New At The Forums, With A New Corolla

[Pablo 23]

Hello again from the thread starter Pablo 23.

It's been a while since my last post. What has happenned since then ?

Well, one thing has me mad.

My car encountered at the street some kind of sealant or paint which somehow ended on the front windshield.

I tried removing it but it was nearly impossible. Before trying with some kind of chemical designed to remove the spots, someone in my family suggested the use of a sponge, one of those used for cleaning dishes and glasses in at any kitchen.This sponge has a side with some soft abrassive material that is used for some hard cleaning on dishes and glasses.

The family member thought the abrassive material was soft enough to be use on the windshield without risk of damaging the finish of the front windshield, but that was not the case. Unfortunately, this was done at night, but even after using the sponge with care the windshield ended with some minor scratches almost all over the windshield. The scratches are visible when the sun light hits the windshield, but it does not affect my driving in any aspect.

But, as you can imagine, I don't like the idea of having a scratched windshield, which is visible whith the sun light, and it looks as if the windshield is dirty. It was a mistake to use that sponge, but the cosmetic damage is done.

What I am planning to do ? Well, because I want my car to look beautiful with no big scratches, I am thinking of probably replacing the widshield in a near future, when my Master Card credit card debt would be considerably reduced.

Fortunately, the damage is just cosmetic and I can still use the car and the windshield with no problems.

I know, these are stupid things that should not happen, and is expensive to replace the front windshield. It costs around $790 US dollars, without the labor for removal and installation, and without counting any windsheld seal that might require replacing after the windshield removal.

I know, you might easily say that if is not necessary, simply don't replace the front windshield and keep using the car, saving the money for gasoline and maintenance and that is a good point.

But, think also about the people who upgrade the wheels of their cars.

Is not necessary to put 17, 18, 19,20, up to 24 inches wheels on any vehicle but anyway many people do it because for them, it looks better.

Something similar happens to me. I think the car will look better with a new front winshield that is not so moderately scratched externally.

Stupid things that should not happen.....and are expensive to fix....

Thanks for reading

[corrolaSR1998]

Pablo

Thanks for the data.

Basic fuel in the UK is about £0.77 (GBP) per litre.. Advanced higher RON fuels are around £0.81.

I don't know how to convert this into gallons or $ - sorry !

over here in northern ireland its a fair bit more. 82.9 -86.9p per litre!!! We get so ripped off!! PS did you read that BP Amico, made a million £ profit per Hour last year?

[Pablo 23]

:bookworm: Hello again from the thread starter, Pablo 23.

Well, I feel lucky inspite of all because I still have my new

2004 Toyota Corolla, and it is giving me:

8,129.7 miles / 959.13 lts(3.785 lts) = 32.082 miles per gallon (US measure)

8,129.7 miles / 959.13 lts(4.546 lts) = 38.532 miles per gallon (British measure)

I am keeping all the receipts for gasoline since I filled the car for the first

time after leaving the dealer with it.

By the way, I am still not 100% sure that my British measure is correct. Is just

that I found over the Internet that a gallon in Great Britain equals 4.546 liters and

within the United States and its Territories like Puerto Rico, where I live, a gallon

is just 3.785 lts or 3.8 lts as it usually appears in many places.

I would feel much better if my 2004 Corolla was a Hybrid Corolla, but that it is

still a few years ahead. 50 miles per gallon or more is very good this days.

Here in Puerto Rico we are paying 0.499 cents per liter of premium fuel (93 octane). The regular fuel (87 octane) is cheaper but is usually around 0.449 cents

per liter.

This equals to $1.89 per gallon (US) for premium 93 octane fuel, which is the one I use in my Corolla. Many of us here in Puerto Rico don't use regular fuel in our 4 cylinders cars because usually it doesn't work well in our hot climate (there is a tendency of engine knock) Many pick-up drivers, van drivers and other 8 cylinders vehicles and cars use regular fuel and it work well here, but that is not the story with 4 cylinders engines. I bought for some time 90 octane Texaco fuel and it worked well in my 2004 Toyota Corolla, but the price difference is just one or two cents per liter so many prefer 93 octane fuel.

Also, only the Texaco fuel stations sell 90 octane fuel here. There are many Texaco, Shell, Esso, Citgo, and Gulf fuel stations here in Puerto Rico and a few other not so recognized stations.

My 2004 Corolla is working well. The only thing is that under certain conditions I feel that the automatic transmission has some erratic behavior. This seems to happen more exactly when one front wheel is higher than the other over irregular road areas.

Is not that it doesn't work well, but it makes the car sound a little weird until it comes out of a specific corner near my house, which is the only place where I notice this erratic behavior. In this corner, one of the two front wheels is higher than the other and when I accelerate the car sounds erratic while it levels again, coming out of it.

I will comment that on the dealer at some point, but the problem is that on every other road condition the car works perfect, so it is difficult to say this is a defect. They may say at the dealer that " all are the same", the usual response on this cases.

Other than that, I am waiting until my credit card debt is very low, so I may charge it with the costs of replacing the front windshield. Is not necessary to replace it because is not broken, but it is scratched as I explained on a previous message. Is a new car and I don't want custom wheels for now, but I do like to have it as good looking as possible.

Also, I changed the oil and the filter myself, first at 3,000 miles and at 7,887 miles. I selected Amsoil 5w-30 synthetic, which is very expensive, and the Toyota filter.

Thanks for reading

[Blacksheep]

Pablo I think you are probably wasting money if you change your oil so frequently, stick to the manufacturers recommendations, these new engines are far cleaner running and require less oil changes...

Also any synthetic oil from most reputable oil companies Castrol, Shell etc will be suitable...

[Pablo 23]

Pablo I think you are probably wasting money if you change your oil so frequently, stick to the manufacturers recommendations, these new engines are far cleaner running and require less oil changes...

Also any synthetic oil from most reputable oil companies Castrol, Shell etc will be suitable...

:bookworm: Blacksheep,

I also think this engines are better and that other synthetics are suitable and cheaper.

The thing is I read over the Internet on several places that some owners had problems with engine oil sludge in their Toyotas, specially when the oil change interval was extended beyond 5,000 miles. This is true with other Toyota models, like the Siennas of the past.

I am using the severe service maintenance schedule with my car because that is what the dealers recommend here in Puerto Rico, due to the hot weather and the heavy traffic we usually encounter on a daily basis as well as frequent short trips and too much stop lights. Dealers change the Toyota conventional oil every 3,000 miles.

We have highways here in Puerto Rico, but most people live in the area called metropolitan area. Sometimes, I drive through the highways for fun.

I agree that I can use other synthetics, like Mobil 1, Quaker State, Pennzoil, Valvoline, Shell, Texaco, but the one from Castrol is a new type of synthetic oil, that I think is called hidrocracked by some experts. Is not the same as the original, older synthetics, and it also cost about a half less than the original synthetic. I used this Castrol Syntec on my older 1993 Nissan Sentra and I noted that it was not as good as the others resisting the tendency of oil consumption and also, it was leaving residues in the oil dipstick.

But, is true, Amsoil 5w-30 synthetic is too expensive. It costs $7.29 US Dollars per quart, which is $29 US Dollars for the nearly 4 qts this 2004 Corolla uses.

In British currency, the conversion is:

7.29 US Dollar = 4.10774 British Pounds per quart of Amsoil 5w-30

29 US Dollar = 16.34079 British Pounds for 4 qts, this according to the web site:

http://oanda.com/convert/classic

Thanks for your comments. The information about a lawsuit against Castrol presented by Mobil appears searching the Internet using the Google search engine.

Here is a copy of a response I received from Mobil, on January 24 2002, on an email. Amsoil disagrees with Mobil, but Castrol won the lawsuit presented against them by Mobil:

Thank you for your inquiry:

>

> If you do a web search and type in "mobil" "NAD" and "Castrol" I believe

> you will be enlightened about the term fully synthetic.

>

> Amsoil is incorrect about their synopsis of Mobil 1. Tri synthetic

> consists of 3 synthetic chemistries, PAO, Synthetic Esters and Synthetic

> Aromatics.

> PAO is the largest portion of Mobil 1, and the key component, The other 2

> mentioned work to allow the excellent performance with regards to additive

> solubility and seal elastomer swell characteristics. If you were to

> formulate a 100 % PAO product, you would have an oil that will not hold any

> contaminant or water, and would leak out by your seals. The bottom line is

> that "Nothing outperforms Mobil 1" at any price.

>

> I would urge you to contact our competitors and ask them if their synthetic

> is PAO.

>

> The above information is provided in good faith based upon the information

> presented by the customer. ExxonMobil is not responsible for any loss or

> damage resulting from inaccuracies or errors in any of the information

> provided or any acts or omissions taken in response to our advise.

>

>

Search using NAD, Mobil, and Castrol and you will find the information. Basically what I remember is that, as a result of the lawsuit, Castrol was allowed to market its new Castrol Syntec as fully synthetic, no matter the fact it is a different synthetic oil, and cheaper synthetic oil. Castrol never said they will sell their cheaper Syntec at lower prices than the ones offered by the competitors.

Thanks for answering

[Pablo 23]

Hello again from the thread starter, Pablo 23. :bookworm:

A sad report that made me mad: :cacker:

A couple of days ago on Sept. 7 '04, a construction truck hitted my

2004 Corolla while I was waiting at a red light, at around 2:30 pm.

Those Mack trucks are big, and this one only touched my Toyota. But, it

damaged the rear bumper cover and a little bit below the license plate,

which are located at the rear end here in Puerto Rico.

I was lucky that the truck driver was just starting to move and the damage

was minimal, but anyway the insurance company of the truck company called Maphre/Praico Group, paid me with a check of $674.99, or 374.683 GBP (British Pound) to cover the repair expenses which include a new an original rear bumper cover.

The check was made to me and Toyota Credit, which is the bank that is financing my Toyota, so Toyota Credit has to see the car after the repairs are completed next Thursday or Friday, and then Toyota will endorse the check.

It was a relief to know the insurance company covered all the expenses because at first the truck driver was insisting in fixing the vehicle at the body shop owned by this truck company, located very far away from my home.

Imagine to fix the car with the body shop of those who damaged your car, and having to claim warranties to the same people who damaged your car....not so good, because this trcuck company wanted to fix my Corolla at their shop because it was cheap for them, not because they were going to use all the required techniques and materials for the job.

They just wanted to save the $500 deductible from their insurance they were affraid to pay. But fortunately, the insurance covered all the expenses which were originally estimated to be more expensive, at around $878.61 US dollars,

or 489.013 British Pound. I never had to call the police about the fact they were reluctant to pay me. Yes, I also called the police and made it official.

Next Wednesday afternoon I will leave my Corolla at the shop.

If you have your own story and want to share it here, please do so.

Or any other comment you have about your Toyota.

Thanks,

Edited September 16, 2004 by Pablo 23

[Pablo 23]

Hello again from Pablo 23, :bookworm:

My 2004 Toyota Corolla was finally repaired and even the check that

the insurance company, called Maphre/Praico, paid to us, is in our bank

account. It was repaired at a qualified body shop and it looks great :)

The additional problem we had here in Puerto Rico was the Tropical Storm

Jeanne, which entered the island last Wednesday. It was close to be a category one hurricane, but even as a strong storm only, it did lots of damage, specially at the rural areas of the island, where there was lots of flooding. I live in front of a beach, very close to the capital city of San Juan, and the damage to my home was that we were without electrical energy for about 27 hours, no flooding at all. There are families without energy at this moment, even without water service.

Most of the houses here in Puerto Rico are made of concrete/cement so they resist hurricanes. Is different within the United States, where the roofs are usually made of wood for some strange reason I still don't understand well.

I never heard about hurricanes or storms in Great Britain, and that is probably because the waters are too cold up there for the development of cyclones.

Those of you who live there are blessed in that aspect.

Thanks for reading again

[Pablo 23]

:bookworm: Hello again from the thread starter, Pablo 23.

My car received another minor impact, very low at the driver's door, caused by a piece of wood that somehow, was located in the middle of a highway lane.

I was driving at 55 miles per hour, which is the speed limit of that area, and it was impossible for me to move the car quickly to another lane, much less to stop at that speed, risking myself to a rear collision at highway speeds! I did the best I could, but the piece of wood flew from the front wheel to the driver's door, hitting it hard and fast.

Fortunately, the same body shop which repaired my car after the insurance covered accident, received my car last Friday and fixed it, blending the paint perfectly after two attempts. The first time they painted the door, the color was darker than what it is suppose to be. The color of my 2004 Corolla is silver metallic an the body shop personnel said is a little difficult to match and blend clear colors. But, the job was corrected to my satisfaction. They charged only $125 US dollars, which is: 125 US Dollar = 69.71167 British Pound, for this minor repair.

Othe than that, my car is ok. The fuel economy average is, after 27 fill-ups:

9,503.2 miles / 1,124.217 lts(3.785) = 31.995 miles per gallon (US)

9,503.2 miles / 1,124.217 lts(4.546) = 38.428 mpg (British measure)

My 2004 Corolla 4 speed automatic already has more than 9,500 miles !!

I would like to install on my car genuine Toyota alloy wheels, priced here at around $1,500 US, or 836.540 British Pound. I will try that when my credit card debt is considerably reduced. It enhances the appearance of the car.

Other than that, right now I am paying for gasoline:

0.489 US Dollar = 0.27271 British Pound per liter, or

$1.85 per gallon USD, 0.489(3.785 lts), or the equivalent of

1.23975 British Pound per gallon, 0.27271(4.546 lts)

I am still learning about digital cameras, and the ones that I would like to have are the most expensive, so I will have to ask a family member to take a picture to my 2004 Corolla in order to post it here. The problem is he usually doesn't have the digital camera with him...or wait until the prices for the digital cameras that I want are reduced.

Thanks for reading and don't forget to share your stories too,

[Pablo 23]

Maybe the sadest report I will make here:

Just a few hours ago, my beloved 2004 Toyota Corolla was stolen while it was parked at the front of my house, apperrently very early this morning, Saturday, November 20 2004.

Fortunately my Toyota has an insurance, and it was quickly reported to the police and to the insurance company, although the insurance company was closed today due to a mysterious reason. They will be open next Monday.

That'a all I have to say. I was awake until 1:00 am and my brother says he saw the vehicle parked in front of my house at nearly 5:00 am. Theinmovilizer and the alarm failed, or nobody heard anything.

I will post again soon.

Thanks

[Firthy]

Gutted for you mate, hows it gone on??

[Pablo 23]

Well, early this Monday morning we went to the insurance company to start the claim process and it went well. My insurance doesn't cover car rental in this situations, as far as I know, but I will ask tomorrow.

The problem is here in Puerto Rico there are several procedures that will delay everything, specially the 30 days period the insurance company waits, just in case the vehicle is found. The police and the insurance representatives told me that usually, in cases like this the vehicle re-appears severely damaged or it simply remains as a stolen vehicle forever because it is not found.

The insurance company asked for several official documents from the local authorities and I was trying to obtain all today, but the official police report about my stolen Corolla might take up to 10 to 15 business days to be ready at one of main police headquarters here. The local police headquarter does not make that official report. The rest of the documents are almost ready.

Anyway, I will be without a Toyota for a while but we are considering buying another Toyota to replace it, this one probably a 2005 Corolla, Matrix, or the Prius because we are going to consider leasing. My stolen Corolla was not a lease.

Maybe, this time of the year is not the best to make good business regarding price for a new Toyota due to the holidays and Christmas so near, when we would be ready to buy again on December 20, but well.

I will post again soon and Thanks

[vikasshah]

Its like being in a Toyota soap opera!

Hope you get it sorted soon.

[Cor86sr5]

Oh! Pablo!

Good Luck!

[Pablo 23]

Hello to all of you again, and I hope your Toyotas are safe in your own hands, instead of at the hands of some criminal organization like mine!

Well, to tell you the news, as you can imagine from my introduction, my 2004 Corolla was not found and the insurance company is suppose to respond next Monday, December 20 '04.

I don't know how much they are going to pay us, but the car had full cover insurance. I will post a message to tell you the rest, but in the meantime:

I can tell you that the 2005 Toyota Corolla CE with power windows, a/c, automatic transmission, no alloy wheels or spoilers, is priced here in Puerto Rico at $18,000 US Dollars, which is the equivalent of 9,318.70 British Pounds, web site:

http://www.oanda.com/convert/classic

To be honest with you, is difficult to negotiate a price reduction for the Corolla here in Puerto Rico because it is a hit in sales. We also looked at the competition, not because we think is better, but because the price for an equally equipped Mazda 3 (don't know how it is called in Europe and England) is $17,295 or 8,953.72 British Pounds.

I personally think that with the Corolla I have the reliability and quality as my advantage, plus my 2004 Corolla was excellent. It was not the fault of the car that it was stolen. But honestly, the Mazda 3 is an alternative, maybe not with the same quality record as the Corolla, but an alternative. Anyway, I am still inclined toward the Corolla because the probabilities are in my favor.

Is more expensive, but I think it is worth it. Those who chose the Mazda 3 had a nice car too, but I prefer the design of the Corolla.

I will post again soon to tell you......about my new 2005 Toyota Corolla, hopefully.

Thanks

[Pablo 23]

Hello again,

At last !!!

Today, December 23 here in Puerto Rico, just about 6 1/2 hours ago, my family and I bought a 2005 Toyota Corolla to replace my stolen 2004 Toyota Corolla.

I never thought my first Corolla would be stolen, but those things happen. But all that is behind now. Now I just want to forget all that nightmare and enjoy my new Corolla, with power windows, automatic 4 speed, a/c, radio cd, and the addition of fold down 60/40 rear seats and a central rear seat head supporter.

As you can imagine, we took extra steps to add safety to the purchase: a better insurance, with a different insurance company, because the other one didn't responded well and paid the equivalent of only three monthly payments, roughly. We paid 9 payments plus the down payment for our 2004 stolen Corolla. We did other things to reduce the possibility of another attempt to steal the car too, but for obvious reasons I am not going to write about that.

I am just tired because it was bought out of town, about 45 miles away from our home, and we spent around 5 hours at the dealer due to one thing or the other, since early in the morning.

Here in Puerto Rico is just 8:55 pm, Dec. 23 '04 now as I type this.

Happy Holidays and I will write again soon.

Thanks

[bzn]

Thanks god, man!

Really glad for you!!!!

Which engine is in your new corolla????

[Pablo 23]

Thanks god, man!

Really glad for you!!!!

Which engine is in your new corolla????

←

:bookworm: Thanks bzn,

The engine of my new 2005 Corolla is a 1,794 cc DOHC with Variable Valve Timing Intelligence.

I think it is exactly the same that was installed on my 2004 Corolla.

It just have 73 miles, so I am driving break in period style, if you know what I mean, slowly, slow acceleration, not exceeding 55 miles per hour.

I am just happy my nightmare after my 2004 model was stolen, is over.

Thanks

[Pablo 23]

Hello again from Pablo 23.

I hope your Toyotas are safe in your hands.

Other than that, I just want to know any information you might have, even if its only from your experience with your Toyota vehicle, regarding that condition called "oil gelling".

Some people appear over the Internet complaining about this problem of engine oil sludge on their Toyotas and I just want more information, if you have it. Some web sites with information of that oil gelling or engine oil sludge problem in Toyotas are the following:

http://www.corolland.com/sludge.html

http://www.detnews.com/2003/autosconsumer/.../g03-255155.htm

And, maybe one of the web sites with several cases:

http://groups.msn.com/ToyotaOwnersUnitefor...ion=get_threads

I thought those cases were isolated cases, which could also be "lemon law car cases", and also, here in Puerto Rico I have never heard about oil gelling cases in Toyotas. But, one of the brochures included within my 2005 Toyota Corolla glove box, says the following:

"It is especially important to regularly replace the engine oil and oil

filter. Failure to do so can cause oil gelling, which can result in severe

damage to your vehicle and require costly repairs that are not

covered by the New Vehicle Limited Warranty."

I also discovered that Toyota added a new warning light to the instrument panel of the 2005 Corolla, which shows the message

"MAINT REQ", to alert the owners of the fact that the oil has 4,500 miles of use. This reminder has to be reset after changing the oil so it can remind you again next time and if you reach 5,000 miles or more without changing the oil, it remains on.

You can tell us how frequently you change the oil of your Toyota, and if you know about any case of oil gelling or sludge. Some people also complain that even after following the Toyota recommended oil- filter change schedule always, their Toyotas presented the oil gelling or sludge problem as early as before 60,000 miles.

The Toyota manual recommends, and the Toyota warning light also, to change the oil at 5,000 miles, or less if you change it soon after the warning light comes on. But, the local dealer which sold us our 2005 Corolla recommends to change the oil and filter every 3,000 miles, just as most qualified mechanics and specialized shops do, using conventional Toyota oil.

In my case, I will buy synthetic oil for my Toyota, but I know that is not an insurance for extended oil change intervals, so it is very expensive to buy synthetic oil and then perform the oil changes at 3,000 to 4,000 miles intervals.

You might easily suggest to use conventional oil and change the oil every 3,000 miles because that is the cheapest and safest way to go and I agree. I just want to read any information you can provide regarding this, specially if you car has several years of use, no matter if you use synthetic or conventional oil.

Obviously, this problem does not happen to every Toyota owner, but it might be cause for concern if those cases are in fact, people who followed the recommended maintenance schedule.

There is also a possibility that this web posted messages are part of some kind of effort to destroy Toyota's reputation. I understand that no company is perfect and problems might exist, but I also understand that Toyota is a sales leader world wide and that may attract bad publicity to affect those sales. Just another possibility.

Thanks for your suggestions.

Edited December 27, 2004 by Pablo 23

[Pablo 23]

Well, apparently, not so many people in this forum know about the oil gelling or sludge problem of some Toyotas.

I think that might be interpreted as good news because those cases of oil gelling might be exemptions.

The condition exists because Toyota talks about it on a brochure my new Toyota has.

Thanks

[Pablo 23]

Hello again from the topic starter, Pablo 23.

Well, my new 2005 Toyota Corolla works very well. It has less than 2,500 miles. The new keys now have an integrated chip. They work perfectly as long as you leave the car keys alone with the key fob or transmitter, without adding additional keys. According to the manual this could create interference and the Corolla may not start at all. I experienced a few long starts, but since I removed the unnecesary extra keys from the transmitter, it works well.

The owner's manual talks a little about this.

I will make its first oil filter change at 3,000 miles. See you soon.

Thanks.

Edited February 12, 2005 by Pablo 23

[siu16]

Welcome

[dvdmeister]

Interesting thread! Did you ever get any idea how your old car was stolen? Seems pretty wierd that the alarm didnt go off or anything, and they managed to disable the immobiliser - seems all most like they had their own keys! I've heard of this happening in the UK (where I am), where dodgy garages clone your keys when you take the car in for a service, and then sell the key clones and your address info to theives. Toyota even give you that special grey key to combat this!

Good luck with the new one anyway - I hope whatever extra security measures you have taken out pay off! :)

[Pablo 23]

Interesting thread! Did you ever get any idea how your old car was stolen? Seems pretty wierd that the alarm didnt go off or anything, and they managed to disable the immobiliser - seems all most like they had their own keys! I've heard of this happening in the UK (where I am), where dodgy garages clone your keys when you take the car in for a service, and then sell the key clones and your address info to theives. Toyota even give you that special grey key to combat this!

Good luck with the new one anyway - I hope whatever extra security measures you have taken out pay off! :)

←

:bookworm: Thanks.

Some people around me also believe that the garage people who repaired the

rear bumper of my stolen 2004 Corolla are probably suspects because the alarm apparently was deactivated easily. Maybe, they made a copy of the car keys and also found the way to pass over the key fob or transmitter.

I received an email saying that the thieves may easily have the key fob frequencies of manyToyotas, Nissans, and Ford models. I can't find the email or the link now, but I will try to find it later.

More suspicious is that my 2004 Corolla was stolen early in the morning, after 5:00 am because a neighbor saw the car parked in front of our house at that time.

We had information from the police that there are several criminal organizations here in Puerto Rico which are stealing many cars, but the police is still working on those cases, too slow in my opinion.

Was it a coincidence that just a few days before the car was stolen, the car's rear bumper was replaced and painted at an auto body shop, where I had to leave the car keys? The police never called me back asking for more details about this. Many people work at those auto body shops too, so it might be just someone with access or a more sophisticated operation, who knows.

There are other possibilities, but I just want to enjoy my new Corolla. If the police asks for more information, I will tell what I believe.

Thanks

[Pablo 23]

:bookworm:

Well, just yesterday I changed the oil and the filter of my new Corolla 2005 for the first time. I selected the original Toyota oil filter, and Valvoline 5w-30 Full Synthetic oil. I don't know if that oil is available in the UK or if it is a rare sight there. Is not the most expensive synthetic oil, at 4.99 US Dollar per quart = 2.63464 British Pound per quart of oil

The Toyota oil filter, part number 90915-YZZA2, costs here in Puerto Rico 6.00 US Dollar = 3.16790 British Pound and it was bought at the dealer. The cost for the first oil change was:

25.96 US Dollar = 13.70644 British Pound

At just above 2,500 miles I noticed that the oil dipstick was close to the low mark. I checked several times and the reading was the same and the car was turned off an hour before and it was parked at a level surface.

But, when I drained the oil I found that it had an excess of about 3/4 of a quart of oil, meaning that the 3/4 of a quart of oil I added were not necessary and the measure I took was not accurate. I changed the oil 6 days after I added the oil in part because I thought it may had excessive oil and I wanted to change the oil at 3,000 miles first.

Be careful when you measure the oil level. My car was not about 1/4 of a quart or a little more low of oil : it was just that the oil dipstick was not properly seated on its place and I took a wrong measure because you have to press the oil dipstick hard in order to make it seat properly, too hard in my opinion, and the oil dipstick handle is made of plastic, which might break easily.

My sister's 2001 Nissan Sentra had a broken oil dipstick handle that will require the removal of the oil pan in order to safely remove it and install a new oil dipstick because it was broken while it was installed.

Also, I reset the MAINT REQD warning light following the owner's manual procedure: select the odometer main screen, the one that you can't erase, and turn the switch off.

Then, while pressing the odometer reset knob turn the key to the on position and keep pressing the odometer reset knob for about 5 seconds with the key at the on position. The odometer will show some line bars until it shows again the odometer reading correctly and that is it, the warning light is reset.

The fuel economy so far is:

2,795.5 miles /320.316 lts(3.785) = 33.03 mpg (US)

2,795.5 miles /320.316 lts(4.55) = 39.71 miles per gallon (British measure)

Don't forget to add your experiences here if you like.

Thanks

Edited February 21, 2005 by Pablo 23

[Pablo 23]

:bookworm:

Hello again from the thread starter Pablo 23.

Soon I will post a digital photo of my 2005 Toyota Corolla because after several years of waiting for the low priced 8.0 megapixels digital camera I gave up. (Maybe, now that I bought a digital camera within a year or so the 8.0 megapixels cameras prices will drop) I learned about a year ago that 8.0 megapixels is the resolution of the conventional, non digital photos and that is why I wanted an 8.0 megapixels digital camera, nothing less.

But, the prices for an 8.0 megapixels camera are still to high, specially for those that allow you to use professional lenses.

I paid $339.99 US Dollars for a Kodak 6.1 megapixels digital camera. The price in British pounds is: 339.99 US Dollar = 180.654 British Pound. It has 32 megabytes of internal memory and I bought a 256 MB memory card. It uses a rechargable special Battery and it came witn a Battery charger and tthe Battery

Soon I will post a photo of my car, as soon as I wash it and wax it again this next Friday or Saturday.

The fuel economy of 2005 Corolla is right now:

6,556.4 miles / 748.151 lts(3.785) = 33.169 miles per gallon (US Measure)

6,556.4 miles / 748.151 lts(4.55) = 39.873 miles per gallon (British Measure)

But, unfortunately, we are paying an all time high price for gasoline here in Puerto Rico: 0.559 per liter of premium fuel, equivalent to:

0.559 US Dollar = 0.29702 British Pound

and, the galon of premium fuel, US Measure, costs $2.12 at least. which is the equivalent of:

2.12 US Dollar = 1.12646 British Pound

Remember tha 1 gallon in US measure is just 3.785 liters, instead of 4.55 liters like in Great Britain. At many gas staions here in Puerto Rico the prices are even higher by a couple of cents.

I will post a photo of my car within a couple of days.

Thanks