2004 Corolla, Made In Japan Or Britain?

[prince]

My Mother bought a 2004 1.6T-Spirit Auto, I was under the impression that these cars were made in Britain, the showroom model said made in Britain on the top right hand corner, the Dealer said all UK Corolla's are Made in Britain.

My Mum picked up the car last Friday, I looked on the top right hand corner it says Made in Japan . Did they shift production?

[jamesholden]

No as a rule they are made in Britain, but certain rare spec or body styles may be made 'to-order', possibly because this is an auto they decided to make them in Japan.

But well done, the Japanese built Toyota's are far superior to Toyota's made anywhere else in the world judging by French Yaris' and my Avensis compared to other Toyota's we have/have had.

[Big Bad Bob]

Some autos built in japan some in uk it is just what is available at the time. you got the better of the two! jap ones built far better that uk ones.

[Twincam.GTi]

Yes, all you guys are right,

A mechanic friend of mine who works at a Toyota dealership/ franchise has said that in recent years there has been more 'Warranty Work' to do on toyotas since they have been making certain models in Britain/Europe.

He doesn't wish to 'knock' the British or European workforce but something seems to happen (or not happen) that does not (or does!) in Japan!

[Sly Si]

Post withdrawn.

Si

[dawesy]

yeah thanks guys. i happen to work for toyota at burnaston and can asure you that the uk built cars are put together just aswell as the jap ones, there are even audits carried out by TMC (toyota motor corp japan) to ensure that quality is maintained. however some components are sourced from europe so these could be the difference. but trust me that all the members as burnaston work very hard and do a lot of overtime to meet demand. so please dont slag off uk built cars.

rant over

lee

[+Steve]

Lee is right

Toyota has a very strict build policy worldwide.. they build cars in many countries...

It could be in timbucktoo.. the quality would still be the same

[Twincam.GTi]

however some components are sourced from europe so these could be the difference.

Yes, it was european components that have been failing, perhaps I should have mentioned that in the earlier posting.

As my friend said "he did not wish to 'knock' anyone", nor do I.

[Duck]

Not slating the british toyota manufacturing here. We are mearly stating that the quality of Jap built cars are still better than the high standard UK built toyota cars. Noone said UK workers don't try. :D

[01vitz]

I thought that only the 3 dr and 5dr corollas were built in the Uk and that the saloon

and estate are built in Japan. There is a difference in the 2004 Japanese models

as they have bigger headlights and the estate features a Lexus Jeep aerial.

[CurranShelter]

Funny, I've had the same experience, and mine isn't an auto. I took delivery of my new T2 1.6 5 door manual 3 weeks ago and it too had a "Made in Japan" sticker in the windscreen. I commented on this and the dealer simply said "that's strange, because it's they're made in Burnaston" (Derby).

So either they're shipping pre-stickered windscreens over from Japan or for some reason they're selling Japanese-made RH drive Corollas in the UK!! I don't understand - surely Burnaston can keep up with demand!?

[CurranShelter]

Anyone got any information yet on what's going on with these "Made in Japan" standard 5dr Corollas?

[b1nda]

Hi,

just like to add that my Brother T-Spirit also has a "Made in Japan" Sticker on the winscreen as well but both of my cars say made in Britian.....wierd when i went to take my car in for a service today some corolla's said made in Britian and some say Japan....i think that the "Top of the range" models are made in Japan

Anyway......Only Toyota knows!

[mickandjanet]

My 2004 Sept 5 door T3 manual has a made in Japan sticker on the windscreen, also notice the Dunlop tyres state made in Japan along with other items under the bonnet.

[Blacksheep]

My new Facelift T-Sport says made in britian and its totally rattle free, and I'm super chuffed with it...

[Rolly_Mo]

i also work at burnaston. i know that production of some of the corolla was moved to japan so that burnaston could cope with the 750 a day avensis models also being built there.

i'm not sure which models of the corolla were moved to japan, though i don't think it is model specific. just to reduce volume.

we can lease any of the cars built at burnaston and all the new corolla models are available on the lease scheme.

also burnaston is the only toyota factory in the world to produce any avensis, and the only toyota factory in the world to export to japan.

hope this clears things up.

Rolly_Mo

[anish]

I have a 2003 Corolla sedan japanese model. It is built in japan and then shipped to my country. I was just wondering if anybody could tell me whether it is the same as the sedan sold in the uk and if so whether a body kit made for the uk model will fit mine.

[mczgb]

Hi there,

I bought my Corolla in Croatia in april 2004 - it's 1,6 vvt-i, 5 door, MT regular model. When my car arrived, my salesman proudly told me that it's made in Japan. Untill then I also thought that this model was only made in UK, but he told me that sometimes they had to import some from Japan. He also showed me chasis number which starts with letter "J" and told me that it also prooves that my car was made in Japan.

[CurranShelter]

Sure enough, my chassis number starts with 'J' as well... so I do have a Japanese model! I sort of liked the idea of having a car that was built down the road from where I live :-( but then I suppose the Japanese came up with the thing in the first place.

I've seen some arguments about GB vs Japan build quality etc... well mine has a few rattles and vibrations and it's done less than 2500, although my main gripe is the bumpy noisy ride if the road is anything less than smooth.

So does anyone know what else the chassis number tells us other than place of manufacture?

[spwolf]

Sure enough, my chassis number starts with 'J' as well... so I do have a Japanese model! I sort of liked the idea of having a car that was built down the road from where I live :-( but then I suppose the Japanese came up with the thing in the first place.

I've seen some arguments about GB vs Japan build quality etc... well mine has a few rattles and vibrations and it's done less than 2500, although my main gripe is the bumpy noisy ride if the road is anything less than smooth.

So does anyone know what else the chassis number tells us other than place of manufacture?

←

Ok, here is how it goes.

Due to high demand for both Avenis and Corolla in Europe, even after raising production in GB, Toyota has to import 5 door hatchbacks from Japan. All possible equipment/engine 5 door Corolla combinations are produced in Japan as well as GB and mixed with GB models - they are absolutly and exactly the same.

3 door combinations are made only in GB, Sedan and Wagons are made only in Turkey, and Corolla Verso is only made in Turkey.

To see where you car was made check your vin:

JT - Japan

NM - Turkey

SB - Great Britain

VN - France (Yaris)

If the VIN says it is JT, then it is Japan - period.

As to production quality in GB - I have to say congrats to UK guys working there, I personally have noticed them to be better built than Corolla's from Japan. This is all extremly subjective area, I work at dealership and I get to open and close a lot of doors daily :-). You dont really have build quality issues in Toyota's in general, so it is not that you would notice it. Noises or some other problems are 99% due to engineering and design, not because some beer loving old chap forgot to screw something :-).

all together, UK plant is excellent and UK-only built Avensis is awesome!

[dawesy]

thanks m8. nice to know the long hours are apreciated by ppl

[CurranShelter]

Well that settles it - thanks for the comprehensive explanation!

Although if the UK models are better built, I'm miffed at having got a Japan model, especially as the dealer kept going on about how they were wonderful British-built cars.

Mine has a few more squeaks and rattles than I'd like (from at least 3-4 diff sources - windows, dash, tailgate...), none very serious, but it's a 2-month old car!!

I had wondered if the build location might explain why mine seems to have a harder ride than I remember from the one I test drove, but if they're identical parts then I suppose that's not the explanation. This might be a silly question, but does it take a while to "break in" a car's ride - i.e. any chance of it improving with more miles (or will it get worse!!)?