by muzak, September 10, 2005
I would think the EPA would drive 'em all the same.BTW, the reason for the reduced fuel economy is a simple. One, the Mazda 3s that I'm driving right now has a 2.3L vs a 1.8L. Two, every time I drive the 3, and whenever I see a 3 being driven, the driver has it in manual mode and is upshifting the thing at 6K+. That kills fuel economy. Corolla drivers don't do this too often, but if we did, our car's gas mileage would suck too.
i agree, very bad ergonomics, steerin wheel too short,Hey, Happy Mom and others! I have been reading for years about this, but I just drove my neighbor's '04, and I found it was NOT at all comfortable (steering and clutch too close). On the other hand, my '99 is perfect for me (5'11"). However, my wife (5'3") has to move the seat much too close to the steering wheel to reach the clutch. In fact, it is a safety hazard being that close to the air bag! However, she hates driving stick, so this is not an issue for us, but I built a clutch pedal extension (2.5") just in case she is forced to drive my car.
So it seems that Toyota built the current generation for smaller people, while the last generation (pre '03) is built for taller. Why can't they come up with a good compromise?!?! I would say that this issue is the only real "bad point" of the current Corolla.
leg room too little.
I'm 5'8" and I fit in the car just fine and I don't get sore on long trips. The CE has cheaper seats tho, so that might be some of the complaints.
I have a driver seat that makes a poping noise and I've complained about it. I acually had it replaced once and the dealer scraped the plastic up a little taking the seat out. I complained about it, but a little too late, so nothing was done about it. Our new seat still makes noise only now, I'm told they all do that. I guess I'm going to have to complain to Toyota about that and see if they can push the local dealer to fix it for good.
Our stereo plate makes a rattle noise, but only during a few RPMs while driving and their is a rattle by the driver seat belt hanger. I havn't been able to trace it down.
Overall, I'm really happy with the car, but I'm not so happy with our dealer right now.
We had the inside of the car cleaned by sonic and the cover to the insterment cluster got scratched to $hit. I don't know if they used a dirty rag or if the pastic is too soft. It's bad enough we will have to get it replaced using insurance cause when light hits it, we can't see the gages.
The 1993-1995 Corollas came in that minty green also, like the PassatI will have to wait till 2008 or beyond before I get a new car. I have been looking at Civics alot recently, but I must believe that the reliablity of a Corolla will outmatch any other small sedan. Yet a loaded Civics cost more than a loaded Corolla, which is why I bought a Corolla...I hope they come in pretty new colors...there was a Passat that was pearlescent w/a touch of green to make it a faint metallic green, but not the ugly desert cactus color on the current Corollas...
I always like those ocean-like colors... teal, pale beige....etc.
Silver Spruce Metallic Clearcoat, 6M3
Hmm, it'd be nice if the next generation or the one after that came in that minty metal color...kind of a dirty jade...
I don't plan to buy a new car until 2010 or so... unless somethig horrible happens to my current 'rolla...
You never know... (I almost got hit by a train last year...the gates were not programmed right in sequence to the distance the train was at)
You'd think the gates would come down by 300 feet...thank god it blew it's horn at that time..(cause some residential areas have "No horn policies"...which I think are just accidents waiting to happen)
I also noted that the plastic scratches easily, the softer plasitc like the dash and the door frames. I already have some scratches, mostly likely from keys. You'd think such parts that are likely to be abused would be built to withstand some abuse. I am careful, but with two young kids, cannot always go overboard in beign extra careful.We had the inside of the car cleaned by sonic and the cover to the insterment cluster got scratched to $hit. I don't know if they used a dirty rag or if the pastic is too soft. It's bad enough we will have to get it replaced using insurance cause when light hits it, we can't see the gages.
WOW, Thanks for the tip on the rearview mirror! That visor hitting the mirror really bugged me but not anymore!
mott
Hey, thanks for that tip on the sunvisor hitting the rearview mirror. Now if I can just keep the visor from hitting my head when I swing it to the side window. Not sure if my neck has that same adjustment.
Mr. Ed, how in the world are you getting that kind of great gas mileage? That sounds like what I hear people get with the Echo. And unitas is way up there, too. I have an 03 LE and I've averaged 32.5 mpg for everything since I bought the car used from Hertz a year ago (now has 42,000 miles). I'm a very conservative driver (no jackrabbit starts, very conscious of being easy on the gas pedal), so I don't think anyone could get more mpg out of my car than I'm getting. On a recent trip from L.A. to Sacramento I got about 37 on the highway (mostly at 70-75 mph). From what I see on this forum, there seems to be a wide variation in what people get.
When I first got the car, I was skeptical about the driver seat position. I'm 5'9" but have long legs. I have to put the seat all the way back in order to be comfortable with the pedals (I'd put it back even more if I could), but that puts me further from the steering wheel than I've been on other cars. Funny thing, though, I've gotten to like that steering wheel distance. I have an automatic, and I love that dummy left foot pedal. It's in a perfect spot for me. And I find the seat quite comfortable. It keeps me in a good upright position, which I like from a good-posture standpoint. My parents have a '97 Civic and I can't stand those seats, which make you feel like you're sitting on the floor. Way too low.
My biggest complaint is that you can't turn off the headlights at night. You'd think there would be a manual override. There are times when you need to turn off your headlights at night and drive with just parking lights (military base, neighborhoods at Christmas time where cars are bumper-to-bumper looking at the decorated houses--customary to drive with only parking lights as a courtesy). I have the daytime running lights (which I love) and my understanding is that the automatic headlights at night are all part of that system. But I still say a manual override is important.
I hadn't noticed that there's no "Band of Shade" on the windshield, but now that you mentioned it, I don't have it either. That's a surprise. I thought all cars had that these days. Especially a progressive company like Toyota. (Next day: Oops, just noticed I'm wrong about that. My 03 LE does have a tinted band across the windshield top. Last night when I wrote this, I couldn't see it in the dark.)
I like the two trip meters. Don't know how common they are since my last car was an '87, so I'm sure speedometer technology has come a long way since then.
Like so many others, I've also taken out my rear headrests and put them in the trunk. But I even find the headrest on the driver's seat hard to see around, especially when I look over my left shoulder. No cure for that that I know.
I agree it would be nice to have a light under the hood and a brighter one in the trunk.
Overall, however, I love the car. I'm impressed with the engineering on most everything about it. It seems to be very well made. It's my first Toyota and I can see myself sticking with this company for a long time.
Russ,
How do I get that kind mpg?
- I've increased my tire pressure a little.
- I'm running synthetics in both the engine and transmission.
- I coast down hills whenever I can. I have a manual transmission so that's easy.
- I think the biggest help has been the K&N air filter. It gives me more power, so I shift into a higher gear sooner. It won't benefit an automatic as much, but I feel it's dramatic with a stick.
I keep watching for other ways to increase it.
I think under the right conditions, 50 mpg (on a trip) is possible. That depends on weather, traffic, etc.
Ed
i am not sure that I would risk using a non toyota tranny fluid.Russ,How do I get that kind mpg?
- I've increased my tire pressure a little.
- I'm running synthetics in both the engine and transmission.
- I coast down hills whenever I can. I have a manual transmission so that's easy.
- I think the biggest help has been the K&N air filter. It gives me more power, so I shift into a higher gear sooner. It won't benefit an automatic as much, but I feel it's dramatic with a stick.
I keep watching for other ways to increase it.
I think under the right conditions, 50 mpg (on a trip) is possible. That depends on weather, traffic, etc.
Ed
Just my advice.
I have absolute confidence in the systetic gear grease I'm using. Remember this is a standard transmission. And, them metal gears is metal gears. They are just like metal you find everywhere. And synthetic is, in a scientific term, "slicker." So, the wear is less, and mpg is tiny bit better.
standard is ok
Ed,
What pressure do you run in your tires? I saw a post here from a guy who had taken one of those high-performance driving courses (like the police take) who talked about the danger of running too much pressure in tires (the search feature is not working or I'd look it up for you). His teacher demonstrated how you lose stopping ability as you increase pressure.
On the highway, how fast do you drive? I've heard that mpg goes down when you drive faster than 55 or 60.
What's different about the K&N air filter?
Do you have an opinion on the increase in mpg by using synthetic oil? I have a friend who swears by the stuff. He feels it prolongs engine life. I assume you would agree.
Russ
Russ,
I don't want to be un-safe, so I only up my pressure a couple of pounds.
I should have mentioned mph. I never speed. If I can, I go under the speed limit.
The K&N filter seems to allow a greater volume of air into the engine. It gives me more power. I'm able to drive at one gear higher with K&N. In other words, to maintain a certain speed, I can now cruse in 5th gear instead of 4th.
I have no way proving the synthetics give better mpg. However, we switched my wife's LeSabre over to synthetics. Our local mechanic does the oil changes on it. it. He's been in business for maybe 35 years. He'd never had experience with synthetics. The first oil change, he got some on his hands, and he made this statement, "WOW! That's 'slicker!'" (I like that) So, I THINK it gives better mpg.
BTW, we did put a K&N air filter in the LeSabre. It seems to get better mpg, but not as dramatic improvement as the manual transmissioned Corolla.
Ed
I don't know how K&N air filters perform on a Corolla. I frequent other car forums and many people will not use K&N filters because the increased air flow also allows an increase of unwanted particles into the engine. That may not be the case with the Corolla but just thought I'd mention the fact that in some circles, K&N is less popular.
There 's guy on here that has used K&N air filters on his Corollas for years. He has seen no evidence of extra wear. Oh, and I think he runs his cars to 300,000 miles. He swears by them.
And, think about this: since I get more power, and therefore shift into a higher gear sooner, the engine is turning fewer rpms per mile. So, I actually could have LESS wear.
I have several friends in this area that use only K&N filters. I've heard nothing bad about them.
The problem I've heard with K&N filters is that they are sometimes over-oiled. If you get an over-oiled one, and you don't wipe off the excess oil before installing it, you can kiss your MAF goodbye.
As long as you make sure its not over-oiled before you install it, a K&N is a good thing for your car. It helps the engine to run better by allowing less restricted airflow, while still filtering out most particles. It is also cleanable, and reuseable, which is good, considering that they are kind of expensive.
stewardc is the user I was referring to.
A drop in K&N filter does nothing for performance or very little if anything for MPG.The K&N filter seems to allow a greater volume of air into the engine. It gives me more power.
Go 5000 RPM and above and you'll see some performance gain.
Under 5000 RPM the filter does nothing.
K&N let more dirt in engines.
I had my oil tested a few times using Blackstone Labs and found when I was using a K&N drop in my silica(dirt) level was much higher than a paper filter.
The only advantage using a K&N is not having to buy a paper filter every 12-15K miles.
Colt,
I can only report my experience. In my car the difference in power between a standard Toyota air filter and a K&N air filter is very obvious. With the K&N it has enough extra power for me to shift sooner. As I said previously, I cruise in 5th at the speed I used to use 4th gear. Online, in discussion groups, these things can't be seen, only talked about. In a few minutes when I get in my car and drive away, what I have mentioned is reality, not theory.
The K&N is kind of costly for the Corolla compared to other cars. Might as well spring a few more buxs for a TRD filter and then you don't have to worry about warranty loss due to a broken MAF or something. I got a TRD filter and I noticed a bigger gain then I expected.
I've also had very good luck with K&N filters too, I just went with the TRD cause I got it for $61 and Autozone quited me $58 buxs for one that needed to be ordered.
If you want a better filter then stock, just get the TRD. Off subject, but I was shocked that the stock paper filter had no rubber seal on it. It was just pleated around the edge.
It it works for you Ed,great.Colt,I can only report my experience. In my car the difference in power between a standard Toyota air filter and a K&N air filter is very obvious. With the K&N it has enough extra power for me to shift sooner. As I said previously, I cruise in 5th at the speed I used to use 4th gear. Online, in discussion groups, these things can't be seen, only talked about. In a few minutes when I get in my car and drive away, what I have mentioned is reality, not theory.
I know the K&N intake system produces a HP gain because it pulls in cooler air.
BTW
I've heard if you apply that K&N decal sticker under the hood you'll get another 5HP. 
Hmmm...where did I put that sticker? I didn't realize it was valuable. I'll have to look for it!
Hmmm...where did I put that sticker? I didn't realize it was valuable. I'll have to look for it!
Hey, GREAT news! I found 2 K&N stickers! Question: If I put them under the hood of my Crayolla, will I get an extra 10hp?
