Corolla 1.4 Colour Collection Seats

July 24, 2005

I purchased my new 1.4 Colour Collection on 1 March 2005 and am generally pleased with it. I believe from previous postings, other members may have experienced the following similar problems and I would welcome any comments:

1) A intermittant squeeking noise when breaking at low speeds (usually under 10mph)

2) A rattle or buzzing type noise from inside the drivers dashboard. This only ocurrs intermitantly and seems to be affected by the weather temperature!

3) What relly 'bugs' me is the water staining on the seats when the doors are opened in wet weather. The seat material appears to be of poor quality (my car was built in Japan). My local dealer has offered to clean the stains (at Toyota expense) as they are aware of the problem but this would of course only be a temporary fix until it next rains! My Dealer says that Toyota did bring out a replacement seat cover material but had to recall it due to fire retardent issues.

Are any other Members experiencing this seat staining problem and what have their Dealers comments been. I have been given the impression that the seats will be exchanged when a 'fix' has been obtained but this could be an expensive problem to Toyota.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

July 26, 2005

I have an '04 1.6 TSpirit.

1. No squeaking on mine.

2. Yes, I and many other owners have exactly the same buzzing noise. Nobody seems to know what causes it or how to cure it. A great shame - spoils an otherwise almost perfect car. I'm extremely reluctant to let a mechanic loose under the dash for all the obvious reasons. I've tightened everything I can get get at under the dash to absoutely no effect! It's definitely dependent on the temperature and revs of the car.

3. Yes, another common fault. I just live with it. Wipe the drops off the roof edge with your finger before opening the door and any drops that still stain are easily removed with your bog standard upholstery cleaner.