1997 1332cc 4e-fe

October 13, 2008

Hello. First post!

I put this on Honest John as well, but have found out about this site I thought I'd put it here too. Would be interested to here from others with the same car/ car with same engine.

Owned for only a few months, and trouble free thus far, albeit on lowish mileage. Pre-VVTi, so no oil consumption issues I'm aware of. Anyone had any common problems? They seem to be about the most reliable thing on the road. I'm interested in bodywork issues, as the mechanics seem to be rock solid in general. A few observations from mine:

Does not consume any fluids at all. I've heard oil leaks can develop but none so far.

book mpg is 35, but I'm getting a touch over 50- anyone else similar?

Would be interested to hear others' MOT emissions results to guage the condition of the engine. Mine: particulates <50ppm, CO Nat. 0.16%, fast 0.17%.

Dunno how long the catalytic converters last.

Would also be interested to know what tyres it was supplied with originally. I have 4 Good Years and a Michelin at the moment. I think the GYs might be original, but not sure.

Bodywork:

I've noticed that the rear suspension springs have flaked paint and surfacerust. Does not seem to affect front, perhaps stones flung up can hit rear springs. sanded them a bit and sprayed clear laquer on.

The rear wheel arches have a strange lip at the bottom front end (3 dr version) which can fill with dirt. I've noticed a slight bubbling of paintwork there, but some work with an emery board and more clear laquer and it seems to be ok.

under the car, there is a rubber plug at the bottom of the spare wheel storage well. noticed slight surface rust around there, but easy to deal with.

The rubber headlight surrounds seem to have perished, and flap about a bit- seen it on others so I guess it's common. Bit of glue does the trick.

On the whole, very impressed. It's dull as ditchwater to drive, mind, but that's not important to me. Hopefully I can prevent it rusting and get many years out of it.

TIA,

Toyota Red

October 14, 2008

my step mother has a 1997 G6 (3dr with a 4e-fe with 6 speed gearbox) it is regularly serviced. It is very reliable, consumes no fluids (except petrol grudgingly) very good on mpg. the reason there is rust around the spare wheel well is because water often collects in the well for some reason, just keep an eye on it. My step mum's one had a good 2 litres in the well about 3 months ago (but she'd never been under the boot carpet in the entire time she'd owned the car, from way back in 1997).

regrettably the headlight surround always get's loose. but the rest of the car will go on for ages and pay it a little attention from time to time. i frankly thought the 3doors are a laugh to drive, yes the 1.3 isn't very fast but yo can chuck it at any corner with ease.

October 14, 2008

my step mother has a 1997 G6 (3dr with a 4e-fe with 6 speed gearbox) it is regularly serviced. It is very reliable, consumes no fluids (except petrol grudgingly) very good on mpg. the reason there is rust around the spare wheel well is because water often collects in the well for some reason, just keep an eye on it. My step mum's one had a good 2 litres in the well about 3 months ago (but she'd never been under the boot carpet in the entire time she'd owned the car, from way back in 1997).
regrettably the headlight surround always get's loose. but the rest of the car will go on for ages and pay it a little attention from time to time. i frankly thought the 3doors are a laugh to drive, yes the 1.3 isn't very fast but yo can chuck it at any corner with ease.

Thanks for the reply. Perhaps I was being a bit harsh about the drive, it is very light to its credit, and moves easily. Maybe it's me(I'm very slow) ;-)

Mine is a 3dr GS, so only a five speed and I think it would benefit from a sixth as it feels like another gear is required even at 60mph. That is the only quibble I have.

Incidentally do you know what the stock tyres supplied were? Just trying to guage the mileage obtained from a set.

Mine has 58k miles on it, and four Good Year tyres which are sub 3mm. I'm guessing they're original, being a light, slow car.

Is the 4e-fe the most reliable engine ever produced? I struggle to find any reports of consistent problems with it. Given it's not tuned highly, that's hardly a surprise, but it seems like they are better than the VVti units that replaced them in term of longevity.

October 14, 2008

i would concur with the 4e-fe being absurdly reliable, far more capable than the vvti units which superceeded them. i believe that god year eagle NCT 5 are the original fit tyres but again i'm not 100% they are a capable tyre though. The 6 speed makes the car good to drive both around town and on the motorway also they are one of the smoothest manual boxes i've ever used.

October 14, 2008

i would concur with the 4e-fe being absurdly reliable, far more capable than the vvti units which superceeded them. i believe that god year eagle NCT 5 are the original fit tyres but again i'm not 100% they are a capable tyre though. The 6 speed makes the car good to drive both around town and on the motorway also they are one of the smoothest manual boxes i've ever used.

Cheers for that. Mine has Good Year GT2s, so perhaps they are original.

Part of the reason I've been looking for problems is that my timing belt will be due for a change next year(due to age; its only done 20k miles since last changed).

I see the 4e-fe is non-interference, so I'm resting a bit easier after that. Cant find anything on people with timing belts breaking. I'll change it nevertheless. Seems fairly straightforward to D.I.Y.

I like your website, and might look to do a bit on keeping the intake air as cool as possible with lagging the exhaust head.