1996 Toyota Corolla Reviews - Page 7 of 10

Starter went off at 57000 miles.

Had to change the brake Pads and shoes once, but obvious due to age of the car.

Clutch Plate went at 72000 and 91000 can't figure out how's it possible with a manual transmission.

Other than this THE BEST CAR EVER!!! :)

This is my brothers certified car. It still drives as if its brand new. Its annually driven around 15000 to 22000 miles. Though there's no leakage, I still have to put oil into it even after following 3500 regular Oil change and scheduled maintenence, but I consider this acceptable. What really puzzles me is that the Clutch plate assembly had to be changed twice for a manual transmission!!! I have never burned the clutch nor I am rough on the gears, but I often use the engine for braking or must be the dealer.

I am truly impressed by the car's performance and cheap maintenence, if you follow the factory recommended maintenence. I would definitely recommend this car especially the manual because its fun and RELIABLE!!!

Front brakes replaced at 130000 km.

Rear brakes replaced at 158000 km.

Radiator replaced at 164000 km.

Battery replaced at 170000 km.

New OEM tires put on at 96000 km when I purchased the car only lasted 50000 km.

Over the last few months once in awhile the starter won't engage on the first try, suspect solenoid or starter problem.

Air conditioning may be giving out at the time of this writing.

Paint hasn't stood up well - some peeling on the trunk lid.

This car was a great buy for running costs, I have been able to drive and drive it with almost no problems.

Being a very basic model, it has almost no comfort or convenience features and the sound insulation isn't great. There's a lot of noise at speeds over 100 km/h.

The small engine means it's not powerful, but with 5-speed it's responsive enough for ordinary driving and gets good gas mileage. Routinely see 33-34 mpg in town and 40-45 mpg on the highway.

Other than the average maintenance items, nothing has gone wrong.

The paint seems to scratch very easily however. It had 34 very visible scratches on the car when I bought it, and have I have so far been able to collect another 3 really big scratches.

This Corolla I am impressed with in general.

I have driven many other Corollas before (friends, family, etc.), and can't say I've been particularly impressed with them. Even the new 04' models didn't appeal to me very much.

However, when I saw this car in the dealers lot for $4900, I had to take a look, because everything that was a Corolla of this age that I had seen was over $6200.

When I drove it, the first thing I noted was how fast it was for a little compact. It really takes off for only 105 hp I believe because of the standard transmission. Since this was the only standard Corolla I had seen, I can't compare it to the newer models in terms of power.

After I bought it, several things failed, but they were all maintenance items.

The timing belt snapped, the headlights (both) burned out, the gas pedal fell off, all things that could have been prevented by maintenance.

This car is very comfortable compared to my Tacoma, and very quiet as well. I've heard other people complain that it's noisy on the freeway, but to me, it's not so bad. As long as I can hear the stereo.

The best feature is the gas mileage. I'm used to 7 mpg from my 454 Cheyenne. My Tacoma gave me great joy when I averaged 26 mpg, and this car gets about 41, so I'm now saving a lot of money at the pumps, considering I drive 70 miles a day.

The only thing that I am stumped about is why I get better gas mileage in town than on the freeway. (33 on the freeway, and 42 in the city) NO JOKE. I'm just a college student who knows nothing about cars so if someone could help me with this question, I'd be happy.

In all, I love this car because it doesn't attract too much attention on the road and yet, is fun to drive.

One last comment, "You never notice how many Corollas there are until you drive one." And there's a good reason for that, because they are so good. I've stuck my key in the wrong White 1996 Corolla DX sedan, three times in the past 2 months.