By
bhp02, April 13, 2007
what a piece of junk this US made corolla is.
The bearing is supposed to last a long time, so is the hub.
Had the mechanic do it for cheap.
He told me alot of the newer US made corollas had similar problems.
Really don;t think Toyota should make anything in the US.
Anyone with similar experiences ??
Really don't think Toyota should make anything in the US.Anyone with similar experiences ??
There are two types of car companies, companies that build cars and companies that assemble bodies. Toyota is the later. While they make engines and transmissions, they do not have their own parts group like Ford and GM do. That means that Toyota has to rely on outside suppliers to produce almost the entire car. While they have been able to get near perfect parts in the past in smaller quantities, larger number of parts equals more bad parts that get put into cars.
Let me ask you this: do you understand pricing structures for cars? Inexpensive cars have to have shortcuts somewhere if they are to be sold for their low prices and still provide a profit to the manufacturer. They can't put in cheaper seats or stereo or interior plastics because those are things people see. What they can skimp on is wheel bearings, tires, windshield wipers, batteries, etc.
You do realize that a window motor that will operate 500k cycles costs almost 4x less than a million cycle motor. Every component on the car is like that. If Toyota builds Corollas with 60k mile tires, 5 year windshield wiper blades, 100k wheel bearings, 7 year batteries, springs and struts that last a lot longer, etc, the base car would cost $20k or so.
Do you want to pay $20k for a base Corolla? I don't and quite frankly, I'm glad to own a Corolla. I'd rather replace wheel bearings at 30k intervals than have ones that catch fire and burn my car up. I'd also rather have a Corolla than a Focus with doors that won't stay closed. I'd also rather have a Solara over an Eclipse. Last time I checked, Toyota has never issued a STOP SALE order for any car. Mitsubishi did when they introduced the last Eclipse. It had a brake system defect that was so serious Mitsubishi didn't even want the cars test driven until it was corrected.
What I'm trying to get at is while Toyotas are not perfect, they're still not nearly as bad as the competition can be.
BTW, Built in JAPAN isn't the answer. Mazda6 was built in Japan and they had to buy the first several hundred back because of rust problems that were so severe that they came through the paint on new cars. Honda built the Prelude and all its parts in Japan. My uncle had one and the transmission failed twice in 60k. The sunroof in it never worked correctly ever and worst of all, the car threw the serpentine belt all the time. There are others I just don't want to take a lot of time right now to think of them. What would have fixed these problems was better parts, not building them somewhere else.
Now I'm not saying that cars built in 3rd world countries are as good as ones built in G8 nations. However, G8 nation to G8 nation really shouldn't make that much of a difference.
the early 90's corollas were very reliable, are you saying they were not cheap cars with
good parts ??
corollas had a tradition of building quality cars at cheap prices.
Now, it is cheap prices and some cheaper US quality.
anyway you look at it, US made = cheaper quality.
BHP,
Do you corner hard with the car....take ramps at high speed???
If so, it will definitely shorten the life of front axle bearings....on any car.
what a piece of junk this US made corolla is.The bearing is supposed to last a long time, so is the hub.
Had the mechanic do it for cheap.
He told me alot of the newer US made corollas had similar problems.
Really don;t think Toyota should make anything in the US.
Anyone with similar experiences ??
g'day,
i read an article from a motoring magazine stating that japanese build toyota vehicle has a higher resale value compared to australian built toyota.
rey t
the early 90's corollas were very reliable, are you saying they were not cheap cars withgood parts ??
corollas had a tradition of building quality cars at cheap prices.
Now, it is cheap prices and some cheaper US quality.
anyway you look at it, US made = cheaper quality.
It's called a loss leader. The way Toyota and Honda got market share was selling cars with better quality than American cars for lower prices. Once they had the market share and brand loyalty, they had little reason to continue to build bulletproof reliable cars. Now that they have the American people brainwashed into believing that America isn't capable of building a good car they can let their quality slip to just above that of the American cars like the Focus. Hyundai is taking Toyota's place by providing high quality, reliable cars at rock bottom prices.
Again, you're showing what you don't understand about the automobile industry. American built does not equal low quality. Cheap or improperly engineered parts mean low quality. It doesn't matter where the car is built, bad parts result in bad cars. Your problem isn't that your Corolla was built in Cali instead of Japan, it's that Toyota specified cheap wheel bearings for your car.
Another thing you aren't thinking about is that in the early 1990s Toyota built few things on the Corolla platform. As you build more and more cars on a common platform, more problems arise. You are either forced to specify expensive separate components for each car or parts share. Parts sharing is a lot less expensive and puts a lot more dollars on the bottom line, but it results in less than optimal parts for each car. Toyota does a lot of parts sharing nowadays, which isn't going to help them out tremendously. For instance the seating position on the 9th generation Corolla is so bad because it is a compromise between what the Matrix needed and what the Corolla needed. It resulted in a less than right seating position for both cars.
I'm just going to say one last thing and that is this: As I stated earlier, Toyota could build a Corolla with a wheel bearing that lasts 200k, better tires, wiper blades, batteries, etc. If they did that, Corollas would be so expensive that people could not afford them. Let me ask you this, why do you think BMWs cost so much, even the small ones like the 3 series sedans start at 34k? It is because BMW specifies equipment as they see fit, they don't worry so much about cost. If they want to put a million cycle window motor in the car, they do it. If it costs more to find the perfect suspension for a 7 series and another suspension for the 6 series, so be it. They just charge more for the car. If a BMW 335i Convertible needs an entirely different floorpan than the coupe, it gets it. There isn't any, "lets make this work to save money". Accordingly, the Convertible costs a lot more. Toyota can't very well do this, can they? Just think if the difference between a Solara coupe and Convertible was 9k instead of 4k, or if the difference between a 4 cylinder Camry and a V6 Camry was 7k. Not many people would buy V6 Camrys or Solara Convertibles. Since they have to keep the prices down to sell cars, they have to compromise on both sharing parts and the quality of parts. BMW doesn't have to do this. If it costs 9k to make the Convertible right then they know that BMW drivers will pay whatever it costs to buy something right and they can charge them accordingly. If Toyota operated like BMW they couldn't make money because people just won't pay that much for a Toyota.
BHP,Do you corner hard with the car....take ramps at high speed???
If so, it will definitely shorten the life of front axle bearings....on any car.
what a piece of junk this US made corolla is.The bearing is supposed to last a long time, so is the hub.
Had the mechanic do it for cheap.
He told me alot of the newer US made corollas had similar problems.
Really don;t think Toyota should make anything in the US.
Anyone with similar experiences ??
Iv'e been babying this corolla as I am on a budget.
I 'm like 50 yrs old man, not a kid. I don't corner it hard at all,
I can't afford repairs.
come on guys, is it possible to critize the corolla here or is it against your
religions ??
As i've mentioned before, I had a corolla before, I had a civic , a sentra, vw before,
alll cheap cars, never nad a problem with bearings, not even at 200k on the civic
or the sentra. the old corolla was salvaged due to rust, at 100k miles, bearings were
perfect.
gvie me a break, you guys are not open to criticizm.
Anyways I am pissed, the damned Hub went bad too and the bearing problem ,
except for the noise, very hard to diagnose., I just wonder how many
are driving faulty bearings and not knowing it.
Atleast by posting on this board, those with an open mind will have less problem
diagnosing this common problem.
the early 90's corollas were very reliable, are you saying they were not cheap cars withgood parts ??
corollas had a tradition of building quality cars at cheap prices.
Now, it is cheap prices and some cheaper US quality.
anyway you look at it, US made = cheaper quality.
It's called a loss leader. The way Toyota and Honda got market share was selling cars with better quality than American cars for lower prices. Once they had the ..................
BMW doesn't have to do this. If it costs 9k to make the Convertible right then they know that BMW drivers will pay whatever it costs to buy something right and they can charge them accordingly. If Toyota operated like BMW they couldn't make money because people just won't pay that much for a Toyota.
give me a break, BMW's are expensive to repair and they do have alot of problems as I know a few guys
that drive them.
come on guys, is it possible to critize the corolla here or is it against yourreligions ??
I don't care if you criticize the Corolla till the cows come home, here I'll do one for ya. The Mazda3 I drive every other 6 months handles better, is faster, brakes in less distance, is more fun to drive has tons more features, it better looking, better put together, more problem free and in general makes a Corolla look like a cheap piece of junk in every aspect. The interior of the Mazda is infinitely nicer, I'll even go as far as to say that the interior fit and finish in my Corolla is shameful compared to the Mazda.
What I have a problem with is that you are saying that made in America = crap. Reality check, if we assembled your Corolla at Crewe (The Rolls Royce Factory) that wheel bearing would have still failed at 90k. Same goes for my car and its numerous fit and finish issues, they aren't there because of the hands that assembled the car, they're there because Toyota chose to buy a part that wasn't molded properly and then chose to put it in a car. Bad quality parts fail or fit poorly regardless of who installs them or where they are installed.
The days of loss leader Japanese cars is over. Toyota and Honda have convinced the American public that their cars are far superior to anything else, and now they don't have to build loss leader cars anymore. If you are looking for loss leader cars, buy a Hyundai next time. They are selling those at righteous prices and from what I've seen recently, their cars are very high quality. Better do that soon though, because once Hyundai convinces the public that they are as reliable and high quality as Honda and Toyota, they will start sliding in quality too.
If you only knew what parts suppliers have to deal with. For years Ford and GM have gone to their ever increasing number of outside suppliers year after year and asked for reduced prices on identical parts. They want the same part made year after year for the same price, regardless of the fact that the metal or plastic and paint it takes to manufacturer it costs more and more. In order to make a profit, suppliers have to make parts out of less robust materials as time goes on. Toyota and Honda didn't used to ask for lower prices every year and they paid good money for good quality parts. Anymore they are asking for reductions just like Ford and GM do and they are now facing the reality that cheap parts mean low quality cars.
And as far as BMWs go. I never claimed that they didn't have failures, I said they were able to put higher quality components into their cars. Those components may fail relatively quickly, but aren't most BMWs driven hard? Imagine if they used lesser quality components how quickly they'd fail. Another thing about higher quality components is that they cost a lot of money. There is this old saying "You want to play BMW, you've got to pay BMW". meaning that you shouldn't buy a BMW unless you can afford the repairs and operating costs. The main point I was trying to make with BMW is that they didn't have to make the compromises that Toyota does. Toyota bases 8 different models on the Camry platform. BMW uses 1 platform for 4 cars, but the difference between a 328i Sedan and Coupe isn't nearly as great as the difference between a Camry Solara and a Highlander. Since Toyota has to make a compromise when platform sharing between vastly different types of cars to keep costs down, their cars will inherently have more shortcomings than two highly similar BMWs built on the same platform will.
The example you quoted about BMW charging 9k more for the convertible 328i than the coupe verses the 4k more a Solara Convertible than a coupe is better explained when I say the following. The BMW has a power retractable hard top that was engineered to work with that car from the beginning. It is an integral part of the car. It requires that the car undergo several modifications as far as body structure and other components of the car when compared to the coupe. The modifications were made from the beginning and 328i convertibles come off the line as convertibles. Solaras aren't like that. They are all made as coupes and some company (ASC If I Recall Correctly) chops the tops and makes some modifications to the car to make it a convertible. This type of convertible is inherently a compromise while a car engineered from the beginning to be a convertible doesn't have to be. BMW doesn't have to make a suspension that is so-so for 5 models, they can give each model their own suspension that is just right. Toyota can't exactly do this because it is cost prohibitive and they know that they can't get enough money out of their cars to make a profit on that just right suspension.
I grew up with the auto industry all around me and I'm just trying to use what I know to better educate you all. Toyota is simply facing the things that Ford and GM have been facing for years. They're going to have a quality slip. It's already happening, Camrys with transmission failures, numerous recalls on trucks for steering problems. The transmission problems and the steering problems were both caused by faulty components, and in the case of the transmission, design problems.
Bhp02, it could be that particular corolla of yours might be slightly more faulty than others. Kinda the unlucky short straw you've chosen.come on guys, is it possible to critize the corolla here or is it against yourreligions ??I don't care if you criticize the Corolla till the cows come home, here I'll do one for ya. The Mazda3 I drive every other 6 months handles better, is faster, brakes in less distance, is more fun to drive has tons more features, it better looking, better put together, more problem free and in general makes a Corolla look like a cheap piece of junk in every aspect. The interior of the Mazda is infinitely nicer, I'll even go as far as to say that the interior fit and finish in my Corolla is shameful compared to the Mazda.
What I have a problem with is that you are saying that made in America = crap. Reality check, if we assembled your Corolla at Crewe (The Rolls Royce Factory) that wheel bearing would have still failed at 90k. Same goes for my car and its numerous fit and finish issues, they aren't there because of the hands that assembled the car, they're there because Toyota chose to buy a part that wasn't molded properly and then chose to put it in a car. Bad quality parts fail or fit poorly regardless of who installs them or where they are installed.
The days of loss leader Japanese cars is over. Toyota and Honda have convinced the American public that their cars are far superior to anything else, and now they don't have to build loss leader cars anymore. If you are looking for loss leader cars, buy a Hyundai next time. They are selling those at righteous prices and from what I've seen recently, their cars are very high quality. Better do that soon though, because once Hyundai convinces the public that they are as reliable and high quality as Honda and Toyota, they will start sliding in quality too.
If you only knew what parts suppliers have to deal with. For years Ford and GM have gone to their ever increasing number of outside suppliers year after year and asked for reduced prices on identical parts. They want the same part made year after year for the same price, regardless of the fact that the metal or plastic and paint it takes to manufacturer it costs more and more. In order to make a profit, suppliers have to make parts out of less robust materials as time goes on. Toyota and Honda didn't used to ask for lower prices every year and they paid good money for good quality parts. Anymore they are asking for reductions just like Ford and GM do and they are now facing the reality that cheap parts mean low quality cars.
And as far as BMWs go. I never claimed that they didn't have failures, I said they were able to put higher quality components into their cars. Those components may fail relatively quickly, but aren't most BMWs driven hard? Imagine if they used lesser quality components how quickly they'd fail. Another thing about higher quality components is that they cost a lot of money. There is this old saying "You want to play BMW, you've got to pay BMW". meaning that you shouldn't buy a BMW unless you can afford the repairs and operating costs. The main point I was trying to make with BMW is that they didn't have to make the compromises that Toyota does. Toyota bases 8 different models on the Camry platform. BMW uses 1 platform for 4 cars, but the difference between a 328i Sedan and Coupe isn't nearly as great as the difference between a Camry Solara and a Highlander. Since Toyota has to make a compromise when platform sharing between vastly different types of cars to keep costs down, their cars will inherently have more shortcomings than two highly similar BMWs built on the same platform will.
The example you quoted about BMW charging 9k more for the convertible 328i than the coupe verses the 4k more a Solara Convertible than a coupe is better explained when I say the following. The BMW has a power retractable hard top that was engineered to work with that car from the beginning. It is an integral part of the car. It requires that the car undergo several modifications as far as body structure and other components of the car when compared to the coupe. The modifications were made from the beginning and 328i convertibles come off the line as convertibles. Solaras aren't like that. They are all made as coupes and some company (ASC If I Recall Correctly) chops the tops and makes some modifications to the car to make it a convertible. This type of convertible is inherently a compromise while a car engineered from the beginning to be a convertible doesn't have to be. BMW doesn't have to make a suspension that is so-so for 5 models, they can give each model their own suspension that is just right. Toyota can't exactly do this because it is cost prohibitive and they know that they can't get enough money out of their cars to make a profit on that just right suspension.
I grew up with the auto industry all around me and I'm just trying to use what I know to better educate you all. Toyota is simply facing the things that Ford and GM have been facing for years. They're going to have a quality slip. It's already happening, Camrys with transmission failures, numerous recalls on trucks for steering problems. The transmission problems and the steering problems were both caused by faulty components, and in the case of the transmission, design problems.
As for contour, well said.
Back in 2001 CHOICE magazine in Australia (the publication of the Australian Consumer and Competition Comission - an arm of the federal government) conducted a reliability survey. In each of the 3 age categories ('90-93, 94-96, 97-00), Japanese marques were on top. But still, in the newest category, the best mark was only 96%, scored by the honda CRV. This means 4% had problems. Corolla does not appear in top 14 in the newest category (doesn't appear in the bottom 12 either), but makes appearances near the top of the list in the older categories. It still is at no point number 1. This demonstrates that whilst corolla reliability is good, it is still no better than the typical Japanese-engineered car made locally or overseas.
Looking at results by make, in the 1-4/5-7/8-10 y.o. age brackets, the results are as follows: (number is % of cars without problems, '-' means no result was given)
EUROS
BMW:84/69/61
Mercedes:73/-/-
VW:74/75/-
Saab:64/55/-
Volvo:80/71/50
FORD/GM
Ford:73/64/56
GM:70/67/58
JAPANESE
Toyota:89/79/66
Honda:93/84/72
Subaru:89/81/66
Mazda:92/82/67
Nissan:80/79/64
Mitsubishi:83/72/59
It appears that whilst Toyota is one of the leaders, Honda and Subarus are better. However, it is still a quantum leap in front of the Aussie makes and the Europeans. In conclusion, there is no real reliability advantage of getting a toyota over other Japanese makes. The ironic thing is, Mazda and Honda make their cars interesting, toyota largely does not in comparison.
BHP,
I for one don't mind someone ranting about their perception of quality in their Corolla. Part of the reason I sign up for the Automotive Forums that pertain to my cars is to see what experiences others have had with like vehicles. I'll take opinions with a grain of salt but I do watch for common problems and steer clear of certain years or drive train combinations. I have friend who who says Americans are drinking the Toyota KoolAid.....maybe he's right.
In my previous post I just asked the question......I am almost 53 and sometimes exit onto highway ramps much faster than I should.
As for the bearing, the left front bearing in my 95 Corolla was questioned during the test drive prior to me buying the car 4 years ago at 105K. I bought it from a very small used car dealer and I think their mechanic threw some grease at the bearing and retorqued. It quieted down a bit for a couple thousand miles. I had to replace the hub and bearing since I let it go til it self destructed. The bearing bits fell out in my hands.
The hub and bearing often fail together. If you were able to diagnose and replace it prior to self destructing, you could probably salvage the hub. I think I paid $100 or so for the hub/bearing kit 4 years ago.
I have about 95K on the replacement bearing and to my knowledge the other side has not been replaced......maybe just the luck of the draw but I think 99Contour has a pretty good read on the industry regarding pricing and quality.
Jay in MA
come on guys, is it possible to critize the corolla here or is it against yourreligions ??
As i've mentioned before, I had a corolla before, I had a civic , a sentra, vw before,
alll cheap cars, never nad a problem with bearings, not even at 200k on the civic
or the sentra. the old corolla was salvaged due to rust, at 100k miles, bearings were
perfect.
gvie me a break, you guys are not open to criticizm.
Anyways I am pissed, the damned Hub went bad too and the bearing problem ,
except for the noise, very hard to diagnose., I just wonder how many
are driving faulty bearings and not knowing it.
Atleast by posting on this board, those with an open mind will have less problem
diagnosing this common problem.
That was my opinion also but I know 3 guys that own BMWs and all three have told me that they're not expensive to repair.....maybe because they do the repairs themselves.
give me a break, BMW's are expensive to repair and they do have alot of problems as I know a few guysthat drive them.
99Contour Does not have a pretty good Idea of how Auto Industry works. If your company deals with Toyota directly only then you will realize how they go about conducting business. With market being so competitive and Toyota being on top on economy car segment, they will never cheap out on a bearing or any other critical parts. Yes not painting the screws/bolts which are not visible, but critical parts no manufacture will risk any more.
I know that you are pissed at a bad bearing, but it happens. Just doesn't happen to just econoboxes - big megabuck cars too. Recently a buddy at work had to replace his wheel bearing an hub on his 2004 BMW 760Li with only 14K miles, all out of pocket - that was a car that was about $120K off the lot, probably still goes for about $90K right now used. To believe that Toyota will only use the best parts every time in every car is a pretty bold statement. Not just with the auto industry in general but any commercial industry. Think about commercial airliners - gives you a warm fuzzy knowing that most all sub-assemblies were contracted to only close business partners and the lowest cost contract bidders - not the best in the business. For a one-off or niche company, might be OK to get away with buying specific parts - but for a large global company that is looking to be #1 - the bottom line is the only thing that matters.
In general I agree with the99contour, about how everything is build to a price and part sharing means compromise in terms of quality, and about how country of origin is not really a good indicator of quality anymore.
However, as an engineer I can tell you it is not an excuse to blame parts sharing and low price for reliability problems. No matter you build your own parts or buy from OEM, if it fail, it is the assembler's fault. You either didn't do enough QA or you under engineered/spec-ed the parts. BTW, 30k is not a reasonable life for a wheel bearing. Every single car should have bearings that last at least 100k by now. This is 2007 for God's sake. It doesn't take a 20k car to achieve that, there are plenty of AMERICAN cars that can last that long without reliability problem by now. Mazda can do that, Ford can do that, GM can do that, so Toyota should do that too.
I personally have a 1995 corolla with 160k miles and going strong. When I shopped for a new car with my friend last year, I checked out the new corolla and immediately tell her to skip it. It is lower quality than my 10+ year old corolla in interior, the engine bay is not as well laid out, and pretty much anything is not as good or better for the price. Toyota has grown too quick too big too fast, they are cutting corner to achieve the volumes, models, and sales.
(This happens in any industry, when crunch time comes, you have to let some products that slightly fail pass QA, and worry about it later. Everyone doees it)
Will I still buy Toyota in the future? Sure, when I found a model that is good quality for the dollar, but if I don't, I have no problem buying any other brand that fits my need.
In general I agree with the99contour, about how everything is build to a price and part sharing means compromise in terms of quality, and about how country of origin is not really a good indicator of quality anymore.However, as an engineer I can tell you it is not an excuse to blame parts sharing and low price for reliability problems. No matter you build your own parts or buy from OEM, if it fail, it is the assembler's fault. You either didn't do enough QA or you under engineered/spec-ed the parts. BTW, 30k is not a reasonable life for a wheel bearing. Every single car should have bearings that last at least 100k by now. This is 2007 for God's sake. It doesn't take a 20k car to achieve that, there are plenty of AMERICAN cars that can last that long without reliability problem by now. Mazda can do that, Ford can do that, GM can do that, so Toyota should do that too.
I personally have a 1995 corolla with 160k miles and going strong. When I shopped for a new car with my friend last year, I checked out the new corolla and immediately tell her to skip it. It is lower quality than my 10+ year old corolla in interior, the engine bay is not as well laid out, and pretty much anything is not as good or better for the price. Toyota has grown too quick too big too fast, they are cutting corner to achieve the volumes, models, and sales.
(This happens in any industry, when crunch time comes, you have to let some products that slightly fail pass QA, and worry about it later. Everyone doees it)
Will I still buy Toyota in the future? Sure, when I found a model that is good quality for the dollar, but if I don't, I have no problem buying any other brand that fits my need.
I'm studying to be an engineer, and I wasn't proposing that parts sharing, outsourcing and lower prices were valid excuses for lower quality parts. I am correct in saying that parts sharing and lower prices often mean low quality parts, even though it shouldn't
As for the quality of the 9th generation Corolla: I have a 2005 Corolla LE that I custom ordered with all but three options (leather, side airbags and stability control). I think the car is nice for what it is, a cheap car. You can rag on the Corolla all you want for being low quality and having a poorly laid out engine compartment, but did you look at most every other car in the segment? Cobalt/G5, Neon/Caliber, Focus, last generation Sentra are all not as well assembled or as thoughtfully laid out as the Corolla is. Mazda3 is better than the Corolla in some ways, but for a price. The Mazda is significantly faster, handles incredibly and has a 60-0 braking distance that rivals many sports cars. The interior of the Mazda is glitzy, impressive and higher quality than the Corolla. As far as gadgets, the Mazda has it hands down, steering wheel audio controls, Sirius, tilt/telescoping steering wheel, etc. Again the Mazda wins in the looks department, especially the Mazda3s. For all these wins, the Corolla is better in 3 ways:
1) Cost: A fully optioned 2007 Corolla cost 20k, while the Mazda3 fully optioned approaches 24k (although the Mazda3s Grand Touring has automatic climate control, Xenon lamps, heated leather seats, automatic lights and rain sensing wipers, Homelink, etc. most of which are features the Corolla doesn't have available)
2) Fuel Economy: The Corolla is rated at 32/38 and gets 30/36 when I drive it. The Mazda is rated at 25/31 as I drive the Mazda gets 18/28
3) Engineering Details: Sure the Mazda has a cold air duct fed from the grille to cool the battery, but you have to use a 10mm socket with a 6" long extension to get the top off of it to jump your battery when it does dead. It also has many of the dipsticks and fluid level checks near the back of the engine compartment where they are hard to check. The air filter requires you to disassemble too many other things to change. Worst of all it has a cartridge oil filter. Compared to the Mazda, the Corolla is much better laid out and designed.
I bought my used '03 Corolla about 2 months ago (55,000KM), and I had to replace the right rear wheel bearing just after I bought it. (my own fault-it was pissing rain when I test drove it 
). I'm not too upset though, because instead of the quoted $650 dealer price for the part, I managed to get an aftermarket hub assembly for $125. 
Every used car has a secret...other than that, my little Impulse red 'Rolla runs great, and gets absolutely AWESOME gas mileage: Less than half of what I used to pay for my '88 3.0L 4x4 pickup per week. I figure that the gas money I have saved has more than paid for the expenditure of the rear wheel bearing. I also like the fact that the 1.8L has a timing chain instead of a belt...less maintenance!
I was also considering the 2000-'03 Protege, but given the "average" reliability rating that it had compared to the Corolla's "excellent" (Consumer's Report, Lemon Aid et al ), and plus the fact that my old 'Yota had 270,000 KM on her before it died, made me decide on the Corolla.
The wheel bearings on the AE92 can easily get contaminated with dirt during a CV joint change since one race is unprotected when the joint is removed. Are the bearings on the later model Corollas better protected?
what a piece of junk this US made corolla is.The bearing is supposed to last a long time, so is the hub.The bearing is not manufactured by Toyota so Toyota is not to be blamed for the problem but rather the bearing manufacturer.
Had the mechanic do it for cheap.
He told me alot of the newer US made corollas had similar problems.
Really don;t think Toyota should make anything in the US.
Anyone with similar experiences ??
The bearing is not manufactured by Toyota so Toyota is not to be blamed for the problem but rather the bearing manufacturer.what a piece of junk this US made corolla is.The bearing is supposed to last a long time, so is the hub.
Had the mechanic do it for cheap.
He told me alot of the newer US made corollas had similar problems.
Really don;t think Toyota should make anything in the US.
Anyone with similar experiences ??
The bearing manufacturer is contracted by Toyota, the blame lies with toyota.
I was wondering what type of noise does the front bearing/hub assembly make when it is going out? My 04 Corolla is making a strange sound from the left front area and I was wondering if it might be the same kind of sound as a wheel bearing going out.
Built in America doesn't = lower quality, built by the UAW = lower quality. Our 05 Corolla is a joke compared to my folks Camry.
Corolla's are cheap mass produced cars. Don't expect them to be perfect. Toyota's nicer cars are built better. The US Corolla is built in a UAW plant and them union guys get paid a lot, produce a lot of law suits, and only have to do so much work. As far as I know, the Corolla/ GM plant is the only UAW Toyota plant. Damn GM contracts.
A Corolla is not all that, BUT it DOES get better fuel economy then a Focus, Cobalt, or any other cheaper econo box. Also, Toyota and Honda still hold more value at the end of the day.
Drive a GM or Ford off the lot for a year. Even if build quality is the same, at the moment, that Corolla will sell more or trade in value will be more.
I don't think people are brain washed in to thinking that Toyota is a better car. They are just sick and tired of the domestic counter part being worthless in 5 years, and loosing about 10K in the first year of ownership.
I was wondering what type of noise does the front bearing/hub assembly make when it is going out? My 04 Corolla is making a strange sound from the left front area and I was wondering if it might be the same kind of sound as a wheel bearing going out.
sounds like tire tread noise
