Just Got A 2006 And Have A Few Questions

In the process of transferring ownership of my father's 2006 Corolla after he had a third accident in past 10 months. He's elderly and finally agreed with my brothers and I that it's no longer safe for him to drive. No serious damage or injuries but sheetmetal work needed each time. I drove the car 40 miles a few days ago and it's in great shape. It has all of 1200 miles thanks to his limited driving.

 

 

A few things weren't put together quite right in the reassembly, however.

 

#1 - found a small plastic item dangling behind the front bumper, seems to snap into the center beam that supports the hood latch. The wire for it comes from a harness that also has the wire for the horn coming from it. Does this item indeed snap into that spot on the beam? and what might it be? I thought that it looks like perhaps a temperature sensor of some kind.

 

#2 - there's an intake hose with a rubberized kind of coating running across ahead of and below the battery. Looks like a pre-heater hose. Unfortunately, it ends just after crossing beneath the battery, with a plastic end that has a bracket built in to bolt it somewhere. It dangles there just to the left (looking at front of car) of the battery and I see nowhere it can even lead to. I imagine another length of hose is supposed to connect to it.

 

#3 - the right front fender has a hole I can insert my finger into where the prop rod for the hood is supposed to be mounted. I'm assuming there's some sort of insert that holds the tip of the prop rod in place here.

 

I'm thinking junkyard for these parts, which may preclude my asking about them here.

 

As to other things, apparently the CD player will hold more than 1 CD at a time, as vaguely alluded to in the handbook, but I'm unsure how many can be inserted.

 

I looked for some indication that the engine is either a 1ZZ-FE or a 2ZZ-GE, as indicated in the book. I looked for some sticker under the hood to indicate this, but probably see none because it wasn't replaced after the bodywork. The top of the engine is marked VVT-i, which I [think] indicates the 1ZZ-FE.

 

An observation - I had to contort myself well beyond what I thought possible to get under the dash once I figured out where the secondary fuse panel is to change a fuse. Could they have put that panel somewhere where it can be found and accessed without all the trouble I had? Very surprising lack of proper design in this car, where everything else seems so well thought out.

 

Is there one aftermarket repair manual preferred over another? as in Haynes vs Chilton?

 

All in all, I'm quite happy to be driving a virtually new car. I'm retiring a 90 Volvo 740 Turbo with almost 300,000 miles on it, and it's been a good trip, but it's going to the back of the driveway to supply the other 740s I have.

 

Thanks for listening,

Dennis

 

 

#1 The wire is for the outside temperature gauge sensor (thermistor) if it is missing the outside temperature gauge will display -- F instead of XX F.

#2 Don't know about that one, PM fishexpo101, he should be able to held.

#3 Yes, there is an insert and it is probably going to be a junkyard part.

Lastly, the CD player may be able to hold one CD or 6 CDs. If the CD player has a LOAD button, then it can hold 6, otherwise, just one.

Unless your Corolla is an XRS (you would know, it would have a 6 speed manual transmission, red gauges, a black interior and no folding rear seat) then it has the 1ZZ-FE. The 2ZZ-GE also says VVt-iL on the engine cover, which further helps with the identification.

Hope this helps.

-the99contour

Pretty much the99countour pinged on the points.

I'll add for item #2 - that descriptions seems to point at the intake snorkel. The opening is just in-front of the battery, right by the lamp assembly. The tubing should be continuous under the battery tray, disappear into the fender and exit into the bottom of the airbox. It sounds like that tubing (part of the intake resonator - helps quiet the intake) - either fell off or was never replaced during one of those accidents.

As for service manual - Toyota factory would be the best, but can be tough to find and/or pricey - depending on your source. Haynes recently turned out a 9th gen Corolla manual - covers model years from 2003-2005. The 2005 was the mid-model change, and your 2006 would be nearly identical to it. Haynes would probably get you through about 80% of the DIY "stuff" they most people are able to do.