a rougher ride.

    So this, after all, doesn't sound like a gas problem at all, but something else. Being that I'm not a mechanic, I ignore what else could be wrong. Funny thing though: the car runs smoothly at any other speed, except when I get to 50 MPH on 4th gear and stay at that speed. It's like the transmission doesn't know if it should downshift to 3rd or stay in 4th, so it alternates every few seconds? This is weird, because I cruise on very flat roads.

    So guys, I have NO idea what else it could be here. Any ideas? I'll definitely bring it into the shop, but I'd appreciate your comments on this.

    Otherwise, the car is still turning heads and the engine is super smooth. Idle is so quiet I always think it's turned off.
  • bjrichbjrich Member Posts: 125
    I had the chance to drive a new ES300 and our new SLE V6 back to back yesterday. The are so very much the same and I think the SLE was just a shade better than the ES.. It made our choice re confirmed as being correct. The ES300 is really a nice car and has some appearance details that are really nice. The difference is Close to $10,000 more for the ES300. I certainly enjoyed the comparison. We do indeed love the Solara.
  • webguysterwebguyster Member Posts: 434
    You may have answered your own question. Your tranny may be bad, or if your lucky, a bad solenoid. Check all vacuem tubes and hoses, too, as I had a car, not the wonder Solara that stumped 2 garages, and a dealer, until a mechanic happened to put his hand near a plastic hose, whilae another started my car, and he felt the aur ruch out. This was a manuel tranny, however, and ti would do the jerk you back and forth thing, as if a newbee to manueals were driving.
  • rubicon52rubicon52 Member Posts: 191
    when he drove a Solara SLE and an ES300 back to back and said they were comparable cars, but the Solara costs 10K less. I also have a 95 V6 Camry LE. I figured out that in 1995 dollars, both cars cost me the same money. Yet, the Solara has thousands of dollars worth of features that my Camry doesn't (leather seats, auto climate control, power driver's seat, JBL sound system, CD player, fog lights, autodimming mirror, alloy wheels, side air bags). This is an example of what Toyota is very good at - value engineering. With the Solara, Toyota has designed what is essentially a Lexus ES300 coupe for $10k less than an ES300. To do so, they had to cut a few corners - plastic wood instead of real wood, probably not as good a grade of leather, no pampering by the Lexus dealer, etc. Unfortunately, one of the cut corners appears to be the paint. The bad thing about the inferior paint is that some of the other things (like plastic wood) were compromises that we all knew we were making before we bought Solaras. The inferior paint is something we didn't find out about until later.
    The way I look at it is - would it be worth $10k to me to have real wood and less chips in the paint? Personally, I can live with the paint.
  • bjrichbjrich Member Posts: 125
    We are both now inspecting the paint just about every time we go out to the garage to drive the sle...I guess that is what it means to be paranoid.I rather think we could have been happy with the LE and the 4 cylinder also. We are really not very frivolous people. but do enjoy the extra touches. We just found out how nice the heated seats are a couple of days ago.... lordy,we are spoiled. When we bought the 97 Cl we thought and said this was such a nice car and would be out last. Now we are saying that about the SLE. WE shall see. If we are still kicking what 5 years will bring. I am taking my 01 Miata Crystal Blue Mica with me when I go... unless our grandson is old enough to have it... See ya, Bob.
  • bjrichbjrich Member Posts: 125
    We are both now inspecting the paint just about every time we go out to the garage to drive the sle...I guess that is what it means to be paranoid.I rather think we could have been happy with the LE and the 4 cylinder also. We are really not very frivfrivolousple but do enjoy the extra touches. We just found out how nice the heated seats are a couple of days ago.ago... lordy are spoiled.When we bought the 97 Cl we thought and said this was such a nice car and would be out last. Now we are saying that about the SLE. WE shall see if we are still kicking what 5 years will bring. I am taking my 01 Miata Crystal Blue Mica with me when I go...ugo... unlessand son is old enough to have it....it.... See Bob.
  • fastdriverfastdriver Member Posts: 2,273
    bjrich-

    A car bra would help for those highway trips. They're not as bad as you might think. I use one for extended trips on my car.

    fastdriver
  • canccanc Member Posts: 715
    Well it seems that the premium fuel has started to settle in and the car doesn't even jerk anymore. I had the chance to take a rather long trip again today and it didn't even do it once. I guess it was just bad fuel, and I won't go where I've been anymore.

    Webguyster: thanks for your comments, but let me clarify that it didn't go back and forth like a newbie on a manual. That's REALLY bad. My "tug" motion was noticeable, especially since this car is so smooth, but now the smoothness is back, and I hope it stays there.

    I'll try and keep staying away from bad gas for a while, and give you an update.
  • silversolarasilversolara Member Posts: 113
    Check out the Chrysler 300M TSB forum. Also, various complaints from the Honda Coupe forum. Yup, the change to environmentally-safe paints has had an impact on the industry across the board.
    I, for one, do NOT have a problem with trying to make this planet last long enough for my grandkids to enjoy (good grief - 100 more years, and there might not be any polar bears left?!?)
  • radracerradracer Member Posts: 96
    Do not put ethanol in your Solara. The only cars that should use it are ones made for it. There are a few out there, but the Solara is not one of them. Don't believe what BP says. All alcohol fuels (ethanol, methanol, etc) can damage your engine and deteriorate rubber/fuel lines.

    As for regular vs premium, I would use premium. It does give me better gas mileage (slightly) and power, and probably lower emissions, although I have no way of telling. Using regular is fine, but you'll be overworking the knock sensors, which are expensive to replace.
  • canccanc Member Posts: 715
    thanks radracer for the advice... I've stopped using ethanol and it seems the problem has gone away.
  • joe1srjoe1sr Member Posts: 3
    Hi! I am in Florida, ready to buy a new Solara SLE V6. My sister in Idaho found out that there is a $1200 rebate on new Solaras. That size rebate does not seem to be available here in Fl. Anyone know a Dealership that offers great prices and the rebates. Thanks. Joe1.
  • loucopitsloucopits Member Posts: 103
    Last month I was planning to buy a Solara. I noticed an ad in the Cincinnati, Ohio newspaper for a $1,000 rebate on new Solaras. The ad ran for at least 3 weeks. When I went to the dealership to buy a car, they protested that the ad was incorrect and they would not honor it, even though it had appeared for at least 3 weeks. I called Toyota to complain and they said they had no information on rebates. I also ordered the Consumer Reports stuff on Solara prices which said there was an additional $600 dealer incentive and a $397 dealer holdback. The local dealer denied both numbers. A call to Consumer Reports got me a refund for the report, and they said that rebates are regional programs and they had no way to provide accurate information. I guess all you can do is study the dealer ads and watch for a rebate in your area.
  • fastdriverfastdriver Member Posts: 2,273
    loucopits -

    Sounds like you should have called your state department of CONSUMER PROTECTION for false, misleading advertising! By not doing that, that's how they get away with this crap!

    fastdriver
  • webguysterwebguyster Member Posts: 434
    I cancelled them a while back. For a no non-profit, consumer oriented magazine, IMO, always seem to be spinning everything, in a 1920's Bernay's spin doctor way!

    Seems like all is quiet on the Solara front, sludge fears waining.

    My latest paint story...
    After having my black hood refinished, with Sherwin Williams, and having to have it wet sanded for a 3rd time to get rid of the swirl marks, I was inspecting the hood, paint quaility, worksmanship, etc, I noticed a few imperfections. The body shop advisor said that the tech noticed quite a few small chips on my hood, and managed to wet sand most out. He said they cant warranty the quality of the paint from wear and tear, and I reminded him that the hood was painted only 30 days ago, and that having only driven a couple hundred miles, suburban driving, shouldn't the paint hold up a little better, especially soft, un-cured paint? It's not like I drive behind gravel trucks or something!?! So, my conclusion, is that like the sludge mystery, the paint is a few variables, like paint quailty, and the shape of the car. Unless the new Sherwin Williams paint is bad too. As far as a bra for the car, I would be too concerned that debris would gather under the bra, and make the front end worse. Maybe 2003 will have better paint, or a smaller hood!?!
  • mimi919mimi919 Member Posts: 85
    I had my Solara SLE 2 weeks today and have about 1100 miles on it and for the first time I had it on the open road yesterday for a 140 mile round trip drive and I noticed a slight vibration in the car as well as a slight shimmy in the steering wheel and it also appears to have a slight bouncing or shaking feel at slower speeds and I was wondering if this was normal on the Solara....it almost feels like the beginning of a radial tire seperating or a tire in need of high speed balancing.
    2nd question...to have this checked out would I take the car back to the dealer or Bridgestone/Firestone tire store?
  • loucopitsloucopits Member Posts: 103
    I just took a 350 mile trip in a new Solara SE (4-cyl). Since the suggested max speed for the first 1,000 miles is just 55 mph it was a leisurely drive on mostly interstate highways, cruise control usually on, only one person in the car and no use of the air conditioning. I was amazed to find the gas mileage was 36+ mpg. I took care to top off the tank before leaving and again at the end of the trip, so I'm very sure of the 36 mpg. Fuel was BP, no ethanol, 87 octane regular.
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