Toyota Corolla Maintenance and Repair

kkerr

Maybe it's what some of the rest of you have described, but my new car (at 1000 miles now)has creaking noises that seem to come from the driver's seat, brake pedal and steering sometimes. It comes and goes in intensity and regularity. Sound familiar to anyone? Any suggestions? Mine does not seem to be connected with turning the car. Thanks in advance!

yjin

I finally took my car to the dealer. It made
louder noise after rain. The dealer nailed down
the problem. It has something to do with the join
part between rack&pinion and suspension. On the
maintainence records, it says "excessive movement". I have no clue what it is. They
replace racks on both sides, and now the noise
is gone.

lynne8

Have a 2000 Corolla LE. At 60mph and above there is a vibration in the wheel; you can see it vibrating. Had tires balanced twice, on the third try they said bad tires. Tires were warrantied out and I had upgrades put on (Goodyear Regatta) STILL VIBRATES! Will be taking it back again this week. I have wasted plenty of time on a brand new car. Anyone else had this vibration problem?

terceltom1

I have a 2001 Corolla and I an experiencing the highway fade to the left also. I don't think I will mention it to the dealer though unless it gets worse for fear of them over compensating. Also, I am a little concerned with the small amount of ground clearance on the vehicle. The lowest thing on the car is the middle of the exhaust pipe which is only 6 1/2" from the ground and clearly visible from the back.Also, does anyone know if I should have a seatbelt warning buzzer or bell to go with the warning light? And one more thing I notice is the soft brake pedal and braking longer then I think it should be. All city driving averaging 25 mpg. on the 7th tank full of gas.

jsleesi

Owners manual says, it holds 3.3 qts of auto trans oil. but local Toyota service person told me that it holds 8 qts. He also told me that the 4 qts are held in torq converter.

If its the case, the owner manual should says, hold total 8 qts but 4 qts are held in torq converter?

Any one can shed light on this subject?

Thanks

JS

dchinn

U will bottom out if U have a load in the rear. I have scraped the rear exhaust system 10 times on my 2K. Just can't ask my folks to hop out once they r in the car while I'm backing out or entering the driveway. My around town mpg is similar to yours 25-27 mpg. I have about 4K on my car. Brake pedal feel is decent; not as good as one that is equipped w/ ABS.

jtanders50

I have a '98 Corolla LE and love it. One problem the airbag light started flashing at about 35,000 miles. The dealer replaced the side airbags and said they were defective. Now at about 40,000 miles the light started flashing again. I have hesitated to take it back to the dealer because the warranty has run out, and the first replacement was about $700. Has anybody else had this problem or have any suggestions? Thanks.

copytech

You might have a faulty air bag sensor. Also, there was a tsb on older toyotas, I believe, on spilling fluids on the center console could cause the light to display or the bags to deploy. Also, there might be a factory problem with your particular vehicle or a tech. flaw from the last install. You need to get it checked out. If the light is on, THE SYSTEM WILL NOT WORK, for safety reasons. Although it is expensive, you should have it at least re-checked out. There should be some "implied" warranty on their install. I'd check it out. Good luck.

copytech

the 3.3 quarts refers to the capacity if you perform a drain and fill. If it said 8 quarts, I can guarantee you that some person will drain out about 3 quarts and add 2 gallons to their tranny. It's kinda like that "Don't open the door while in flight" thing on a plane. Someone must have opened it.............. They could list it seperately, but it really isn't needed relavent info, becsuse you can't drain the torque converter anyway. Keep it changed, those trannys are hot running, as with all new cars.

avarkey

My 1996 Toyota Corolla makes a loud clicking (hitting) noise from under
>carriagewhen I change the gear from Reverse to Drive . This happens when I
>take the car out of parking lot and begin to drive. There is no problem
>when I drive . And it does not happen always also. Any idea of what could
>be the problem. Your answer is greatly appreciated. Thanks

vlady

Have you ever had a tranny service done? Your car is just begging you to do that. Do not wait, go to the dealer and ask them to change the tranny filter also. And try to in future warm the car a few minutes before driving and check the tranny fluid regularly

copytech

It sounds like that it might be depending on how the car is resting before you put it into park. Sometimes, the parking pawl can have a lot of pressure put it against it when you put it into park, so when you put it back into drive, there is extra force put against it, hence the "click". This can be partly avoided by setting the parking brake before the car lets itself rest against the parking pawl then setting the brake. Just a guess on the noise.

You might check the fluid with the vehicle running to see where its level is. It could be that there is something loose like a bracket. You might check the engine mounts as well. Trannys on these cars have a trans screen that doesn't REALLY need to be changed(but it still can be( like a domestic vehicles filter, but it would be a good idea to change that fluid if it's been over 30k since the last service. I say do it every 15k just because these trannys run so hot, but you have to use your judgement, sometimes 30k is ok if the fluid isn't burnt.

avarkey

Hi friends,

Regarding the trasmission service, TOyota Corolla has about 49000 miles on it and I did 45000 miles service at a Toyota Dealer two months back. I alos did 30K service at Pep Boys one year back. believe , they might have done a transmission service during one of these services. Do I really have to go the Dealer again and check for transmission service. Thanks

zypan

Hi, Friends,

Recently I bought a 1990 Corolla with 90k miles. It ran reasonable good at test drive. However I met a strange problem since the next day I bought it-engine dies at stop sign or traffic light. I usually drive my car after warming up for a minute or two. It has no problem for the first a few stop signs, but dies after I drive for about 5 to 10 minutes. If I try to restart my car immediately, I can hear normal sounds but the engine won't start to work. Only after waiting for about 5 minutes (on the road!) I can start the car again and drive normally. It happens quite often.

Any suggestions?

Your answer is greatly appreciated! Thanks

copytech

No, you don't have to go back to the dealer for a trans service. If you can, find an import specialist with a t-tech trans flush machine. These are the best for removing all the fluid. The trans, once the machine is hooked up, does all of the work itself. Most places charge around 80.00 for the service. You'll be surprised to see the color of the old fluid. If you can, you should watch the service, and the old fluid coming out of your vehicle. I've seen almost black fluid coming out before on vehicles.

copytech

Not sure if there is a model specific problem for stalling for that year. I know that there is a tsb for that year car (geo prism) for hard starting in cold weather by changing the computer and for a factory radio draining the battery (bad cap in the stereo). Sometimes, items like a fuel filter needing to be changed can be causing the problem. You might have an emission problem (egr valve). Does it happen if you let it idle in the driveway for more than 5 minutes or do you have to be driving? If it happens again, I'd have a spare spark plug standing by and pull a plug wire. Hook it up, ground the plug and see if you are getting a spark. If not, probably an ingition problem (coil heating up too much) or something like that. Just a couple of ideas. Hopefully it's someting simple. Good luck.

vinnyracer

My 99 Toyota Corolla VE started making the loud click noise after 20,000k. I bought it to the toyota dealer twice in the same year. The dealer told me that they had replace the drive belt tennsioner. I really don't know what that is. I also had to replace the shift indicator light after it burned out twice in the same year too.

I hope this help.

oscarkat

I own a 2000 Corolla and I have 7200 miles on it. I had been experiencing loud clattering of the valves. It would get worse the longer you drive it and when first starting out. I took it to the dealer today. They had to replace the Tensioner assembly and the V belt tensioner TSB. The car runs much better. My suprise is that the mechanic at the dealer told me their seeing this problem on a lot of Corolla's. He even told me that they have many of these parts in stock because so many are getting replaced.

medard

I have heard that post-98 corolla have "timing chain" instead of "timing belt", and do not require maintence until 150K miles. However, my mechanic told me that my 99 corolla (I bought it used) needs to have the timing belt replaced between 60K-90K miles. Any take out there?

Thanks for your input.

kareski

On my 93 corolla the cruise control kicks off when the lights are turned on and it cannot be set again when the lights are on. It seems to like day driving only without lights. Anybody have the same problem? I have checked the fuses and wiring and everything seems OK. By the book it seems that the system goes into the computer. Any help out there in car land?

johnnycorolla9

I found that the cruise control kicks off when the lights are turned on and a tail light or brake light is not functioning. To correct the problem, I either replace the faulty bulb or giggle the bulb until it lights up. Most of the time, the bulb is not blown, but instead, contact is not being made. I encounter this problem periodically. Carry a few spare bulbs. You'll need them.

This leads me to believe that the break lights and/or tail lights share the same path to ground as the cruise control circuit.

Good Luck,
John

eneth

medard,

Your mechanic is not correct. All 1998 and later Corolla/Prizm engines in the U.S. and Canada have timing chains, not belts.

chillywilly1

I've had my '91 Corolla for over several years and it hasn't developed any major problems seen on the newer models. Cruise control works fine, suspension is nice, changed out radio and speakers with pioneer series (the radio ate my tapes after several years and need replacinf (heavy use)). Have a weird brake problem whch seems to be an adjustment issue. Otherwise the car runs great in hot/cold weather. Never a major issue with the car in 100K miles of cross-country driving (I bought the car used at about 30-40K mileage).

I recommended this car over many newer ones. It was well worth it and a good investment for he family.

brspeck

I have a '94 geo prizm (same as corolla) 61k miles. Right now it is making an incredibly annoying scraping/creaking noise when I turn, esp. turning left at very low speeds (parking lot). you can also hear it at higher speeds but then it is more of a whine. I have taken it in... for a week they tried to figure it out and couldn't find it. Not CV's, not loose wheel bearing (happened before and that fixed it), not suspension. Getting frustrated... afraid something is going to break soon and leave me stranded.

keithch

Signal generator in distributor which controls the fire of the spark plugs malfunction. When the signal generator stops working for a few seconds, the engine die. My experience is the problem happens once a day. The car will run fine for the rest of the day. Next day, the problem will come back. Signal Generator can be purchased separate from the distributor. If you replace the distributor, the signal generator is part of system.

Another possible problem will be the fuel injector was clogged up.
Try one bottle of good fuel injector cleaner, you will see if the problem go away. Because the fuel did not pass to the engine.

Good luck

sandman46

Just had my tranny fluid flushed out last week. My mechanic said the color of the fluid was real dark. Car seems to ride better now and it cost just over $80.00. Car has 47k on it and I still love the car as much as when I bought her used at 18k. Thinking of putting on some nicer rims though. Where can I get those nice BBS wheels the dealer over charges for? Any help would be appreciated.

bmx708

I have a 93 Corolla, auto,70k. It had run great until I found the following problem two weeks ago.

Each time when it started moving from full stop, I noticed that it was shaking and was hesitate to go, accompanying with the thump noise from somewhere under the car. This problem only lasts 3-5 seconds. The harder I hit the gas pedal, the louder the noise was. However, once it was moving, there was no problem at all whenever I push the gas pedal. It happened only at the moment when the car began moving from full stop.
Two weeks ago I had the tires and battery changed at a garage shop, I am thinking whether this might cause the shaking problem because this car ran great and was very reliable before then. I wonder if anyone out there experienced similar problem and would appreciate your input. Thanks a lot.

paulsiu

When should the water pump be replaced? On my old Acura, I was told to replace the timing belt at the same time as the water pump. Since the timing belt on an Acura gets changed every 90,000 miles, this did not seemed to be a problem.

On a 1992 Geo Prizm (Toyota clone), the timing belt is changed every 60,000 miles. Changing the water pump every 60,000 seem a bit extreme. Can I change it every 120,000 miles (every other timing belt change) or will the pump give out before then? What about time period, should I replace it every x number of years?

Paul

vbg1

I test drove this 94 Corolla. There is a perceptible humming sound (coming from the engine?) when the vehicle is moving at slow speeds. The sound becomes distinctly high when the vehicle approaches higher speeds (55-60 mph). I will certainly take it to the mechanic before I decide about buying but was curious to know the 'web comments' on the sources of this noise.. bad muffler, bad engine....

Thks,
Vikram

jon3451

Hi,

I have a 1998 Toyota Corrola-CE. The problem that I have is sometimes the driver side power window gets stuck all the way down and it wont comeback up again. When I press on the button then nothing happens but after few try it works again.
What things should I check first? I am hoping that i dont have a major electrical issue here.

thanks
Jon

nkd40

I have a 1997 Toyota Corolla DX. When I turn on the left or right turn signal, the appropriate lights come on steady but do not flash. Also, when the emergency flashers are activated, all four corner lights come on steady but again do not flash. Obviously the bulbs are all good.

Does this model use one flasher unit for both turn signal and emergency flashers? If so, where is it located? The fuse box is behind the left kick panel and 2 black relays are above that, then above them are 2 more relays, one is blue and round, the other is another rectangular black relay. Are one or more of these the flasher unit (s) or maybe the problem is elsewhere?

Thanks,
Gary

lhunt2

I have a 1987 Toyota Corolla FX. It has 275,00 miles on it and runs great. Origianl transmission and engine. I love this car!

terceltom1

I had the exact same problem with my car. I took the inside of the door off and when I removed each of the push in electrical connectors to the window controls I found that one of them was not properly soldered to the wire. It was not making proper contact. All I did was resolder it and it worked fine since. So I would say definitly check all electrical connections to the controls first. And try to not take it in for service if you could avoid it they'll probrably charge you alot for what might be something very obvious when you look at it yourself. Good Luck!

smartcar

My Corolla with 160000 now decides it won't start anymore. It is not getting a spark. One day while driving it just stalled and now just won't start. Tried other distributors...no change. Key turns and cranks...just no spark.Ben checking everything with meter and so far all seems fine. Thought maybe it was computor but dealer says unlikely(do work ourselves).Car was running fine till this. Battery is fine, plugs are fine, new cap and rotor. I am really stumped. It is cold outside and I have no garage. Couldn't have done this when it was warm. Any thoughts I would appreciate. Andy

nnnnn26

this smell is coming up from the tranny dipstick area, (while dipstick IS in place) any ideas what the proplem is? Thanks

vlady

A few ideas

There are 2 hoses go to the radiator from the tranny. Check connections there.
By the way, check a power steering system too(pump, hoses etc) The same type of fluid is used (Dextron).
Or maybe it is time for tranny service

ssangste

just wanted to chime in really quickly with some of my corolla experiences... I own a 2000 VE purchased in october '99. I just turned 56,000 miles. the only major problem I ran into is bad brake chatter from warped rotors. It was so bad the whole front end of the car shook at the slightest touch of the brakes. I had the dealer turn the rotors and skuff the pads at 17,000 miles. that solved the problem for about 4,000 miles. then it came back with a vengence. I finally couldn't stand it anymore. So before I ran out of warranty I took it in again at 35,000 miles. got the rotors and pads replaced under warranty. 20,000 miles later, not a hint or sign of chatter. I chalk it up to a bad set of rotors from the factory... I have always gotten 70-100 thousand miles out of a set of pads since I drive standard transimission, use engine compression to slow the car, and do more highway than city driving... other than the brake problem, everything has been perfect on my corolla. i couldn't be happier with my $12,000 investment.

meb8283

I bought a 99 Corolla (bottom of the line - what's that, the DE?) and have had nothing but problems with it this past year. My biggest concern is a creaking/rattling noise in the front of the car that is especially audible when I'm going very slowly down a street or in a parking lot, or when I'm putting the brakes on. It sounds like something's loose. I can even feel it in the accelerator pedal - a rattling of sorts. I took it into the Toyota dealership, they couldn't reproduce the noise, they looked around and said they couldn't find anything. Basically, they made me feel crazy. The problem continued to get worse, so I took it into another mechanic who is well known for diagnostic work. They heard the rattle, but couldn't find anything. So, I'm stuck with a rattling noise that when people get into my car and hear, they ask, "How old is this car anyway?" It's embarrassing and annoying. Also, I have a pretty annoying rubbing noise caused by my front tires. I took it in and it turns out that it's a problem they've had with other Corolla's with approx. 25K miles on them ------ the Good year tires they put on the car are defective in that the beading dries up! I asked Toyota if they would replace them - seeing as it's their fault for picking scrappy tires. They said they wouldn't. They told me that I would have to talk to Good year to see if they'll cut me a deal. Who has that kind of money! That's why I got a Corolla in the first place - fewer repairs! I'm disappointed in Toyota. I probably won't buy another one and can't wait to get rid of this one!

vlady

Are you sure that you drive Corolla? You story is pretty cheese to me. Sorry, but you can't remember which Corolla you drive(VE) .
You said "... I took it into the Toyota dealership, they couldn't reproduce the noise, they looked around and said they couldn't find anything.." when you're saying "... when people get into my car and hear, they ask, "How old is this car anyway?"
Something doesn't fit right.... In my experience the dealer always rides with me at my request to determine the problem and I feel free to go to another dealer

And you should get your tires replaced by Good Year( see the Warranty book)

meb8283

You're much less helpful than you are negative. Forgive me if I don't remember the model Corolla I drive - it's not in front of my face every day and I'm not a car enthusiast (so shoot me!). Goodness - my goal was to get HELPFUL feedback or insight as to what the problem with my car might actually be. Wondered if anyone else out there had the same problem with an audible yet indiscernable rattling in the front of their car that can't be diagnosed by mechanics. While I thank you for the advice with Goodyear, please keep any other comments to yourself. You're not the person I was hoping to have respond to my problem.

hau4300

Hi:
I would like you guys to give me some suggestion about the price of a Toyota Corolla 1997 with 73,400 miles on it. The dealer is asking for $7,500US. Do you think this is reasonable? What is the reasonable price for a car like this? Thank a million.

Art

rollnlow90

I currently own a 2000 Corolla LE and have had no problems in 20,000 miles. However, my younger brother owns a 1998 Corolla CE and had the exact same problem. Being a Master Certified Auto Technician and a student of the Toyota Technical Education Network, I think I can help. The noise I believe you are referring to is ,like you said, caused by the bead of the tires. At low speeds the tires flex and the bead rubs the rim. There is nothing wrong with the tires or the rims and they are not defective in any way. The remedy to this problem is to lubriacte the beads of the tires. This requires dismounting the tires so it must be done by a qualified mechanic. Silicone spray takes care of the noise but will wash away the first time it rains. Have your mechanic apply a light coating of wheel bearing grease or bead sealer to the beads of the tires. This should not harm the material of the tires and should take care of the noise.

asuran

My toyota corolla 93 pulsates at high speeds. It also pulsates when the brake is applied. I had the pads, rotors and calipers replaced by the dealer. Both
the problems went away for about a couple weeks. Now the problem has
returned.
The rotors are warped now.
any suggestions
thanks

Mr_Shiftright

The new rotors warped in a couple of weeks? Really? If that happened, you have a serious problem of overheating brakes then...maybe the calipers are sticking...also could be the replacement rotors weren't OEM but some cheapo substitute? Even race cars don't warp rotors that fast....that's weird.

asuran

You are probably right. The second time I went to the dealer he told me the calipers weren't functioning and he replaced the calipers. Could there be any particular reason why the brakes get overheated?. I also donot understand why the car should pulsate at high speeds even if I don't apply the brakes. The wheels are balanced and aligned.

toymaniac01

Any advice on what I should look at on a '91 Toyota Corolla that is getting poorer gas milage than I have in the past? Right now getting average of 28 mpg doing 60% city and 40% highway driving.

checkm8charlie

Just purchased the '01 Corolla "s"...my only complaint is that the antenna is on the driver side roof and oscillates at low speeds (less than 5 mph). It taps/bounces on the roof and is annoying to hear. Is this a design flaw...has anyone else experienced this?

terceltom1

I have the 2001 LE and the antenna is in the same position on my car but it is no where close to touching the roof. In fact I never had any problems with the antenna at all. Maybe yours was bent during delivery or something. I would definitely make the dealer aware of the problem and ask for him to replace it.

lstauff

The clutch on my 99 Corolla will burn at the drop of a hat. I have never had this problem in any of my previous 5-speeds. Has anyone else had a problem with theirs? Is there anything the dealer could do to help the problem?

carnovice1

After reading some of the other posts, I don't feel alone anymore. I noticed that the car tends to drift or pull to one side, but it's very subtle. But my real gripe is that at 60mph and higher the car vibrates. The whole car shakes! I thought it was the tires, or that the tires needed air, but I checked them and it isn't. Luckily, my car is leased and I will be returning it in a few weeks. I have been thinking of getting a Jetta, but after reading all the negative posts about the Jetta problems, I am rethinking it. I really like the Japanese cars, and have been thinking of buying a new Corolla. Any thoughts??