Yesterday I went in Toyota dealer looking for a GT-S. Dealer told me factory stopped shipments as there is a problem with the transmissions. Any thoughts?Or is the dealer shooting me the breeze.
Re: transmission problems. as far as i know toyota stopped production of the GTS because of a surplus. they will restart production in june. that's all. there is no problem with the transmission, that toyota matrix will have the GTS's 6spd transmision. so if they planned that far ahead with it than i doubt they see any problems with it. the only real problem with it i hear is that the 6th gear is too tall and built for economy and not sportiness. but that is design, not an engineering problem.
Guys, my sun roof and rear window are making SO MUCH NOISE! i can understand if it was a used car with 65k miles on it but my car has 7000 miles on it and the moonroof rattles and clicks like mad at all speeds on any kind of road that's not perfectly flat and smooth, Perfectly. and the rear window creaks along with the moonroof. it's very loud and unless i am driving with my windows open and radio loud i can constantly hear it above and behind me clicking, clacking and creaking. the mechanics said they could not hear anything wrong with it when i brought my car in for a squeaky belt, which i find hard to beleive. it's incessant.
MY QUESTION:
What do i tell the dealer/mechanic in order to get them to fix this? What are the exact words you would use to convince them to fix this problem? The sunroof works, and so does the rear window obviously, but they are so loud and loose. will the dealer ever fix a problem like this even though no warranty part is actual broken? i cannott live with a brand new toyota that makes more noise than my mothers '92 subaru loyale - you can understand that right? please help me out. thanks
Alex18t - I can only tell you what worked for me a few years ago with a chevy dealer. Basically I just stuck to my guns and threatened to call the regional service manager, pretty much made such a pain in the butt out of myself that they took care of me just to shut me up. Also, I had to talk to the owner before I got anywhere. Don't know if that will help or not, but good luck.
Once in a while my moonroof starts to squeek (GT2000, 1.5yrs. old). I found that simply cleaning the rubber seal around the glass and metal surface to which it is pressed when closed is enough to get rid of that kinf of noise completely. I use damp paper towel for that. Simply washing your car with closed moon roof does not help. This cheap hatch below the moonroof is also rattling sometimes, so I just move it around a little, in some positions rattle stops.
Are you sure it's the rear window which is rattling? I had a couple of bolts loose on the rear spoiler and it would vibrate occasionally; took me all of 5 minutes to tighten them down. No more noise.
Does the noise seem to come from the glass itself or is the whole rear hatch rattling?
the glass is loose. it creaks when you push on it. kinda silly, i think it is just becuse i had some big subwoofers in there for a while and the vibration made it all loose. pretty stupid of me. but i mean, i doubt that would happen on most cars. it's just that the construction the celica is so light.
i got a question for you celica owners.
how many times a day do you redline your engines? how hard can they be driven and still age gracefully?
Are you referring to redlining a GT or a GT-S? In the GT-S, you practically have to take it to redline in order to get the most out of it.
Part of how Toyota builds reliability into their engines is by over-engineering them. For example, they build an engine that can handle 250 HP at an engine speed of 9500 RPM consistently. Then they make the engine produce 180 HP with a redline of 8500 RPM. Since the engine's operating range is much lower than it is capable of handling, the engine lasts forever. Therefore, accelerating to redline shouldn't hurt the engine. Running the engine at revs that are too low can be almost as damaging as running revs too high.
Go ahead and enjoy your car. Breaking in your engine properly probably has more to do with its longevity than taking the engine to its redline.
By the way, wait until the engine warms up before taking the engine to redline. When you first start you car is when most of the engine wear occurs.
Tom
P.S. If you want proof to back this up, look elsewhere. I am only here to provide unsubstantiated rumors, not proven facts.
But the Echo gets 34 mpg and has the reliable Toyota reputation, and costs half as much to boot.
Tom
P.S. Don't take me seriously, I'm just giving you a hard time. Most Mustang owners haven't taken their car to redline, and Mustangs don't get 28 mph or have high reliability. If fast acceleration was the only reason for buying a car, we would all be driving Camaro Z28s.
With city-only driving I never had 27 mpg (GT auto), even with the slowest driving I had ~26 mpg. Last time I started to switch to neutral as I noticed that Toyota's engine switches to braking whenever you release the accelerator. This way I was able to get 30 mpg with careful driving (no redlining for one tank, usually <3000 rpm, and switching to neutral whenever there is a slightest slope). This tank I decided to do fun driving - i.e. accelerate as I wish, but as soon as I get to normal speed and there is a slight downhill - switch to neutral as long as it does not decelerate. Hey, I still got 29.3 mpg! And I redlined it a lot!
I think switching to neutral is a very bad habit. The car should be in gear at all times as a matter of practice. Just my opinion. I do understand now (didn't realize it before) that you have an auto which drags, so neutral will get you a longer distance without hitting the gas. I still think this is a bad practice, and also don't think an auto is designed to be put in and out of gear so much.
I'm getting around 27 with my 6-speed, no matter how I'm driving. I have 2000 miles on the car. Being laid-off, haven't put too much on since I got the car in December. I hope for slightly better mileage once she breaks in a little longer. Since I didn't rev her at all during the first 1500 miles, I suspect the engine could loosen up a little with some spirited driving.
I have a 2001 GT and i am nothing but happy with it. I got it in that pretty blue that they have, but that doesn't matter to me. Acceleration could use a little help from a supercharger or turbo, but this car can handle. My brother has a Subaru 2.5 RS...now thats and incredible car, but I swear that i can out handle his AWD car any day!! I love this car soo much, and Toyota is just the best...my last car was a Toyota Tacoma TRD 4WD that I spiffied up with about 3 Grand in Rollbars, Brush guards, lights tires...etc!! YEE HAW...oh yeah...Ain't nothing wrong with a little bit of Red on your Tac every now and then!!
Has anyone check out CARSDIRECT.COM??? I currently have a 1992 celica. I love the new ones. I went a couple of dealers to see who would give me the best price for a silver GTS with 16 alloy, auto, sunroof. The cheapest price I have found was on CARSDIRECT.COM I could get the car for around 22,000. Has anyone bought from them before??? Also do you think the price they are giving me is a good deal?
Does anyone know the difference in power of the GT and the GTS. I know the numbers 140-180, but I would like to know from someone who has actually driven them both!!!!
If I may make a comment jrieder, the additional acceleration of the GTS when the 2nd cam kicks in, I would ask you to think of it this way: These low-torque Japanese motors...well...the power of the GTS is pretty much a NECESSITY. I'm sorry in a way, that is condescending for someone who cannot afford the GTS. But if you like to drive in a spirited fashion, this is a no brainer, really! Notwithstanding the fact that this is a high priced car for the torque you get, and always has been.
hey, if a manual Tercel is fun to drive then just about any little car can be. if you dont agree then you obviously have never driven one. the GTS power isn't really a necessity. it is just fun to have for red light races. i mean, if you have the money then go for the GTS, but if you get the GT you will not miss all that much, just maybe that 6th gear for when you are cruising on the highway.
guitarzan, I don't know if switching from D to N and back is bad for auto transmission. I asked people here once long ago, and a couple of answers were that it should not hurt. You are the first one who said otherwise. If you look at how AT is designed, you may notice that switching from N to D and back is the only thing you can do without pushing this safety knob on top of the stick. I guess it is considered safe. But you may be right. I am pretty sure there should be some way to make AT without automatic engine braking. At least my both Fords didn't do that.
How important is it to follow all the rules of the break in period for the 1st 1000 miles? I just got a GAS and have been gentle with it but keeping it under 55 mph till it hits 1000 isn't likely to happen. (long road trip coming up). The dealer said if I keep under 55 for the first 100 miles I'd be okay, but the book says 1000. If I just keep the RAMs low and drive like it's not a sports car will that be good enough?
I have been using it, but I'll be of no help. I haven't compared performance yet. If there is a difference, I would bet it would be noticable in the range where the 2nd cam is active.
I think this engine is high compression, and those types normally take advantage of the octane. Well, someone will sooner or later post results!
I am not sure what you mean. I assume that you are insinuating that I wouldn't be passing Celicas with my Saab. Whether you are passing other cars or not depends much more on the driver than the car. I have seen a Geo Metro that was passing just about anyone on the road. I was referring to someone posting about not taking the engine to redline, which I assume that you do regularly (since your handle is "badtoy").
By the way, I pass just about everyone in my Saab. You are talking to someone who has gotten a 93 mph ticket (and I sped up after he clocked me) in a full-sized Ford conversion van (a looooong time ago). That vehicle had the aerodynamics of a brick.
however you can argue that the 94 is a bit cleaner than the 92 but there will be no real long term wear or any performance difference. what tires do you all run? i am very close to buying my new set. looking at some 215/50R15 tires for my GT.
I just bought a 2001 Celica GT. Got it pretty cheap because it had no spoiler (I agree with those who think it looks better without) and no power windows or locks. Thanks to all contributors to this board. I had a much better idea of what to be looking for in evaluating this car after reading all the posts.
So now I have a question:
Has anyone seen a 0-60 acceleration time for the GT? I looked everywhere, and all I can find are times for the GTS. It seems that that's all anyone bothers testing.
You are right, nobody bothers to test the GT because you wouldn't by a 140hp car for the 0-60 time. You would by the 180hp GTS for the 6.6 time. I haven't seen anything, but I'd guess 8-8.5 maybe???
GT times are somewhere around 7.5 - 8 seconds with the 5spd and 8 - 8.5 with the auto i think. no one has tested the GT even though it accounts for 70% of all purchases. it's not very fast by any stretch but it handles very well. best handling car i've driven, and it scores high in the fun factor tests. i wouldnt go drag racing any 5.0 mustangs if i were you.
I have tested my auto GT 2000, got ~8.5 seconds. With 5 speed you could probably get <8 seconds, if you don't switch to third (redline is at 58 mph for second). But 7.4 still sounds too fast. BTW, is GTS really 2 secs faster than 7.4? I thought it should be about 6.5 s.
Don't worry about it -- drive the car normally, just don't indulge in burnouts, jackrabbit starts from stoplights or 90 mph cruises down the highway for the first 1000 miles. After that, hammer it -- it will break the car in the way you actually want to drive it, and it will improve both performance and throttle response.
would probably add at least 1 second on the time. autos and 4cyl. dont go well together. the auto cannot launch like a 5spd can and it has a torque converter slipping the whole way. if you got 8.5 with auto then that probably is a good indication that the 7.4 time is correct. still though. these cars are just not built with pure acceleration in mind.
I purchased a 2001 GT Today. I have a system (amplifier and subwoofers) from my old car that i tore out. My question is, does the stock cd/cassette that comes with the GT have preamp outputs or do I need to take it out and put in the sony cd player i have.???? I hope it has preamp outputs so i can continue using the one that came with the car?? Please help?
I'm looking to buy either a 2001 Celica (base version) or a 2001 Mustang (base version). What's the difference between these two cars?
Reliability is the most important thing here (safety is a close second). Performance is nice, but not a real consideration (I can't go 1/4 mile without hitting at least 2 lights and 5 stop signs where I live).
The car MUST be able to handle the kind of stop and go traffic that I mostly drive in.
If anyone has any thoughts on this, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks
Both the GT and GTS have 1.8l, DOHC engines with some form of variable valve technology (VVTi). The main difference is than the GTS has a slightly larger bore and shorter stroke, a higher compression ratio, and variable valve lift control (VVTi-L).
i know that. i dont think that was my question though. lol
jusdreamin. test drive them... they are totally different cars for different types driving. almost the only thing that makes them comparable is their price.
where are the grease fittings on the celica? how often d you need to lube them?
If reliability is paramount and horsepower secondary, I'd pick the Celica. It handles like nothing you've ever driven (except an Integra R), is easy on the nerves in traffic and exciting to look at (styling being entirely personal, of course). It is also built like a Toyota, because it IS a Toyota. And Toyota just took first place in 7 of 13 categories in JD Powers again.
If you want sporty feeling - Celica GT is certainly better than base Mustang. And it is probably more reliable as all toyotas are. Safety - then of course Mustang, you can poke your finger through japanies cars. This winter someone parked into my car, the damage did not seem to be very bad, but they had to replace the whole side panel, because steel was simply too thin to fix it. If you want sporty and safe - then probably Cougar is better - it handles close to Celica, has good power, has better comfort, more room and should be safer. And don't forget that Mustang is RWD, for winter driving this is certainly a minus. When I went shopping - I wanted to get Cougar or Mustang. After driving both Mustang was a definite loser. Then I got to Celica GT - it was slightly better than Cougar in handling and mpg, and my wife liked the style more (I noticed that women in general do't like cars with fat rear ends).
Okay, this may be kinda long, but I'd really appreciate any information you guys/gals can give me.
I'm seriously considering getting a 2001 Celica GT in about a month (as soon as I get my first paycheck from the State of California). Here are my questions:
Headroom: Has anyone had problems with their head/hair touching the ceiling? Also, from what I gather there is more headroom in Celica's w/out the sunroof, is this correct? And if so is the difference really noticable?
Blind spot: I recently went in to test drive and when I wanted to change lanes I noticed I couldn't do the head turn thing and see out of the side/rear window to check for cars because of the high driver seat. Is this something I will get used to, or is it a constant problem people are having? Also my girlfriend suggested I put one of those little circular mirrors on the side mirror so I had a better field of view. Do you think that would be effective?
Soundsystem: Two questions. Firstly, is it worth the extra cash to upgrade the soundsystem to the 8 speaker setup, or would a separately purchased soundsystem be better? Also, if I put in a new soundsystem with a loud subwoofer, does the car tend to rattle because of the bass? A kickass subwoofer is useless to me if you can hear the car shaking louder than the music.
I think that's about it. I appreciate any answers you can give me.
I am 5'9" and rather long-backed. I fit fine into a Celica without the sunroof, but the sunroof housing does take up an extra inch or so on the inside of the roof. (You can see this, by looking at identical cars with and without a sunroof.) As a result I've never been able to fit comfortably into a car with a sunroof.
The lack of visibility out the back is something you just have to get used to. Not having a spoiler helps a little.
I can comment firsthand on the Celica's limited visibility.
I just got back from a grueling drive in awful traffic and one of the worst thunderstorms I've ever been in. This was one of those flash storms that sends massive sheets of water pounding down.
With the rain compounding problems, I had really poor visibility to my blind spots through the teeny, rear, side windows. Changing lanes was a nightmare, and I'm lucky I didn't get into an accident.
I have my side mirrors adjusted to view my blindspots (rather than setting them to view down the side of the car). Still, the rain made it difficult to see the mirrors through the windows, and the mirrors themselves were covered with drops too. Once the rain let up a little, I opened my windows completely so I could see. (I had the same blind-spot problem when I test-drove a Focus ZX3, which has very similar rear side windows)
I don't mind the spoiler blocking my 6 so much. You can still see, but often the face/head of the driver behind you is blocked. Sometimes the spoiler actually comes in helpful in blocking the headlights of a tailgating SUV.
Still, the car has great handling. During my drive, I had to make some fast, last-minute swerves and turns. The Celica didn't let me down here.
Comments
Guys, my sun roof and rear window are making SO MUCH NOISE! i can understand if it was a used car with 65k miles on it but my car has 7000 miles on it and the moonroof rattles and clicks like mad at all speeds on any kind of road that's not perfectly flat and smooth, Perfectly. and the rear window creaks along with the moonroof. it's very loud and unless i am driving with my windows open and radio loud i can constantly hear it above and behind me clicking, clacking and creaking. the mechanics said they could not hear anything wrong with it when i brought my car in for a squeaky belt, which i find hard to beleive. it's incessant.
MY QUESTION:
What do i tell the dealer/mechanic in order to get them to fix this? What are the exact words you would use to convince them to fix this problem? The sunroof works, and so does the rear window obviously, but they are so loud and loose. will the dealer ever fix a problem like this even though no warranty part is actual broken? i cannott live with a brand new toyota that makes more noise than my mothers '92 subaru loyale - you can understand that right? please help me out. thanks
Basically I just stuck to my guns and threatened to call the regional service manager, pretty much made such a pain in the butt out of myself that they took care of me just to shut me up.
Also, I had to talk to the owner before I got anywhere.
Don't know if that will help or not, but good luck.
I heard no such story when I went to a different dealer who had mostly GT-S's in his lot.
Seems to me that dealers will say whatever they need to to make excuses for problems or shortcomings.
Does the noise seem to come from the glass itself or is the whole rear hatch rattling?
i got a question for you celica owners.
how many times a day do you redline your engines? how hard can they be driven and still age gracefully?
Part of how Toyota builds reliability into their engines is by over-engineering them. For example, they build an engine that can handle 250 HP at an engine speed of 9500 RPM consistently. Then they make the engine produce 180 HP with a redline of 8500 RPM. Since the engine's operating range is much lower than it is capable of handling, the engine lasts forever. Therefore, accelerating to redline shouldn't hurt the engine. Running the engine at revs that are too low can be almost as damaging as running revs too high.
Go ahead and enjoy your car. Breaking in your engine properly probably has more to do with its longevity than taking the engine to its redline.
By the way, wait until the engine warms up before taking the engine to redline. When you first start you car is when most of the engine wear occurs.
Tom
P.S. If you want proof to back this up, look elsewhere. I am only here to provide unsubstantiated rumors, not proven facts.
Tom
Just because I don't hit the redline, doesn't mean everyone's passing me.
Why the Celica?? 28 mpg and the reliable Toyota rep are two pretty good reasons. And it's nice to look at, no doubt about that. It's my 3rd Toyota.
Tom
P.S. Don't take me seriously, I'm just giving you a hard time. Most Mustang owners haven't taken their car to redline, and Mustangs don't get 28 mph or have high reliability. If fast acceleration was the only reason for buying a car, we would all be driving Camaro Z28s.
Amazing, redline in this car IS perfectly smooth. Remarkable. This car is just pleasure.
Last time I started to switch to neutral as I noticed that Toyota's engine switches to braking whenever you release the accelerator. This way I was able to get 30 mpg with careful driving (no redlining for one tank, usually <3000 rpm, and switching to neutral whenever there is a slightest slope).
This tank I decided to do fun driving - i.e. accelerate as I wish, but as soon as I get to normal speed and there is a slight downhill - switch to neutral as long as it does not decelerate. Hey, I still got 29.3 mpg! And I redlined it a lot!
I'm getting around 27 with my 6-speed, no matter how I'm driving. I have 2000 miles on the car. Being laid-off, haven't put too much on since I got the car in December. I hope for slightly better mileage once she breaks in a little longer. Since I didn't rev her at all during the first 1500 miles, I suspect the engine could loosen up a little with some spirited driving.
I love this car soo much, and Toyota is just the best...my last car was a Toyota Tacoma TRD 4WD that I spiffied up with about 3 Grand in Rollbars, Brush guards, lights tires...etc!! YEE HAW...oh yeah...Ain't nothing wrong with a little bit of Red on your Tac every now and then!!
(So much for being careful on the road. And I've had my 2001 Celica GT less than 2 weeks.)
Any ideas on the best way to repair the rims?
Thanks!
I think this engine is high compression, and those types normally take advantage of the octane. Well, someone will sooner or later post results!
I am not sure what you mean. I assume that you are insinuating that I wouldn't be passing Celicas with my Saab. Whether you are passing other cars or not depends much more on the driver than the car. I have seen a Geo Metro that was passing just about anyone on the road. I was referring to someone posting about not taking the engine to redline, which I assume that you do regularly (since your handle is "badtoy").
By the way, I pass just about everyone in my Saab. You are talking to someone who has gotten a 93 mph ticket (and I sped up after he clocked me) in a full-sized Ford conversion van (a looooong time ago). That vehicle had the aerodynamics of a brick.
Tom
So now I have a question:
Has anyone seen a 0-60 acceleration time for the GT? I looked everywhere, and all I can find are times for the GTS. It seems that that's all anyone bothers testing.
I haven't seen anything, but I'd guess 8-8.5 maybe???
Reliability is the most important thing here (safety is a close second). Performance is nice, but not a real consideration (I can't go 1/4 mile without hitting at least 2 lights and 5 stop signs where I live).
The car MUST be able to handle the kind of stop and go traffic that I mostly drive in.
If anyone has any thoughts on this, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks
jusdreamin. test drive them... they are totally different cars for different types driving. almost the only thing that makes them comparable is their price.
where are the grease fittings on the celica? how often d you need to lube them?
When I went shopping - I wanted to get Cougar or Mustang. After driving both Mustang was a definite loser. Then I got to Celica GT - it was slightly better than Cougar in handling and mpg, and my wife liked the style more (I noticed that women in general do't like cars with fat rear ends).
Once again, both the GT and GTS are DOHC (dual overhead cam) designs.
I'm seriously considering getting a 2001 Celica GT in about a month (as soon as I get my first paycheck from the State of California). Here are my questions:
Headroom: Has anyone had problems with their head/hair touching the ceiling? Also, from what I gather there is more headroom in Celica's w/out the sunroof, is this correct? And if so is the difference really noticable?
Blind spot: I recently went in to test drive and when I wanted to change lanes I noticed I couldn't do the head turn thing and see out of the side/rear window to check for cars because of the high driver seat. Is this something I will get used to, or is it a constant problem people are having? Also my girlfriend suggested I put one of those little circular mirrors on the side mirror so I had a better field of view. Do you think that would be effective?
Soundsystem: Two questions. Firstly, is it worth the extra cash to upgrade the soundsystem to the 8 speaker setup, or would a separately purchased soundsystem be better? Also, if I put in a new soundsystem with a loud subwoofer, does the car tend to rattle because of the bass? A kickass subwoofer is useless to me if you can hear the car shaking louder than the music.
I think that's about it. I appreciate any answers you can give me.
The lack of visibility out the back is something you just have to get used to. Not having a spoiler helps a little.
Brenda
I just got back from a grueling drive in awful traffic and one of the worst thunderstorms I've ever been in. This was one of those flash storms that sends massive sheets of water pounding down.
With the rain compounding problems, I had really poor visibility to my blind spots through the teeny, rear, side windows. Changing lanes was a nightmare, and I'm lucky I didn't get into an accident.
I have my side mirrors adjusted to view my blindspots (rather than setting them to view down the side of the car). Still, the rain made it difficult to see the mirrors through the windows, and the mirrors themselves were covered with drops too. Once the rain let up a little, I opened my windows completely so I could see. (I had the same blind-spot problem when I test-drove a Focus ZX3, which has very similar rear side windows)
I don't mind the spoiler blocking my 6 so much. You can still see, but often the face/head of the driver behind you is blocked. Sometimes the spoiler actually comes in helpful in blocking the headlights of a tailgating SUV.
Still, the car has great handling. During my drive, I had to make some fast, last-minute swerves and turns. The Celica didn't let me down here.