Toyota Corolla Maintenance and Repair

carglow · November 2004

I have an 05 LE with auto tranny. I'm only getting 22-24 mpg city and 33-35 hwy. That's not bad, but it's not the 30/39 mpg advertised.

tbettett,

Do you have an auto or manual transmision?

mcase2 · November 2004

I have an 04 Corolla automatic that got beyond belief piss poor mileage - It actually declined from 18 city to 12.5 over the course of three months from the date of purchase (same commute, same driver day in day out - old accord got 24 mpg on same commute). Strangely it got its highway miles handily. Also a bad sulfer smell would sometimes be evident - Dealer contacted Toyota. Toyota's response was to tell to me to get lost. No really! they told to sue them if I wanted, they were not going to do a damn thing. Since I bought a Sienna and a Corrola from the same dealer on the same day you think they might try and go to bat for me. Nope! gee whiz our hands are tied blah blah blah. After three months the car Suddenly, and I mean suddenly, in the middle of the same tank of gas, jumped up to 22 city - We initially thought the gas gauge was broken because it did not plunge as it had in the past. No one ever figured out what was wrong with it. Though now that winter gas is back the mileage is again declining. - The point is, Toyota does not give a rats [non-permissible content removed] about you or your car once they have your money.
If you get 25 city, believe me your lucky. 25 city is well within the normal range of the rated mpg anyway and even a reputable car manufacturer would not see this as a problem.

jrct9454 · November 2004

Glow:

This is right on the money for a new-gen Corolla with an automatic.

Can't say it often enough: unless your driving is EXACTLY THE SAME AS THE EPA TESTING CYCLE, you cannot expect to match those numbers. Some trips will do better, some will do worse; some drivers will do better, some will do worse. Your numbers are very close to ours.

One thing you can be fairly confident of: the engine won't be completely loose and fully broken in for about 5-7000 miles. Mileage and power will both very gradually get better right up to that odo reading. This has been consistently the case for every new car we've owned [both Japanese and German] for the past 20 years.

carglow · November 2004

I understand the EPA figures are estimates, but I'm disappointed I've never came close to the estimates. 26-27 mpg city would be acceptable, but 22 real world mileage for car rated at 30 mpg is disappointing.

dave594 · November 2004

Your mileage may vary, as they say. Lots depend on such thing as your driving style. Do you accelerate hard from a stop? Lots of stop and go? My 02 Corolla with 5 speed gets 36 MPG in my 60 mile daily commute. Sometime I get 40, but it's been consistent.

mcase2 · November 2004

Thanks to all involved in getting the word out about out the TSB on the stink mobile. MY dealer of course blew us off and never got back to us when Toyota acknowledged the problem. Its now November 04, I bought the stinkrolla in Oct 03 and never got any notice from the Toyota. Thanks again!

modestmouse · November 2004

stinkrolla..haha, clever

bscott3 · November 2004

I have a 2005 Corolla S and at 5000 miles the Maint Req light came on. I know this is for the oil change but I would like to know how to reset it?

jrct9454 · November 2004

My recollection is that the reset instructions are in the Owner's Manual. It is a simple procedure involving the odo reset button, but I would have to have the manual in front of me to remember the details. You can look it up...

mopar67 · November 2004

the ODO reset button.

masterz · November 2004

Hello everyone, I have a 2004 LE and I have a problem that there is a hissing noise comming from the window or the siding of the door. It has nothing to do with the engine but I think the weather stripping on the door or the windows lets in a lot of road noise. what can I do about this ?
Secondly, my gas mileage is not getting the 28 in town. I am only getting 25-26 at time thanks

michelley · November 2004

Hi all, I have a 2004 Corolla S with 15,000 miles. Last week I took from LA to Vegas and drove through quite a bit of snow and rain. The brakes were wet, I pumped them, and everything was fine. The other day, I took the car in for an oil change. Today however, I noticed some vibration and noise as I braked with medium pressure on a the freeway. I was NOT going fast (a mile or two) on the onramp. This continued during my commute, but only if I braked with medium pressure, and then a complete stop without letting up on the brake. The vibration and noise seem to be coming from the front left area, directly in front of me. It is not the high-pitched squealing of worn brake pads, but more of a low, rotating/flapping metal sound. At the end of it, I sometimes hear a little squeal from the tires (which may be just the bad tires that came with it). Any advice? I'm wondering if it's the ABS, something left loose from the oil change, or a real brake problem. Thanks in advance.

modestmouse · December 2004

Vibration can be caused by many things, I would have it checked by your mechanic. The only thing I can think of is warped rotors or irregular break wear. I find it hard to believe anything could've happend during the oil change. Are you using a Toyota mechanic?

Though the lowe miliage makes the warped rotor thing suspicious, as its pretty low mileage for breaks to be wearing out. I"m not a mechanic so this is just my 2cents.

MM

let us know what you find out

silverleopard · December 2004

I was considering a 99 or 00Corolla, but Edmunds listed the ground clearance as 4.7", same as they list for your '01. I was about to eliminate the Corolla for that reason, but TercelTom says the lowest thing on the car is actually 6.5" from the ground.
Anyone, please tell me any more info you have on the clearance.
thanks.

behhpp · December 2004

I also would like to say thank you very much. I saw the notification just today. Went to my dealer today, and they told me Toyota had NOT issued a TSB, and that if they did they would notify all owners when it was issued. I have came home and printed this bulletin, and will present the bulletin to my dealer. Can't wait to see his reaction. Does the dealer possibly not know about this bulletin? Thanks very much.

michelley · December 2004

Thanks for the advice, modestmouse! I have checked around here with some of the local Corolla owners and they all say it's odd but doesn't sound/feel serious at all so I should just wait for my next recommended full maintenance check at 20,000 miles. Which in my case, is just 3 months.

My mechanic is actually quite good, my family has been going to him for the past 10 years if we don't go to one of the two local Toyota dealerships. He has never ripped us off, and always uses genuine parts and even shows us how he works on our cars throughout the whole process. The dealership closest to my home - the repair guys crashed my dad's Avalon in their parking lot and wouldn't fess up. My dad dared them to show him the security video in the lot to prove they hadn't done it. Let's just say they fixed his original problem and the dent for free. The second dealership is where I bought my Corolla, and went in there a month after I bought it to try and fix the "rattle in the dashboard near the CD player." Not only did they NOT fix it, there are toolmarks in my dash where they ripped it out and the rattle returned 3 days later. They did say if the foam padding they added didn't work, that there wasn't much else they could do. After that, I did an internet search and found these excellent forums

Um, so that's why I'm a bit reluctant to go to the dealership.

By the way, for the folks with the gas mileage question above, I average 28mpg in most horrible, stop-and-go freeway traffic. I think one thing that might give me more mpg is the fact that I don't have anything in my trunk, and rarely carry passengers. Perhaps that lack of extra weight helps? One week for some unknown reason, I dropped down to 20mpg and ran out of gas because I didn't believe the gauge would be on empty that early. I never did figure out why...maybe the switch to summer gasoline?

mcase2 · December 2004

Whoever you talked to was confused between a service campaign and a service bulletin. I ran into the same thing and had the girl who answers the phone at service tell me she checked the VIN and there was no "campaign". It took patient and laborious explanation to teach her the difference. I was turned over to a more with-it rep who ran my VIN and confirmed my car was eligble for service under the TSB. At Watertown Toyota, Watertown MA where I bought the car (actually two cars 04 Sienna and 04 corrola) I was unable to get the low grade morons to get the point at all. So I went to a third dealership where it took only minor explanation (Wellesley Toyota). I just had the catylyst replaced and they Flashed the ECU - I was getting really bad city miles before. Though it is too early to tell if my mileage will improve, I can tell you the tach is now setting down to 500 rpm as opposed to the 1100 it used to idle at.

carlosr · December 2004

I have a Corolla which I bought new in 1997. Since then I've had to replace the windshield three times, which to me seems a bit much. I seem to recall signing some piece of paper when I bought the car having to do with the windshield, but I don't think I ever got or kept that paper, so I can't recall what exactly the document was for. Has anyone noticed or heard of defective windshields with Corollas, from '97 or any other year? Does anyone know what that windshield document could have been? Thanks

mkng · December 2004

Hi,
I just bought a 95 corolla wagon with 5spd transmission.
When speedo shows 70mph, tach is on 3000rpm.
I think this rpm is too high for that speed. Can anyone tell me what kind of rpm/speed values they are getting with their similar corollas?
Thank you.

sde · December 2004

My brand-new '05 Corolla seems to have a (relatively) minor issue already. I believe that I'm supposed to be able to disable the trunk release lever by turning the master key in the trunk lock counter-clockwise (the point being that I would then leave the valet key with a garage attendant, who wouldn't be able to get into the trunk).

Anyway, I did turn the key counter-clockwise, but the trunk release lever continues to open the trunk. I'm curious to know if anyone else has experienced this problem. Thanks.

SDE

behhpp · December 2004

I think I got my dealer to see the light today. The first man I spoke with today again said he had not heard of a TSB for the Corolla odor.

When I showed him the TSB I had printed out, he said "hmm, this must be new." I didn't point out the May 2004 date. His manager then pulled it up on his computer screen.

Then he said the VIN number on the TSB was not the VIN on my car. I pointed out that the notice said all cars made before the VIN on the TSB are eligible for the fix.

He then asked if my 2 year old car had less than 80,000 miles, a warranty requirement. I told him it had 21,000 miles.

Then he said that he would plug my car up to evaluate my engine. I told him there wasn't much to evaluate...my car stinks and it needs the PCM flashed or replaced, and a new converter as the TSB directs.

I finally ended up with them ordering a new converter that is due in Wednesday and the work will hopefully be done at that time.

It was like pulling teeth, but if I didn't have the TSB printed out I don't think I would have ever gotten to this point at this dealer.

mopar67 · December 2004

Bravo!

mcase2 · December 2004

Well all right! Boy it sounded like pulling teeth. I hate when they pull "the hook it up to the computer" crap. Its just a way passing the buck to a supposedly infallible machine. But, the part about it not being the identical vin, wow thats over the top. What were they suggesting, that there was a TSB for ONE specific individual car with a certain vin? Glad you won out.

goooopy · December 2004

Just found that my new corolla LE05 rattles a little while I brake for the lights. I went to the dealer that sold me the car, and they said this should disappear after 500 miles break-in period, as the engine is learning to adjust to my driving habits. Well, it now already has 200 miles on it. This is my first new car. Does anybody have similar experience? Any comments? Thanks.

carglow · December 2004

My 05 LE doesn't have any rattles, but then again it's a "J" vin ... ha!

carglow · December 2004

The Mazda salesman told me that the 3's tranny "learn" your driving style and develops shift patterns.

goooopy · December 2004

Now there are 500 miles on the car, and the rattle is still there. Will talk to the dealer about that. I will keep you guys posted. I didn't see mopar67's message. Was it deleted?

behhpp · December 2004

The catalytic converter was a hard to find part, but it came in this week. They said this part is in high demand.

It is installed, and they reflashed my PCM. My car no longer has the smell anymore. I recommend this fix to any other Corolla owner who has been smelling sulfur.

greasemonkey · December 2004

Can anyone give me details about this model, as to how to go about checking it for preparation due it has been standing for the past 4 years. The engine hasn't been cranked during this time, the battery has since died, and needs to be replaced..

It belongs to a friend whom once had a second hand car sales lot, and this vehicle was a re-possession. Therefore no keys are available, I don't want to go out and replace all the locks as that would be very costly.

Due to this vehicle standing for such a long time, does it mean that I'll have to remove the head an all ? The engine has 112000k on it, and I'm not sure what size the engine is, all I know is it's a straight inline 4 cylinder, front wheel drive.

Any help would be appreciated.

Karen_S · December 2004

Hmmm...you might want to post this in the "Quick Technical Question" topic in Maintenance & Repair. A lot of the resident gear guys hang out there.

ericcsu · December 2004

I have a 95 sedan manual and I get anywhere from 3000 to 3200 driving on the interstate from 75 to 85. I have to get up to 95 to hit 4000 though. It's been that way since I bought it in 95.

Eric

rao · December 2004

In which place you installed this alarm. Is ther any website for this Checkmate' ?

box75 · December 2004

Did you figure out how to turn the light off? I was looking all through the manual and did not see it.

fgf001 · December 2004

Even though the fan says off it is still pushing air through the cabin. The purpose is to constantly exchange the cabin air.

2005ce · January 2005

The corolla engine is not known to sludge. What oil do you use? How many miles are on the engine? Do you make a lot of short trips?

You could try Auto RX http://www.auto-rx.com/

People have had success with this product. It works gently over time.

fgf001 · January 2005

Upon close delivery inspection of our 03 Corolla LE I noticed a greasy fingerprint beneath the clearcoat on the hood. The dealer, which has its own body shop, made an appointment to repaint the entire hood. The warranty is the same as the original paint and you cannot tell ANY difference, the match is perfect.

My point is there are good and bad dealers. If the one you purchased from doesn't satisfy you try another. Glob on a dot of paint indeed, good grief.

It's amazing what they will try and get away with!

michaelact · January 2005

Am I going crazy, or is there really no way to pause a CD on the OEM stereo in the 2002 Corolla model?

dave594 · January 2005

You can pause it by hitting the AM/FM button and putting the radio back on. Hitting the CD button again will let you continue where you left off. I think if you turn the power off you can also resume where you left off. Why don't you try it out?

goldeneye · January 2005

I have the same problem on my LE05. It happens when I press the brake pedal half-way and I'm driving slowly. My car has 700 miles. I'm waiting for it to reach a 1000 miles before I take it to the dealer. Is your car made in Canada? Maybe a certain lot from a certain plant has this problem.

goldeneye · January 2005

Same problem with my LE05. A slight cranking sound emanates from the dashboard when you depress the brake pedal slightly. I will take it to the dealer at 1000 miles. Let me know if your dealer is able to fix the problem. Thanks!

michaelact · January 2005

Good points. I am learning Spanish on my commutes, and I need to repeat phrases or test my knowledge before I hear an answer. It would be nice to have silence when I am thinking, so I will test out the power button on my way home tonight to see how long the delay to turn back on is. Thanks for the ideas.

corollagirl05 · January 2005

Ok, I bought at new 03 Corolla CE (back when it was new, of course, making it two years old) and I've only had one minor incident in which a truck "nudged" me on the right side. But that's all been fixed and my right side is fine. The problem is with the driver's door window. It rattles like it's loose, especially so when it is all the way up. What is the deal??

2004xle · January 2005

Just for your information, the Corolla's built in Canada are rated better than Corolla's made in Japan (for the North American market of course). Having said that, you still got a well built car as there is minimal difference between the two.

2004xle · January 2005

Does the rattle stop if you press your hand on the window?

goldeneye · January 2005

Hi, I'm just wondering what your source of information is for stating that Canadian built models are rated better than Japanese ones. This type of info is usually not made public, so how can you make this statement with such conviction? Also, can you give an example of one difference between a Canadian built Corolla and one built in Japan?

john500 · January 2005

Hi,

I just bought a 95 corolla wagon with 5spd transmission.

When speedo shows 70mph, tach is on 3000rpm.

I think this rpm is too high for that speed. Can anyone tell me what kind of rpm/speed values they are getting with their similar corollas?

Thank you.

As a point of reference, in the highest gear a 2003 Honda Civic SI tachs at 3600 rpm when traveling at 70 mph and 4200 at 80 mph. The explanation you would likely receive from a car maker is that a higher rpm allows for better highway passing acceleration. Unfortunately, it does come at the expense of some fuel economy.

dave594 · January 2005

Why do you think that's too high? I have a 2002 with 5 speed and 70 mph @ 3000 rpm sounds about right with my car. Manufacturers gear their cars for all kinds of factors and it's usually a compromise between performance and economy. The corolla probably needs a little higher rpm perhaps due to the lower torque output at lower rpms. An engine with higher low end torque could used a lower rpm for cruising without putting a strain on the engine. And if there's little torque at the low end then trying to accelerate at the low rpms would be very difficult and you'd be forced to downshift. Right now it's a happy balance and I just push the accelerator down to pass without having to downshift. That's just my guess.

mcdawgg · January 2005

Yes, 70mph = 3,000 rpm in that generation Corolla manual tranny. I do not think that is too high, when you look at Honda, Nissan, etc. and their similar cars have well over 3,000 rpm at 70mph. Toyota gears for efficiency and quietness, so it is generally lower compared to other manufacturers.

planter · January 2005

I purchased a corrolla basic model in June of last year and recently got a flat tire due to uneven wear on the driver front tire. I also noticed same wear pattern on passenger side. No unusual collisions or pothole incidences. I would expect more out of the car after 6 to 7 months. Anybody like to comment?

john500 · January 2005

Tough situation. You are correct in expecting more out of the tires (assuming your mileage is reasonable). How did it work out?

I can just see the dealer attempting to avoid responsibility claiming that the tire is covered under a different warranty and (most likely erroneously) blaming your driving habits for causing the alignment problem. Conversely, the tire outlet will probably try to avoid responsibility or pay a graduated amount towards replacement tires. If your mileage is low enough (say under 10,000 miles), I would try to lean on the dealer to fix the alignment problem under warranty stating that it was likely an existing condition and not caused by you.

Toyota Corolla Maintenance and Repair

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