Newbie

[Gregg]

Hi there

Used to Own a Toyota Avensis then have been with Vauxhalls for 2-3years

However i want to get back in to a toyota.

And the Corolla T sport seems ot fit the Bill.

Few questions i am hoping people wouldnt mind answering even if they have done many times before

MPG what is the true figure, mainly around town

Faults - are there any i should look for when buying

Budget i have is up to £6k

Hope you can help

Thanks Gregg

[Jock Fran]

MPG depends very much on your driving style. If you nail it everywhere, you'll probably see 20mpg. If you drive carefully most of the time you'll see 30 around town.

Common problems...... Hmmmm..... Do some searching and see what you come up with.

Noisy gearboxes (kind of a scraping sound) on the over-run come up - although this seems to be a "feature" rather than a problem based on some old posts. Mine does it, has done for a year, and hasn't given me one bit of trouble.

Smelly clutches - if you give it too many revs when you're setting off (anything over about 3k) you will get clutch smell. Once you get used to it it's fine.

Radios hanging out of the dash - issue on all E12 Corollas, I had it fixed at a dealer with an updated bracket and it's much much better.

They're decent cars - mine has given me no trouble at all in the year I've had it. The radio isn't really a major issue, but I was a bit fussy and got it fixed!

Edit:

Actually, just remembered alarm issues. My alarm went off a couple of times for no reason. Apparantly the bonnet switches can be a bit too sensitive. I fixed a screw to the back of the bonnet where it contacts the switch so it pushes it down a bit more. Hasn't happened since.

[Hayles]

I think that the pre-facelift models seem to attract more problems than post-facelift (2004 onwards if I remember correctly).

With the pre-facelift models it has been known for the lift bolts to fail and therefore you lose "lift". Best way to check is on your test drive, it should kick in at around 6200 revs. If you buy through a dealer (like I did) its fun cos of the look on their face and if you buy privately I would have thought that lift will be one of the first things they'll want to show you. If they don't, be wary!

Best thing to do is to read through the forum posts and see what others have said.

I've got a facelift model and *touch wood* haven't had any real problems yet. The alarm has the odd habit of being a bit sensitive but doesn't do it that often, mainly when its raining for some strange reason.

I love my TSport and would definitely recommend one to anybody.

[Jock Fran]

I'm pretty sure the lift bolt issues only affect early Celicas. I think the new bolts were introduced before the Corolla T Sport came out.

[ae102]

dont listen to them who say smelly clutches and noises are a feature of the car - they are not. the problems they describe where rectified by toyota with updated clutches master cylinders and updated shift cables. be careful what you buy as there seems to be a lot of t sport drivers who got blagged by there local mr t and put up with the problems. my advice would be to test a couple to get a feel - you will now if the car has been sorted. as for lift bolts - i changed mine at 40k wikth no real wear on them. paint work is thin and the brakes wear fast. mpg is good really - i can average out at 32mpg. i tend to get about 36mpg around town but i do drive 30 in a 30 and save lift for out of town. if i'm going on a run can be as low as 26mpg. 20mpg is for traffis light boy racers!

[Jock Fran]

So what exactly are the issues and the updated parts that fix them then?

Here are some threads on the scraping noise issue:

http://toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.p...89&hl=noise

http://toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.p...13&hl=noise

http://toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.p...22&hl=noise

http://toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.p...06&hl=noise

http://toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.p...89&hl=noise

http://toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.p...16&hl=noise

http://toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.p...73&hl=noise

It's been discussed a couple of times!!

[ae102]

So what exactly are the issues and the updated parts that fix them then?

noise on over-run - my first clutch did this. mines a 53 plate same as yours i think? the last clutch update was 2007. the clutch that replaced it got rid of the noise but the biting point came very high and was upgraded again- different part number each time. you hear of people with squeeks when you press the clutch pedal - seen lots of ideas about greasing pivot arms and apply wd40 to the clutch pedal - toyota upgraded the master cylinder which stops the squeeking. difficulty selecting gears - especially reverse, facelift had different shift cables which sorts that. gearboxes arent great - no upgraded parts are available. problems are usually stiif 2nd gear but only when cold. i put decent oil in the box which made a difference. so in reality there are no REAL problems but it is a pain in the bum getting the lil niggles sorted. thats why i advise driving a few - these probs arent always that noticeable on a test drive. buy from a toyota dealer as its easier getting the problems sorted as they are fully aware of them. what ever price is on the screen you can knock £1500 off that - there not exaclty flying off the forecourt.

[Jock Fran]

They released an updated clutch in 2007?

Surely very very few cars will have this then? Seeing as most would have been out of warranty.....

Think I'll live with it until I actually need a new clutch!

[borodaz]

great car, you wont be disapointed :)

[ae102]

They released an updated clutch in 2007?

Surely very very few cars will have this then? Seeing as most would have been out of warranty.....

Think I'll live with it until I actually need a new clutch!

got extended warranty. i had a clutch fitted in 2006 which was modified over the original then i had the clutch replaced in 2007 and the clutch was different part number from the previous one. you will always have a case even if the car is out of warranty,, by upgrading the parts toyota are admitting that the original wasnt up to the job.i wasnt willing to put up with inferior parts after spending so much money buying me t sport. the old clutches ruined the driving experience for me, borodaz is right - good cars. all i'm saying is i have replied to these sort of posts before - person doesnt listen and then a week after buying the car they are complaining and asking about the afore mention problems. been there myself - pain having to keep taking a car back for lil niggles so trying to stop others going through the mither.

[Gregg]

cheers for the information,

plenty to have a look and start to get my head around.

Thanks

Gregg

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...bayphotohosting

Going to arrange a viewig of this one, very local to me and fits the bill and the budget.

Issue i have is selling mine firstly

[ae102]

cheers for the information,

plenty to have a look and start to get my head around.

Thanks

Gregg

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...bayphotohosting

Going to arrange a viewig of this one, very local to me and fits the bill and the budget.

Issue i have is selling mine firstly

wouldnt touch it mate - says its well kept but only part service history? service is every 10k which is too infrequent for my liking. i service mine every 3k and take to the garage every 10k to get the book stamped. its cheap for a reason.

[Jock Fran]

Stereo is popping out on the LHS too.

Mind you, you'll do well to find one that isn't!!

There's nothing wrong with a 10k service interval as long as you use decent oil. Yes, it's better to change it every 5k, or 3k, or 1k, or hey, why not change it every journey?

Every 10k is fine, and even that will have been calculated very cautiously. :)

[ae102]

Stereo is popping out on the LHS too.

Mind you, you'll do well to find one that isn't!!

There's nothing wrong with a 10k service interval as long as you use decent oil. Yes, it's better to change it every 5k, or 3k, or 1k, or hey, why not change it every journey?

Every 10k is fine, and even that will have been calculated very cautiously. :)

10k is fine if fully synthetic is used - most mr t's use semi so 10k isnt fine.

[Hogie]

Id say 10 is fine with fully but if your hammering the s**t out of it all the time and doing short journeys should consider doing it more. I do mostly long journeys so use a good quality semi to do a lubrication service every 5k and garage service every 10k. Think that just good practice, that engines complicated, producing over 100bhp per litre!!!

Lot of the time these service intervals are tailored toward the fleet buyers, low servicing costs being the carrot for them. See these diesels with 20k service intervals, and then no one checks the oil level from one service to the next, car could have nothing in it after 20k, madness. Poor bugger that buys it after that.

Never going to do the car any harm by changing the oil more often

[ae102]

Id say 10 is fine with fully but if your hammering the s**t out of it all the time and doing short journeys should consider doing it more. I do mostly long journeys so use a good quality semi to do a lubrication service every 5k and garage service every 10k. Think that just good practice, that engines complicated, producing over 100bhp per litre!!!

Lot of the time these service intervals are tailored toward the fleet buyers, low servicing costs being the carrot for them. See these diesels with 20k service intervals, and then no one checks the oil level from one service to the next, car could have nothing in it after 20k, madness. Poor bugger that buys it after that.

Never going to do the car any harm by changing the oil more often

i was reading an interesting article in a jap mag - top man at redline says semi will last a maximum of 10k, but wont last that under hard circumstances. fully he said can protect for 18k but they would never recommend leaving it that long. i'm surprised you use semi Hogie - 5 litres of high quality full for £25, ok i do get a good price but its still not a lot of money. my cams are scored after 40k - imagine the state it would be if i only changed the oil every 10k with semi sythetic

[Hogie]

Id say 10 is fine with fully but if your hammering the s**t out of it all the time and doing short journeys should consider doing it more. I do mostly long journeys so use a good quality semi to do a lubrication service every 5k and garage service every 10k. Think that just good practice, that engines complicated, producing over 100bhp per litre!!!

Lot of the time these service intervals are tailored toward the fleet buyers, low servicing costs being the carrot for them. See these diesels with 20k service intervals, and then no one checks the oil level from one service to the next, car could have nothing in it after 20k, madness. Poor bugger that buys it after that.

Never going to do the car any harm by changing the oil more often

i was reading an interesting article in a jap mag - top man at redline says semi will last a maximum of 10k, but wont last that under hard circumstances. fully he said can protect for 18k but they would never recommend leaving it that long. i'm surprised you use semi Hogie - 5 litres of high quality full for £25, ok i do get a good price but its still not a lot of money. my cams are scored after 40k - imagine the state it would be if i only changed the oil every 10k with semi sythetic

The way its driven i dont think i would get the benefits, plus its changed often, all long journeys, oil up to temp, 100miles on a Sunday down to where i live during the week, then up home on a fri again. Car normally sits at just over 3000rpm when Im cruising at 60 which is most of the time, only time it gets any stick is when Im overtaking something, but never when cold. I dont even let it above 3000rpm when its cold, sad but true i dont move the car from a cold start for bout a min, just to let the oil get up round the engine!!!!

Small bit of town driving during the week,not to much but I average 37-38 normally. Use the mondeo for short journeys and messing about at the w.end, the Toyota gets an easy enough life

Put duckhams 5-30 in last time, engine felt smoother than with the Toyota main dealer stuff, oil in that engine stays very clean also, noticed that from day one and hasn't burned a drop

[Hogie]

Mite try the fully next service thou

[Jock Fran]

Stereo is popping out on the LHS too.

Mind you, you'll do well to find one that isn't!!

There's nothing wrong with a 10k service interval as long as you use decent oil. Yes, it's better to change it every 5k, or 3k, or 1k, or hey, why not change it every journey?

Every 10k is fine, and even that will have been calculated very cautiously. :)

10k is fine if fully synthetic is used - most mr t's use semi so 10k isnt fine.

Why is the recommended servicing every 10k with semi synthetic oil then?

Or do you know something Toyota don't?

[Jock Fran]

Mite try the fully next service thou

You can get good discount on this stuff.

Think it worked out just over £30 for 5 litres when I bought some. Supposed to be the best around too.