Toyota Corolla Maintenance and Repair

tgs

I have the exact same problem with my 2000 Corolla except mine consistently fades right and has excessive torque steer to the right under moderate acceleration. My Corolla has a 4 speed automatic transmission. I have had it to two dealers and 4 different wheel alignments. I also had one warranty tire replacement The car does track a little better on the high way. The dealer left me test drive a 2001 with a three speed automatic and it had virtually no torque steer and no highway fade. I am currently waiting to test drive a 2001 with the same drivetrain as mine. If the 2001 does not have the problem, then I am thinking Lemon Law. If it has similar issues, then its inherent in the design of the car and I would be looking to buy something else ASAP

rollnlow90

Believe it or not, torque steer is NORMAL. Every FWD car has a little bit of it, and there's nothing to fix it. Torque steer is caused by the difference in halfshaft (driveshaft) lengths. Normally, a FWD car has one short and one long shaft. Under hard acceleration, the longer one will twist more and the car will pull to that side. If a car has less torque steer, it is because the shafts are closer to equal in length.

tgs

Thanks for your input and I understand all of that as well. My contention is that it is excessive when climbing a hill or normal accelleration from a dead stop causes the sterring wheel to deflect 30-35 degrees to the right. When you are traveling 75 MPH on a highway, the car is exhibiting a resonable amount of torque to the wheels to maintain that speed which results in pulling the steering wheel to the right and thus the car fades to the right. I am constantly applying left pressure to the steering wheel on the highway. I could accept a small amount of torque steer that is inherent in FWD vehicles, however, not this... There are many other FWD cars on the road with different shaft lengths that do not exhibit this behavior. If this is the case, then Toyota has a BAD design in the drivetrain and I will have to look to other car manufacturers for a replacement vehicle. I am still working with Toyota to get this resolved. I will give them a fair chance to make it right (no pun intended).

ho0424

Dear all:

I "used to" have 1991 Corolla. believe or not I have all the similar problem you have.

First at the first 5000 miles, I noticed that my front tire wear out unbalanced, I ask the dealer check the alignment, the answer is " no problem, I also ask the dealer to retate the tire.

But at the 10000 miles, I noticed again my front tire wear unbalanced again. I ask the dealer check the alignment again, I still got the " no problem". and the dealer kept blamed my problem to the Goodyear tires problem.

On the freeway, I also had fade right problem, but the dealer can not corrected it.

at 12000 miles, I had high pitch sound while I drove on freeway exactly at 65 mile/hr. I brought my car to 5 different dealership in San Diego, Calif, none of the dealership can find out what's wrong.

Finally I files the lemon, Toyota rep. was so bad and rude. AAA was the third partly to make the judgement, their answer was " repairable" and turned down my case.

Finally, I sent my car to one of the Goodyear tire dealer, they did the four wheel alignment for me, they print out the computer read out, adjust my alignment, my problem tire and fade problem gone!!!

What about my high pitch sound? believe or not? two months later, I found that my lever to switch the fan blowing was not working, the dealer fix the problem just because of the cable loose. then my high pitch sound gone also.

This was a very bad experience for me to deal with Toyota, they did not really want to help you to fix your car problem. Since then I do not buy Toyota anymore.

louie19

I own a 1989 Corolla DX, automatic, with 149K miles. Absolutely reliable car all these years. Never in the shop, except for oil changes, timing belt replacement, brakes. It cranks like a champ. Three months ago, however, it started developing some sudden hesitation when hiting the gas and attempting to go. It didn't do it every day, only occasionally. The idle is smooth and the starting great. Now this problem is an everyday occurance. I suspected the fuel pump and replaced it. The problem persists. Any ideas as to what's happening? Your input will be greatly appreciated.

jsleesi

I bought used 1999 Corolla CE, it has 11292 miles
on it.
Now it has 18,200 miles, recently, when I press the break peddle, with speed of 15 to 25 miles I feel I don't have any pressure for about 1 or 2 seconds than continue to press the break, I get the break back.

It doesn't do all the time but happened 3 times
in the past 30 days. It did not happened when I purchased. I am very scared when I press the break and I don't have any pressure, feel like my engin is dieing for while or so.

Any one had same kind of problems? I am going to take the car to local dealer, but I would like to hear from 1999 Corolla owners for matter of interest.

JSLEESI from Seattle Washington.

dchinn

No brakes pressure for 1 to 2 sec??? R U sure. U would have crashed into something by now. How far down R U depressing ur brake pedal? 1 inch or all the way down to find out whether there's pressure or not. U could have a vacuum leak which may cause the engine to hesitate when U R trying to use the brakes and causing U to put more pressure in stopping the car (similar to braking w/ the engine off w/o the power brakes on). Get it checked out by a mechanic.

dchinn

Has the fuel filter & PCV valve being changed? I'm assuming that the distributor nut has been locked in tight, otherwise the timing may be slightly off.

vlady

I feel your pain louie19. Hard to say, but there are a few things to be checked out. Fuel filter, vacuum lines. Did your MPG increase? Could be a clotted injectors :-((( So get techs to check your car, before put a new parts...


About brake on 1999 Corolla.

Jsleesi. Was A/C on when it happened? And stay away from my rear. I live in Seattle too:-)))))

vlady

Jsleesi. Corolla has a brake booster which uses a engine vacuum to power-assist the brakes. So if everything works normal you are able to stop your car with a little push on the brake pedal. If there is not enough vacuum you need to push pedal harder. So what happened your A/C was on, or climate control was set to DEFOGGING. A/C takes a LOT of engine juice and brake booster loses some vacuum, that is why you felt "sponge pedal". One more thing A/C doesn't work constantly.
Any way check the brake fluid level. Any warning lights came on?

jsleesi

Mr. Vlady,

Thanks for your input, I now feel much comfortable after reading your comments.

I did took my car to the dealer, one of break tech took the car for test for about 15 minutes, came back, saying he did not find any thing wrong with it, he told me that he been with Toyota for past 20 years only on break job, never heard and never seen.

He never told me any thing about what you have described in detail. I thank you again.

I have not had any more incidents since I posted
in Edmunds trouble section.

Thanks again,

jsleesi from Seattle.

jsleesi

I went through the owners manul, never mention
any thing about:

1: Time belt
2: Fuel filter

How often I have to change fuel filter?

Can any one knows? I did not ask the dealer, because I have better luck with Edmunds friends advise than some local dealer or such.

I would like to hear from some one,

jsleesi in Seattle

louie19

I replaced the fuel filter and the PVC valve about a month ago, a few days before the fuel pump was replaced. Also, spark plug wires and distributor cap are about 1 yr old, replaced during a tune-up. This is mind boggling, because the hesitation is only whenever you're stopped and want to start going. Once you're going, you can decrease and increase speed with no problem. Thanks again for the input.

jenny2001

Does anybody know the horsepower of 1994 Corolla STD? I am planning to buy 2001 Corolla, I am not sure if the new has higher horsepower than my current car which is low in horsepower. The new one has 125.

lmack2

This is a copy of the statement that I sent to Toyota, I will let you know what the response is when I recieve it. They said 5 to 7 days. I have a 2000 Corolla CE, Silver Steam in color. The car had only 3 miles when I bought it. Before I left the dealership I inspected it and found two paint chips on the rear door. I notified my salesperson and the dealership fixed the problem. I have owned the car for 5 month and have multiple paint chips mostly on the hood but also on the sides of the car. In the manual it states that paint chips are not covered. I think this problem is more than your typical paint chips and would like to know how Toyota is planning to resolve this problem. I understand that I am not the only person to have this problem with the new Toyotas. The color of my car is Silver Stream, Opalesence.

criecke

Did you see my post from Dupont concerning paint
etc. If not you should search back in this topic
and find it.

Looking forward to your reply from Toyoto.

They never replied to me on same subject.

Charlie

ruben2us

My 1990 Corolla was doing the exact same thing you say your car is doing! Idling was fine, but when I would start to accelerate, the engine would just die. Start right back up, though...really weird. After several mechanics said I was nuts, I took it to the dealer who immediately found 2 error codes both pointing to the vacuum pressure sensor. I haven't had the problem again, knock wood! The downside, the vacuum pressure thingy only comes in a pricey assembly...$380 parts and labor. That's the dealership for you! Good luck!

lmack2

I thought I'd let you know I heard from Toyota and they want me to call them to discuss my e-mail that I sent them. Let you know tomorrow what they said.

chenyang

I bought a 1997 Corolla DX at a local "respected" dealer this week. It was fine for the first two days. Then Yesterday, I was driving on the high way at about 75 miles/hour, suddenly the engine makes a loud knocking sound and the car begins to lose speed gradually. The more I press the gas pedal, the louder the sound became. Also pressing the pedal won't accelerate the car. When the speed drops to 50 m/h, I pulled aside and turned off the engine. Then I immediately turned on the engine, and drove back to the high way. The problem disappeared. I have since driven about 80 miles on high way and the problem never reoccurred. I am wondering whether anybody else had similar experience or may know what might be the problem. I spent a fortune on this car and the thought of the car I just bought might be a junk makes me feel chilly.

I appreciate any help and input.

dchinn

Bring it back to the respected dealer. Have him look at it to resolve the complaint. Otherwise U may not have any recourse later.

lmack2

I called Toyota & they said the dealer would call me to discuss my paint problem. The manager of the body shop at the dealership promptly call the next day. I told him that I went to the dealer before to question the paint chipping on the car and was given a estimate and told not to travel behind trucks. I then inform him about all the complaints I read about the paint problem and told him that when I was recently at the dealership there was a Corolla in the show room with the paint chips on the side of the car. The manager apologized and gave me an appointment to get the car repaired, after Labor Day. The manager also said he was going to contact Toyota to see if they wanted to more to the car than just repair the paint.
I ask the manager about Dupont and environmental safe paint and he said the last time car paint was changed was in 1980 and that was because of the lead in car paint. If the paint quality had changed he was not aware of this. He said that after a car is painted a final coat of polyurethane is applied to protect the paint. He believes the problem is with the polyurethane coating. I'll keep you posted.

criecke

Thanks for this next chapter in the story.

Charlie

glogan

I have the 2001 Corolla that fades to the left on the highway, dealer said it was because of the crown of the road. But are you ready for this one??!! A friend looked at a 2000 Avalon, it also fades to the left, the dealer told him.... that the Avalon is such a quiet quality car that this is a Toyota SAFETY FEATURE to keep the driver more alert. He always has to steer the car. Oh Please. I just took the Corolla on a 500 mile trip, I'm getting use to the fade and I got 41.6 miles a gal. 89 octane, going about 75 with the A/C going. Gotta love that.

dferrara

I have a 2000 Corolla with Super White paint.
There are brown & black spots all over the car, they can not be wash or wiped off the only thing that seems to take them off is if you scrape with your fingernail. I am not sure if I have a bad paint finish or something else.

jsleesi

I have 1999 Corolla CE, has 19,50 miles on it, when I looking around under the hood, I noticed break fluid resovoir seems dark, I opened the cap, I found little black particles in filter. but the oil seems very clear.

Do I have to get service done? Or Is it Okay that way, why the black particles in break fluid resovoir?

Has any one had this problems? Is my break is okay with the black particles in my resovoir? or I have to get break line flushed?

I need help!!!!

Jason

Jason.

dchinn

Spots could be due to road tar or tree sap.

dchinn

Clean the filter & see if those particles reappear w/in the next month or so. I'm assuming that the brake pedal pressure & braking is fine.

jsleesi

I thank both gentlemen/ladies for the comments on the break.

I will wait and see more of the black particles
collecting in the filter. If more will appear, I will flush out. Thanks

Jason

firvine

We took delivery of a 2001 Corolla LE in August of this year. I was surprise within a week to discover that one side of the carpet next to the rear tunnel was not flush with the tunnel and was not properly glued. The dealer says the problem relates to damage to the sound insulation material under the carpet. It will be fixed (requiring the ordering of a new carpet and sound-damping material) on the first service visit. Still, surprising that the car could have left the factory with such an obvious (to this purchaser's eyes) sample fault

bnormann

DO NOT put off having the brake fluid looked at by a competent mechanic. ANY impurities in braks fluid can cause serious trouble. Get it fixed right away.

Bruce

scuz1

I'm considering a '94 Corolla DX Wagon with 50,000 miles, AC, Auto, AMFM Cass. Looks to be in great shape - one owner with records, etc. Anything to fear? What's a good price? Thanks for the help!

bnormann

scuz1,

This is a question for our Smart Shopper conference, please.

Your host, Bruce

wytsui

I have a '93 Corolla at 91,000 miles and am wondering if I need to get the timing belt changed. According to the owner's manual, if the car is used for everyday work commute under normal weather/road conditions, then the answer is no. However, I have heard conflicting advices. Can anyone out there provide some comments ?
Thanks

scuz1

According to Gates (the belt manufacturer), you should change the timing belt at 60K - for either a 1.6 or 1.8.

christo4571

i have a superwhite 2000 corolla. and i noticed the the front left side of the hood is misaligned. i also noticed that there is a very small gap and it vibrates a little. how should i fix this problem

dchinn

Take it back 2 the dealer. Check if the weatherstrpping is missing or not aligned correctly.

topherb

Hi. I own a 1991 Toyota Corolla LE. It has been a very dependable car since I bought it with 95,000 miles (it now has 187k). My one complaint is the door handles. 3 of my 4 door handles are broken. I even purchased a new one from the dealer for the driver side and within a few months it had broken as well. I am frustrated with this and am wondering what to do. I don't want to buy another $60 door handle from the dealer just to have it break within a few weeks. Has anyone else had this problem? Is there a solution - other than purchasing a different vehicle?

tomle

If any of you guys happen to visit or want to buy a Toyota at SPRINGFIELD TOYOTA, 860 BALTIMORE PIKE, SPRINGFIELD, PA 19064... well DON'T. Their sale and customer services people very RUDE and BAD. They only nice with you is when trying to sell you a car, once you sign the agreement they will treat you like DIRT and turn their back on you. So... go to other DEALER... I think you will not WANT to step into my footsteps.

pat455

I think we get the message. :-)

By the way, a better place for your message would be in our Smart Shopper Conference, that's where folks talk about buying. You can use the Topic Search feature on the left side of the page for an appropriate topic there in which to post.

Pat
Community Leader/Maintenance & Repair Conference

yjin

Hi folks,

My 2000 Corolla has run for exactly one year. Now,
I notice some unknown noise coming from the car.
Could anyone know what is the problem?

1. When the car run over bump slowly, the suspensions make some squeezing noise. Is it normal?

2. When I step on the brake and turn the steering
wheel at the same time, some squeezing noise comes
out from nowhere. I don't know if it is from steering parts or brake parts. It sounds like something is not lubricated well. Any idea?

Thanks

liufei

My 99 Corolla also exhibit that squeezing noise after running over a bump. I think there's something wrong with the front suspension, since its also making sound whenever i'm making a turn.
I'm bringing it to the Dealer this monday to see what they can find. (They can't duplicate the problem the 1st time).

vlady

Hi everebody.
www.toyotarepair.com. So I'll be glad to hear some outputs.
I was reading the Service Manual and I found that If you drive your Toyota under heavy conditions(patrol car,taxi, etc.) you have to change the timing belt at 90 000 miles? I do not drive that way. Does this mean that the timing belt can be non-serviceable on 98 Corolla?

liufei

That website is useful, thanks for the info. Brought the corolla for service today and the dealer fixed a loose heatsink next to the power steering rack and lubricates some bushing and joints. Its better now, but I will keep an eye for it for the time being. The mechanics said, there's nothing wrong with the cv joints at all though. In the Toyota Corolla 2 section, someone also mentioned about sway bar bushing as the possible culprit of the squeaking noise.

Regarding the timing belt/chain. The 98 corolla used a timing chain with a recommended service interval of 90K miles. I would change the timing chain at 90K regardles of the driving condition, just to be safe, since you never know if its going to fail, and when it did, you are going to get stranded. Better safe than sorry.

grefor

Hey, my '92 Corolla makes a squeaky noise also sometimes, and it only has 180,000 miles on it. I'm thinking about checking into the lemon law. These cars are unbelievable and run forever, even though I haven't changed the oil 15 times since I got it new. I also have the original clutch and it shows no signs of fading despite driving in stop & go traffic alot and driving the car as if it was a sports car.

The car hums @ 90 mph and gets about 33 mpg combined. It recently started running terrible and I figured all of the abuse finally caught up to me and it was ready for the scrap heap. I checked the plugs and the wires were cracked. I changed the plugs, wires, dist cap, and rotor and it hums again. Cost me about $75 and I did it in 30 minutes, and I am not handy with cars. The only thing that seems to wear out is the exhausts-every 2-3 years. Must be the angle of the tailpipe allowing water to collect in it.

I am getting a new 2001 Maxima, but will keep 'Cory Corolla' as an insurance policy and for snowy travel, in which it handles like a snowmobile. I'm probably in the wrong forum for this, but I love that car and just felt like yapping.

patb5

I have a '99 Corolla LE with less than 18,000 miles on it. 4 months ago the left tie rod needed to be replaced. A month later the right tie rod needed to be replaced. My problem (other than the fact that the tie rods needed replacing) is that now, whenever I make any kind of a turn, the tires squeal. Even in a very slow, shallow turn the tires will squeal at 4 points in the turn. What's up?

liufei

Its the tire inflated at the proper presure? It should be around 30-32 psi. You may also check the tread wear and possibly rotate + balancing the tires. Do you have the Goodyear Integrity in your car?

dchinn

After the tie-rod replacement, was there a complete wheel alignment done 4 both front & rear (mainly the front). Check if the steering column was reconnected correctly & lubed as necessary. Sounds like something was not adjusted correctly. Have the service writer go on a test drive w/ U to experience the problem.

liufei

Would an improper alignment cause tires to squeal ?

dchinn

Again, it's my take on it. If the rods r out of adj, then there's either a pull on 1 or boths tires if U turn to either side. May not be apparent when it's going straight ahead. Doesn't hurt 2 get it checked out. Again, the squeal may not be from the tires but near or around the tire area. Hard to hear if U driving & not outside the vehicle, right???

njkim

I own a 2001 corolla automatic, I was pretty happy until I started to hear some weird sound.
It sounds like something is dragging under the car or something like that. It usually happened when the gear was changed from 1 to 2 and usually after it runs on highway long drive, but not always. It is not annoying if I don't pay attention to it. But I am worried. What might be the problem?

If I take the car to the dealer, how can I explain it? It doesn't always happen, especially when the car is cold.

Thanks.