1997 Toyota Carina Reviews - Page 3 of 3

Despite the long list which follows, the car has been mostly reliable over a great number of miles. But...

Toyota recalled the car to fix a potential suspension problem. They gave it a lovely valet and returned it with a bunch of flowers, which was nice, but let down by the surly delivery driver!

At 138000 the ignition keys stopped working - I could not start the car, and it was £400 for a new immobiliser, which was a bit steep.

Being a dual-fuel car, the LPG side has had a few problems: when I bought it, the computer had corroded, having been mounted right by the battery! A new computer was £600, but the dealer I bought it from footed the bill.

Then at 140000 the radiator burst. I was driving along when suddenly there was a terrible rattle and a loss of power. Looking under the bonnet revealed an oily mess all over the engine, and I suspected a blown gasket. However, the Toyota anti-freeze is oily and it was just a rusted radiator. A new radiator (£160 from Toyota) and oil/filter change and everything seems fine again.

Great work-horse with plenty of room, but never in a hurry. This car is fine for getting about with minimum fuss, but its ugly (made worse by a frightening turquoise paint job) and won't go fast until you've spent a few seconds talking it into a bit of a turn of speed.

With the LPG conversion it is mindlessly cheap to run and being an estate, the extra tank is not noticeable.

The tow-hitch makes it even more useful for pulling jusat about anything.

Seats and interior are no match for my wife's Carlton, but nicer than the tinny Pug 104 I had before.

Central locking locked us out at 17000 miles.

CD player failed twice within 6 months.

Heater airflow selector failed at 25,000 miles.

Throttle unit failed at 30,000 miles.

Power steering unit leaking at 25,000 miles.

Rear brake cylinders replaced at 42,000 miles.

This car is heavy on front tyres, despite careful driving I get less than 20,000 miles out of them.

There are a lot of rattles and squeaks.

The performance is sluggish.

Rear visibility is very poor.

A comfortable motorway cruiser.

Very high servicing costs.

The local dealer is appalling, their only interest is in emptying my wallet.

Alarm locked up once.

Alarm was replaced after a general recall.

Rear hubs replaced after a general recall.

Rear vision very limited (lift-back model).

Clutch set far too low by design.

Gear changing very crunchy.

Poor gear ratios for towing.

Why rear drums with the largest engine and ABS on a late model car?

Great economy.

Best instrument lighting ever seen.