1998 Toyota Corolla VE from North America - Comments

Everything:

At one year of age and 40,000 km it began shaking erratically at speeds greater than 100km/h. The dealer claimed the car must have hit a curb and refused to take responsibility (it hasn't). I then took it to an alignment shop to have everything checked. The alignment was perfect!! The tire shop said we needed new struts. We took new tires and a full alignment and balance instead (Cost $500). We then took it back to a Toyota dealer and provided them with the info. Again they refused to believe that the struts could be bad on a new car. Now we have 90K on the car and the warranty is gone. The car's had three full sets of new tires on the thing and all alignments show every thing is straight. Still the shaking persists.

The cars front transaxel is now making knocking noises at speeds over 100KM. Sounds like somethings going to come loose soon.

What a piece of garbage. 2 years old and it's ready for the scrap yard.

The car has had regular maintenance. Oil changes, transmission fluid and filter changes, new tires, tune ups etc.

The first new car I have ever owned and it is one of the worst cars I have ever driven.

The main frustration is the lack of responsibility from the dealer.

As a happy and satisfied Corolla driver I am sorry to see that this person was less fortunate.

But for the European readers I want to add that the USA Corolla is a very different car from the European one, and the US version is built in North America.

If you are willing since you had such a bad experience with your Toyota, I would be willing to take it off your hands, I probably wouldn't have any problems because I don't drive faster than 70 mph.

Hi, I am a owner of a Toyota Carina II '87 model and I have experienced the exact same thing! I have gone around trying to find some answers but at the repair shop they said that it doesn't pay to repair this old car. Too bad, and I am thinking of buying a new Toyota, but I will think twice after reading about the same thing with a new car!

There is always the occasional piece of junk car for any manufacturer. Your problems do not mean anything about any other Corollas. Toyota are extremely reliable. My sister has a 96 Corolla and has not had one single problem with hers, other than something a mechanic did at Pep Boys. Like the other guy said, the cars you get in Europe are slightly different.

Did someone drive your car without your knowledge? I think you have BIG bad luck with that car.

Believe me, you don't get better than a Toyota at the price they are sold.

Try a European car comparable to a Corolla, then you will ear noises, rattles etc.

I own a 1998 Toyota Corolla LE myself. She is absolutely perfect. I'm from the USA so I know myself that the USA Corolla was made well. Maybe you're just driving it too fast or possibly screwing up the motor/transmission/etc etc etc by driving it too hard. Or you might have just gotten a lemon.. who knows...

I was told that Corolla was one of the best car to buy. But my 1998 Corolla VE has had rattle noise in the engine since

I had it. I had two set of brake shoes. I drive the speed limit and my car still shakes. It started uses oil about 60,000 miles. It uses a quart every 2 weeks. They say they can't find any leak. Paint job started peeling after 2 years. I could just keep going on about how bad this car has been. Do you think that is why they don't make the VE any more???

I also have a 98 toyota corolla. It has 125,000 miles and still runs like the day I bought it. I had the same shake in mine and found it to be the rotors. I installed some cross drilled rotors and the shake is gone.

Odd, New struts? All Toyota Corolla struts have a standard 100,000 mile warranty that is separate than your standard warranty. You should not have had to pay for new struts. Did you do your homework on this? The deal should have told you, but its in your book also.

Have any of you who have the shaking or knocking problem thought of checking out the bearings in the wheels??

I have a 1998 Corolla LE and I actually had that problem where it sounded like the car was falling apart. Toyota tried to problem solve and say it was my tranny, however, I brought it to a local shop and they replaced my wheel bearing and the knocking went away.

I hope that helped.

Good gravy people... I've got a '96 Corolla 5spd with 178,000 miles on it with no leaks. Finially, I've managed to wear out the original factory struts with this many miles. As far as your cars that are falling apart on you, the biggest cause of car destruction is usually the driver. My friend fried her transmission in a new '04 Civic in only 8k miles. My brother in law trashed his whole brake system and his struts in his new '05 Lancer in only 25k miles. Anyway, good luck, maintenance is your friend.

My girlfriend has a 2000 Corolla that has used oil since 70k miles. I talked to a girl last week who had the same car with the same problem - she loved the car otherwise, but finally traded it in. My mechanic tells me that is a common problem with that engine. I have owned two early 90's Corollas with no problems, and the 2003+ models seem to be okay, but I would be wary of the Corollas produced around that time for this reason.

Most of his problems come from the Dealership not taking responsibility and repairing problems while under warranty. I've read that this is the single biggest problem Toyota (in the USA and Canada) has. It's a shame, since the USA has so many lemon laws and so many ways to sue the dealership and Toyota, it should have been fairly easy to strongarm them into repairing your car. Sometimes even the best Companies and Factories make a not so good car, and that's why they have warranties.