1999 Corolla Ve - 204,000 Miles - Toyota Corolla, Chevy Prizm (1998-2008)

I had posted back in the spring about the car. The car ended up coming with 4 studded snow tires (in addition to the relatively new all seasons) and he had done a complete brake line replacement, brake job, suspension (shocks/strut/etc), air condtioning test/recharge, and even an oil/filter change before I purchased it.

The car is a trooper. I got it with roughtly 199,000 miles on it. My daughter got her license with it and the studded snows have been a blessing this winter.

The oil consumption hasn't been an issue. When I first got the car I replaced whatever oil needed to top it off with Marvel Mystery Oil. I also put some in the gas tank every once in a while - a couple of ounces. Then I changed the oil at about 1000 miles of having the car - by that time the car had joined the 200k club.

So the car has been driven roughly 3000 miles since that oil change. I didn't even use a full quart to top things off in the meantime. The oil consumption appears to be getting better since I got the car. I believe the Marvel Mystery Oil cleaned and loosened/lubed things up. I'll know more the next 3000 miles.

Question about engine light code. In the week before we got the car - we came to terms with the owner and exchanged some money - the engine light came on. Up to that point the light had never come on or been an issue. He checked it and replaced a valve under the hood by the power brake - something with the emissions similar to the one near the gas tank - and put a genuine Toyota gas cap on. He did this at his cost. We had the car for a couple of weeks and the light came on again - checked the code - the dreaded p0446/p0447 and another one to do with a sensor by the catalytic converter. So I pulled the battery cable to reset it, she passed her driver test, and the light came on again in less than 100 miles. He said he would take care of it at his cost, but we were never able to get together.

That was back in May. I never did a reset of any type since that point and the light has been on the whole time. The fuel mileage has been great and the car starts and runs without any issue. I recently realized that the car needed to be inspected and had yet to address the engine light/emission code issue. Neighbor is a mechanic and would fix it - he ran the diag and the same 3 codes were coming up. I pulled the battery - which I hadn't done in 6 months - did a reset and had my daughter drive about 40-50 miles before the inspection to reset the sensors and it passed without any issue. The mechanic even commented about the overall mechanical condition of the car.

Here is the odd part - the light hasn't come on in the nearly 6 weeks since the reset. It's driven every day and been fueled up a few times as well since the reset. I don't see how it could have fixed itself, but I'm not complaining.

Is it possible that something in the battery pull that finally did a complete reset?

Thanks

Those particular EVAP codes can come and go on the 8th gen Corollas. The underlying condition is probably still there, but the threshold for a "pass" or "fail" condition might not have been reached. Sort of disturbing, that they automagically "fix" themselves in that manner, but it does happen on quite a cases.

On my own 2002 with 165K miles, seems like every two years within two or three weeks before I plan on bring the car in for smog checks, the CEL pops on. 8/10 times - resetting the ECM will clear the code, I/M readiness status set to ready so that the car will pass its e-check. The slight redesign on the 9th gen Corolla eliminated many of these EVAP codes issues. On the 8th gen - pulling the negative battery terminal for a minute or so (also helps to stomp on the brake or fill the lights on, just to drain any residual charge on the electronics) or clearing with a handhelp will have the same effect on the ECM. You'll know that the ECM is reset if the idle speed or quality seems to have changed slightly, as the ECM is relearning some parameters.

54 posts

I was having the p0446/p0447 code... I pulled the purge solenoid out and knocked the crud out of it, soaked the rotten thing with several penetrants (alternating, not adding) for a while, blew it out with some compressed air a little, then reinstalled it. Funny thing is, I put 12v to the terminals to see if I could get it to activate after I had cleaned and soaked it, and I got nothing... Maybe the PB blaster worked its way in and freed up the solenoid??

(by soak, I mean I sprayed PB in the hose fittings and plugged them up for a while... I actually used PB, drained that, used wd-40, drained that, used rubbing alcohol, drained that, used some generic silicone stuff, drained that, used alcohol again, drained that, then used PB again for a bit... drained that, blew it out with compressed air and gave up... I had tested the operation of the solenoid after I blew it out every time I soaked it with something else... every time the solution came out slightly less ugly than the last, so I guess it was pretty gunked up)

I'm not saying I solved the problem, but the CEL only comes on for P0420 now... and my cooling fans are ALWAYS on. I have not gotten around to changing the coolant temp sender yet.

Just dealt with the click click click starter. Advance auto parts has a starter rebuild kit for $24.44 that comes with all the parts you'd need.

The Nippondenso starter that these cars use shares parts with... Isuzu rodeo (Acura slx/honda passport), chrysler minivans, some HARLEY-DAVIDSON models... [yes, you could, theoretically, get starter rebuild parts for your TOYOTA at a HARLEY dealership... holy wtf!!?!]

But yeah, the purge solenoid is $120 nobody ever really wants to spend.

Thanks for the input. I was kind of figuring that it didn't fix itself. My wife has a 2000 Camry and we had to fix a repeated p0447 EVAP code a few years back replacing the gas cap - didn't work - and eventually replaced the evap component by the gas tank - which did finally fix it.

My daughter loves the Corolla - with the studded snows it has no issue at all in any weather. I've been showing her how to do simple maintenance (fluid levels, tire pressure, etc) for when daddy isn't there. None of this "oh well I'm a girl crap" and getting raked over the coals for simple stuff.

Just ordered a replacement serpentine belt from Amazon. It looks easy enough since it looks like nothing needs to be moved out of the way and it gives me a chance to get out the breaker bar.

54 posts

If that belt isn't Dayco or Goodyear, keep an eye on it.

Just ordered a replacement serpentine belt from Amazon. It looks easy enough since it looks like nothing needs to be moved out of the way and it gives me a chance to get out the breaker bar.

Breaker bar for the belt tensioner? Wimp! default_biggrin

Darth - I may end up trying that, but for now it's still working well. She knocks around town a little bit and does some moderate highway driving a few times a week. The light hasn't come back so I'll take the no code for now - at least until the next inspection next January. default_smile

Regarding the belt - it's a dayco.

Hey - I don't get to break out the big gun very often. The last time I used the breaker bar was helping someone with a water pump on a POS Buick Park Ave. default_biggrin

Regarding solvents and additives - I swear by Marvel Mystery Oil.

Serpentine belt came today and it took me probably 10-15 minutes total. Didn't even get out the breaker bar - 19mm wrench to release the tension. default_smile

Glad I found this forum.