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Toyota Corolla Maintenance and Repair

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Comments

  • user777user777 Member Posts: 3,341
    i don't think it would. however, a bad ignition switch? hmmm.
  • petlpetl Member Posts: 610
    Starter wouldn't cause that problem. However, a dead battery or defective alternator would (both may be finished). If not you may be looking at a severe electrical problem. Good luck.
  • jeff43jeff43 Member Posts: 14
    Hey,
    my grandmother has a 2003 Toyota Corolla LE, and I have pretty much set everything up for her on that car. The lights turning on 5-10 seconds later is normal on her car, and she has had absolutely no problems, so don't worry about it!
  • jeff43jeff43 Member Posts: 14
    Hey,
    Maybe the overdrive button on the side of the shifter(if you have automatic transmisson), is pressed.
  • cmatt2cmatt2 Member Posts: 17
    Thanks very much for responding to my problem.I've not had a chance to mess with it further-but here is what i'm thinking.
    Since, when i turn the key on I get no power anywhere(and i know there is power in the battery and the battery post connections are good)it must be the ignition switch or a fuse somewhere.BUT- even with the switch off the lights should come on -right?i don't know.I looked for a fuse or fusible link coming from the positive side of the battery,but could not see any due to cables location.
    I hate to just take it into a shop not having a clue.The other possibility that comes to mind is a defective engine computer -could that cause the wholev electrical system to shut down?Any help is really appreciated.
  • mcdawggmcdawgg Member Posts: 1,722
    Your car is fine - operating as designed. Most new cars do this.
  • rollaboyrollaboy Member Posts: 11
    From what I heard, the catalytic converter needs to warm up quickly for it to function optimally. So the ECU keeps the engine revving high for a few minutes to get more exhaust gases through to heat it up. Dunno how accurate this is.
  • mcdawggmcdawgg Member Posts: 1,722
    This is correct, and it is an environmental issue. The quicker the catalytic converter gets up to temperature, the less the car pollutes.
  • pondladypondlady Member Posts: 1
    I've just purchased a 2006 Toyota Corolla CE and am having terrible reflections at night on the windshield. It is impossible on the freeways. When it is raining the windshield shows a cloudiness in patches all over the windshield. It is not from the wax of a car wash for it was there when I first got the car. I get red taillights that make long red lines of light and oncoming headlights make long slanting lines and the throughway overhead lights have long slanted lights and all are reflecting at once through the windshield. Is it just defective glass?
  • rollaboyrollaboy Member Posts: 11
    I'm posting this again, hopefully someone will offer help! :)
    Sometimes when I start the engine up and shift to reverse (5spd), the tranny growls (not a good sound).. also, when the car is rolling backwards down a driveway for instance, I don't dare shift to reverse cus the tranny doesn't like that AT ALL!
    Does this happen to anyone else? Is this standard for a manual transmission? I need to know if I should get it checked out at the dealership.. Thanks!
  • leenaleena Member Posts: 1
    Hi, there .. I have exactly the same problem with my car. Corolla with odometer read over 136,000 and manual transmission. I noticed the noise just about 2 weeks ago. Took it to the dealer and they fixed the fuel system but the noise is still there. Brought it back to the dealer and they told me it was the transmission. I am just trying to find out did you get your car problem fixed? If you could advise me on how to go about solving this problem? Thanks a bunch.
  • elegant55elegant55 Member Posts: 2
    I have the audio system configuration with the CD auto changer in my 99' corolla. There's a cassete player but I have seen nowhere a CD can be inserted. There are buttons like "Tape" & "CD" on the panel. So can anyone explain to me how does it work?

    thanks to any response.
  • dave594dave594 Member Posts: 218
    Is that a grunt or a sound more like gears crunching together? I notice that if I try to go directly into reverse I sometime get the gear crunching sound. To avoid that, I slip the gear into first (the whole time the clutch is depressed) and then go into reverse. Never a crunching sound that way. Also, I don't think it's a good idea to put it into reverse while the vehicle is moving. I think it may have to do with synchros (or lack of them for the reverse gear)? Just put it into reverse before moving the car and let the clutch determine when to put power to the engine.
  • mcdawggmcdawgg Member Posts: 1,722
    1. Only engage reverse when completely stopped.
    2. If in neutral, with clutch released, put in clutch, go to first or fourth, then put into reverse.

    You might want to check out some websites on standard transmission operation to make sure you are not doing anything else wrong.
  • rollaboyrollaboy Member Posts: 11
    hey mcdawgg,
    funny you mention it, that is exactly what i do, take it up fifth and bring it down to reverse (that seems to work for some odd reason!!) :confuse: thanks though! any clues about my posting on Accessories & Modifications?
    rollaboy, "Toyota Corolla Owners: Accessories & Modifications" #236, 23 Jan 2006 12:35 pm
  • edwin_redwin_r Member Posts: 4
    Where does one find the fuse box inside the car? And how can it be accessed?
  • mcdawggmcdawgg Member Posts: 1,722
    Most of the fuses are on the driver's side, next to the clutch pedal (or next to where the clutch would be if you have an automatic.) There is a plastic nut that you unscrew then pull the cover off. It also tells you in your owner's manual.
  • tobias31tobias31 Member Posts: 1
    This same problem happened this morning to my corolla.
    I have not yet had a chance to visit the problem in the daylight.
  • brb972brb972 Member Posts: 7
    When you drive does the seatbelt alert keep beeping until you put your seatbelt on or does it stop after a minute?
  • edwin_redwin_r Member Posts: 4
    My 2006 Corolla beeps 8 times slowly and then 50 times quickly before it shuts off. There is a light on the dash that keeps flashing though until you put your seatbelt on.
  • patmceachinpatmceachin Member Posts: 3
    I bought a 05 corolla automatic new and have had nothing but problems. Sometime when I try and start it it just turns over but doesn't crank the engine. Done this since it was new. Plus, when I put it in gear and start to go it make a loud popping noise. Last week I wanted to set the car on fire. Has anyone else had issues like this with their 05 Corolla? :lemon:
  • roebuckroebuck Member Posts: 1
    Hi all last year head gasket went. This year timing belt chain seal started leaking. Anyone else get the feeling that Toyota has under engineered all cars from 2003 and on so they can compete with cheaper built new cars? Any one else had problems? I'm really unimpressed as the warranty has just expired and I'm hoping nothing else goes wrong. Should I sell it? Lemon?
  • danielj6danielj6 Member Posts: 285
    Over the weekend the "check engine"light appeared on my '04 Corolla's instrument panel. I brought the car in this morning to a dealer. They hooked it to a computer and
    they called me to tell me that the charcoal canister with the VSV part had to be replaced. The cost is $900 but since the car is under warrantee, they'll charge only for the diagnosis $85 and to clean fuel lines, injector and tank at a cost of $295. Also, they recommended service
    "C" as they did not know whether or not I ever had the car serviced. I replied: "Are you kidding me? do you really think that I would drive 15000 miles without at least changing the oil?

    I called my mechanic who has serviced and fixed my cars since 1992. He told me to "get the car out of there" after the do the work under warrantee. I called the service adviser and authorized him to do the required replacement of parts mentioned above and nothing else. I mentioned to him that at the moment I am short of cash but that I intent to bring the car back in a month and let them do the recommended work. The guy said that cleaning fuel lines, injector and tank is essential or otherwise I have 50-50 chances of having parts fail again which will not be covered under warrantee next time. I insisted that they change the faulty parts only, and to not charge me for diagnosis as the light on the panel is continuous and not intermittent.

    I picked it the car late in the afternoon, drove to the private shop and left it.

    Back at home I spent time researching my car's problem mainly through Goggle and found that I am not the first Corolla owner experiencing canister and VSV failure.
    These components regulate the fuel intake. The issue is that other owners went through premature failure of these parts which are costly to replace if the car is not under the 36000 mile warrantee. It does not really cost $900 for the parts and labor. I believe that this dealer (located in Brooklyn, NY) wanted to scare me and in doing so, double dip. Had I not kept my wits about me, I would have driven out with a $600 bill today.

    I would never let the dealer do scheduled maintenance on my car. By the point is that according to information I glanced from the internet, Toyota knew for sometime this problem but did little or nothing to correct it. It leads me to believe that Toyota bullet proof quality is a thing of the past, it has grown to be a giant, about to become the number one car manufacturer in the world and it lost touch with the consumer. Some of its dealers (perhaps not all) continue to gouch customers and make tremendous amounts of money from poor slobs like me that believe in the urban legend of "Toyota reliability".
  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    What you have there is a classic case of off-gassing. The plastics in all new cars do this. You can clean off the inside of the windshield with a regular glass cleaner. I have heard that ones withOUT ammonia work better, don't know how true that is.

    In the first year of ownership, you may have to do this a few times.

    2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)

  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    The CD changer is a separate unit that is usually under a seat or in the trunk. You load it up and then control it from the head unit - that is what the 'CD' button is for. You can switch among sources at that point, using the AM/FM button and the Tape button.

    2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)

  • nightattacknightattack Member Posts: 16
    I had the same problem, but I got it fixed. Take it to the dealer and tell them to fix this problem under these 2 TSB numbers: 02705 - 1ZZ-FE ENGINE NO START CONDITION (NHTSA Item Number: 10016121) & TSB# 04205 - 1ZZ-FE ENGINE EXTENDED CRANK CONDITION (NHTSA Item Number: 10017318)
  • danielj6danielj6 Member Posts: 285
    Today I picked up my car from the shop. Fuel injectors, fuel line and gas tank were cleaned. Fuel filler was checked. Fuel pressure was found to be quite low. Idle speed was reset. All for $135 as supposed to $295 that the dealer wanted to charge me.

    For those unsuspecting Corolla owners, I repeat that the charcoal canister and VDV(Vacuum Switch Valve)failure happens to these cars, and often after the basic warrantee expired. I'd suggest to have this checked even though no check engine light has appeared on the dash. Also, to write to Toyota to cover yourselves in the case that this problem does occur. I thought about NHTSA, but they deal only with automobile safety issues. Perhaps the Dept. of Consumer Affairs.

    My only nagging doubt is that if the above mentioned components did not in some way prevent carbon build up in
    fuel line,injectors, etc.,why am I being charged for a service that should be done as result of parts failure and not customer neglect?

    When I get the questioner from Toyota I will explain methodically what the dealer did and did not do. I will attach a letter to the questioner. Not that Toyota will give a hoot. But I will be one more Corolla owner complaining. In any case, I don't expect to buy anymore Toyotas.
  • patmceachinpatmceachin Member Posts: 3
    Thanks for the good information. I will take the dealer the codes you provided. What did the specifically did the dealer fix on the car?
  • nightattacknightattack Member Posts: 16
    I don't know the specifics, but they will reprogram the computer. The first time I took the car in, of course they couldn't find the problem. I researched and found some TSBs' on this condition. When I gave the TSB #s to the dealer, they gave me no lip and took the car right away. If your car has other problems, you can find the TSBs on this site; here's the link: odi.nhtsa.dot
    ***just put in the info (year, make, model) required****

    good luck
  • run347run347 Member Posts: 2
    I am looking at buying a used 2000 Corolla from a private party. It has 130k miles on it. The owners are selling it for $2500 because for the last 10,000 miles they have been putting in a ton of oil all the time. They also think that the engine will need to be replaced fairly soon. Are they crazy? Or is this just a simple oil leak that can be fixed easily? How much would it cost? Also how many more miles can I expect to get from this Corolla?
  • jako1jako1 Member Posts: 23
    I have a 98 Corolla. When I drive up a hill, the car makes a sound as if I have a bad muffler. Other times it drives fine. When I am driving on freeway, there is no such sound, but when I try to accelerate, it will give me same (bad muffled) sound. Idle is fine as it was when new, gas mileage is a little lower (about 28 mpg on freeway), I changed the spark plugs and the air filter only. I also filled up the gas tank with one of those fuel injection cleaner solutions - but the problem didn't go away.

    Need some help as to what to do or what to look and clean or change. Thanks in advance.
  • genifragenifra Member Posts: 1
    Hi all,
    The maintenance guide for my Toyota Corolla says I should flush the transmission fluid at 45K miles, yet today I went in for an oil change and they said the trans. fluid was black -- bad shape. I'm barely at 37K miles. Is this a bad sign? Should I worry? FYI, I do *some* off road driving; I live in Colorado and sometimes have to drive around steep rural unpaved roads.

    Any advice would be great. Thanks!
  • kish1kish1 Member Posts: 2
    I just bought a used '03 Corolla, and a few hours later after the purchase engine light came on :(.

    I went to a mechanic and he charged me $40 to use his digital sensor which indicated to replace catalytic convertor and (maybe)O2 sensors. He told me he would reset (so engine alert would go away for now). He told me to wait for couple more months instead of spending $$ (~1000 total) now. Maybe I can go back and find out exact error message. Nice mechanic did not try to push :).

    I guess I have no recourse with the seller right? I mean this happened 2 hours after purchase. I had paid $65 for inspection earlier- what a waste.

    Car runs fine but is this (purchase)something I can postpone?

    Thanks guys wonderful forum here!

    Kish
  • mcdawggmcdawgg Member Posts: 1,722
    If it is the Cat. converter, it is covered under warranty for I think 8 years, 80,000 miles, so your cost is 0. Of course, I would think twice about the mechanic you took it to, because I think he should know this - all cars are required to have long warranties on pollution control equipment. If you go to Toyota dealer, the whole thing should be free if the code truly did say cat converter error. This is very unusual, but it is a used car.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    You'd have to have a cylinder leakdown test performed to know what's up with the engine. Why do you want a car like this anyway with all that oil consumption? Anyway, spend $100, save a bundle later on perhaps. That's certainly enough miles for a neglected engine to be good and dead.
  • kish1kish1 Member Posts: 2
    Sorry I did not mention earlier that it has 92K miles on it...and thus there is no warranty on the car.

    The car passed smog test over 1 month ago- maybe that is why local mechanic told me to wait?? He told there there would be no problems wrt mileage or driving..

    I guess I will have to take it to a dealer someday..probably when oil change is due next month. For now there is no engine fault indication.

    Cheers,
    Kish
  • mtglennmtglenn Member Posts: 3
    I have a 1999 and am experiencing the same problem. The exhaust on the back of the car is darkening the car. Tell me what you found out.
  • coconutskincoconutskin Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2002 corolla LE and I have the same problem you had. Did you figure out the solution yet? If so, can you post your solution here? Thanks.
  • poliva2poliva2 Member Posts: 25
    I must say this is a Beautiful looking car. Its a pleasure to look at. As far as the ride goes, Its not bad considering Im still breaking it in. I try not to go above 55 MPH. After 1000 Miles I will try 70. From what i read, this car will last a long time. I owned a 1999 Corolla before this and i loved it. Its not a Lexus, But if i had a choice between Luxury or reliability, I would choose reliability. One question.. How would i go about installing a Rear Spoiler?? :)
  • charleytampacharleytampa Member Posts: 43
    Hi all...

    I've posted once, long ago...more of a lurker than a poster. Really love these forums.

    At any rate, I bought a 2006 Corolla S manual in early January of 06. Loved the car at first. The more I drove, however, the less I like it.

    First off, the driver's seat is too dang uncomfortable. Can't find a great spot, and the keys always hit my knee.

    Anyway, on to more serious stuff. Within the last week, I've noticed my car is much noiser than previously. Additionally, it doesn't accelerate like it should. It feels almost as if the emergency brake is halfway on, but it isn't, as I rolled it across teh parking lot. Any thoughts? I am going to check the tire pressure tomorrow, but that wouldn't account for the extra engine noise.

    Anyone put synthetic in at the 5k oil change? Any difference? thanks.
  • tyreltyrel Member Posts: 1
    My girlfriend has a 90 corolla, and lately it has been making a very loud, high-pitched squeel while stopped in gear (at a traffic light for example) the noise appears to be coming from the passengers side of the engine bay. Near the area the sound is coming from are a vaccum (control?) unit and a speed actuator (im guessing for cruise control) I looked to see if a vaccum hose was lose, but couldnt find any, and I've never heard a vaccum leak that loud. I was hoping perhaps someone here has had a similar experience and might be able to point me in the right direction to fix it. It only happens in gear, while the car is stopped for a peroid of time. It does not make noise while slowing down, however, once the brake is released, the noise stops.

    Thanks to anyone with input!!

    Tyrel
  • wydrivewydrive Member Posts: 8
    My 05' Corolla LE has been having a very similar problem like yours, Kavikas. I brought in for service at the dealer last October. They recalibrated the ECM engine per TSB. My car seemed to have less starting issues. However, since I live in the midwest. My car starts better during the winter. I know it sounds strange. Now the cold is over, so I am expecting to experience more of that starting problem again in the near future. Please advise if anyone has this starting issues. Greatly appreciated. Please also visit message# 2210.
  • tandy_13tandy_13 Member Posts: 43
    Hi all.
    I have a question about my 99 Corolla CE. Its been running fine till now, all scheduled maintenance and regular oil changes. Nary a problem.
    Has 48000 miles on it.
    Yesterday the check engine light came on, the one about engine transmission and electrical system. Everything seemed to be fine, all the lights were one and the car was running fine.
    I checked the manual and checked the gas cap, and lo and behold the rubber was out of alignment. I fixed it but the light stayed on. I took it to the local mechanic and he actually fixed the gas cap. However he said the light stays on and has be reset.
    For that the OBD has be run and I got a couple of quotes (from the dealer, autozone, strauss auto) and they all quoted around $85.
    Would I really have to shell out that much for a gas cap?
    Any remarks,
    PT.
  • mcdawggmcdawgg Member Posts: 1,722
    If it is the gas cap triggering the check engine light, it will eventually reset itself if the gas cap is okay now. I think I have read that it takes something like 20 on/offs.

    You can also disconnect the battery for a while and this will reset it.

    Autozone or one of these type of places can pull the error codes (reasons) for check engine lights for free.

    A new gas cap will be way under $85. Check your dealer parts dept. or an online Toyota parts place.
  • jako1jako1 Member Posts: 23
    Whats is the best Engine oil and Transmission oils to use in a 98 Corolla with 100K mileage?
  • mtglennmtglenn Member Posts: 3
    I sent this out once before looking for help. I have a 1999 Corolla, which is burning a lot of oil lately. Is anyone else having this problem, and if so, what did you do to correct the problem?
  • murowamurowa Member Posts: 2
    I have the same problem with my 05 Corolla LE.
    I do not know what to do with this.
  • carrilmocarrilmo Member Posts: 1
    I have had this problem for months. They tried the recalibration thing, then they replaced the fuel pump saying that it was a "no start condition" on certain Corolla and Matrix vehicles. Well, it's been a week since they replaced the fuel pump assembly and it's still giving me the no start problem. I have to take it in again.
  • mcdawggmcdawgg Member Posts: 1,722
    How many miles? I have read that some '98, '99, '00's have oil consumption issues, but you never know what the whole story behind them is, so that it for what it's worth.

    I would just keep adding oil as long as possible, because to open up the engine, you are talking major $$.

    My '99 has 82,000 miles, does not burn any oil.
  • carfriendlymancarfriendlyman Member Posts: 2
    the best oil to use for you 98 corolla is 5w 30 quaker state. but if you have been using a different oil try to stick with the same oil you have been using. as long as it is 5w 30. this is fine all ear around. As far as your transmission fluid you want to use type 3 trans fluid. recomend buying straight from toyota dealer. it is a little more expensive but worth it. make sure you flush your trans fluid every 30,000 miles. very important. hope i was of help
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