Hello, Does anyone have an electrical manual handy for the 2000 GT-S? I'm upgrading the Toyota Stereo and could use some information from a wiring diagram...Does it show an external amplifier from the Toyota CD/Tape player? It sppears from the wiring that there is an external amplifier, but I can't locate it anywhere. The reason why I think there is an external amp is because the wires that I thought were speaker wires appear to be low-level outputs that are in a shielded wire...I've got the car torn apart right now, so any help you could provide would certainly be appreciated.....Thank you,
My friend and I share a 2000 Celica GT with automatic. I test drove a Cougar V6 with automatic. After driving both, the Celica DEFINITELY can outhandle the Cougar. It just feels too big for a sports car. Also, the power left something to be desired as well. For a V6, it is underpowered in my opinion. The Celica gives a wallop of passing power, better handling, lower fuel economy, and better looks than Cougar. Also the promise of Toyota reliability comes with it. Nearly 5000 miles here and still trouble-free.
After asking questions to folks on this board and spending some time this weekend on my install, here's some info (my way of 'giving back' to the group) on the subject of upgrading the stereo on the 2000 Celica GT-S.
Thanks to information posted by Lormax (http://server5.ezboard.com/b2000celicachat), TonysCelica, UFO and others, I was able to figure out enough to complete my installation. Here are the facts and I've also got some photos posted on AOL that you can look at as well....
* I chose the Double-Din Alpine MDA-W750 deck. It has a CD player, an MD player, and AM/FM. I have a large collection of MDs from several years worth of recording, so I wanted to be able to play those. And I thought the double-din size of the player would drop right in (wrong, read below)It cost $699 + $15 shipping from SBH Enterprises in New York. They're at http://www.sbhcorp.com . They close their business and web site down completely on Saturday but are open on Sunday and the rest of the week as well.
* I learned the hard way all the information that you may already know:
* The stock Toyota Stereo (at least on the GT-S) is not double-din sized. The height is roughly correct, but it is approximately 1 inch wider. After mounting my new Alpine double-dinner, now I have two gaps to fill that are about .5" on each side. That's my next project.
* No Metra wiring harness is available for the GT-S stock stereo. It kinda makes sense when you see what you have to do to connect up a new head unit.
* The stock stereo is a two-piece installation on the GT-S. The head unit with the CD player and tape deck feeds low level signals out the proprietary connector to an amplifier that is located upside-down under the right side of the glove box.
* So when I installed the new head unit, I connected 4 wires right there at the head unit location into the old wiring harness (power, switched power, ground, and illumination). Then I soldered longer speaker wires onto the Alpine head unit supplied-cable and ran those down to the amplifier and spliced into the speaker wires that came out of the amplifier (color codes listed below).
* I removed the amplifier and have photos of it posted for you to look at.
* I didn't change any speakers at this time because I've read that it is even more time consuming (no speaker grilles means taking apart lots of stuff and non-standard speaker mounts, etc.) But I may add a subwoofer later...
* Wiring:
Here is the wiring layout of the new Alpine Head Unit:
(Listed by new Alpine wire first, then wire from existing head unit cable in car)
Battery Power (Hot all the time): Alpine wire = Yellow, Existing GT-S Wiring = Blue/Yellow
Note: For Right Front and Left Front wiring, you must join wires from the tweeter/midrange door speaker and the woofer door speaker to the wiring from the head unit in parallel. That's because the wires are run out from the doors separately and aren't joined in the door.
Right Front + Alpine wire = Grey, two speaker wires must be joined (Light Green/Grey and Blue/White) - Alpine wire = Grey/Black, two speaker wires must be joined (Blue/Grey and Green/Grey)
Left Front + Alpine wire = White, two speaker wires must be joined (Pink/Grey and Red/Blue/Grey) - Alpine wire = White/Black, two speaker wires must be joined (Violet/Grey and Red/Black/Grey)
How do you take things apart?
Others have mentioned this, but here's how I did it.
1) I have the six speed model, so first I unhooked the leather boot underneath the hole in the trim piece. Then I grabbed the trim piece around the shift and lifted it back towards the rear and up at the same time. It is held in by clips and will come up and out. Think of it hinging at the bottom of the AC panel. This piece contains the ashtray and lighter. You'll have to unplug that wire and then set the piece aside.
2) After you take of the shift trim piece, you'll notice two screws right under the A/C panel. Those need to come out. Then remove the three knobs from the AC panel and also the fresh/recirc knob from the slider. The two screws will need to be removed from under the left and right knobs.
3) Now you're ready to pull the center console section out. It is only held in by clips at this point. So pull out and lift up at the same time gently and the whole piece will come out. You'll have to disconnect the power to the clock. Then set this piece aside.
4) Now you can see the 4 bolts that hold the radio in. Undo those and you're home free.
5) Take off the fuse panel. If you're sitting in the passenger's seat, the fuse panel is located by your left kneecap. Gently pull that off. Remove fuses 24 (Radio) and the large fuse labelled 1-4 (label is on rear of fuse cover panel). These two fuses will kill power to the radio hot wires. But just to be safe and because I hate disconnecting the battery, when I soldered to the head unit hot wires, I heated up the soldering iron and then unplugged it while soldering (otherwise you could apply a ground to the hot wires if they're still hot and could pop a fuse).
6) To get to the amp, you'll need to remove the glovebox. There are three screws just under the top lip when you open the box and then two bolts on the bottom. The box lifts out but be careful as there are clips that you'll need to work loose on the right side panel.
7) The amp is located upside down under the glovebox towards the right hand side. I took a photo of the amp and the label on it. There is no wiring listed on the label or no power rating, etc. There are two plugs and cables; one has low level inputs coming from the head unit and the other has speaker output connections. I cut off the speaker wires (leaving enough wire to splice back later) and joined them to the longer speaker wires that I had soldered onto the Alpine head unit cable and run over and down. All connection were soldered, heat shrink tubed, and tie-wrapped as shown in the pictures.
8) Re-assemble in reverse order and don't forget the fuses.
It worked the first time!!! Thanks to all who answered email questions, etc. Hopefully this information will prove useful to you, please feel free to email me at rschimka@aol.com if you have any additional questions. I'll update the photo link when I figure out how to 'beautify' the opening....From my limited listening this afternoon, the Alpine unit seems like a great one...
Just bought the Celica GTS for my wife last week armed with info on the CD player problems from chat line on Edmunds.com. Dealer never heard of problems and before buying I test drove my car with a CD. There didn't seem to be a problem. But, now my wife tells me the "skipping problem" is related to the CD not being able to play selection 1 through 16 in order. The CD starts at a selection other than #1 then randomly goes to another selection, instead of sequential order. Is that the problems others are having regarding the CD skipping? Thanx PGEB
Im interested in buying the Celica GTS and I'm pricing lots of dealers. Can I get some responses on what price you all payed for your GTS fully loaded.. Sunroof, spolier, leather, CD, 16 alloys? They are trying to tell me no less then 24,500 I'M not buying it I want around 23,000. Please Email me JENJL1979@aol.com
I am a young active person. I love the new look of the Celica and am considering a GT-S. However, I am a hockey player and a golfer and have not had a good chance to look at the cargo capacity. Can you fit those things (separately of course) in the new celica. thanks!
have been looking at both for almost two months now and decided on the cougar for simply the price factor. both are sharp looking, celica a bit quicker but the cougar a bit larger and more safe feeling to be in. where i live couldn't touch a celica for less then 23,000 before options and have just ordered a cougar v6 with everything on it...leather,moonroof,cass.cd player alumium wheels etc. for 18,500. also, the speedometer goes way past 55 lol. insurance is cheaper too! to all those celica nuts out there, what happens when your racing days are over? ie. the cops have your license, your parents your car etc. lets see how fast YOU run off the line next to my cougar! the 5 grand or so will feel good in my pocket also, hey, i can buy gas with it. either way good luck with your choice!!!!!!!
The cargo capacity is good in the Celica and you should have no trouble at all. The back seats fold down and it's a hatchback too, so there's definitely room to be had in the bay.
I am also looking for a decent price for a Celica GTS fully loaded with everything except the side-air bags. I live in Pittsburgh, PA. Is it possible to get it at invoice price? Will the price go down in the summer or when the 2001 model come out? Will there be a lot of upgrades? Sorry for all these question, Please e-mail or post a message zmi8@hotmail.com
Hello everyone, There has been some discussion about the stock chrome AM/FM antenna on the 2000 Celica. From the posts I've read, a few folks have searched around for something that looks better to replace their antenna. I didn't care for the plain look of the stock chrome antenna, so I searched San Diego-area auto parts stores to find something a little more attractive.
I found a pretty nice looking antenna today, so I wanted to share my findings with the group. I purchased a black replacement antenna from Kragen Auto Parts. The brand name is Scosche and it is a 13" black rubber replacement mast. The part number is RM906R and it cost $7.29. They also had a black mast almost just like the stock antenna (only it is black instead of chrome), about the same length and all. It was $13.99. I opted for the shorter black rubber unit because I liked the way it looked a little better.
Sorry for the dark quality of the photo, I took it in my garage after dark tonight. Maybe I'll get a better photo in the sunlight later....
Your old antenna unscrews normally (counter-clockwise) and has a male threaded end. This new antenna comes with a female threaded end and four different male-to-male adapters for different cars. I chose the one that looked like a match for the Celica and it installed easily right away.
I haven't driven around much with the new antenna, but the radio reception in the garage seems to be just fine. A pretty simple installation...
I hope this information helps other Celica owners...Please let me know if you have any questions.....
Has anyone installed the TRD high-flow stainless steel exhaust that is supposed to give an extra 14 HP (according to TRD's page)? The newcelica.com page only lists it as a 10 hp gain.
from what I know a combination of aftermarket air-intake, headers, and an exhaust couldn't give you more than 15 horsepower. I know the companies claim certain numbers but I've dynoed my friend's car and I've seen as much as a 10 horsepower increase with the bolt on modifications PLUS an exhaust. The only way you can get such power from an intake or an exhaust is if your car was turbocharged or supercharged.
By the way, does anyone know where I can find pictures and prices of the 2000 celica trd body kit? I hear its really expensive. Alex
I live an hour west of Philadelphia. I picked up a GTS w/ everything but ABS and side airbags. The MSRP was 24407; I paid 22300. If a dealer won't knock 2000 off, but it from carsdirect.com (I bought mine from a dealer bcs he beat CD's price by a couple hundred bucks, and I could get the car immediately). To the person from Pittsburgh, if you can't get a good price out there, I will email you the names and phone #s of 3 dealers near me that will give you a price similar to mine. It may be worth spending a Saturday driving here to pick up a sweet GTS and saving $2000!
TRDMAN: You should try www.trdusa.com for prices on the body kit, but TRD is not the only company that makes body kits for Celicas. You can also try Rod Millen Motorsports and soon Blitz. And yes, the TRD body kit is very expensive.
I think the cruise problem is due more to the automatic rather than the I4. My GTS manual is absolutely rock steady (varies no more than 1-2 mph through Texas hill country) and doesn't really make much more power cruising at highway speeds than the GT.
Hi. I have a GTS that is 1100 miles old. I've noticed an intermittent, loud whine when I turn the steering wheel left while stationary, especially after moving backwards a little. Has anyone else noticed this? (The noise occurs WHILE the steering wheel is turning, not after it's pegged all the way to the left.)
i am interested in buying a gts with leather and the 6 speed. I know have a 91 300zx 2+2. i want to sell this for around 12 K i am 16 so insurance will probabaly be about the same . does anyne know if stillen or trd makes a supercharger for the celica, or any other company? thanks
No supercharger yet. They should be coming out with it soon through TRD. They already have the Camry and Solara with one. I think one is in development. Don't quote me, but pretty sure.
Cruise control on automatic GT is OK as long as it is not going uphill when switching to lower gear is desired (but not absolutely necessary). If you switch to lower manually by pushing this O/D button just before automatic would do it itself then everything is OK and speed stays well within 1 mph. It is also OK when you don't use cruise and let the automatic switch itself to lower gear, basically you simply keep the speed in the same way cruise does, the only thing which is disconnected is cruise logic.
It seems that cruise program also alters the automatic switching logic - when it shifts the gear from 4 to 3 the engine starts braking!, effectively it switches to the lower gear and releases gas pedal a little or something. Then the speed drops few mph down and you really feel this sharp breaking. Once it is done this stupid program realizes that the speed has been dropped and pushes accelerator really deep, the engine pulls hard and car jumps forward. Now the program looks at aceleration profile and assumes that it is really accelerating so fast that it should dump it and switch to higher gear, as a result it releases accelerator and switches gear up - now there is no pull and speed is still below set point. And we are again at the point where cruise finds that it must switch to lower gear etc, the same procedure goes again for another two cycles shaking car back and forth until speed is 5-10 mph down and then it finally stays in the third pulling car to the set speed. It all takes only 5-10 seconds.
I should say that automatic transmission itself is OK, as good as american, certainly better than on my friend's new Honda Accord, it is just cruise control program which they should rewrite.
Looking for a 2000 Celica GTS auto with all the options. But no antilock bracks and 6-disc. CD player. What would be the price to ask for. I live in Wisconsin. Please E-mail me. Thanks Jared
Check out some car sites, like http://www.carsdirect.com and http://www.carpoint.com for prices. Also, you can check right here at Edmund's under "New Cars" and get a fair price as well. Good luck!!!
Oh yessss... After waiting what has seemed like an eternity (1-2 Months) I think I found the best deal I could... I took an offer from Longo Toyota in El Monte for $18,744 which was a loaded Silver Celica GT (MSRP 20,301) plus Wheel Locks, Cargo Net and Alarm System comes out to MSRP 20,848 and only a handful over invoice. Longo is definately the cheapest Toyota dealer in Southern CA, unless you are lucky and catch sales like Wondries has (missed it, unfortunately, oh well). Anyway... I'm happy! I'm going in on Saturday to pick up my car.
Orgasmic!
Thank god my girlfriend dumped me a week ago... I'll be sleeping with the car hahah Will have to post drooling pics on my website in a week.
I bought a 2000 Celica GTS in April and I've already been in the service center 4 times because the check engine light continues to come on and they can't seem to figure out why. Is anyone else experiencing this problem?
Where can I find crash test and other safety test data on the new Celica GT? I am very interested in buying one for my wife, but I won't do it until I can check this out. Any help is appreciated. NHTSA site has nothing.
I live in central Pennsylvania and went to my local Toyota dealer and drove a Celica GT. I liked the car and wanted to buy it but I have had the the following problems:
- They had 4 Celicas and everyone was silver (I prefer black or blue)
- They will not budge from the Retail price (19,400 includes pw, pd, cruise, wheels, spoiler and that bogus all weather package)
- Their financing is about 8-9% which I think is unacceptible.
When I advised I couldnt pay what they are asking they found a stripped Ceilica with new equipment in my range but they will not negotiate the price. I dont want to pay full retail on a Celica GT with nothing on it.
I recently purchased a 2000 Celica GT. It was fully loaded. A month after having it a tree fell on it and totalled it during a storm. Email me if you want to see pictures 'cconne4250@aol.com' So I got the insurance money and didn't lose too much. Now I am in the process of buying a GTS I ordered through priceline. I suggest priceline to anyone looking for any car. They found the car 200 over invoice price for me. Plus since it's an internet purchase there's no sales tax. I'm ending up paying almost the same for the GTS that I payed for the GT.
Also with my GT I always put mid-grade fuel in it. I noticed many times while it was idling sitting at a light or whatever, it tended to sputter alot and idle roughly. Has anyone else noticed this with a GT or GTS?
By the way both cars i'm referring to are manual.
The GT was nice but definately lacked power. I can't wait to get my GTS.
My friend and I share a GT automatic (talk about powerless!). Anyway, I noticed sometimes it does that when stopped. It hasn't done it for a while though, so maybe it was a break-in thing.
BTW, I wanna see those pics of the Celica under the tree!!! Send them to lanhamdata@yahoo.com. Thanks.
I got my Celica GT-S over Easter, and after 1,700 miles, I can't complain. I did experience the moonroof thing opening while putting the windows up once when I first tried it; hasn't happend since. And the CD skipping happens once every so often, over bumps, but that minor problem is a small sacfrifice to pay knowing that I am driving the most beautiful car <$25,000 MSRP. Also the performance is pretty damn good, and if it is not good enough for you, wait until aftermarket gurus get their hands on it. And as for comparing a Celica to a Cougar, please, anyone with common sense would know not to buy a Ford over a Toyota given the fact that performance-wise a V6 Cougar and a Celica GT is about the same, price doesn't matter since Fords are shady after 50,000 miles (you shouldn't buy a GT anyway, go for it all and get a GT-S). Quality is worth more than $1,000. Several months ago Car & Driver did a test on the "sports" cars in this class, including the Cougar, Celica, Prelude, Eclipse, and a couple of others. In the rankings, the Cougar came in last, Prelude in 1st because of Honda's fine craftmanship, the Eclipse in 2nd (I don't know why) and the Celica GT-S in 3rd, in front of the Integra, Impreza, and Golf GTI. The Celica actually had the best track times (attributed to incredible handling and good hp-weight ratio), but apparently the sporty ride of the Celica was a little rough on the writers compared to the Eclipse. So between those top three, the Prelude is ugly, and a bit more expensive. And after test-driving an Eclipse GT and Celica GT-S, the Celica had a sportier feel, but the Eclipse was a shade faster. But, Mitsubishi made the Eclipse too "family oriented", suspension is too soft, not that anyone in this message board mention the Eclipse. But anyway, another thing I want to address here is, if you want an automatic transmission, don't buy a sports car (maybe that is why the Prelude got 1st, no auto), and if you buy a Celica, get the GT-S. You have to get a car with the whole package, which means great styling, performance, quality, and comfort, and the Celica GT-S is the only car <$25,000 that has all of that for now. So for those that want a car in this class and have to buy a car this year, get the Celica GT-S. Of course if you wait for a few year, there will be several cars better than it, but who wants to wait? That's why they have 3 year leases.
- From what I've heard, if you whine and complain enough, they will replace the CD player. - No way you're going to get away with the Prelude is butt ugly. Sorry - that's opinion - one that I of course don't share - The cost is cheaper than the Celica right now (mainly because it hasn't changed since '97) in some areas. Definately have to look a lot more to get a deal - Preludes DO come in auto. Not that I'd want one, but just so you know. - Celica has had some serious problems with the 6-speed. This I can almost guarantee will be replaced next year - it has cost them to much to replace. - I felt very cramped in the driver's seat of the Celica - others have had similar problems - Rear wing obscures visability.
Anyway - not that the lude doesn't have faults - but the majority of the problems have been documented
I just bought a fully loaded GTS last week and I am having a similar idle problem. - I have been putting only Premium fuel in it ( the GTS requires it ), and it seems to mainly have this problem only after I fill the tank.- Very strange - getting the car checked out this week (getting computer replaced -check engine light keeps coming on )- Hopefully all of the problems will be resolved in one visit.- I'll post my findings.
Correct me if I am wrong, but the Prelude Type SH does not offer auto.
I have heard others say the Celica is a cramped for the driver. I am 6', and I think there is plenty of room. A little too wide acutally, it's a bit too far out to the door to rest my left arm comfortably while holding the steering wheel. Of course, my uncle who is about 6'4" 280 lbs could barely fit in the car.
My friend and I share a 2000 GT. Last night, the alarm we had installed kept going off repeatedly. Turns out the interior dome light had a short in a wire, and got fixed today under warranty. Also concerning me are harsh full-throttle shifts, a noise from the cargo area like a raddle, and periodic hesitation. Anyone else having these problems???
Out in California, the GT's and GTS's are selling for only a little over invoice. Try the internet, not sure if CarsDirect.com is in your state, but I'm sure Priceline or one of the others can do better for you.
Longo Toyota's (El Monte) Internet Department (Ask for Aaron Misajon sp?) can get you within $100-$300 of invoice. They are allegedly the #1 volume dealer in the country for Toyota. By their prices, I believe them.
Mike Goldring at Toyota Towne of Simi Valley has "Fleet" pricing this month at exactly $500 over invoice for GT and GTS.
Alhambra Wonderies has cyclical weekly sales which drop to around $1000 under invoice for GTs (sometimes manuals, sometimes autos, the configuration varies), but those sales are only effective 24 hours on Saturdays I think and are hard to catch.
Across the board in Southern CA you can get any dealer to around $500 over invoice from my experience. Anymore and I would leave.
I plan to get a celica so I have been doing my homework for sometime about GT/GT-S. I found out if you match everything possible that GT-S has got with a GT, you will end up paying $2500 for the diffences on the engine and brakes. And I think part of it is because the sport shift option on the Auto GT-S, while Automatic GT doesn't offer. I have a question here, for me using auto transmission COMPLETELY, and also use the celica for daily commuting between work and home, and weekends maybe ridding on the highway, should I get the GT or GT-S? Is the 140 horsepower GT enough? Those who are recommending GT-S instead of GT, can you guys help me out on that?
One more thing, i just tried priceline.com yesterday. It's a cool site but i think one has to make up his mind about which car he wants before he can get sth out of it. Because priceline.com charges you $200 if they find the car for you but you change your mind and refuse to pick up the car at the dealership.
Last question, which insurance co. are you guys using for the celica?
Dennis75 - You also get the 8 speaker stereo upgrade included in the GTS. I purchased the GTS with the automatic, if I had it to do over I would get the 6-speed GTS. If you are going to get the automatic - I'd recommend the GT. When I test drove them, the GT and GTS performed the same at low end RPM. They both are lacking at below 5000 RPM.
Reviews I have read indicate the same, the performance difference between the GT and GTS is insignificant at low RPMs. The GTS needs the 6-speed to keep the RPMs up higher after a shift. The reviews indicate the GTS 6-speed is 0-60 MPH around 6.5 seconds, my automatic is just shy of 10 seconds. You don't see any reviews of the automatic, therefore you don't see the huge penalty the automatic makes. The E-shift is just a sales gimmick, pretty useless really.
You also reduce your fuel expenses by about 15% with the GT. Don't get me wrong, I love my GTS, but the low end performance is disappointing, and the cruise control/automatic transmission strange shifting at hills is annoying.
I am adding a sub-amp to my 2000 GTS w/Premium sound. Thanks to Randy I now know where the amp is located so I can tap into the low level inputs to my additional amp. Does anyone know what wires, if any are for remote/power ant. to switch the amp on before I tear into the dash?
The GT lack of power at low RPM is not really so bad, it is still pretty quick. I have GT and it does 0-60 in about 8.5 seconds. For 0-40 acceleration I believe GT and GT-S auto would be the same as this is the 0-6800 RPM for the first gear (red line for GT). After that GTS can still keep in the first for a while and this is where you get some advantage. So, for city driving GT and GTS automatic do not make much difference. For more interstate driving something like Cougar would be quiter and smoother, but that at the expense of less sporty feeling in city. The sporty feeling in Celica comes mostly from handling, not straight road acceleration, I can do as well on Grand Marquis.
Remember me, I was the one with the tree that fell on my GT?? I picked up the GT-S last night. The difference is incredible. For everyone that's talking about performance differences, all reviews are saying the extra 40hp is all top end, and I agree. The GT was very peppy off the line but lacked serious power. The GT-S makes up for it. I strongly recommend spending the extra money for the GT-S.
I'm a little unsure why anyone would opt for this car in an auto, being a 'sports car', but i'm sure you're not going to be able to feel the same peppy-ness in an auto. I also agree, If you are going to get an auto then get the GT.
With a manual trans you don't have to rev the engine any where near 5000 rpm to make it move, like marktest does with his auto.
I'm still a little shaky when it comes to shifting into 6th gear. Feels like i'm putting it in reverse after driving 5 speeds for so long. I'll just have to get used to it.
I agree with discoh, I had the cloth interior in my GT, now I have the 'leather' in my GT-S. I liked the cloth much better. I wouldn't even consider it real leather it's more like pleather (plasticy).
Is Toyota Celica really such a reliable car? Obviously the numbers for old Celica don't apply. Thus, if Celica reliability would be the same as Camry (8.5) that is not anything emarkable - Ford Escort is the same, CrownVic is at 8.6 and LeSabre 9.1. If we take number for Corolla (9.4) that sounds better. Interesting, that Honda Accord runs at 8.2, but somehow a lot of people still believe that this is the most reliable car.
Can someone tell me about Priceline.com? I've been to the site and I know the generalities;however, I am very much interested in this "no sales tax stuff". How does that work? I assume you order the car through them (priceline) andyou pay them but pickup the car at a local dealer. Is this correct?
Actually, its closer to 1.6km = 1 mile and 77kph would be about 48 mph. I know I'm not gonna be averaging 48 mph this year 8^).
BTW, after break-in on my GTS, I'm averaging between 28-29 mpg with about a 50/50 mix of city and highway driving. I usually averaged 18-19 out of my old '93 5.0 LX. I know you can't really compare that to a new Mustang GT but you can see that my mileage is roughly 50% better (same driving habits). Where you may see some savings regarding the GTS and Mustang GT is in the grade of fuel required: GTS requires premium, don't know about the Ford.
Well, the Mustang takes regular, and the GT-S takes premium. But, the Celica is a bit more tame on the road (better ride and a little less noise) than the Mustang. Of course, there is a certain sex appeal that goes with a Mustang, right??
Of course, I would normally say Ford is not as reliable as Toyota. It's scaring me here lately with some of the problems you people are having with the Celicas and also the people in the Echo forum are having some trouble too. Of course, long term reliability on the Celica is better, but it may be more expensive for parts on the Celica. Not sure about that last one though.
Comments
Does anyone have an electrical manual handy for the 2000 GT-S? I'm upgrading the Toyota Stereo and could use some information from a wiring diagram...Does it show an external amplifier from the Toyota CD/Tape player? It sppears from the wiring that there is an external amplifier, but I can't locate it anywhere. The reason why I think there is an external amp is because the wires that I thought were speaker wires appear to be low-level outputs that are in a shielded wire...I've got the car torn apart right now, so any help you could provide would certainly be appreciated.....Thank you,
Randy Schimka
rschimka@aol.com
Thanks to information posted by Lormax (http://server5.ezboard.com/b2000celicachat), TonysCelica, UFO and others, I was able to figure out enough to complete my installation. Here are the facts and I've also got some photos posted on AOL that you can look at as well....
http://members.aol.com/rschimka/cstereo.html
* I chose the Double-Din Alpine MDA-W750 deck. It has a CD player, an MD player, and AM/FM. I have a large collection of MDs from several years worth of recording, so I wanted to be able to play those. And I thought the double-din size of the player would drop right in (wrong, read below)It cost $699 + $15 shipping from SBH Enterprises in New York. They're at http://www.sbhcorp.com . They close their business and web site down completely on Saturday but are open on Sunday and the rest of the week as well.
* I learned the hard way all the information that you may already know:
* The stock Toyota Stereo (at least on the GT-S) is not double-din sized. The height is roughly correct, but it is approximately 1 inch wider. After mounting my new Alpine double-dinner, now I have two gaps to fill that are about .5" on each side. That's my next project.
* No Metra wiring harness is available for the GT-S stock stereo. It kinda makes sense when you see what you have to do to connect up a new head unit.
* The stock stereo is a two-piece installation on the GT-S. The head unit with the CD player and tape deck feeds low level signals out the proprietary connector to an amplifier that is located upside-down under the right side of the glove box.
* So when I installed the new head unit, I connected 4 wires right there at the head unit location into the old wiring harness (power, switched power, ground, and illumination). Then I soldered longer speaker wires onto the Alpine head unit supplied-cable and ran those down to the amplifier and spliced into the speaker wires that came out of the amplifier (color codes listed below).
* I removed the amplifier and have photos of it posted for you to look at.
* I didn't change any speakers at this time because I've read that it is even more time consuming (no speaker grilles means taking apart lots of stuff and non-standard speaker mounts, etc.) But I may add a subwoofer later...
* Wiring:
Here is the wiring layout of the new Alpine Head Unit:
(Listed by new Alpine wire first, then wire from existing head unit cable in car)
Battery Power (Hot all the time):
Alpine wire = Yellow, Existing GT-S Wiring = Blue/Yellow
Switched power (ignition):
Alpine wire = Red, Existing GT-S wiring = Grey/White
Ground wire:
Alpine wire = Black, Existing GT-S wiring = Brown/Grey
Illumination (dims display when lights turned on):
Alpine wire = Orange, Existing GT-S wiring = Green/Grey
All other wires at head unit position were insulated and taped off.
Speaker wiring down at amplifier position:
(Listed by Alpine wiring cable color, then color of speaker wires down at amplifier)
Left Rear
+ Alpine wire = Green, Speaker wire = Black/Grey
- Alpine wire = Green/Black, Speaker wire = Yellow/Grey
Right Rear
+ Alpine wire = Violet, Speaker wire = Red/Grey
- Alpine wire = Violet/Black, Speaker wire = White/Grey
Note: For Right Front and Left Front wiring, you must join wires from the tweeter/midrange door speaker and the woofer door speaker to the wiring from the head unit in parallel. That's because the wires are run out from the doors separately and aren't joined in the door.
Right Front
+ Alpine wire = Grey, two speaker wires must be joined (Light Green/Grey and Blue/White)
- Alpine wire = Grey/Black, two speaker wires must be joined (Blue/Grey and Green/Grey)
Left Front
+ Alpine wire = White, two speaker wires must be joined (Pink/Grey and Red/Blue/Grey)
- Alpine wire = White/Black, two speaker wires must be joined (Violet/Grey and Red/Black/Grey)
How do you take things apart?
Others have mentioned this, but here's how I did it.
1) I have the six speed model, so first I unhooked the leather boot underneath the hole in the trim piece. Then I grabbed the trim piece around the shift and lifted it back towards the rear and up at the same time. It is held in by clips and will come up and out. Think of it hinging at the bottom of the AC panel. This piece contains the ashtray and lighter. You'll have to unplug that wire and then set the piece aside.
2) After you take of the shift trim piece, you'll notice two screws right under the A/C panel. Those need to come out. Then remove the three knobs from the AC panel and also the fresh/recirc knob from the slider. The two screws will need to be removed from under the left and right knobs.
3) Now you're ready to pull the center console section out. It is only held in by clips at this point. So pull out and lift up at the same time gently and the whole piece will come out. You'll have to disconnect the power to the clock. Then set this piece aside.
4) Now you can see the 4 bolts that hold the radio in. Undo those and you're home free.
5) Take off the fuse panel. If you're sitting in the passenger's seat, the fuse panel is located by your left kneecap. Gently pull that off. Remove fuses 24 (Radio) and the large fuse labelled 1-4 (label is on rear of fuse cover panel). These two fuses will kill power to the radio hot wires. But just to be safe and because I hate disconnecting the battery, when I soldered to the head unit hot wires, I heated up the soldering iron and then unplugged it while soldering (otherwise you could apply a ground to the hot wires if they're still hot and could pop a fuse).
6) To get to the amp, you'll need to remove the glovebox. There are three screws just under the top lip when you open the box and then two bolts on the bottom. The box lifts out but be careful as there are clips that you'll need to work loose on the right side panel.
7) The amp is located upside down under the glovebox towards the right hand side. I took a photo of the amp and the label on it. There is no wiring listed on the label or no power rating, etc. There are two plugs and cables; one has low level inputs coming from the head unit and the other has speaker output connections. I cut off the speaker wires (leaving enough wire to splice back later) and joined them to the longer speaker wires that I had soldered onto the Alpine head unit cable and run over and down. All connection were soldered, heat shrink tubed, and tie-wrapped as shown in the pictures.
8) Re-assemble in reverse order and don't forget the fuses.
It worked the first time!!! Thanks to all who answered email questions, etc. Hopefully this information will prove useful to you, please feel free to email me at rschimka@aol.com if you have any additional questions. I'll update the photo link when I figure out how to 'beautify' the opening....From my limited listening this afternoon, the Alpine unit seems like a great one...
Randy Schimka
rschimka@aol.com
Thanx
PGEB
Im interested in buying the Celica GTS and I'm pricing lots of dealers. Can I get some responses on what price you all payed for your GTS fully loaded.. Sunroof, spolier, leather, CD, 16 alloys?
They are trying to tell me no less then 24,500
I'M not buying it
I want around 23,000.
Please Email me JENJL1979@aol.com
carlady/host
KC
Please e-mail or post a message
zmi8@hotmail.com
There has been some discussion about the stock chrome AM/FM antenna on the 2000 Celica. From the posts I've read, a few folks have searched around for something that looks better to replace their antenna. I didn't care for the plain look of the stock chrome antenna, so I searched San Diego-area auto parts stores to find something a little more attractive.
I found a pretty nice looking antenna today, so I wanted to share my findings with the group. I purchased a black replacement antenna from Kragen Auto Parts. The brand name is Scosche and it is a 13" black rubber replacement mast. The part number is RM906R and it cost $7.29. They also had a black mast almost just like the stock antenna (only it is black instead of chrome), about the same length and all. It was $13.99. I opted for the shorter black rubber unit because I liked the way it looked a little better.
Here is a photo with the new antenna on my car:
http://members.aol.com/rschimka/antenna.html
Sorry for the dark quality of the photo, I took it in my garage after dark tonight. Maybe I'll get a better photo in the sunlight later....
Your old antenna unscrews normally (counter-clockwise) and has a male threaded end. This new antenna comes with a female threaded end and four different male-to-male adapters for different cars. I chose the one that looked like a match for the Celica and it installed easily right away.
I haven't driven around much with the new antenna, but the radio reception in the garage seems to be just fine. A pretty simple installation...
I hope this information helps other Celica owners...Please let me know if you have any questions.....
Randy
rschimka@aol.com
Is the improvement noticable?
How loud is it?
Thanks!
By the way, does anyone know where I can find pictures and prices of the 2000 celica trd body kit? I hear its really expensive.
Alex
baydog
It seems that cruise program also alters the automatic switching logic - when it shifts the gear from 4 to 3 the engine starts braking!, effectively it switches to the lower gear and releases gas pedal a little or something. Then the speed drops few mph down and you really feel this sharp breaking. Once it is done this stupid program realizes that the speed has been dropped and pushes accelerator really deep, the engine pulls hard and car jumps forward. Now the program looks at aceleration profile and assumes that it is really accelerating so fast that it should dump it and switch to higher gear, as a result it releases accelerator and switches gear up - now there is no pull and speed is still below set point. And we are again at the point where cruise finds that it must switch to lower gear etc, the same procedure goes again for another two cycles shaking car back and forth until speed is 5-10 mph down and then it finally stays in the third pulling car to the set speed. It all takes only 5-10 seconds.
I should say that automatic transmission itself is OK, as good as american, certainly better than on my friend's new Honda Accord, it is just cruise control program which they should rewrite.
Orgasmic!
Thank god my girlfriend dumped me a week ago... I'll be sleeping with the car hahah
Laurence
Bunnylust6
- They had 4 Celicas and everyone was silver (I prefer black or blue)
- They will not budge from the Retail price (19,400 includes pw, pd, cruise, wheels, spoiler and that bogus all weather package)
- Their financing is about 8-9% which I think is unacceptible.
When I advised I couldnt pay what they are asking they found a stripped Ceilica with new equipment in my range but they will not negotiate the price. I dont want to pay full retail on a Celica GT with nothing on it.
I left very frustrated.
Also with my GT I always put mid-grade fuel in it. I noticed many times while it was idling sitting at a light or whatever, it tended to sputter alot and idle roughly. Has anyone else noticed this with a GT or GTS?
By the way both cars i'm referring to are manual.
The GT was nice but definately lacked power. I can't wait to get my GTS.
BTW, I wanna see those pics of the Celica under the tree!!! Send them to lanhamdata@yahoo.com. Thanks.
- No way you're going to get away with the Prelude is butt ugly. Sorry - that's opinion - one that I of course don't share
- The cost is cheaper than the Celica right now (mainly because it hasn't changed since '97) in some areas. Definately have to look a lot more to get a deal
- Preludes DO come in auto. Not that I'd want one, but just so you know.
- Celica has had some serious problems with the 6-speed. This I can almost guarantee will be replaced next year - it has cost them to much to replace.
- I felt very cramped in the driver's seat of the Celica - others have had similar problems
- Rear wing obscures visability.
Anyway - not that the lude doesn't have faults - but the majority of the problems have been documented
I have heard others say the Celica is a cramped for the driver. I am 6', and I think there is plenty of room. A little too wide acutally, it's a bit too far out to the door to rest my left arm comfortably while holding the steering wheel. Of course, my uncle who is about 6'4" 280 lbs could barely fit in the car.
My friend and I share a 2000 GT. Last night, the alarm we had installed kept going off repeatedly. Turns out the interior dome light had a short in a wire, and got fixed today under warranty. Also concerning me are harsh full-throttle shifts, a noise from the cargo area like a raddle, and periodic hesitation. Anyone else having these problems???
Mike Goldring at Toyota Towne of Simi Valley has "Fleet" pricing this month at exactly $500 over invoice for GT and GTS.
Alhambra Wonderies has cyclical weekly sales which drop to around $1000 under invoice for GTs (sometimes manuals, sometimes autos, the configuration varies), but those sales are only effective 24 hours on Saturdays I think and are hard to catch.
Across the board in Southern CA you can get any dealer to around $500 over invoice from my experience. Anymore and I would leave.
Bunnylust
One more thing, i just tried priceline.com yesterday. It's a cool site but i think one has to make up his mind about which car he wants before he can get sth out of it. Because priceline.com charges you $200 if they find the car for you but you change your mind and refuse to pick up the car at the dealership.
Last question, which insurance co. are you guys using for the celica?
dennis
Reviews I have read indicate the same, the performance difference between the GT and GTS is insignificant at low RPMs. The GTS needs the 6-speed to keep the RPMs up higher after a shift. The reviews indicate the GTS 6-speed is 0-60 MPH around 6.5 seconds, my automatic is just shy of 10 seconds. You don't see any reviews of the automatic, therefore you don't see the huge penalty the automatic makes. The E-shift is just a sales gimmick, pretty useless really.
You also reduce your fuel expenses by about 15% with the GT. Don't get me wrong, I love my GTS, but the low end performance is disappointing, and the cruise control/automatic transmission strange shifting at hills is annoying.
Best of luck.
three months, and the 'check engine light' has had
to be reset 5 times, all for an 'engine misfire'
code. The car runs flawlessly and has never mis-
fired. They are putting an 'upgraded computer' in
next week, and then I will be taking it on a 7K
mile trip out West. The [non-permissible content removed] I have is that the
paint is chipping off of the nose and mirror hous-
ings, there are hundreds of dings 1/16" to 1/8" dia
and the stitching on the front seats are coming un-
done, cloth interior. And the rear spoiler should
have been like my '99 Mitsu GST as its hard seeing
out the rear window. Any news on when a drop top
GTS will be around ?? A factory rep is coming out
to look at the paint and stitching, that should be
fun !!
For more interstate driving something like Cougar would be quiter and smoother, but that at the expense of less sporty feeling in city.
The sporty feeling in Celica comes mostly from handling, not straight road acceleration, I can do as well on Grand Marquis.
I'm a little unsure why anyone would opt for this car in an auto, being a 'sports car', but i'm sure you're not going to be able to feel the same peppy-ness in an auto. I also agree, If you are going to get an auto then get the GT.
With a manual trans you don't have to rev the engine any where near 5000 rpm to make it move, like marktest does with his auto.
I'm still a little shaky when it comes to shifting into 6th gear. Feels like i'm putting it in reverse after driving 5 speeds for so long. I'll just have to get used to it.
I agree with discoh, I had the cloth interior in my GT, now I have the 'leather' in my GT-S. I liked the cloth much better. I wouldn't even consider it real leather it's more like pleather (plasticy).
BTW, after break-in on my GTS, I'm averaging between 28-29 mpg with about a 50/50 mix of city and highway driving. I usually averaged 18-19 out of my old '93 5.0 LX. I know you can't really compare that to a new Mustang GT but you can see that my mileage is roughly 50% better (same driving habits). Where you may see some savings regarding the GTS and Mustang GT is in the grade of fuel required: GTS requires premium, don't know about the Ford.
Of course, I would normally say Ford is not as reliable as Toyota. It's scaring me here lately with some of the problems you people are having with the Celicas and also the people in the Echo forum are having some trouble too. Of course, long
term reliability on the Celica is better, but it may be more expensive for parts on the Celica. Not
sure about that last one though.