2000 Toyota Corolla LE review from North America

Piston rings went bad at 78,000 miles.

I previously owned a 1994 Grand Am that I really disliked. When the Grand Am got a little over 100,000 miles on it, I decided to go out and get a Toyota.

I loved this little car and had very few problems with it, until I went to get my oil changed one day (I followed procedure and did oil between 3,000 and 5,000 miles) and my car was dry! When I got it checked out, I discovered that my piston rings were bad. I did a little research and found that this was a common problem on the Corolla between 1998-2002. I guess Toyota won't recognize it as a problem because it happens in cars with higher miles.

If you have any questions with how common the problem is, just type in a google search on "Toyota Corolla burning oil" and you will see all the web sites that come up about it.

The dealership told me they never see this problem, but when I called a local Toyota mechanic in town, he said he sees at least one a month! Both mechanics told me my block would need to be replaced due to the aluminum cylinders. It would have cost me $4,000 in parts alone.

I would have kept this car forever if this problem hadn't arisen. I was very sad to see this car go. I always thought that Japanese cars were superior to American cars, but at least my American car made it to 100,000.