1998 Toyota Corolla LE 2.0

Summary:

Corolla's are the most reliable cars ever!

Faults:

Seatbelt sensor at 135K KMS.

Other than that, nothing except some small maintenance things such as a brake light needing a new bulb, and a fuse going.

General Comments:

Pure awesomeness.

This is my second Corolla (previous was a 1996).

Bought it for the A/C.

The anti-lock brakes work wonderfully. Gas is okay, I get about 425KM's per tank.

The cup holders could be in a better location, but it's not a big deal.

In terms of reliability, this car is incredibly reliable, and I would buy another Corolla any day.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 26th June, 2011

27th Jun 2011, 13:31

The 90's Corollas were good cars for the most part. However before basing the purchase of a NEW one on your experience with a '98 model, I think I'd do a bit of research. My best friend is trying to sell his 2009 Corolla at the moment. He has encountered a lot of problems. The rear suspension has sagged from the weight of the car, and can no longer be aligned without special shims. We just replaced the brakes on it, and the A/C is not blowing as cold as it should. Lots of issues for a 2-year-old car.

In two recent comparisons, the new 2011 Corolla either came in dead last or wasn't even considered for the test at all (the Hyundai Elantra took the top spot in both tests). Toyota quality is slowly coming back up due to consumer pressure to build better cars, however I'd wait a while before buying one at this point. Sales were down for Toyota in May, and are projected to stay pretty flat in coming months due to lack of demand for new cars, higher prices, and much stiffer competition from Korea and the U.S. At present the company having the greatest increase in overall U.S. sales is Hyundai/Kia.

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1998 Toyota Corolla LE 1.8 DOHC

Summary:

With 285,000 miles, it's still a great little car!!!

Faults:

This car had its original clutch until 280,000 miles. That was verified by the previous owner who had it from 40,000 miles. I had it replaced as well as some suspension parts that will obviously be worn out at this high mileage. This car still gets 34-35 MPG consistently, but does use some oil. Most people can't believe the miles, because the car is in such good shape, inside and out.

General Comments:

I bought this car on craigslist for $733. The reason it was so cheap was because of the high miles and a worn clutch. I have found that I can do most of the suspension work myself (lower control arms, endlinks, etc) and I am no mechanic. If you can find one in good shape and that doesn't use a lot of oil, then go for it. It's a great little car.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 7th March, 2011

15th Feb 2013, 08:14

I agree, when I got mine the suspension was a little tired, so I replaced the shocks, springs, ball joints and bushings. It wasn't that expensive and the car rides like new. Given the kms yours has done, it's probably due for valve stem seals and/or perhaps piston rings and a rebore to stop the oil issue. If you change oil religiously though, it should last you a fair bit longer (the only thing is burning oil eventually cokes up the combustion chambers, leading to degraded performance).

1998 Toyota Corolla VE 1.8

Summary:

Burns oil at only 100K!

Faults:

Piston rings are shot.

Evap system malfunctioning.

Donut gasket at exhaust manifold is leaking.

General Comments:

I bought this car based on all of the glowing reviews I had read of Toyota durability, and the fact that it had all dealer service records was an added incentive; what a mistake. The car burns a quart of oil every 1,000 miles, has the acceleration of a Yugo, the evap system (check engine light on) releases an intermittent fuel vapor, and the exhaust donut gasket between manifold and pipe is leaking... which means I get to SMELL how much oil it's burning.

The worst part; I learned after I bought the car that all of the defects I mentioned are common ones for this car (especially the oil burning).

Toyota quality... yeah, OK.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 6th November, 2010

15th Feb 2013, 08:20

There is something definitely wrong there. I'm suspecting the crankcase ventilation system could possibly be not working, and if it's been burning oil for a while, your combustion chambers are coked up badly, leading to the poor performance. I have a nasty feeling that something happened to the engine that isn't showing in those service notes, since they're just service notes and not repairs. It may have suffered oil starvation at some point and someone kept driving it. What makes me suspect, is there are still thousands on the road running original engines at twice that mileage with no sign of engine smoke. Then again, it may have indeed been a lemon engine.

15th Feb 2013, 16:18

You definitely should not be burning ANY oil at only 100,000 miles. I also suspect some sort of prior engine damage or possibly an improper engine break-in. New engines require some high revving to properly seat the rings. If this isn't done, they will use oil from day one. When I bought my first new car (a Plymouth) I drove it very slow and easy for the first 500 miles. It always used a quart of oil every 1000 to 1500 miles. I have since learned that cars need to broken in using varying speeds and bursts of full throttle acceleration. I've broken in all my other new cars flat out, and none have used a drop of oil.

In reply to 15th Feb 2013, 08:20

16th Feb 2013, 14:34

The faulty PCV system is one of the main causes of Toyota's well documented sludge problem.

17th Feb 2013, 17:59

Most Toyotas have sludging problems (as well as a lot of other problems), but not even a poorly built Corolla should be using oil at only 100,000 miles.