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When I took it to the dealer all they said was they "made some adjustments" . That was about 2 months ago and it has not done it since then, although sometimes the rpm's seem to drop maybe 100-200 at idle but nothing like before.
I did start using STP gas treatment once a month and put one bottle of Gumout Fuel System Cleaner thru it and have done several quick stops and the rpm's don't drop anymore and I feel the problem is now gone.
I hope you can get the dealer to correct yours.
On a side note if I was buying a new car now instead of last Jun. surprisingly I would not buy the Corolla. Why you ask? Because of the incredible deals on other makes that are availble now. My first choice would be the 09 Hyundai Sonata GLS (auto) which for about $16,400 after rebates and dealer discounts is an incredible deal for a car that offers much more( cruise, stability, disc brakes front and rear, more room) than the Corolla for the same price. I drove this car and and liked it more than the Corolla but it lost the competition to my checkbook since it was about $3,500 more last year......now they're the same price.
Go drive one and you'll see what I'm talking about.
What I can say my 09 corolla does.....When downshifting from 2 to first (while stopping) it kinda of shimmies. And as I stop it shimmies again. You can really feel it. I have had it looked at twice. Nothing has been done. The hard part is the car does not do it all the time...so it makes it hard to pinpoint.
Nobody seems to be talking about this yet. Since it is still early for the 09 Corolla S, I am not surprised. I wanted to start a blog so if anyone else is having similar problems and searched the internet, they would find something. When I had this problem last August and searched the net, I found nothing. I recently met someone who is having similar problems with her 09 Corolla S. So we searched the net again and still found nothing. That was earlier today, April 28, 2009.
My story:
I bought my Corolla the first month they came out. That was back in February of 2008. Everything seemed fine until August when I started the engine one day and heard a knocking. I immediately turned off the engine, called Coos Bay Toyota, where I bought the car and they told me not to drive it. They called a tow truck to come get it and bring it to the service station.
By the end of the first day they told me that there was absolutely no oil in the engine. And they were trying to figure out where it went. There was no evidence of an oil leak. The car had only 4004 miles on it. I got a couple different stories about how this happened, so I don't know what to believe. They told me it was a manufacturing defect.
They had my car for over a week, and to replace the entire engine. Luckily it was under warranty!
Here's a list of all the parts they had to replace:
I put question marks by the stuff I'm unsure about.
SHORT BLOCK (CRANK SHAFT, PISTONS ETC...)
OIL PUMP WITH TENSIONER
VIBRATION DAMPER CHAIN
PLATE CHAIN TENSIONER
SLIPPER CHAIN TENSIONER
GASKET CHAIN TENSIONER
CAMSHAFT BEARINGS
CAMSHAFT GEAR ASSEMBLY
CAMSHAFT SUB ASSEMBLY
ENGINE GASKET KIT
THERMOSTAT
VALVE SUB-ASSEMBLY, V ?
SPARK PLUGS
SUPER LONG LIFE C ?
REPLACEMENT ELEMENT ?
OIL, MOTOR 5W30 QT
OIL PAN
WORLD STANDARD AU ?
I am sure your luck will improve now!
At first they told my husband that it was the computer telling the car to let oil out the exhaust. And it had to be reprogrammed. But when I got there he said nothing about the computer screw up, and the story changed. Supposedly, the piston rings were misaligned, and that caused the oil to get sucked out through the exhaust. There was absolutely no oil in it at all. What kind of manufacturing defect could cause this and wouldn't I have smelled oil burning or something?
This lady I met today has only 3800 on hers. We checked the oil and sure enough, it was really low. I'm worried that if she just tops it off, it will delay the inevitable, and/or maybe the same thing will happen after the warranty expires.
The lady you met - she should take the car in to have the ECM reprogrammed. There are early '09s that use oil due to a computer program that is not quite right. A simple connection to the shop's computer to download the revised software will correct the problem. I doubt it is the same issue as yours, because we'd be
hearing about a lot more engine problems than just yours. That's why your dealer's "story changed." They were assuming that it needed the computer reprogramming, because an issue like yours is very rare.
The warranty for this kind of thing is 5 years, 60k miles, so that allows enough time to find these kinds of problems.
I'm certain that you will have better luck with your car in the future.
Anyway, what struck me as interesting is that the engine made it 4,000 mi. with a severe defect.
Also what 2 people said the computer can tell all the oil to leave thru the exhaust....say what?.....boy, the computer is the boss of this car, forget the driver. I might be over the hill (pushing 60) but in the good old days when oil left it was
1. external leaks
2. worn rings/cracked piston/cracked/worn cyl.
3. valve seals
That's why today's are cars are all about electronics and a much smaller mechanical aspect.
The last time I did an engine overhaul was about 1975 and I don't think I would even attempt it today....I stick to oil changes/wheel/tire/brakes work on my 09 Corolla and don't go near anything controlled by the computer....well, I did install aftermarket wheels and decided to not reinstall the tire pressure sensors (yep, my light stays on.....they'll go back at the first tire replacement). A friend told me to put them in a container pressurized to 30# and put it in the trunk. ...I didn't like that idea. These things are about $94 each(somebody is making big bucks).
I hope we have a couple of Toyota techs. reading our posts since they have the knowledge and skills needed to bring clarity to our discussions....if so thanks.
I'm sure you will find that every car maker will have a rare problem like this. As long as people make mistakes, there will be a few problems like this. As I said, having been in manufacturing (not auto) for a long time, things happen, even to the best car makers. It is amazing that we don't have more problems, considering the complexity of automobiles.
The good news is the defect was identified and corrected, so everything should be fine now.
Since this looks like a long term problem be sure to document everything that is done: time, dates, repairs, names, the whole thing. Your documentation paper trail will go a long way in supporting your case.
I know many will roll their eyes when I say talk to a Lemon-law attorney. Each state has their own guidelines as to how many times you have to have tried to repair it for the same problem or loss of use.
I have a friend that used one for a new car that was unsuccessfully repaired for the same problem many times . He ended up with a new car.
Good luck.
last Jun and no matter how many times I reset the system or drive I continue to avg. about 42 MPG.
I think the Toyota engineers majored in "fuzzy math" in college.
I had an issue with a '99 Saturn SC2 in regard to vibration. Saturn was not able to locate the source and I actually gave the car back to them just under the 1500 mile/30 day program that was offered at the time. This was replaced by a '00 model.
I noticed the car stayed on their lot for nearly another 60 days before being sold, and later discovered the vibration turned out to be a tire issue of all things. Once they took the factory tires off and replaced them with Michelins, end of story.
Your issue sounds to be more serious though, yet I would still look into the tires.
However, you stated you feel vibration while idling (stopped). Does it feel the same or different from the vibration you feel while moving? Four-cylinder engines typically do have some vibration, noticable especially when idling, but in my experience the Corolla's engine is one of the smoother I4s. One thing you could do is ask your dealer to drive another 2009 Corolla in the same trim, wheels, transmission etc. as yours and compare the feel with yours.
to run without problems and mileage stays around 41 mpg avg.
No sign of the previous idle stutter that ocurred a few months ago. I ran one bottle of
Gumout Regane Fuel Sys. Cleaner through it and that seemed to make a difference, although the Toyota dealer said their "adjustments" did the trick.
NAPA has their full synthetic oil on sale till 5-31 for $2.99 so I'll
be adding that at my next change. NAPA says it's made by Valvoline
and that's good enough for me.
Thanks,
Mike
I ended up taking the car back to the dealer and explained the issue. Because the car is still under full warranty they replaced the CD player at no charge. That was about 6 months ago and I have not yet had a problem with the new player, even though it's the exact same model. I hope that can solve your issue?
Corolla rebate to $1,700 till 6-30.
When I bought mine last Jun. they had to bring the car from
another dealer since I wanted the Barcelona red....now that
dealer has 5.
I went to my dealer about 2 wks. ago and the showroom
was still a ghost town.
to find in any car. Have a front passenger search while your driving.
I'm surprised about the number of problems with the 09 Corolla
people talk about here.....maybe it's because it's a completely
new design.
I looked at the forum page for the 08-09 Kia Spectra 4-door and found
few if any complaints......and this car can be bought for about $5,000 less
than the lower equipped Corolla. The Spectra has these standard that
the Corolla LE standard doesn't: 4 wheel disc brakes, keyless entry, stability control,
and cruise......... That's a pretty hefty list.
Now, don't get me wrong.....I still like my Corolla......but it's something
to think about.
The biggest drawback on the Spectra that I know about is it's
terrible resale value after 5 yrs.
- I still feel the idle vibration, which I have been told again that it is within spec, but evidently it must be at the high end of the range. The guy was even standing there while I had the car idling when all of a sudden he said he could feel the vibration while leaning on my open door. I guess I will have to live with that for now. Over and out.
And the Spectra is a lame duck--to be replaced by the Forte in a couple of months.
that as an excuse. Next they'll tell you that if you'll hang a blank CD from
your rearview interior mirror, that police radar won't be able to clock you
plus you'll also get an extra 12-15 miles per gallon driving in town than without
the CD hanging on the mirror.
find 09 corolla discussion and you will see several owners report about the engines oil consumption, mostly 2008 manufactured (post Sept) Check your engine oil level.
I had experienced in my Matrix 1.8L about a quart or half a liter lost of engine oil in just 4000km. It requires an ECM re-flash, something to do with exhaust valve timing and lift, maybe too soon opening of a exhaust valve. The 2010 model should be okay and it is already comes with programmed and revised ECM.
made in 4-08 and was built in Japan as many Corollas are now. I would
expect this re-flash is part of a service bulletin that the dealers know about and it may become a recall if serious enough. Several years ago I had a 96 Nissan pickup
that was recalled for modifications to the gas tank that required dropping the
tank and about 4 hrs. shop work.
Next time I go to my dealer I'm going to ask the service manager about
this issue anyhow. Usually the only reason I go to the dealer is to get
a new oil filter since none of the auto parts stores carry it yet. Does anyone
know if that has changed yet?
My engine oil level has never changed between oil changes so all appears
normal.
I'd be working very closely with the dealership, you're going to need their support in getting this resolved one way or the other.