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2009 Toyota Corolla Problems and Repairs
Bought a new 2009 Toyota Corolla LE. Right after I drove it from the dealer lot, there are a lot of rattles at the front dashboard, even if there is a tiny bump on the road. It's really distracting. Anybody experiencing this problem? Will it get better in the future once it get through the break-in period? Hopefully, the 2009 Corolla will not end up like the 2007 Camry, which was full of hesitation and noise issues.
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You've probably already checked this obvious thing, but make sure there's nothing rattling in the glovebox(es), center console, or sunglasses holder (if it has one).
I would bet that the Corolla built in CA or Canada will have the same problems. I would wait for a few months to get the bugs worked out.
If there is reliable evidence that made in japan is better or worse than made in USA or Canada or UK then I have not seen it.
Notify your dealer of the problem with rattles. There may be broken dash clips or something else that may be fixed and make your ownership experience satisfactory.
Besides the rattles, it drives and rides very nicely, engine is quiet, transmission shifts smoothly, great fuel economy on my first tank (40 MPG average). No problems, hesitations, or strange noises coming from the engine at all so far. There are more Made in Japan parts under the hood than the Made in USA Corolla I saw in the dealer lot.
I notice that lots of the new cars have rattles, not just Toyota (Honda too). I think that they all have made a decision to cut costs in the interiors, while adding safety equipment and really not adding much to the selling price.
All Toyota Corolla's are made at the NUMMI factory in Fresno Ca., this factory is in the middle of a whistleblower lawsuit for ignoring auto manufacturing defect's on the assembly line for the Corolla..
my 05 corolla was built in Canada (Cambridge, i believe). i know many 9th generation corollas were built there. i dont know what the breakdown is between the two plants.
http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/read/13367
I sat in a 2009 Corolla at the DC Auto Show back in January. I was a little disappointed with the quality of the materials on the interior. The big clunky HVAC dials, the feel of the plastics.... it just didn't seem very impressive to me. Granted, my 2001 Corolla wasn't amazing, either, but I wish Toyota would have stepped up their game a little. With the problems they've had with the Tundra and Camry, you'd think they would get a clue.
I would be very hesitant about buying a new Corolla right now. The first year of a new model is always unpredictable - might as well let Toyota work the kinks out before you get stuck with something you're not happy with.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ariMwGN1rk
I would wait a few months at least until the bugs get worked out. This goes for any maker.
I may have had a few rattles with that Rav, but it never had any safety issues and never any failures of any kind. I never was left stranded, and that's one of the things I love about Toyota - never had a problem that left me without a way to get somewhere. Most Toyotas I have had for over 100,000 miles.
I expect the new Corolla to do the same.
That is typically good advice. I'm taking my chances on this one. The flipside is that the first ones off the line get special attention, so they might actually be better.
I may have had a few rattles with that Rav, but it never had any safety issues and never any failures of any kind. I never was left stranded, and that's one of the things I love about Toyota - never had a problem that left me without a way to get somewhere. Most Toyotas I have had for over 100,000 miles.
Reliability for the win! Same deal with my '93 Camry. It failed me once, but I gave it a pass because I was sitting in my garage when it died and because it went 199k flawless miles before that failure -- the electronic distributor which can't last forever anyway.
I hope my 07 Camry Hybrid and 09 Corolla LE will do the same?? Let me pray:)!
thanks
It may be the first year hear but in reality this is a three year old car so any bugs are non-existant. You more than likely get lots of dash rattles due to the hard plastic being used.
Mack
Fixed quickly where needed and this outgoing Gen 9 has been dead solid perfect since.
I too have an occasional rattle on cold days in my 2005 Prius but it's been hit twice and the windshield replaced. It goes away when the weather is warmer or after driving for 15 min or so. I attribute it to the hard plastics being used in the interiors. There's more variability in dimensions due to temperatures but these new interiors are lighter and safer.
Take your Corolla in and have them 'pad' the places where the rattles occur. This should make them go away.
Does anyone know what my options here are?
1. Is there some adjustment a Toyota repair shop can do to make the steering less sensitive?
2. If that is not possible, should I look into replacing my steering system, perhaps from some other Toyota with EPS, like the Prius, that apparently does not suffer from this problem?
Your bad '07 seems to be the exception.
I would expect the new 09 to be just as good, although I never recommend anyone get the first year of a new generation, no matter who built it.
I replaced the tires with Goodyear Assurance tires, which have a great wet-weather tread (and, excellent wearing characteristics).
Like you, I have never noticed the drifting issue while I was driving, and she is such "sensitive" driver that I am sure she would have complained to me about it if it was an issue.
Unlike the good old days when you could back up and crank the wheel and then give it some gas with your hands off the wheel and the wheels would automatically center again from friction.
Is anyone out there has a problem with the airbags system for the 2009 Corolla. I had my 09 Corolla LE also made in Japan for almost three months and almost 3000 miles and everything was running smoothly. However, I just noticed that the SRS light is on and the passenger airbag light is off even if someone sitting in it.
Is there a possiblity that the airgbags will pop out even without a crash? I know that there is a great chance that they will not pop out if there is a crash.
I have scheduled with a local toyota dealer to address the matter already and praying they can get it fixed in one trip:)!
thanks.
P.S. Anyone exprienced the same problem, please share.
I have owned my 2009 corolla S now for over 3 months and 4400 miles. I never had problem with it, yes the steering is senative but it was no problem for me once i drove like 500 miles and got used to it. I love this, also gettting 40-43 mpg average!!
I'm currently deciding between the Civic and Corolla, they are fairly equal in most categories, Civic wins a couple, Corolla wins a couple....but if Toyota continues the 0% for 36 month special into May, that may sway me to the Corolla.
For the Civic we viewed assets as being well designed, great gas mileage, nice choice of colors. The negatives were no traction control (coming in new model year), more costly to repair than Toyota (service tech who works on all brands stated that), hard to see the front of the car with the sloping hood, and no dealer incentives-financing or otherwise.
For the Corolla, we thought the assets included traction control,
dealer 0% financing, great gas mileage, dependability, a few more options for the money. On the opposite side though the fit and finish were not quite up to par with the Civic. Lots of plastic.
So as you already know it is a dead heat-get whatever car you like. My wife chose the Corolla in the end for one reason-0% financing and the attitude of the Honda dealers. They were nice on the lot but when it came to finalizing the transaction it was tough. One dealer would not even bring over a dark blue civic from their remote lot after we requested it the day before so we could look at the color and drive the car. That was the day we were going to buy. Needless to say we bought a Corolla.
The Corolla deal was not that smooth either. My wife wanted a Gray Metallic Corolla and she just did not like the seats that came with the LE. We looked at the S model and the seats were dark enough but she did not like the blue spots. Asked the salesman about an XLE and she said they did not make that in a Corolla. Probably because they did not have one. We searched all over Denver for an XLE to look at. Finally found one by chance at the Honda dealer who had brought one over from their sister Toyota dealer.
My wife loved that car and we went in pursuit of a Gray Metallic XLE. Come to find out they only 1% of the Corolla's are produced in the XLE configuration. They are tough to find. Finally got one and we are awaiting delivery for Wednesday.
Hope you enjoy whatever car you choose.
Brad
Maybe 1% of the Corollas that dealer gets. The XLE is little more than what last year's LE was and I have seen plenty of them, not 1 out of 100.