Corolla Disappointment

[markbusu]

Hi all,

I hope anyone can help, because im really disappointed so far with my brand new corolla, only 1 year old and 7k on the clock. The Transmission is giving me a big headace, it is a manual 5 speed with 1.4 D-4D Engine. Ive drove over a dozen cars in my life and i never experienced such a notchy and noisy gear change. The main problem i have is when i change from 1st gear to 2nd gear, i hear a really laud bang coming from the gearbox when the engine is warmed up, this problem started around May and i took it to the Toyota Dealer and they said that "Everything seems to be OK" yeah whatever..... I went to a friend of mine who is a Professional mechanic and works mainly with VWs and he explained to me that the sound true isnt normal, but he said that Toyotas are known for strange noises from the gearbox but he said that its better if i have another opinion... He said VW are also cable driven but the changes are truly smooth. Another Problem I have is when releasing the clutch, not always but occasionaly when i release the clutch i hear a bang as well. My Wife has a Yaris VVT-i and compared to mine its really a smooth car .... "Transmission Wise"... Has anyone ever encoutered a problem like this? It is still under warranty but the dearlship is insisting that its "Normal".... If i cannot find a solution to this im afriad that i will be driving the new VW Jetta soon..... because the company where i work lend me a VW Jetta for a couple of days and i must say i was truly amazed with its quality. When buying a Toyota I went for the Car everyone says its indistructable... Not sure about that anymore!!!

Thanks guys

[jackson]

Hi all,

I hope anyone can help, because im really disappointed so far with my brand new corolla, only 1 year old and 7k on the clock. The Transmission is giving me a big headace, it is a manual 5 speed with 1.4 D-4D Engine. Ive drove over a dozen cars in my life and i never experienced such a notchy and noisy gear change. The main problem i have is when i change from 1st gear to 2nd gear, i hear a really laud bang coming from the gearbox when the engine is warmed up, this problem started around May and i took it to the Toyota Dealer and they said that "Everything seems to be OK" yeah whatever..... I went to a friend of mine who is a Professional mechanic and works mainly with VWs and he explained to me that the sound true isnt normal, but he said that Toyotas are known for strange noises from the gearbox but he said that its better if i have another opinion... He said VW are also cable driven but the changes are truly smooth. Another Problem I have is when releasing the clutch, not always but occasionaly when i release the clutch i hear a bang as well. My Wife has a Yaris VVT-i and compared to mine its really a smooth car .... "Transmission Wise"... Has anyone ever encoutered a problem like this? It is still under warranty but the dearlship is insisting that its "Normal".... If i cannot find a solution to this im afriad that i will be driving the new VW Jetta soon..... because the company where i work lend me a VW Jetta for a couple of days and i must say i was truly amazed with its quality. When buying a Toyota I went for the Car everyone says its indistructable... Not sure about that anymore!!!

Thanks guys

[DaveSR]

I have driven a few different cars and owned a yaris previously and I must say that compairing those cars to others the gear box is very notchy/noisey in most Toyota's !

I too am dissapointed with the quality of my veichle, buying a Toyota for the reason of it being one of the best. My yaris was japanese built and I had no problems with it, I feel that because the cars are now built elsewhere they are not being built to that quality that they once were

[jackson]

Hi all,

I hope anyone can help, because im really disappointed so far with my brand new corolla, only 1 year old and 7k on the clock. The Transmission is giving me a big headace, it is a manual 5 speed with 1.4 D-4D Engine. Ive drove over a dozen cars in my life and i never experienced such a notchy and noisy gear change. The main problem i have is when i change from 1st gear to 2nd gear, i hear a really laud bang coming from the gearbox when the engine is warmed up, this problem started around May and i took it to the Toyota Dealer and they said that "Everything seems to be OK" yeah whatever..... I went to a friend of mine who is a Professional mechanic and works mainly with VWs and he explained to me that the sound true isnt normal, but he said that Toyotas are known for strange noises from the gearbox but he said that its better if i have another opinion... He said VW are also cable driven but the changes are truly smooth. Another Problem I have is when releasing the clutch, not always but occasionaly when i release the clutch i hear a bang as well. My Wife has a Yaris VVT-i and compared to mine its really a smooth car .... "Transmission Wise"... Has anyone ever encoutered a problem like this? It is still under warranty but the dearlship is insisting that its "Normal".... If i cannot find a solution to this im afriad that i will be driving the new VW Jetta soon..... because the company where i work lend me a VW Jetta for a couple of days and i must say i was truly amazed with its quality. When buying a Toyota I went for the Car everyone says its indistructable... Not sure about that anymore!!!

Thanks guys

Hi all,

I hope anyone can help, because im really disappointed so far with my brand new corolla, only 1 year old and 7k on the clock. The Transmission is giving me a big headace, it is a manual 5 speed with 1.4 D-4D Engine. Ive drove over a dozen cars in my life and i never experienced such a notchy and noisy gear change. The main problem i have is when i change from 1st gear to 2nd gear, i hear a really laud bang coming from the gearbox when the engine is warmed up, this problem started around May and i took it to the Toyota Dealer and they said that "Everything seems to be OK" yeah whatever..... I went to a friend of mine who is a Professional mechanic and works mainly with VWs and he explained to me that the sound true isnt normal, but he said that Toyotas are known for strange noises from the gearbox but he said that its better if i have another opinion... He said VW are also cable driven but the changes are truly smooth. Another Problem I have is when releasing the clutch, not always but occasionaly when i release the clutch i hear a bang as well. My Wife has a Yaris VVT-i and compared to mine its really a smooth car .... "Transmission Wise"... Has anyone ever encoutered a problem like this? It is still under warranty but the dearlship is insisting that its "Normal".... If i cannot find a solution to this im afriad that i will be driving the new VW Jetta soon..... because the company where i work lend me a VW Jetta for a couple of days and i must say i was truly amazed with its quality. When buying a Toyota I went for the Car everyone says its indistructable... Not sure about that anymore!!!

Thanks guys

[DaveSR]

Is a mod deleting the/his post/s or is someone having problems posting?

[jackson]

After owning and driving VW Golfs I decided to go Toyota for a change...

Whilst the car is quite,economic,comfortable I do hate the clutch/gearbox

I have been back to the dealers 3 times - to be told its fine .....

Some days it seems not to bad but on the whole it can be a bad driving

experience. I did post here hoping for some reassurance but none came.

In one sense, I feel better when other owners have the same problems.

I had hoped that there would be some kind of modification available...

Peter :( :(

[Black Knight]

Ask to drive your car back to back with one of the dealers own (with mechanic present). It'll satisfy you it's normal or demonstrate to the mechanic it isn't

[anchorman]

I have had several Toyota's all of which have had a bit of an issue with clunky gear change. Obviously it impossible to be conclusive without listening to yours but my gut feeling is that it is OK. The gears are selected by two cables. If you pull back the gaiter at the bottom of the gear stick (don't worry it clips on and off relatively easily), you can watch them working and also getter a better feel for the noise they make. If you look down and just go through the gears (stationary but with it ticking over) you will see the detent springs and locators which provide a positive location for the gearstick in each of the gears. You can sometimes get alittle grease into them with an artists paint brush that will take a little of the "notchyness" out of them. It is always worth just asking someone else with a similar model to just try theirs to help reassure yourself.

The VW just has more rubbery mounts for the cable change but the down side is the gearchange is more vague. In any case I can categorically say the I would be more happy witha Corolla than a Golf without exception every time (even admitting that the new Golf is stunning to look at inside and out). Keep your chin up you have done the right thing and will be far better off in the long run.

(Time served mechanic for 32 years)

Ask to drive your car back to back with one of the dealers own (with mechanic present). It'll satisfy you it's normal or demonstrate to the mechanic it isn't

Touche Black Night!!!

[jackson]

I have had several Toyota's all of which have had a bit of an issue with clunky gear change. Obviously it impossible to be conclusive without listening to yours but my gut feeling is that it is OK. The gears are selected by two cables. If you pull back the gaiter at the bottom of the gear stick (don't worry it clips on and off relatively easily), you can watch them working and also getter a better feel for the noise they make. If you look down and just go through the gears (stationary but with it ticking over) you will see the detent springs and locators which provide a positive location for the gearstick in each of the gears. You can sometimes get alittle grease into them with an artists paint brush that will take a little of the "notchyness" out of them. It is always worth just asking someone else with a similar model to just try theirs to help reassure yourself.

The VW just has more rubbery mounts for the cable change but the down side is the gearchange is more vague. In any case I can categorically say the I would be more happy witha Corolla than a Golf without exception every time (even admitting that the new Golf is stunning to look at inside and out). Keep your chin up you have done the right thing and will be far better off in the long run.

(Time served mechanic for 32 years)

Ask to drive your car back to back with one of the dealers own (with mechanic present). It'll satisfy you it's normal or demonstrate to the mechanic it isn't

Touche Black Night!!!

I have had several Toyota's all of which have had a bit of an issue with clunky gear change. Obviously it impossible to be conclusive without listening to yours but my gut feeling is that it is OK. The gears are selected by two cables. If you pull back the gaiter at the bottom of the gear stick (don't worry it clips on and off relatively easily), you can watch them working and also getter a better feel for the noise they make. If you look down and just go through the gears (stationary but with it ticking over) you will see the detent springs and locators which provide a positive location for the gearstick in each of the gears. You can sometimes get alittle grease into them with an artists paint brush that will take a little of the "notchyness" out of them. It is always worth just asking someone else with a similar model to just try theirs to help reassure yourself.

The VW just has more rubbery mounts for the cable change but the down side is the gearchange is more vague. In any case I can categorically say the I would be more happy witha Corolla than a Golf without exception every time (even admitting that the new Golf is stunning to look at inside and out). Keep your chin up you have done the right thing and will be far better off in the long run.

(Time served mechanic for 32 years)

Ask to drive your car back to back with one of the dealers own (with mechanic present). It'll satisfy you it's normal or demonstrate to the mechanic it isn't

Touche Black Night!!!

[markbusu]

Hi,

First of all I would like to thank you all especially anchorman for the replies you gave me.. What i did is the following.... i put the my corolla in the garage and i rented from a rental car company a corolla like mine 1.4 D-4D for the coming 2 weeks.. I will see how this car goes for the time i will be driving it.. If it will do the same exact thing like mine i will leave it and do not take notice of it anymore just ignore it, but if it will not do similar things like mine i will go again to the dealer and if he will not take action i will involve my lawyer ... maybe then they will take me into consideration.

Thanks again for all your help!java script:emoticon('', 'smid_18')

[GRD008]

hope you get every thing sorted out....

[markbusu]

Hey,

Just to let you all know that it has now been a couple of days that i have been driving the rental car and i must say that i felt the difference. Compared to mine the gearchanges are much more smooth and easy to change, even reverse gear there was no need to release the clutch and repress the clutch to put it into reverse. i called the local dealer and i explained the findings and he offered to send a mechanic to drive both cars, i hope that he might be a normal person and be able to notice the difference, if this does not make the dealer do something about it i already informed him that if this does not get solved im taking legal proceedings.

Thanks to all

[Panners]

im taking legal proceedings.

Another route you may wish to consider is to contact Toyota customer relations direct (the number is in your handbook file) I have battled for a year with the dealer I purchased my car from (with 18 months warranty remaining) to have the faulty computer changed, bear in mind though, that you may also have to harrass them into action, which you can do by reeling off dates and who you spoke to at CR.

Failing that, there are also a few good motoring columnists in the quality papers who would love to hear your story no doubt.

Best of luck with it.

[anchorman]

im taking legal proceedings.

Another route you may wish to consider is to contact Toyota customer relations direct (the number is in your handbook file) I have battled for a year with the dealer I purchased my car from (with 18 months warranty remaining) to have the faulty computer changed, bear in mind though, that you may also have to harrass them into action, which you can do by reeling off dates and who you spoke to at CR.

Failing that, there are also a few good motoring columnists in the quality papers who would love to hear your story no doubt.

Best of luck with it.

I am fairly sure that Toyota will want you to let the dealer sort it out to start with. Try not to be too militant with them until you have given them chance, I think assertive is probably the right term.

I don't think that locking horns with the worlds biggest independant motor manufacturer is something I would relish. As they say "my solicitor is bigger than yours"!!! When it comes down to it, they will ask two questions;

Is it fit for purpose?

Is it of merchantable quality?

...............you will have quite some task in answering no to either.

You are right though Panners, it is worth then taking it up with Toyota only reverting to "mud slinging" when it is obviouse that nothing else is going to work. They will be more concerned about bad publicity than what a small claims court has to say.

Remember they are human and can be just as defensive as anybody when riled. Keep calm and be polite. They will probably do their best to sort it out.

Regards

anchorman

[markbusu]

I would like to thank you guys for your replies. I will be taking your advice.. i will be contacting Toyota and explain them my situation as you said first, hopefully that would loosen things up, if that does not work, i will write a nice article and send it to local and global publishers... as you said bad publicity will be more of a problem for them. Although hopefully tomorrow i will be having this "test drive" once more, where a mechanic from the local garage will drive my car and the rental car hopefully noticing the difference between them. I told a couple friends of mine to drive both cars to be sure because at one point i felt i was going out of my mind and i was imaging it, but my fellow friends all agreed with methat there is something wrong. Will get back with the outcome.

Thanks

[markbusu]

Hi all,

Just to let you know that yesterday i have this test drive with the mechanic of the local dealer and finally this guy noticed the difference between both cars. He said that he thinks that the clutch might need adjustment because he noticed that its cut of point is really low. dont know what that means but i trust in his opinion, he seemed to know what he was talking about.. anyways its going into the garage next week for these repairs... and i was really shocked when the garage foreman called to let me know that he was taking everything in his hand and that he apologises for not taking this problem into consideration before, i felt like he had a discussion with his supirior and that it wasnt nice lol. Anyways hope that they solve this problem.

Thanks again fellows

[Black Knight]

The way the clutch works is you have two cast iton plates which are attached to the engine (the flywheel and part of the clutch cover) and a friction disk (a disk made of similar material to brake pads) between the two plates.

When your foot is off the clutch springs clamp the two cast iron plates together holding the friction disk between them and meaning it can't move.

When you put your foot on the clutch it releases the cast iron plates allowing them to spin seperately to the friction disk.

If the clutch is set badly then when you push your foot on the pedal the plates might not seperate enough to allow the disk in the middle to be free of them. This would make gear changes difficult.

Glad you got it sorted. For something that's subjective, like funny noise/car feels funny etc, I'd always advise back to back test of the cars with another one with the dealer present. I've worked with cars for years and it can be really difficult to understand a problem until I can check two cars side by side

[markbusu]

The way the clutch works is you have two cast iton plates which are attached to the engine (the flywheel and part of the clutch cover) and a friction disk (a disk made of similar material to brake pads) between the two plates.

When your foot is off the clutch springs clamp the two cast iron plates together holding the friction disk between them and meaning it can't move.

When you put your foot on the clutch it releases the cast iron plates allowing them to spin seperately to the friction disk.

If the clutch is set badly then when you push your foot on the pedal the plates might not seperate enough to allow the disk in the middle to be free of them. This would make gear changes difficult.

Glad you got it sorted. For something that's subjective, like funny noise/car feels funny etc, I'd always advise back to back test of the cars with another one with the dealer present. I've worked with cars for years and it can be really difficult to understand a problem until I can check two cars side by side

Hi Black Knight,

Thanks for your explanation, i thing i get a grasp of what you mean, infact after the mechanic from the local garage left, i went to the my garage and i tried a small experiment myself , i started the rental car and i put in 1st gear and i let the clutch very slowly to see where it is the cut of point, basically it was somewhere in the middle of the whole travel of the pedal, then i tried the same thing with my car and when i started to release the clutch to see its cut of point i noticed that it was immediate not like the rental car, it was at the end of the whole travel of the clutch so i think from there he noticed the difference.

Thanks again fellows i will let you know what will be the outcome at the end of this week.

[DaveSR]

Thought I would add to this topic rather than create another one -

At the moment I am really ****** of with my car, I brought it 4 months ago and it's nearly 3 years old. I have had so many problems with it and non of the attempts to fixed it has worked. I have phoned Toyota and all I got was "the works being carried out under warranty - and that's all your getting from us, if you still want to complain get on to trading standards". It's been in at least 10 times already, I can just imagine what it's going to be like in a years time, and when the warranty runs out .

So far my car has had the front door seals replaced, 2 new top dash's plus another two modifications they tried to do, and four attempts to fix a heavy and squeaky clutch.

The only problem they have fixed is the door seals, however I have had to reset the electric windows (twice) one touch as they didn't do it, and on another time my blue tooth kit wasn't working which I had to take apart and noticed that one of the plugs wasn't connected correctly.

Also when I picked up my car I pointed out a stone chip to be repaired which they did, however it was very poorly done and recently I have noticed that it has started to rust, so that's another job that needs to be sorted but at a different garage as I brought it from a Mr T elsewhere.

Anyway I picked my car up yesterday after having more clutch work done and I noticed that the steering wheel is not align :ffs: . The car also seems to be ALOT more nosier and the engine is making a weired noise as if it is going to fall apart, at first I thought that they probably haven't put the sound proofing back but the engine make a really bad clicking noises when you put your foot down. But to make matters worse the clutch is squeaking again.

I'm going to London tomorrow for work and that will put it through it's paces. So let's see what happens

I don't want to get rid of my car because I like it and there is nothing else in the market I like/can afford, plus I will loose out on so much money from depreciation.

I am so angry and need to vent - I will give my local garage a call after my trip down there and tell them how I feel, and then I'm going to phone up HQ again and ............... well :ffs: :censor: :ffs:

[bert.tsport]

which toyota do you use dave sr?

i find the Nuneaton listers toyota really good.

bert

[DaveSR]

which toyota do you use dave sr?

TSpirit 2l D4-D ..... all the work so far has been done at listers Nuneaton

[bert.tsport]

which toyota do you use dave sr?

TSpirit 2l D4-D ..... all the work so far has been done at listers Nuneaton

you could take it to coventry or stratford listers toyota? i had my clutch and box bearings changed at stratford last year on warranty.

[Demonic Angel]

Or maybe Farmer & Carlisle Leicester Dave?

[Blacksheep]

Just to add to Markbusu original comments, i noticed you've only done 7000 miles, my T Sport was quite a clunky stiff gearchange until I had done about 15,000 miles now its really loosened up (or i've got used to it) and the gearchange is perfect, what was the milage on the hire car you had?

[markbusu]

The hire car has 22k on the clock.

Cheers