Maintenance Question - Corolland: the Toyota Corolla Forums

At 7500 I intend to roate the tires (front to back - same side) and another oil change.

At 15,000 I'm going to do the same as above plus drain and refill the auto tranny fluid with a pan drop and filter change. Also air filter change.

I'll wait till 30k to drain and refill the coolant. no flush.

I've heard a few complaints about the corolla door seals. Here's a solution I used when I lived in the desert 115 degree dry heat which is particularly hard on door seals:

Rub a little Armoral on the seals once a month. It will keep them conditioned, flexible, and in perfect condition. It takes 4 minutes to do the whole car.

and here's the question. Has anyone else done an auto tranny filter change on an 03 or 04? If so, what was your experience? Did it seem worth the trouble?

Thanks

My '03 Corolla LE (automatic) is now at 22.5K miles and I haven't serviced the transmission yet -- I'll wait until the next oil change which has about a grand to go. Everything I've read here so far indicates that the '03 and later Corollas do not have a replaceable transmission fluid filter. I've been told that the only thing you do when servicing the transmission is to drain as much fluid as possible into a measured container, and replace it with the same amount of genuine Toyota Type-IV automatic transmission fluid. So, that's what I'll do. I've thought of repeating the procedure several times at short intervals, like at the next three 3,000 mile oil changes, in order to affect what would amount to a total replacement of the old ATF with new. This may not be necessary for the transmission's well being, but would give me some peace of mind. Anyone care to comment?

Also, I believe Paul Cherubini said that every 100,000 miles you should actually drop the pan, clean the screen and magnets, replace pan and refill as usual. I shall be doing that when the time comes, but not before.

Had my son's auto trans fluid drained & refilled for $50 at the dealer (2003 LE). No filter replacement recommended.

Regarding the door seals, it's wear because of bad design that eats them up - not deterioration. Toyota did redesign the seal in 05 with better rubber. After Toyota refused to upgrade my car even with arbitration, I paid the dealer to do the job for me (over $200 for two fronts).

Guest Paul Cherubini

Regarding the door seals, it's wear because of bad design that eats them up - not deterioration.

Is the door seal wear problem limited to obese owners who can't help rubbing against it when getting in and out of the car? If so, I can understand why the physically fit Toyota engineers might have forgotten that 60% of Americans are portly.

Is the door seal wear problem limited to obese owners who can't help rubbing against it when getting in and out of the car? If so, I can understand why the physically fit Toyota engineers might have forgotten that 60% of Americans are portly.

Oh Paul,

Shame on you - completely un-called for. Physically fit Toyota engineers? Come on.

All cars that are sold in the US must pass several mandated test before becoming certified. One of those involes crash testing with a 50% and 90% percentile adult male - 5'10" 170lbs and 6'2" 223lbs worldwide. The average American 50% percentile male is at 174lbs. Doesn't seem "portly" to me.

Regarding the door seals, it's wear because of bad design that eats them up - not deterioration.
Is the door seal wear problem limited to obese owners who can't help rubbing against it when getting in and out of the car? If so, I can understand why the physically fit Toyota engineers might have forgotten that 60% of Americans are portly.

Paul this type of post is abusive and uncalled for. You've been warned, again. Either stop this type of trolling or you'll be asked to leave this forum. This warning is a step to put the ball in your court. If it were up to some(even moderators) you'd already be banned from yet another forum.

Is there any evidence that anyone can post related to this issue - bad door seals? What exactly is the problem? Why would the seals be deteriorating?

Paul - good posting - I thought the same thing. default_biggrin

Is there any evidence that anyone can post related to this issue - bad door seals? What exactly is the problem? Why would the seals be deteriorating?

As far as I know - there is no TSB issued on this. But if you look around on this forum and some others - there seemed to be an issue with loose or deteriorating rubber/foam door seals on the earlier 2003 Corollas. Some 2003 and other Corolla years seems to be uneffective. Cause was either the surround feel out of was "worn" from contact in some cases. This would either present a cosmetic issue (just looks bad) or a water/dust infiltration issue (doesn't seal well).

Although - I have not had any problems - I've noticed that the groove holding the surroung on my Camry is much deeper than the Corolla - and the seal seems to be of a different type (lighter, less dense). I find that my door seal just falls out when you open the door - just have to stuff it back into the groove and all is well.

I have not had a wear issue, but have had the rear door seals pop loose in a tight bend on the non hinge side of the door. It acted like the door seal was too small to stay on the channel properly. I pulled the seal from the hinge side a bit to give myself some more slack. I then tried to put the seal on the metal body channel, but it was so loose it would fall off. I believe there is some sort of metal clip in the door seal however. I was able to squeeze the seal plastic channel together with my hand, and when I stuck the seal back in the door frame it was nice and snug. It hasn't popped off since I did it.

I work out an hour and a half a day and I'd rate my tush size as "average" as tushes go.

It's the way you enter and exit combined with the seat position. You can easily rub the gasket in the area around the latch, and the thin, soft rubber quickly wears completely through in only a few months.

The 05 gaskets seem glossier and thicker; that's why I paid the dealer to replace them. To their credit, my dealer did give me the parts at a "trade" price instead of with full retail markup.

It's not the size of the butt, Paul, it's how you maneuver it in and out of the Corolla.

55 posts

I own a 1999 and since new I've drained and replaced the tranny fluid using toyota fluid twice a year.Tranny feels like its still brand new,and it costs me about 20 bucks per year to do so.

Guest petrus

I recently drained & replaced the auto-trany fluid on my 03 corolla.The car has 23000 Km on it.I drained out just under 3 liters of fluid within about a 15 min

time period.It requires a 14mm wrench.

This is a very simple job even for a novice.Just remember to replace the fluid with Toyota t-iv.

People lighten up America is not only becoming portly but without a shadow of a doubt,quite fat.Even Jay Leno constantly makes jokes about the subject,

on his show and so do many others.Newscast continually show fat people stuffing

themselves on fast food.

Big,deal! If the shoe fits, go on a diet.

My '03 Corolla LE is a J-Vin purchased in October 2002. My door seals are perfect. I'm just under 6 feet tall and weigh 178 lbs., if that makes any difference. I do not come in contact with the door seals at all when entering/exiting the vehicle.

I would appreciate comment on my earlier post where I inquired if there would be any value in doing the drain/replace routine on the auto transmission at 3 sucessive oil change intervals (3,000 miles). After the third drain/refill, I'd then let it go for another 25 - 30,000 miles and repeat the program. Is this a waste of perfectly good ATF, or would it be a positive benefit in extending the life of the auto tranny? Comments, please!