Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!

Toyota Corolla

1…1920222425…78

Comments

  • flootfloot Member Posts: 22
    What does the term "wobbly" refer to?

    I just bought my 2002 CE with manual transmission and I love it (have been driving an automatic for the past year). No problems with the narrow H-pattern and the shifting feels quite smooth and crisp. I test drove a Honda Civic a few weeks ago and both the clutch and stick shift felt, as Mike Meyers character Linda Richman would say, "Like buttah......". Nice car, but too $$ for my piggy bank.
  • eharri3eharri3 Member Posts: 640
    But by wobbly Ill mean there's way too much play in the gears, like the gates aren't tightly enough defined. This is probably the cause of Dave's missing first gear in certain sitiations, which also happens to me quite a bit.
  • desertguydesertguy Member Posts: 730
    I have a 2002 "S" five speed and it shifts beautifully. BTW, the "S" is not a sticker but an emblem and I like it. If you screw up shifting in this car then it has to be you and not the shifter. The answer of course is to go drive one at the dealers and report back. Wobbly it ain't.
  • eharri3eharri3 Member Posts: 640
    I never have problems in my Ranger. But like I said, on my parent's 97 gears can sometimes be difficult to find and there's ltos of free play.
  • ecarmackecarmack Member Posts: 161
    Why is a comparably equipped Corolla $2k less than a Prizm? Seems like it would be the other way around. Did GM not want too much competition for the Cavalier?
  • autonovautonov Member Posts: 2
    Hello folks, This is my first post to this board. I have a 98 Corolla LE which is in a good condition. Since last week I started noticing that the steering wheel vibrates while accelerating at higher speeds (maybe around and above 50 mph).

    Any suggestions as to what the problem could be and who would be best able to fix this (dealer or otherwise) ?

    Thanks in advance,
    Autonov.
  • britton2britton2 Member Posts: 305
    Could be that one (or more) of your tires need to be balanced?
  • regfootballregfootball Member Posts: 2,166
    youd think the prizm should be cheaper.

    but its just another example of GM boneheadedness.

    I bought a 99 Prizm new.....at that time the Corolla was roughly about the same or a little less similarly equipped. But GM had huge rebates on Prizms and I also had a hole buttload of GM card money.

    If you visit the Prizm thread, you will find a lot of people who used their GM card to buy a Prizm and it was like the only GM car they would even think of buying.

    So I think Gm has adjusted the MSRP higher on the Prizm to cover rebates and also to keep the grotesque cavalier's price lower so that people will still buy the cavalier.

    When I bought, the price difference between cavalier and prizm wasn't a lot, but the advantage the cav had was std. ABS. I still bought the Prizm because it was so much more well built. My wife noticed the huge difference in a simple 3 minute test ride. No way did she want a cavalier.

    Also back in 99 Toyota had no incentives for the Corolla which kept its price up. Now with even better competition, even Corolla has to have incentives to sell and keep the price down.

    What does GM do, increase the price!

    LOL

    Hey Mr. Lutz! You getting any of this???

    And then to top it off, the new 2003 Corolla looks like a winner. You think GM would be champing at the bit to offer a larger, better Prizm. But no, lets use that plant for some wierd looking Vibe wagon.

    Now we have to wait till 2004 for a version of the new Opel Astra. Thanks be to above that that new Cavalier may finally be a world car. Detroit just can't build econoboxes well alone. Gotta bring in the Germans and Japanese to help cause they are better at it.

    GM should really have built the 2003 Corolla there and renamed the Prizm to Cavalier and they would've changed the whole image of Cavalier.
  • ecarmackecarmack Member Posts: 161
    I do recall a few years ago the Prizm being the better deal, that's why I was shocked to see the difference now.

    This is the last month I get GMS pricing through my mother-in-law, due to the Delphi spin-off from GM. I was considering using my GM card earnings, GMS discount and rebate to get a good deal on the rebadged Toyota. But based on the current price and incentives on the Corolla, the Prizm price would not be much lower.

    Also, the facelifted Corolla looks better than the Prizm and I'm sure the Toyota resale value is higher.

    However, regardless of looks, it would be tempting to use the GM Card earnings to get the 180 hp Celica engine in the Vibe.
  • coolguyky7coolguyky7 Member Posts: 932
    The 2003 Corolla is headed for production in January. Yay! I thought I'd have to wait until next August or so. I'm glad it's coming sooner!
  • canccanc Member Posts: 715
    Where did you learn this?
  • jrct9454jrct9454 Member Posts: 2,363
    Two possibilities, both equally likely...only your friendly tire guy can tell for sure:

    -Balance is the easy one; any good shop can solve this problem for you

    -Runout [out-of-round] is harder, and takes a caring tech to take the time to determine which tire is the culprit. Out-of-round conditions are far more likely to cause shaking these days than balance, and a really good tech NEVER rebalances a tire before first checking for both vertical [roundness] and lateral [wobble] runout. Solutions here can range from putting the bad guy on the rear and never again using it on the front, to rotating the tire on the wheel to try to find a more compatible spot, to throwing it away and replacing the tire[s] completely.
  • coolguyky7coolguyky7 Member Posts: 932
    My mom works for Toyota, and I said something about 0% financing for the 2002 Corolla. She said, "But it's not for the new one." And then she started talking about how it was coming out in January, February area which was a surprise to me since I thought it would come out in August like the redesigned Camry did. But then I guess it can pull a Tundra, the Tundra came out early 1999 as a 2000. Tha must mean that there will be few 2002s.
  • jrct9454jrct9454 Member Posts: 2,363
    Good news, if it turns out to be true...I would not be surprised at timing absolutely no later than summer, in any case, since the Matrix is based on the same chassis and is slated for a March intro, or thereabouts.
  • terceltom1terceltom1 Member Posts: 150
    I want to make two comments about my 2001 Corolla which I now have had for 15 months and currently have 6552 miles on it.
    First, I must state that my car has never back to the dealer for any imperfections or problems of any kind since the day I took delivery on it 15 months ago. I think that alone tells a lot about the quality and workmanship of the Toyota.
    Secondly, I have changed the oil in the car for the first time yesterday since I own it. The oil was changed once before that but that was by the dealer only because it was free. I have always changed the oil in all of my cars that I have ever owned and this car is by far the easiest I have ever encountered. The perfect positioning of the oil plug makes for a complete emptying of the oil pan when draining when the car's front end is on ramps. And the oil filter is almost directly next to the oil drain plug making changing the filter so simple. Some cars oil never drains completely because of the drain plugs location and some filters are so hard to get to it is ridiculous Thanks Toyota for thinking about "do it your self'er".
  • eharri3eharri3 Member Posts: 640
    My parents' 97: 80 thousand hard, hard miles of mostly city driving. My father rides the clutch and routinely downshifts to third at highways speeds (I know, I think it's stupid too, but how do you chastise the guy who taught you how to drive?) I learned stick on it, my sister learned stick on it, and it has taken us Across the country more than once. So far, only a clutch (Probably because I learned on it), and various wheel repairs due to flying over putholes the size of Grand Canyon at warp speed. The car has taken quite a beating, but so far no mechanical failures that weren't due to owner abuse.
  • terceltom1terceltom1 Member Posts: 150
    Besides my 2001 Corolla I also have a "86" Toyota Tercel which I have since it was new and it also has the original clutch in it. I also drive like your father and downshift often. The car has 85,000 miles on it and runs like a charm, that is why I couldn't part with it when I bought my new Corolla. The body has a little rust but it does not burn a drop of oil.
  • eharri3eharri3 Member Posts: 640
    How my parents went through that clutch in about 50 thousand miles. Oh well.

    One of my aunts has an 89 Corolla. I think thats the year at least. I remember about 5-6 years ago when it had like 100,000 miles she was talking about buying a new V6 Camry once it died. Guess what she's still driving 5 year and like fifty thousand miles later. A new car is not beyond her means by the way... she's just decided there's no point in goin to the expense if this one's got so much life left in it. I get the feeling she'll be fantasizing about that CAmry for quite a few more years.
  • protegextwoprotegextwo Member Posts: 1,265
    What were the three top reasons for purchasing your current car? I'm assuming if your a regular in the Toyota Corolla Discussion you own a small sedan of some type. I'm interested in, what sold you on your current car!

    I'll go 1st. These were the qualities, I looked for when shopping.

    1.) Roomy Interior-
    2.) Value Pricing-
    3.) Attractive Styling-

    Thank you in advance!

    Repectfully,
    Larry
  • flootfloot Member Posts: 22
    Ok...for me it was a very left-brain process:
    1. reliability record
    2. good gas mileage
    3. purchase price

    Civic vs Corolla were the finalists, but the whole time I was drooling over the Protege5!
  • canccanc Member Posts: 715
    When I was shopping for a car and bought my Corolla, I'd have to say that my priorities were:

    1) comfort and overall interior "feel"
    2) safety ratings
    3) reliability record
    4) gas mileage
    5) attractive styling
    6) roomy interior
  • canccanc Member Posts: 715
    Does anyone know the dBA interior noise level in the Corolla? The recent issue of Car and Driver quoted the new Camry as having a interior dBA level of 68, which is very good. I was wondering if anyone knew about the Corolla's. Surely it must be a bit noisier than the Camry, but it would be an interesting tidbit to know.
  • britton2britton2 Member Posts: 305
    I looked at 6 cars: Civic, Focus, VW Beetle, Corolla, Sentra and the Protege...it came down to the Corolla or the Civic - the Corolla had the following:

    better powertrain warranty
    outside temp gauage
    timing chain rather than a belt
    JD Power & Associates winner
    smoother ride

    and last but not least - I got a much better deal on the Corolla than the Honda dealer was willing to give - if the Protege got better gas mileage I may have gone with that - because overall I was very impressed with the Protege and the Sentra too, but gas mileage was a priority for me.
  • eharri3eharri3 Member Posts: 640
    Id say their first priorities were fuel economy and reliability. After dealing with our 1990 Mazda MPV that was both a lemon and a gas guzzler they wanted a car that could do 30 mpg or better on a regular basis and that would actually be likely to make it through a long trip without a breakdown.

    It's funny... up until our Corolla I don't think we ever had a car that didn't have some sort of mechanical failure in the course of a family trip while driving through the middle of nowhere. We've now broken that streak several times. Though we love our new Corolla's reliability we kind of miss that sense of adventure that came from snapping a belt or blowing an engine seal in unfamiliar territory and having Zeek the small town mechanic have to come to our rescue.;)
  • kschongkschong Member Posts: 1
    I just got my corolla CE manual transmission on Feb 01, it has 7k miles on it. Recently I notice that when I am accelerating on 2nd & 3r gear at around 3k RPM, there's some clicking noise, sounds like coming out underneath the engine, louder when I have the A/C on. Anybody have this experience? I want to see if anybody have the same problem? Hopefully I didn't get a lemon. Bringing it to the dealer this weekend.
  • jeproxjeprox Member Posts: 466
    i've tried both old and new. definite improvement over the older models but still not as smooth as a honda. i have to say toyota manual tranny always have that bulky feel. i think that honda manual tranny are the best but their auto-tranny suck! toyota's auto-tranny the best - without a doubt!

    as far as missing gears, it's the driver - not the tranny!

    just my two cents. :)
  • sessionplayersessionplayer Member Posts: 1
    Hello All!


    I want to get a new corolla, and I do a lot of camping/biking so I need to make sure that I can take my mountain-bike with me. The local toyota dealer knows nothing about the corolla tow-hitch accessory.


    In the specifications, it says that the corolla is rated at "1,500 lbs towing capacity" - so I imagine that it can be equiped with either a 2" or 1-1/4" receiver to accept a rack like this one from yakima:


    http://www.yakima.com/products/dynamic/8002573_2.html


    Does anyone know if this is possible with the corolla, and what part# I should ask for from my toyota dealer?


    Also, does a roof-rack like this one cause damage to the vehicle?


    http://www.yakima.com/products/dynamic/8000105_7.html


    Thanks!

  • jeproxjeprox Member Posts: 466
    i'd definitely recommend a hitch with the bike rack you showed. roof racks are hard to use when loading/unloading bikes.

    i have a hitch and a receiver type bike rack. works great! the bikes are easy to load/unload and are also far away from your vehicle's body. this prevents any dents/scratches on your car.

    you can type in "hidden hitch" or "reese hitch" in yahoo and you will see all the different styles available for corolla.

    www.hiddenhitch.com
    www.reeseprod.com
    www.toyotaguys.com
    www.toyotaparts4u.com
  • canccanc Member Posts: 715
    I took a walk with my dog tonight to a local GM dealership, just to see what was there. I know I'm a bit biased when saying this, because I own a Corolla, but I didn't find the interior of the Cavalier to be very pleasing. Have you noticed how nice a Corolla interior is?
  • eharri3eharri3 Member Posts: 640
    I do like Toyota's ability to style the cheap plastics necessary in an economy car so that they look more upscale. In general import manufacturers seem to better at this, whereas the domestic car-builders seem to take the attitude that you get what you paid for, and they shouldnt have to even try to make it look like anything other than what it is.
  • britton2britton2 Member Posts: 305
    is very pleasing IMO - I especially like the fact that I've got several storage areas (mine is a '01 LE) - also, my glove compartment is huge compared to most of the small cars I looked at.
  • jeproxjeprox Member Posts: 466
    i believe you only get nice interior on american cars if you buy upscale models like cadillac, suburban, etc.
  • canccanc Member Posts: 715
    jeprox: You're right... the interior of the Olds Aurora was very nice, but there was a huge difference between that and the Intrigue sitting beside it.

    eharri: I wouldn't say Corolla plastics are cheap... they're actually on par with the Camry's. If you want to see ugly looking plastics, look inside a Cadillac Catera. Ouch.
  • tomcat630tomcat630 Member Posts: 854
    One really dated looking part in a new Corolla is the transmission indicator. It's looks older than MTV vj's and was probably used on the 1959 Toyopet!
  • coolguyky7coolguyky7 Member Posts: 932
    I agree that the Corolla's is much nicer. Toyota took the time and money to make the interior nicer. There is not better example than that of the rear seat. Corolla's back seats are split folding (LE). The two side seats have movable heard rests where as the Cavalier doesn't really have them. The Corolla's back seat is also much more carved and shaped rather than being a flat board of cushion like in the Cavalier.
  • patrick45patrick45 Member Posts: 20
    What website has pictures of the all new 2003 Toyota Corolla? Thanks.
  • coolguyky7coolguyky7 Member Posts: 932
    www.toyota.co.jp has pictures of their 2002 Corolla which will be our 2003. There is an English version for you.
  • patrick45patrick45 Member Posts: 20
    Can someone please let me know a website in the English language where I can see pictures of the all new 2003 Toyota Corolla? The website that coolguyky7 gave me is in Japanese and from what I can tell there is no English language conversion. Thanks anyway coolguyky7.
  • rsparrowrsparrow Member Posts: 60
    Hey patrick45, the new Corolla pix *are* there.


    Just go to:


    http://www.toyota.co.jp/english/


    and click on the SHOWROOM link. This will take you to Toyota's automall link:


    http://gazoo.com/eng/auto/frameset.asp


    Just scroll down till you see "Corolla" and a picture of the sedan (there's also a hatchback and station wagon over there).

    After you do that, click the "Online Catalogue" button. You can then view the actual catalogue you'd get if you walked into a Toyota store in Japan... There's some decent, big pictures of the new Corolla there. The luxo version is pretty classy looking, IMHO.

    Take a look at some of the interior shots and you'll see some things, like the Corolla's satellite NAV system, and front seats that rotate so they face the door when it's open, that you *know* will never make it over here.

  • jeproxjeprox Member Posts: 466
    the front looks like a bigger version of echo. rear looks like an older honda accord or the mazda protege.
    overall, seems to me its an echo/prius mix. they should name it toyota echorius! :)
    car also looks taller and narrower.
  • ravvie4meravvie4me Member Posts: 110
    Are you for certain that Japan's 2002 Corolla is going to be our (US/Canada) 2003 Corolla?
    Does that mean it's coming from Japan as opposed to California and Canada?

    -RAVvie4me
  • jrct9454jrct9454 Member Posts: 2,363
    Well, here we go again:

    No, the car is going to be produced in North America, at the same two plants as now. No, the appearance of the North American version is unlikely to be an EXACT match for the car you see in the Japanese market...

    BUT...the NA version is unlikely to be wildly different, either. The Japanese Corolla is clearly a member of the new Toyota Corporate Family Styling philosophy, so like it or not, what you see is very likely to be 90% of what we will get. Just look at the Matrix, which IS in pretty much final production form, and you will get all the clues you need.

    Or the RAV4...or the new Camry...or the ES300...big lights, pulled back over the fenders, higher roofline, a little rounder shape to the roof...these are all elements of where Toyota wants to go right now. I wouldn't be surprised to see on obvious detail changed, and that is the nose dimple that contains the Toyota badge on the front...again, look at how they handled the Matrix...look for the badge to get buried in the grill and the hood to have a smoother shape right down to the grill. But the overall look? Won't be radically different from what you see on the website.
  • driver36driver36 Member Posts: 57
    Too bad the Toyota wont' bring the 2003 4WD corolla to the US! I am sure it would draw sales from Subrau. The 2003 corolla looks a lot better than the subeis...imho :o)

    driver36
  • coolguyky7coolguyky7 Member Posts: 932
    Well, most of Toyota's cars that are in Japan look like their counterparts here. The Camry, ES300 (Windom), SC430 (Soarer), 4Runner (Hilux), and RAV4 (yes, it too!) are all pretty much the same in both countries. There might be a few model grade differences along with engine choices and other luxury features. For the most part, the new Corolla will look like the Japanese one. The taillights may have a different design, but will retain the same shape. The Corolla's production will take place in Cali and Canada. A long time ago, I heard the 2003 Corolla would be "European styled" and that's what it looks like to me. I absolutely love it and would only love it more if it comes in the Japanese sporty model as our S model comes and if it had those swivel seats!
  • jrct9454jrct9454 Member Posts: 2,363
    If you want AWD, that's what the Matrix is designed to address for our market...
  • tomcat630tomcat630 Member Posts: 854
    I would think that the '03 Corolla will share some of its styling cues with the Matrix, especially since they are related. Supposedly it is going to be introduced in the spring. Production is supposed to start in Jan.
  • alpha01alpha01 Member Posts: 4,747
    The number of variations that Toyota (in Japan) has on the Corolla is amazing, and impressive, considering they can design such an impressive looking interior for the highest end model within the parameters of selling the base model at nearly half that MSRP (of the Corolla with nav, 4wd, etc.)
    Plus, the different body styles are really interesting.
    ~alpha
  • dave594dave594 Member Posts: 218
    alpha: When GM and Chrysler tried that, it didn't work out so well. Part and design commonality only can go so far, but in the end few people will pay 2x for what is essentially an econobox.
  • coolguyky7coolguyky7 Member Posts: 932
    Is there any more word on initial production dates? I know that Toyota built the 2002 Camry for about one month, then launched its sales. By what I know now...Corolla should be for sale in February. Hope so, otherwise I'm stuck with driving the parents' Sequoia or Solara 5 speed.
  • canccanc Member Posts: 715
    I don't think you can say that you'd be "stuck" driving a Solara or Sequoia....
Sign In or Register to comment.

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles