instigatr

yes this does work, BUT, and i mean a really big one, DON'T DO IT!!! it will very likely fry the alternator, and anything else not designed to take the power surge, IE, computer. it does sound like the battery has a bad connection, maybe even inside the battery itself. aaron

this sludge problem was only with the V6 in the sienna's, and camry's, and some 4 cyl's in the camry's. not on the corolla's at all. BTW - The "Sludge" that was experienced on these engine was from lack of oil changes. toyota found people only changing their oil once a year. even though they were able to prove it was lack of maintenance, someone sued, and toyota said they would take care of it as a "goodill gesture only" on your corolla, what oil are you using? make sure it is a quality 5W-30 oil (as much as i hate to say it, do not use the "liquid ball bearings") at the dealership i work at, we are starting to notice a problem with the engine used in the 03 era corolla and matrix. we just replaced a short block on a 03 with 59k on it. hammered bad untill slightly warmed, then still had a slight noise. traced to a piston problem, scuffed cylinder. been having other people complain also, although most are in the 90k area. aaron

HOLY CATS!!!!!! what the heck did you get for $1500? a new car? i have never heard of ANY service costing that much! at my shop we could have rebuilt the transmission and probably even done a full service on the engine (providing it is a manual trans). the trunk light bulb is probably a 194 bulb, very common and can be picked up almost anywhere. on a side note, please don't knock all the dealerships. it really hurts to hear you guys had some bad experiences. as a toyota service manager, that tells me the places that give you all a bad taste in the mouth deserve to be run out of business. but, PLEASE, give us a chance. we do tend to be more expensive then national chain places, but we have higher overhead to pay for. we have the name to pay for, all signage is rented (not bought), we have to go continuosly to training, we are always taking tests online, it is endless the stuff we hve to do. my advice is once you find an honest dealer, stick with them. even though it may seem more expensive at first, remember we have the training and the knowledge to fix it right, usually in less time then the other guys. all iask is, if you find someone who seems to be honest, pass the word. if you have your car worked on at the dealer, you may get a survey in the mail. please fill it out honestly. if you feel you got ripped, say so. if you feel you got excellent service, say so. trust me, if we all keep doing that, the bad dealerships will be run out. toyota is on a course to be #1, and they want to have a excellent reputation when they get there. aaron

fan speed slowing down down at idle is normal. this is because the alternator does not spin fast enough to generate anything. therefore you run off of battery voltage at approx. 12.6 vdc. with the engine rpm's up slightly you have around 14.5 vdc, which makes the fan spin faster, and you probably notice the lights get brighter also. on a side note, if your battery is weak, this effect will be greatly exaggerated, to the point of being really noticable when you step on the brakes. my 93 did this, very pronounced also. the battery was bad, to the point it would just barely start the car. it finally got cold enough the car wouldnt start and went out to buy a new battery. now it is hardly noticed except at idle. btw, the battery you can buy at toyota are really good batteries. made by interstate, and are backed by a really good warranty through toyota. (kind of hard to compete w/wal-mart tho) aaron

just a thought, i cant remember off the top of my head, but does the 95 corolla have a air flow meter? if so, i would try cleaning it. if it is slightly dirty, not enough to trigger a light, but enough to make it run rich. just a thought. aaron

contrary to popular belief, nothing you can do to your car will void your warranty (short of totaling it). now, that being said, if you do something to your car that cuases a part to fail, it will not be under warranty. this is becuase the toyota part did not fail, the modification you did, caused it to fail. now as for your lights, you have noticed the "line" out in front of you on low beams? this is built into the headlight during engineering. it is an effort to not blind the oncoming driver. therefore, no matter what bulbs you put in, at best, you will get a brighter line. at our dealership, we have had customers say its to low, so we explain, and turn them up slightly, and they say it helps. my advice would be turnt them up say, 1 - 2 turns and see if you get flashed. now you dont want to go to far as it does affect high beams also. hope this helps, but therre is not much you can do about it. aaron

easiest way to check for a blocked heater core is check the heater hoses on the engine side of the firewall. one should be hotter then the other, but not a bunch of diff. if the heater core is restricted, one will be hot, the other almost cold. (ask me how i know this.....) good luck aaron

ok, looked at a mpicture and the 99 corolla doesnt use one of those "keys". so, my memory left me again.... aaron

my 2 cents - most foreign auto's dont need warranty extenders. most american cars do. now, someone mentioned earlier that they are profit generators. oh, yes they are! most dealerships mark up on those is 100%, some even 150 - 200 %. someone also mentioned it would be better to put 30 bux a monthin a shoe box. very good idea! those of you who have bought one, especially those who financed their car, did you realize how much you will be in the hole when you go to trade it in? by the time you pay for the warranty (that most likely will not be used)how much did you actually pay? (including all the interest) also, those of you who have had to use your extended warranty, or know someone who had to - did you at least reallize your investment?, or better yet, was the repairs even covered? the company's who actually provide the insurance, most often find a way out of paying (ie, you didnt change the oil, maintence items are not covered, fluids will not be covered regardless of fault, i could go on and on here) if you do want to buy one, never buy one from a aftermarket company. they are the worst for non-paying/denying coverage. always try to use the manufactures warranty program. in ten years of doing service manager work, i have seen ONE pay off. whenever someone comes in and says "i have an extended warranty", all i can do is groan. i feel real bad for the people who bring then in because i feel they got screwed twice. first for paying to much, and second - when i have to tell them it's not covered. the morale of my story is - if you insist on getting one, please do your research, read the fine print, and above all, dont pay what the dealer is asking you too!!!! aaron

i just got to thinking about this. i will try to remember and look when im at work tomorrow, but is there a adapter between the speed sensor and the tranny? some toyota's use a little "key" between the two. if so, it might be worn out and easily overlooked. hard to explain what i am talking about, but i will try to look at a picture tomorrow. aaron

when you had the cluster out, did you have the ignition on? if so, there is your problem. the airbag ecu looks to see if the cluster is there. (i think just for bulb check purposes) if that is the case, it just needs reset. when i bought my 93 corolla, the speedo connector was unplugged. when i plugged it back in, the airbag light was on. cant remember what the code was, but i reset it, and all ok since. aaron

i picked up up on 2 problems here first - you mentioned that your tires are wearing on the out side, and not on the inside. you do know this means your tires are under inflated right? i am also assuming you have used a tire pressure gage to check your tire pressure..... second - a vibration that comes and goes is not a tire balance issue. i would suspect maybe a motor mount myself. third - i have a 93 corolla with who knows what kind of wear and tear, 150k + miles. it drives straight, doesnt vibrate, and doesnt wear tires funny. even with REALLY bad rear struts. fourth - a tire shop that puts tires on, aligns your car, and then says "radial pull" is out of warranty? BS!!!!!! i would never shop there again, let all my freinds know, and call the tire manufacturer, or whoever is higher up then that manager. they have to have a least a customer satisfaction program of some sort. good luck aaron

does the car have a temp. gage? if so, where does the temp. gage normally run? it should run in the middle. if not, most likely a thermostat issue. otherwise, have you added stop leak? (this is a common heater core plugger) otherwise, the other comments may apply. aaron

sounds like a ground issue. i bet if you look at a wiring schematic all those sensors use the same ground. or, maybe the same power supply. could be ecm, but that is very rare. in ten years of working at toyota, we have replaced 4 i think. aaron

another common problem here is the gas cap. if it isnt tight, or has been replaced with the wrong one, it will set these codes. just food for thought. driving the car with evap codes wont hurt anything. just wont pass emissions. aaron oh, btw, p0441 is a minor leak, p0446 is a major leak.