Has your Corolla been squeaking? The trunk experience..

[Chris Peterson]

hello everyone!

I'd like to share my 2weeks-in-the-garage-trying-to-eliminate-squeaks experience of mine. If your Corolla isn't that quiet inside (Well, YOU wanted a European Car, the answer rings in my head.. to be honest with you, I don't think I did..), maybe my experience could save you some trouble, if in any case any of you has had any identical problems.

Well, my T-sport produced the following noises:

1. The glove compartment squeaked over bumps

2. The Cd produced a scratching sound over road bumps. Push it with your finger and you'll probably see that it's not that rigid. If this is the case, trust me. It will aggravate.

3. The co-drivers seat rattled.

4. There was a vibrating noise someplace around the clocks.

5.There was an unidentifiable vibration from the dashboard from 4000rpm till 6000rpm.

6.There was a whole 'concert' of noises, vibrations and squeaks coming from the rear end of the car, somewhere in the trunk.

7.There was a nerve-breaking sound coming from the base of the driver's seatbelt, like a coin had been dropped down there, a creaking sound that aggravated when the car took a curve.

I'm a lucky guy euh?

Remedies.

1)I placed sticker-pads on the far ends of the glove compartment. Now it takes more pressure to click-close it, and it remains firmer. Now it's quiet.

2)There is nothing we could do about the Cd, other than turn up its volume!

3)Nothing could be done about that either. It wont rattle if someone is sitting. I have punched the Bmw's compact co-drivers folding seat and it's no more solid. So we'll have to live with that..

4)It was the plastic window of the clocks! If you push it upward, it will go up a centimeter or two! Be careful, it is very scratch sensitive! Don't use fingernails. When it's up, it doesn't vibrate.

5)We couldn't trace that. So that makes one more thing to wait for when the revs go over 6200..

6) The trunk..that's a long sad story.. Believe it or not, my fiancee drove the car and I was INSIDE the trunk, ghost-hunting. Smiling euh? You get so dizzy in there, you feel like throwing up and the sounds just come from everywhere! The Toyota people were sure it was the folding back seat. They adjusted it, but the sounds remained. I got in the trunk again. I got really stubborn, I just had to find out what caused those loud squeaks.

Well, it was two things. The first was that the third rear 'door' was loose, and hopped on bumpy roads. The solution was to unscrew the lock and move it a few milimeters downwards. Also, the T-sport has two water pipes coming down from the sunroof, one on each side of the trunk. I personally didn't see them, that's what the Toyota people told me. I just pointed out the location of the noise. If you slightly punch the inner side of the trunk, somewhere behind the taillights, you might hear the sound. On bumpy roads it could be heard very loud. I don't know how they fixed it. They probably put something soft around the pipes.

7. This is important. If you have this sound, you'll need to remove the rear seat and all the plastics from the side, right behind the drivers seat. When I saw my car in this shape, I freaked out.. Down there there is a metal bar, approximately 30 centimetres long and 15 centimeters wide. One end of it is screwed on the base of the seat belt, the other on the chassis below the rear seat. I was told it contributed to the chassis' rigidness. I don't remember well, but for some technical reason it can't be removed.

The trick here is to stick some kind of soft adhesive material to the bottom of this metal thing. The problem was that there was metal to metal friction, which caused the sound. And the reason it aggravated in curves probably had to do with chassis elasticity.

Now my Corolla is much quieter inside. I hope my getting inside a corolla's trunk will provide helpful information to anyone who might be facing similar problems. Please bear in mind that these are the specific problems MY Corolla had. If you're sure you have any of these problems, be cautious and ask for professional help. Make sure we're talking about the same things.

Thanks for reading!

[spwolf]

I had issues with 1/3/5/7... In my case, 6 was fixed by adding pads under registration plate (it was hitting the trunk)...

3. - It seems to come from the seat springs... I am not sure if it can be solved, I will take the seat out next week and take a peak with my mechs

5. Is really low noise and it does not bother me at all, engine is much lauder at that point

1. Is the thing that really annoys me, cuz its high pitched squeak....will do the same thing as you

Heh, you should have seen my car when alarm was being installed... whole inside was turned upside down... it bothers ppl who dont work in the industry a lot, but its not a big deal, everything is designed so it can be taken out and put back together easily...

[Chris Peterson]

In my case I think the rattling of the co-driver's seat is generated by the metal frame of the seat. If you give it a punch while driving you'll hear it. But it could be the springs as well, sure.. I've checked German cars, even in four door cars the seat is not rigid. Since it can be adjusted or folded, how can it be rigid..? Sometimes i think I'm behaving paranoid.. But I think that some other Corolla owners could be feeling the same way, kind of betrayed, expecting a more solid interior-plastic built quality. I've heard of someone who had a loose window in the driver's door, and the side-carpets in the trunk falling off..

On the other hand all these depict a minor side of what we call build-quality. I can imagine luxury makes prioritizing such details instead of focusing on reliability. I think it is unacceptable that a BMW Compact with a 192 horsepower, a hatchback just like the T-sport, cannot compete the japannese model in terms of reliability (see TUV) or safety (see EURO NCAP). And it costs twice as much.. I have tried pushing the BMW Cd. It was more solidly built, I need to say.. But that's much easier to do than to create a safer, more reliable car.

About the licence plate, yup, that was the first thing I did when I first drove the car. That was very annoying!

[spwolf]

actually, when it comes to build quality and interior plastic quality, corolla is at the top of its league here... all these problems are small, and probably due to the fact that we got our cars early on... few months after production started...

Reason you notice most of them is due to the fact that corolla's interior is so nicely built & sound isolated that you will feel every little bitty sound that should not be there...

Most of these issues are already corrected - I didnt notice any strange noises in the latest corolla we sold, which was built 6 months after mine was

[pepsik23]

As far as the problem with the co-driver's seat is concerned, I've been told that there was a problem with the seat in 3D hatchback corollas. In Poland this problem is currently beeing solved. Toyota used wrong rails to mount the seat (from 5D hatchback). Because of that you can sometimes hear the strange noises near the seat. I've got the same problem so I've mailed people in Toyota Motor Poland. I've got the reply that there is such a problem and proper parts are being send to dealers to solve it.

[spwolf]

Solved problem #1.... now my Corolla TS is very quiet... even when going 120kmh over small speed bumps ;-)

thx

[Chris Peterson]

That's an interesting story pepsik23.. Nice to hear spwolf, does the level of the glove compartment now slightly exceed the dashboard level? Because the pads push it outward now.. Strange noise it used to be, yes, very high pitched. Like some nocturnal insect, I dont know what it's called.. It was the lock wasn't it?

Do you sell Toyotas or are you a mechanic? ;)

yeah, you're right. A very quiet interior exposes auditoty detail euh? And perhaps Corolla owners tend to be very demanding.. Otherwise they'd buy something else.. And my sister is thinking of buying the new Micra and I go ''hey, wait a year or so..' And as I was telling some opel astra guys, 'there might be some boisterous little 'insects' in my car, but hey, let's compare our cars in say, three years.. There's going to be a jungle of them in your cars by that time..

I've been in 3-year-old astras,they rattle like hell..

[spwolf]

Actually, it fits perfectly right now, and it closes perfectly (no extra resitance), mechs did a perfect job... it is inside of the lock (plastic), hitting metal hinge when you pass over bumps on the road...

I sell them, but we have nice service center as well, so I am a bit involved in the tech side as well

[grum]

Hi Folks,

I just picked up my T-Sport from my local dealer tonight, having had it in to sort out the cacophony from the boot and the squeaky passenger seat.

The dealer has padded out the tail-gate with sound proofing material and it seems to have improved things - I'll let you all know how I get on on a longer run tomorrow.

They've also booked in the car for next week to have the passenger seat base replaced, backing up what pepsik23 said. We'll see what happens.

Cheers,

Grum

[mytbyte]

I have somehow ractified the glovebox problem by hiting it in anger as it squealed every time I would close it so it doesn't seem to give out noises any more...I still can't figure out the constant rattle that comes from the back, probably from the trunk...other rattle comes when driving over hard bumps and are not usually heard on good roads...I even think it could be items jumping about in the trunk and in the glovebox that make most of the rattling...I was too lazy to remove all the stuff from compartments, and now I have injured my knee and haven't driven my Corolla for a couple of weeks now...and had it driven by a very nonchalant driver when I was sitting immobilised in the co-driver's seat and had a cold sweat all over me as she kept crossing unitentionally into the other lane...I was screming inside when she parked the my Cory in a crowded street...luckily, nothing bad happened...oh, I'm so miserable...

My sister and her fiance are considering Nissan Micra as well, with the other choise being the new facelifted Yaris...

spwolf!!! Did your dealership get the new facelifted Yaris already? If yes, how better is it in way of materials used? By the way, don't you think that taking the car apart can introduce new rattles when reassembled?

[Chris Peterson]

Check the water pipes on the sides of the trunk, (put your ear on the outside of the car, just behind the tail-lights, and slap the carpets on the inside. you may hear something deafening familiar..

Check the trunk door. Unfortunately the black tabs dont function as screws, like in other cars, which would mean that you could alter their length. In my car the trunk door wasn't firm enough (see above) and we had to push the lock downwards..

Check the registration plate, like spwolf says.

My sister ordered the new Micra, she liked the new looks compared to the Yaris, which still remains fresh though.. More news about it in August, when it is delivered..

I also feel that when it comes to rattles, sometimes the solution could be to loosen rather than tighten someting.. Who knows what can happen after you strip the car and reassemble it again.. Spwolf, I'm sure you very often have to confront the panic-stricken looks of owners who see their cars in such shapes.. Something simple to you can seem a catastrophe to us! For some weird reason we tend to trust doctors more than we trust car specialists..

[spwolf]

well everything fits back together nicely, its all built from "blocks", like lego's...easy fit back... it is quite cool

We can "fix" your glovebox and maybe even trunk when u come here for TTE upgrades ;-)))))

As to Yaris, its coming in March, and its gonna have nicer materials inside which was the biggest complaint... base level gets new kit and we introduced new equipment version which is nice... we also now have d4-d engine, which is currently holding few guiness book records when it comes to fuel consuption...

Micra is nice as well, but i think yaris is better bang for the buck - it also goes faster and spends less fuel... in fact, Yaris's VVT-i base engine is by far the best base level engine in small car class... it is usually 2 sec faster in 0-100 than everything else - i mean Micra (and polo, clio, etc) base engine goes 16 sec to 100, thats stone age stuff... chicks love yaris, red color is a must have (blue is nice too)... and also - we have service centers everywhere now, so it will be easier to fix ur car as well

Of course, I sell Toyotas for living, so my opinion might be biased, but new Yaris is a really nice, nice car... high quality too - TUV just called it the highest quality car in germany for 2002 (1-3 yr old class)

[Chris Peterson]

I can't think of anything more valuable than proven quality, low fuel consumption and a good 0-100 number! (Don't forget EuroNCap! Even safer than the BMW mini). Wish my sister could see all that, but I don't blame her because I dont think she's getting a lousy car and of course she's young, she's not in cars and she can't see past a design or a color. But my Dad is getting a RAV! The most elegant, well built and sophisticated SUV for the money!

[mytbyte]

Spwolf, it's so nice of you...if they don't fix the rattles on my first scheduled service session in my garage like they, I'll take my bussines to you :D How much time in advance should I announce my intention to have the TTE springs fitted so that you can get them? I was definitely thinking about getting the 15" alloy wheels (not necesserily genuineToyota) to use with my current tires! Would they look silly with the lowerd body?

Chris, the only grudge my sister has against Yaris is that its trunk is too small, even with the possibility to slide the rear seat so she is looking into the next best thing, the Micra, which is also a really good deal that gets you practically everything with a 1,2 80 BHP engine for 11150 euros...but guess what? They don't sell diesel engines here because they can't give the 3-year warranty on Renault's dCi engines that are to be used...silly and shameful, really...so this is a major point against Micra...

By the way, why does your sister have to wait until August for the car to be delivered???? :o

[spwolf]

Well generally around 10 days for all TTE parts, you could always email me for more info and we will think something up... we also have some decent alesio wheels which are fairly cheap and rather good, but i dont know what would you do with your old ones if you came here to buy them...

It can only make you car look better, but since you are already getting new wheels i would suggest getting the whole package - 16" rims and tyres (205/55)... Heh, I might even sell mine around the time you might come here since I spending all of my paycheck on new set of 17"...

If I was you -

- 16" rims and tyres

- new shift knob

- TTE lowering springs (30mm)

- TTE roof spoiler (elegant one maybe?)

Of course, it all depends on how much dough you got ;-), but I can give you some discounts plus you can get the tax back I think as well...I just like seeing nicely tuned Corolla's around...

---

As to Yaris, indeed it is smaller than Micra , but it does have an superb diesel engine and if you pull back the seat, you would get 305 liters of space, as supposed to 250 in Micra... In any case, it is all up to her, she should get whatever she likes better but everyone I ever talked to loves their Yaris

[Chris Peterson]

The Yaris is turning into a 'cult' car, let's see if the micra will.. If it turns out to be half as good as the Yaris that would make a brilliant car right? Unfortunatelly, she'll have to wait 5 1/2 months for the techna version mytbyte.. the simple versions are ready to deliver. It's fun to drive, but note that there is no room for the heads of the rear passengers, if they're over 1.80 meters..

It's cool most of you are from the same country. Greece is on the other, far side of Europe... I miss part of the fun.. :(

[mytbyte]

Spwolf,

you're right, I wouldn't be able to make it past customs check with a set of 4 wheels in my trunk and/or cabin...I don't have too much dough so I thought to get by with 15" alloys but I'll obviously have to get them here in Cro, be it 15 or 16...I know a guy who knows a Toyota dealership owner very well (Mr. Hojan, maybe you know him) personally, I could get my wheels there at discount, then come to see you about the springs because I don't think he'd discount me all the way... :D The spoiler is out of question because I have a bicycle carrier that mounts high on the trunk door...too bad...is the spoiler removable?

Sis is looking into having at least too children...hehe...:-) so back seats should become occupied very often within the next few years so I don't think that sliding the seat would be much possible...hmmm...but they can always get the cargo box on roof rails for longer trips...she's actually looking into Micra Visia Plus but was today told that she has little time left before bulk of the production gets redirected for Western EU due to good demand, so 2-3 month delivery was quoted by the dealer unless she orders the car soon...

Chris, spwolf and I are actually NOT living in the same coutry but he is rather close to my house at the Adriatic sea , just across the border (100 miles?) so... :D

[spwolf]

well even if he gets you discounted all the way, Toyota wheels will still be too expensive... rather get 16" aftermarket wheels than 15" originals... you can get 15" wheels for 80-100 Euro each (and use original wheels), and there is no way you can do that with Toyota's wheels... save some money there and buy a new shift knob :P... you cant believe how much difference simple shift knob can do... i am still amazed everytime i get into one of our 1.6's...

You can just come and see us for the heck of it, get a ride in TS...or drive one ;-)

In all honesty, you should have gotten Sol version... you get sooo much more stuff for not much more money, including alloy wheels :P

I am like what, 30-40 miles away from adriatic sea, where did you say your house was again? ;-)

[mytbyte]

Mr. Hojan stocks all kinds of wheels, not just Toyota's...they strongly recommended, when I was inquiryng, that I forget about Toyota's wheels and get some other that they sell (BBS, OZ) which shouldn't void the warranty...

Are you reffering to the TS knob?....how is it different from the chrome one for the ordinary Corolla? Or are you reffering to the quickshuft as well?

Yes, Sol interior is great but I am a rather sloppy person so light seats etc would attract filth and it would oh so visible...anyway, it was as much as I could stretch with my money so...

My seaside house in on the island of Korcula, so on my way there I could take a turn at Neum to get to Mostar, right? :-) I'd be glad to come...

[spwolf]

heh, you could take turn in metkovic and visit mostar - its like 30 minutes away from highway in metkovic... actually it is probably faster for you to go through bosnia (nova gradiska-banjaluka-mostar-metkovic) than through croatia on your way to korcula... it should take you like 6-6.5 hrs max to peljesac from zagreb...

As to Sol version - it is common mistake - it actually also comes with dark interior and alu inserts as well (instead of fake wood) ;-)...

anyway, i like OZ wheels, they should be a good fit, i am thinking on getting OZ 17" racing wheels for summer with a set of continetal tires... expensive as hell though

[mytbyte]

i'll probably be staying with a friend fore some time near Maslenièki most before continuin to Korcula so...

Yeah, I some damn fine 5-spoke OZ wheels named Crono Evoplution that I think some WRC teams are using (Peugeot, Ford)...and I would like these...

My mistake about SOL, but I sat in one with beige interior and it felt like sitting in a Mercedes...I'll get the alu inserts somehow, somewday...:-)

I like this car...

[spwolf]

of course, Mr. Spwolf can get you alu inserts as well... ;-)

i doubt they will be too cheap though

[Bobby]

I Have problems #1 and #6, and since Im still during the break-in period I dont know if I have the dashboard sound during the 6,000 rpm...

mine is a 5 door TS soo... I dont have all the others, I think...

[spwolf]

I Have problems #1 and #6, and since Im still during the break-in period I dont know if I have the dashboard sound during the 6,000 rpm...

mine is a 5 door TS soo... I dont have all the others, I think...

easy to fix... just check the posts above...

[Bobby]

SPwolf did you fixed problem #1 just like Chris did??? if not, please explain me how you did it...?