Who plans on keeping their Corolla for 200K+ miles?

c2cp

Have a 2002 I use for work it is now turning 258,000 miles with just regular maintenence and minor replacement of parts that wear out and this car is still running strong very impressed.

toyoman3

Sorry to report that at 285k miles I replaced my engine with one from a 99 with approx 93k miles. Running well but now tranny seems to be failing, I have to stop this bleeding sooner or later next thing it may be the A/C or who knows what I may have to cut my loses and bail out , but what to get? I don't wanna blow big $ on a new one, and used is kind of a gamble : :confuse:

bottgers

I had a '93 Tercel which I purchased in '02 with 88K. When I sold it in '05 it had 140K and it burned oil pretty badly. In fact it burned about 1/2 qt per tankful of gas. It still ran and drove fine, but the one thing I really hated about that car is it was a steam room on wheels. Unless the weather was absolutely perfect, I had to run the heater on defrost full blast all the time or the windows would fog over. I never could figure out why the interior of that car was always so moist.

terceltom

Just sold an "86" Tercel that I bought new in 1985. It had 150K on it but ran great. The body was rusting all over though. Sold it to a guy that was happy to get it for $300.00

By the way, sounded like all you needed was a heater core on yours. The first symptom of a bad core is moisture on the interior glass.

bottgers

That may have gotten rid of the sauna, but it wouldn't done anything for the oil consumption.

terceltom

LOL . . . Yea your right there, a new heater core won't take care of a worn engine.

joecorolla99

Folks,

I have a high mileage 1998 corolla that burns about 1/4 to 1/2 quart of oil every 1000 miles. I consider that acceptable usage for the amount of miles.

What I do have a question about is: If it rains real hard or I'm driving in snow, the exhaust note will become very LOUD. Like a hole has opened up in the header, pipe, cat. or muffler. When it dries out the exhaust sounds normal. I wonder if anyone has heard of this. I'll have to go underneath and perform an inspection of all the joints and welds.

Joe.

canuckrolla123

I have a 2002 Corolla. It just turned 300,000km in close to 7 years. No major repairs at all. Used synthetic oil. Then I had a fender bender just before the holidays. Only body damage. Insurance would rather write it off than fix it because they're not sure of any extra cost once body shop opens it up. I had planned to drive the 2002 Corolla up to 450,000km in another 3 years. Things happen.

At that mileage, 300,000km, what potential repairs would I have been looking at to maintain it until 450,000km?

joecorolla99

canuckrolla123,

Potential repairs to go that many km.

Starter.

Alternator. I replaced the brushes on mine with 186,000 miles, and the brushes seem to have had another 50-75,000 miles left on them.

Rear bearings. I had to replace the rear passenger hub at 190,000 miles.

I would suspect that being up north that the front drive shaft, CV joints and boots might be the biggest issue. The Canadian cold ages cars twice the speed as warmer climes.

This is assuming that you perform regular maintenance on this car, and the engine/trans-axle doesn't crap out gears and such.

I hope your 'rolla lasts you many kilometers.

Joe.

rose920

When do I stop putting money into this car? It has been stalling in the rain and is at the mechanic. It has a hole in the catalytic converter, brackets broken. He thinks I hit something but I do not remember doing that. It needs plugs and wires and dist. cap. Estimate is around $800; Have been looking at new cars but nothing has hit my fancy yet. I drive 60 miles a day.

rose920

It also needs a valve cover because it is leaking oil. I have decided to do the plugs ane wires and valve so that I can drive it until I can get a new car. The mechanic agrees that it is time to let go of the car.

astphard

I have an '04 Corolla that I've had since new, and it currently has 65k miles on it. For those of you reaching the 200k plus mark, how many of those miles are highway driving versus city driving? I have mostly in-town driving, which obviously puts more wear and tear on a vehicle. I'd love to have some idea of how long I can keep my car going. He gets his oil changed about every 5000 miles and gets every 15k service at the dealership.

toyoman3

I do half/ half I do live in a warm climate, good roads and I don't abuse mine. I have logged more than 320k miles but have replaced engine, and many components. The car still hold up pretty well, mine is a 98

joecorolla99

A '98 corolla named "smoking joe jack flash blitz-in" with 224,000 miles.
30%city / 70%highway miles. I replace the oil and filter every 4-6 months or 5,000 miles. I drain and refresh the automatic transmission fluid each 30-50,000 miles. I don't pull the pan or filter, just drain and measure the amount that comes out and add the same amount. I'll never use the power flush route for the ATF. I perform the 30,000 mile or 2-year service myself.
When I do the anti-freeze/coolant replacement, I just drain the system as much as possible then add the 50/50 premixed red fluid. I don't do a full flush as I've never seen any sediment build-up. Plus it saves me the hassle of trying to figure out how much flush water is left in the system and how much undiluted coolant I'd need to add to get the 50/50 ratio.

Just my .50 cents.

Joe.