1992 Toyota Tercel review from North America

Had to replace the timing cover as it was leaking oil.

Most reliable car I have ever owned. I bought her well used just because I needed something to drive after my Ford blew up. She was gutless, but got me around. Then winter hit and I really began to understand how well Toyota's are put together. I live in the mountains of Montana so I know what reliable is. Even on the coldest mornings when the thermometer read 20 below, and the snow was deep and the wind was blowing, I'd turn the key and the engine would immediately fire after only one or two turnovers.

I've only replaced the one timing seal (and of course the belt because it was saturated with oil) and haven't had to replace anything else. I beat the hell out of this car - taking it down a 40 foot embankment and hitting six trees (with remarkably no mechanical damage and very minuscule cosmetic damage) - getting T-boned by a huge Ford Explorer (again, little damage after the fender was popped out) - running over a rabbit and spinning the car around.

I have no problem taking this car on long trips as it gets 40 miles to the gallon on the highway and never quits!

When I had the oil leak I took it on a trip to Washington and forgot to replace the oil when I returned home. I ran it without oil for three days and nothing went wrong. She started to sound different and then it occurred to me that I needed to check the oil. When I checked the dipstick, to my surprise, I had absolutely no oil in the pan, and she kept on kicking.

I would highly recommend this car to anyone who isn't concerned about driving the smallest thing on the road -it's function over luxury, and the Tercel WILL get you where ever it is you are going.