Hey my dad bought a 03 Corolla when it came out. He has always gone to the dealership for even minor oil changes. Here are some of the questions/concerns with the car:


1) Initially when we got the car, the passenger side window would rattle really bad if left half unrolled. We got that fixed about 2-3 time while it was under warranty.

2) there was scrapping noise from the tires every time you turn. The dealership said it was because of the HUBB CAPS??

3) The interior gear shift lights have gone out twice and been fixed by the dealership, again, while it was under warranty.

4) Recently, a hissing noise was coming out of the engine. The first thing I thought was BELT! But during the oil changes at the dealership when I asked the mechanic, he said Don't WORRY, THIS IS COMMON WITH EVEN THE NEW TOYOTAS . Something about the way the car takes in air. Air flow??

5) My next oil change was today, with 64000 km on the car the hissing noise had gotten louder. When I notified the dealership again about it. They said I would have to change the belt. Now that the car is NOT under warranty, they were more than happy to change it for me.

Just a basic oil change and belt replacement cost me $160. But I didn't make a scene as I have to go back there for oil changes.

IS IT NORMAL FOR A CAR WITH 64000KM ON IT TO HAVE A BELT REPLACEMENT?? I thought it was more like 100K when you get the belt changed..?

Hi Moe! Yes, this is very common for that milage. The serpentine belt does the things it took 3 belts to do years ago. So, this one belt drives many things and it's a bear to get out of there so the labor can be , well... not cheap!
It's good little car, it has some quirks, but in the long run it will save you lots of money. Just keep those oil changes up! Happy travels, Bye. :)

Yes, I believe I had mine changed as well. I had the toyota corolla 2003. I had the problem with the smelling like rotten eggs as well. Toyota and Honda are the two best dealerships. They are quality driven and are well known. I would say if it was any other car or any other dealership you would be paying a lot more then 160 dollars, and it is true that Labour is very expensive. For all dealerships.

Thanks guyz... I knew that the service guy wouldn't try to pull something one me but needed a second opinion..

About the SMELL.. WHAT DID YOU DO?? I mean is the problem fixed? How much was the damage?

I wouldn't want people sitting in my car smellin rotten eggs.:eek:

We are seeing a lot of 03-06 Corolla's come in with the check engine light on and code P0420 stored in memory. It will most likely correspond with a rotten egg smell. You seem like to be in Canada? Because federal emissions warranty in the US is 80,000 miles on a new catylitic converter.

Yes, I am not sure what it is here, we have any. I was told not to worry about it, it has been happening a lot with the corolla, it will eventually go away. That is what they told me. I forget how long it took me to not smell it anymore.

About the smell, I had them tell me that it will go away eventually. They did not want to do anything about it. So I did not do anything else.

Joe

I do not have the car anymore. I put on about 111,000 km. I got a different car.

Yes I am in Canada and the warrently was only for the 2-3 years.. I believe?

So I guess I will keep driving till I smell the rotten eggs... :D


Thanks guyz!

Omg... more problems... I don't like this car anymore!

- loud engine.
- Rattling noises
- noisy tires
- really really basic options
- small midsection pin broke and I was told that I would have to replace the whole section... part $300 plus labor...

Im done with this thing!