1996 Toyota Tercel Reviews - Page 2 of 3

Little things such as Back Oxygen Sensor died after 12 years. Engine light is on for 2 years and it is running fine. Gas consumption should of gone up without this sensor, but I haven't noticed it.

Very little and simple car. It is easy and cheap to fix. Little gas consumption.

Engine leaking/consuming oil (since I got it).

Rust developed in the engine compartment causing water leaks and engine overheating.

Transmission completely went at 110000 (left me stranded o the side of the road).

Steering became too heavy.

Brake discs and drums very rusty.

Carburettor needs to be rebuilt.

Interior trim falling apart.

A/C blowing hot air.

A few electrical faults, bulbs, lousy radio reception..etc..

This car has been totally unreliable, things keep blowing away at such a (relatively) low mileage.

Fuel consumption is way too high for such a small car (or a small plane for that mater), thanks to the dated fragile carburettor instead of a fuel-injected engine.

The interior is very basic and the dashboard is made up of annoyingly cheap plastic with a few rattles, gauges are crappy (with no rpm).

Body seems to dent easily enough and is really light, coupled with the lack of safety features (no ABS, no airbags), the good deal of wheel spin and the noticeably bad handling in the wet makes for a very unsafe ride..

On the plus side, the car is peppy and the auto transmission is smooth enough (although it's a 3-speed with no overdrive). The paint job is not bad either.

This car can be summed up as a basic A-B transportation (city driving only) that completely ignores safety and comfort/features. I think it is really not up to standards and that every effort has been made to cut the cost of this car.

The car is extremely easy to maintain. The only time it has been in the shop was to change the timing belt (every 60000 miles, about $250) and the oxygen sensor went bad at 118000 miles ($400.-).

I performed all other scheduled maintainance on the vehicle on a regular basis. To date it has never let me down, not once.

The standard 4-speed Tercel I own is just reliable basic transportation. It handles OK, but it certainly is not a muscle car. I get between 37 mpg in the city and 44 mpg on the highway going about 65-70 mph. Mileage drops to around 41 mpg if I go 80-85 mph. Yes, it can actually go that fast! Over the life of the car I averaged around 40 mpg (5.9L/100 km).

Recently it started using some oil which it didn't do in its younger years. There is no oil on the plugs and the performance (or lack there off) has not changed noticeably.

The interior held up pretty well over the years and the seats still look nice after 9 years of daily use.

The handling of the car is good with a tight turning radius and responsive steering.

The 4-speed transmission has huge gaps between the gears which doesn't help acceleration either. The 4th gear is laid out as an overdrive which helps fuel economy, but hurts performance.

In summary I would recommend this car if you are looking for basic, cheap and reliable transportation. If you like comfort and/or performance look elsewhere.