Is my Corolla falling apart?
I am starting to think I made a mistake when I bought a Corolla. I bought it because it was supposed to be reliable. But here is my experience over the last year, in chronological order.
·May ’04 – bought used, 2001 Corolla CE, for $13,000 Canadian. 30k on it. I thought I got a great deal.
·May ’04 to May ’05 – no problems at all. I was happy.
·May 9, 2005 – took it to the dealership for regular service. I only had 42.5k on it but they told me that I should have 48k service. I agreed. They then did the following work on it, and charged me $760:
LABOUR
-- general service (checking various things and replacing oil) - $84
- flush of fuel injection system - $55
-throttle body service $38
- front brake service $44
- rear brake shoes - $85
- machine rear drums - $95
- marker / licence bulbs - $18
-drive belts $55.20
PARTS
- oil filter $6.99
- oil $10
-belt 55
- injector cleaner - $14
- choke cleaner $6.50
- filter element - $22
- brake clean $4.95
- brake shoe kit $53
TAX $100
·June 20, 2005 – “check engine” light goes on. I take it to the dealership. This is what the invoice says:
Check and report on check engine line on –
Cause P0171
Correction: Air filer housing not installed properly (they admitted that this was the fault of the person who did the service in May, so didn’t charge me)
Replaced engine timing chain tensioner (this was under warranty – so no charge)
·July 10 – check engine light goes on again! I take it in to the dealership. This is what the invoice says:
Condition : check engine light on for the 3rd time
Cause: Mass Air flow inaccurate readings. Need to replace and then reinspect for lean condition.
Correction : replaced mass air flow. Readings on fuel trim normal. Vehicle ran good.
The price was $219 for the meter flow and $95 for the labour.
Questions:
1.is there a pattern here? Is there one cause for all these problems or are they unrelated?
2.is it a coincidence that all these problems cropped up after the service in May? I suspect that they screwed up a perfectly fine car by pulling things apart. Am I wrong?
3.Should I sell the car now and buy something else?
4.Can I expect a lot more service in the future?
5.I thought that Corollas were like appliances, where you plug them in and then forget about them.
6.Should I have bought a Cavalier instead?
Sounds like the problem is with the dealer, not the car. You can have the best car on the planet, but if hacks try and work on it, things will fail.
If you drove around with the air filter housing installed wrong, it could have dammaged the air meter and caused it to fail.
You didn't make the mistake when you bought the Corolla. You made the mistake to get it serviced by a shady dealership. You got hosed my friend, and not only did you get ripped off on service the car didn't need, they seemed to have screwed things in the car that were working fine.
For reference, I own a 2003 Corolla with 73,000 kms on it now. Never had to do anything with the fuel injection, throttle body or the rear brakes...in fact last time I was at the dealer for servicing, I had apparently 80% brake shoe life left and 50% front disc.
What does front/rear brake service mean? It can't be a replacement for $44 becuase that is a low price. They charged you to look at them basically?
The throttle body, fuel injection, air filter and choke servicing does affect the intake side of the car.....exactly where the Mass Airflow Sensor is located. Not far-fetched that the chemicals or jostling fo the parts may have runied it.
I bought the Corolla for the same reason as you and it's workmanship has been less than stellar. Just glad that my dealership tries to recitify the quality issues I have been having. Thankfully mechanically it has been solid.
Just my 2 cents..
Guest scorpionzx1
well, going to a dealer for service was a bit of a mishap. you need to find a trustworthy mechanic in your area. and picking up a chiltons manual might help, it will give you instructions on prober maintenence of the corolla, and some trouble shooting tecniques, so if you choose to take it to the dealer for work, just do a lil research first, so they wont be able to trick you into something you don't need.
Agree - find a better mechanic or dealer. Car should serve you well.
You were sodomized on the service - a lot of bullcrap - possiby even caused the trouble you later experienced.
If you drove around with the air filter housing installed wrong, it could have dammaged the air meter and caused it to fail.
Perhaps you can have this confirmed by an independant mechanic? It is worth a call to your local consumer protection office.
I would find it odd that the car would need rear brake work and not front. And I agree with the others, find another garage/dealer you can trust
Sounds like the problem is with the dealer, not the car. You can have the best car on the planet, but if hacks try and work on it, things will fail.
If you drove around with the air filter housing installed wrong, it could have dammaged the air meter and caused it to fail.
ABSOLUTELY !!!
HELLO ??
rear brakes last 150 + k miles on the toyota corolla.
checked the air intake, the throttle body is clean.
Rip off service.
Rear brakes and turn drums at 30,000 COME ON!
In the US we have the Bureau of automotive repairs, and they will deal with shady shops by bringing in bait cars (cars that have been carefully checked out and they know exactly whats wrong with them) and seeing if they do unecessary repairs.
There must be somthing simular in Canada .
Guest AncientCorolla
Bad news - you got rip-off. Most of the stuffs you have fixed were not necessary.
- general service (checking various things and replacing oil) - $84 ---> pay for nothing - take it to walmart and ask for Mobil1 sythentic oil costs about $30.
- flush of fuel injection system - $55
- throttle body service $38
- front brake service $44 ---------> too new for brake service, they probably touch a few nuts and charged you $44.
- rear brake shoes - $85 ---> you don't need this in many years
- machine rear drums - $95 --> don't need this in many years
- marker / licence bulbs - $18
- drive belts $55.20 ---> too soon. I fixed mine at 140K miles.
PARTS
- oil filter $6.99
- oil $10
- belt 55
- injector cleaner - $14
- choke cleaner $6.50
- filter element - $22
- brake clean $4.95
- brake shoe kit $53
Good news - you are having a new high quality car again. That corolla will last very very long. Other than oil change I don't see you need any services another 100,000 miles.
well, going to a dealer for service was a bit of a mishap. you need to find a trustworthy mechanic in your area. and picking up a chiltons manual might help, it will give you instructions on prober maintenence of the corolla, and some trouble shooting tecniques, so if you choose to take it to the dealer for work, just do a lil research first, so they wont be able to trick you into something you don't need.
I agree. The first mistake was taking you car to a dealer to get it serviced. They charged you a lot of money for some things that weren't needed and may very likely have performed the service incorrectly and resulted in the repairs you needed later.
Yout need a find a good independant mechanic that will only fix what absolutely need fixing.
For example, it's unlikely the rear shoes and drums needed replacing . Those typically last over 100,000 miles.
Get a Service manual, read it and learn about what each pert is, how long most parts last, how difficult it is to replace them, and how each part related to another.
FYI - on your first repair. The first 3 items totalled $170. THe first was just an expensive oil change. The second was a bottle of Fuel injector cleaner being poured into the gas tank ($5-10 to the auto parts store). The 3rd required removing the throttle body and using a $3 can of spray cleaner on it. You probably didn't even need it done. It's only nesseasary if the throttle is sticking or the car is idling erratically.
It makes me angry that dealers make money this way. They take advantage of people that still think cars need regular service and come to somehow expect these types of costs.
You need a find a good independant mechanic that will only fix what absolutely need fixing.
It makes me angry that dealers make money this way.
ahh come on, how's poor ol' bubbah supposed to make any money only doing needed work without overcharging for unnecessary work and parts? man thats trying to take away all his profit, come on now we cant be that way. the poor guy's gotta eat and feed his fat wife and skinny kids too and here you are trying to keep the guy broke all the time, shoot.
jk
Guest AncientCorolla
I actually do not blamed they. Most of the mechanic shop I went to are trying to sell me extra services. IT's the buyer to ask questions and sense they scams. A lot of places set out promotion for cheap oil change. Once I got there, I will realized more problems on my car that I ever know. They probably didn't make money on oil change but other extra services that I probably take.
