1990 Toyota Carina GL 1.6 petrol

Summary:

Excellent, super reliable car

Faults:

CV joints after 230000 miles. Otherwise just general service items, including an exhaust after 160000 miles.

A few spots of rust on the roof after 21 years!

General Comments:

They just do not make cars like this anymore.

It starts on the button every time, and has never let me down since I bought it new 21 years ago. Absolutely excellent.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 28th March, 2011

26th May 2022, 18:32

That's value for money all right :)

1990 Toyota Carina LX Estate 1.6

Summary:

Enduring and trustworthy, but smaller than you think

Faults:

Starter motor failed at 164000.

Water pump failed at 167000.

Drivers seat collapsing when acquired, now down to frame on RHS.

Wiper screws corroded, making blade replacement impossible.

Low speed fan setting failed.

General Comments:

Utterly reliable old cart, could always start with a push-and-jump-in when the starter motor died. Has never failed to get me to my destination, or troubled the RAC.

Performance is gradually failing, it used to 'come on the cam' at 4000, now it just wheezes a bit. Still OK, given the age and mileage though.

Fuel consumption is not as good as it should be (7.0 mile per litre), although it does spend most of its life at high motorway speeds.

This car has absolutely no grip at all, and will understeer at the very thought of a roundabout. It's so bad that it's quite good fun, you can send it sideways just to lighten a boring trip up.

Apart from the drivers seat, the interior is virtually as new, everything works, no knobs have fallen off.

I had to drill holes in the rear quarters to let accumulated water out, but there's no rust even now.

The paint caught the 'old red paint disease', but some T-cut work brought it up beautifully.

What parts I've bought (starter, water pump) were quite cheap, although both were virtually an engine out job that I eventually had done at the garage.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 15th December, 2003

1990 Toyota Carina 2.0 GLi 2.0 16v EFI 3S-FE

Summary:

Cheap and Reliable

Faults:

Not much at all.

Recently we replaced the back exhaust box as it had acquired a hole. Not too bad after 12 years of driving.

The car seems to lose power sometimes, as though a cylinder is off time, but this only occurs in the rain. Can anybody help out please?

General Comments:

The 2.0 engine is superbly refined and very quick, and refuses to stop pulling until around 130 MPH.

The seats are wonderfully designed and a joy for those with bad backs.

The hatchback has a cavern of room for absolutely anything you can bring along.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 20th April, 2002

22nd Sep 2003, 09:13

Could be your HT leads or distributor cap - try squirting some WD40 to see if that cures the problem.

6th Jun 2004, 04:18

I've had similar trouble with my 12/13 year old Carina GLi. Usually loss of power, occasionally stalling, occasionally difficult to start. The first two problems are worst when the engine has warmed up and can persist for several miles. These problems only happen after the car has been standing in heavy rain. I tried changing HT leads and distributor cap several years ago. They made no difference. Garage mechanic has checked the coil and says it looks fine. Nobody seems to be able to track down the problem. I assume it is something to do with a sensor which controls fuel injection. In all other respects it has been an excellent car, but this loss of power is dangerous as it tends to happen when changing up as I pull the car out at a junction.

13th Feb 2005, 13:37

Hi guys.

Thanks for the advice, the problem turned out to be associated with the spark plugs. Replacement of all 4 has cured the problem. Thanks for your help!

15th Aug 2005, 14:27

Just a little note about the Carina 2.0 GLi with 3S-FE with Oxygen Sensors 88-89 years model. Some of your problems described here can be caused of an bad earth drawing. This earth is located on the intake manifold underside and ground the ignition, injection and engine ECU. This ground comes from the main cable that serves most functions around the engine. It's four cables fitting to this ground and you are not able to see it. You can disconnect this ground cable and reconnect on another better place at the intake and draw a separate ground directly to the battery minus. Also check the chassis to engine ground wish has a connector. This can cause problems like you describe, that the car does not start after heavy rain, power-loose somewhile after heating up the engine and so on. This is NOT a known fault or common, but after several years of problem I discovered this eartpoint and now the problem is gone!

Good luck.

Regards, Bengt Eriksson, Sweden.

2nd Jan 2006, 22:21

Have you tried to change spark plugs and spark plug wires?

This needs to be changed every once in a while.