2004 Toyota Corolla Reviews - Page 2 of 7

At about 85k the belt tensioner went bad, a 360 dollar part, but covered under warranty. Other than that, nothing has gone wrong.

This car was bought new by my father in 2004. He drove the car for about 40k and then lent it to my sister to drive while studying at UK. My sister beat the crap out of the car until I bought it Feb. of this year. I continued to do the same, and this car has never let me down, ever. I do however advise against treating this car like crap, as they tend to really deteriorate quickly.

Nothing.

As you expect from a Toyota, well built, reliable and fuss-free car. Boring in the style department, but it's not ugly.

It's pretty spacious for its dimensions and the cabin feels solid. The engine has good poke, though it gets boomy when revved. Otherwise very cheap to maintain.

The auto tranny could be more intelligent as some of the shifts are jerky and slow, but nothing offending. The suspension and chassis tune could bit more tighter compared with its rivals, but if you drive it like a granny you wouldn't care less.

Ride quality is overall good, but degrades on choppy surfaces. Great for a first car.

Clutch pedal got a slight free motion at the upper end of its path, fixed at dealer by strengthening some screws.

Gearbox (my hunch) developed a slight whistling under all gears, especially second, especially under acceleration or engine braking, but mostly all the time. 5-speed manual. Dealer says it's normal. I say they will suddenly "hear it" when the warranty runs out.

The engine runs smoothly, although startup is a bit slow.

Plastic cover on the underside of the side of the chassis (under the doors), on both sides, became unglued in places. I fear water will get in and corrode the metal. Dealer says not covered under warranty.

Plastic cover of the back left light assembly, in the trunk, is loose, probably from lifting the spare wheel cover too often (previous owner). Dealer says not covered under warranty.

One of the number plate illumination bulbs burned out, replaced it myself.

Goes great, until now. Consumption (outside) is about 5.5 liters/100km.

Seats are comfortable. I wanted seat covers, the dealer offered custom-made ones at 292 USD. What? Got some cheap universal seat covers, will buy new ones when these get dirty. The problem is, they don't fit in the back, especially the seat belt's lower connector is inaccessible.

Can't find winter wheels (steel). Will keep looking.

Stable in curves. Bad acceleration, but I watch the consumption anyway, not the 0-to-100 times.

If anyone knows about the whistling/crying gearbox issue, and how to fix it or get them fix it, please help me. The warranty expires this September and I read a new gearbox costs about 1000 USD. Of course, probably only some bearing is gone, but still. I suppose this can happen to any engine, actually less to a Toyota.