1991 Toyota Tercel from North America - Comments

The vehicle burns oil.

Air conditioning doesn't work at all.

Wiper fluid spray motor has gone bad.

Interior light doesn't work.

Speedometer light doesn't work.

Clutch seems to be going bad.

Transmission has been progressively getting worse. First and second gears are starting to rattle over time.

The car started burning oil at 130,000 miles. I suspect the head gasket is going bad. It burns about a quart every 400 to 500 miles. It costs too much time and money to replace.

There's a leak somewhere in the A/C system.

Can't seem to figure out where there's a kink in the electrical system that doesn't allow the interior light to work.

The vehicle's as standard and didn't have a tachometer.

Motor for wiper fluid is really difficult to replace due to its location. As with anything with the vehicle.

Clearance for the vehicle is too low. I tried to put a jack underneath it. The car was too low for the jack! I literally had to lift the car about an inch to get the jack under there.

Due to its small size resulting in a cluttered engine compartment, doing any maintenance on the vehicle is really difficult.

On the good side, it does get decent gas mileage for an older vehicle. Approximately 34 MPG for a '91 isn't too shabby.

I took out the rear seat and now can access my trunk through the back seat.

Rear headroom is surprisingly sufficient. I'm 5'10" and I still have about 4" of clearance.

The car accelerates like a slug. 0-60 is about 15 seconds. Sometimes it makes me feel like I'm a road hazard. Trying to merge onto the freeway scares the living crap out of me because of this.

Never had a problem starting the thing.

Very reliable. Considering all the thing wrong with it, it won't die. I may need to help it out and push it over a cliff somewhere.

This is the same I feel about my 91 tercel. Looks like I have a twin of yours, same problems, but never dies. I need to push it off the cliff too :) Anyway I will love this car. Awesome value!

I am in total agreement. I am afraid to accelerate in this car, it often sounds as if it is going to give up. Problems with getting repairs done, also problems with CV joint. It's engine runs fairly well, mine also burns a lot of oil.

I'm also in agreement. I've had a '91 for almost 2 years, and very little has gone seriously wrong with it so far. My oil leak seems to have solved itself, somehow; but my clutch is now starting to go. I'm getting a lot of chattering when I put it in motion from a stand-still.

I pretty much agree with you guys. I have had the car for 6 months and it has 95000 miles on it. It hasn't started to burn oil yet, but it clicks for the first 3-4 turns when I try to start it. It had a weak clutch when I bought it and it just burnt out tonight. The last fews days have been below 20 degrees and when I tried to start it on those days when, I turned it over I got absolutely nothing. After the 40th time I tried it started right up. I like this car, but only sometimes I wanna make it meet the bottom of a cliff!!

I am also in agreement. My car has a little over 110k miles on it, and it still runs like a top. Burns no oil yet. The only problem I have had is the water pump going bad a few weeks ago. Definitely a car that is destined to keep on going for thousands of miles to come.

I have had my 91 tercel for 4 years. It currently has 142000km on it. I get great gas mileage, but it has a very small tank. The wheels are so small and the clearance so low that it's hazardous on some roads. The car is narrower than most, I know this because it is in the left rut, or the right, never both. This is especially annoying in the winter snow and slush.

The car runs well and starts always. It has had no trouble starting, even at -30 C when I forgot to plug it in.

The interior light has gone, cannot figure out why. I have also had to replace the water pump twice, the battery once, and the alternator once. Not bad for a car that old.

On the brighter side, if you can survive the panic of merging at an incredibly slow rate, it is an excellent car to drive. I have an automatic, 2 door, with a surprisingly large amount of interior room for its small size. I do have a friend who is 6'3" and he looks like a pretzel when he rides in my car!

I have had no major problems and most parts are cheap. I do my own oil changes which is a little tricky considering you need small hands to twist off the oil filter. They don't give you any "extra" room in the engine.

I agree it won't die... my Tercel has 272,500 miles on it, it's a bare bones model... but everything that came with the car works... including the dome light. Original radiator, CV joints, replaced 2 timing belts and 2 sets of tires... rebuilt starter and used alternator. It has little pick up now because I only get compression in 2 cylinders.

It sits outside collecting pine needles and trees on it, and only gets started about every 6 to 9 months... but still fires right up on the 1st try. Never let me down since driving it off the dealer's lot in 1991.

Bill.

My 91 tercel is the bomb it is very fast and a 1/4 mile in 13.9 sec. very fast.

Well, I've had that '91 Tercel since 1994, and it has only 89,000 miles on it. I spent $400 for a basic paint and $800 for a 4 set of 16" wheels and tires. And recently I went to fix the A/C, and at last they did!! I tried 4 times to fix the A/C, but everytime a leak troubled my life. Anyway, I think this Tercel looks even better and works alike any of today's econo cars. The only difference is that current econo cars have P/W, and P/L. I'm looking to buy a Scion tC, but don't think I'm gonna trade my baby for it.