2000 Toyota Corolla CE from North America

Summary:

Overrated and Unreliable

Faults:

Engine rebuilt by Toyota at 59,000 miles.

Engine light on - oxygen sensor replaced per computer diagnostic, but came back on.

Transmission shifts harshly, even after transmission service. Engagement into drive or reverse is very abrupt as well.

Paint is very thin - chips and scratches easily.

General Comments:

Wife bought new before we were married. Previously owned a 1990 Corolla that was much more reliable.

Great fuel economy.

Poor feature/price ratio.

Overrated vehicle.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 24th June, 2004

1st Jul 2004, 14:36

I have owned a 1973 Corolla, a 1979 Celica, a 1984 Tercel, a 1986 Supra, and currently own a 1997 Camry, and NEVER had to overhaul an engine on any of them after driving hundreds of thousands of miles. Sounds to me like the owner of this vehicle didn't do proper maintenance, particularly oil changes, which will lead to premature engine wear.

2nd Oct 2004, 18:59

I would like to say something to the first person that listed a comment here. Don't assume that the person hasn't taken care of the car or done regular maintenance on it. Sometimes there are problems with the engine like in my case. There was nothing that I could have done and I did my regular maintenance and oil changes. The Piston Rings were faulty in the car and there's nothing that could have been done, but have the engine rebuilt which is what I had to do. Luckily it was covered under warranty. On top of that, I've had many other problems and I've had them since I bought the car. This car is a lemon. I am not impressed with this car. It's too bad because Toyota has an excellent reputation and I'd hate to see them lose that because of all the flaws of the later model cars.

8th Oct 2006, 21:35

I have a Toyota 2000 Corolla, it now has 60K miles on it. I have taken it back to the dealer for the same problem, at least 3 times. It is burning a quart of oil every 2 weeks. They said that they replaced the valve guide seals under warranty, but now the warranty is up. And now the car still burns more oil. So I contacted Toyota National and they said since the warranty is up they don't have to do anything. Nice customer relations, huh? Never will I buy another one, this was my second, the first was much better. Good luck.

2000 Toyota Corolla GS vvti 1.6 from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Very reliable, but cheap build

Faults:

No major mechanical problems. Lots of annoyances though. Gears are very notchy, especially 1st to 2nd change.

Drivers seat very unsupportive, and getting worse by the day. I am not a tall or heavy person.

MPG is also dropping, car is regularly serviced and oil changed etc, full Toyota service history from new, so its definitely not neglect.

Acceleration also deteriorating at low end. When it came back from the last service, the mpg was worse still, I'm only getting 28mpg now where I was getting 35-40 before.

General Comments:

This car is superb round town and on short motorway trips, the acceleration is fantastic once you get into the power band (2500 revs), but suffers badly at low revs, its gutless below 1500. Interior trim is flimsy, the paintwork is atrocious, it scars even if you look at it. Annoying mystery "jingle jangle" sound from the suspension, cannot find the cause. Onboard stereo has great speakers let down by rubbish head unit. Biggest annoyance is the rear seat, this is totally crazy. Toyota provide a split rear seat, but only the back splits, the seat part doesn't!!!??? What is the point of this? absolutely useless and it must be an oversight by Toyota on this model, as I have seen this on several other Corollas. Road noise mentioned by others is very tyre dependant, I changed the supplied tyres for a set of Avons and it's a lot quieter nw. There is very worrying noise from the underside when you drive over gravel or grit, this is due to lack of soundproofing on the floorpan. I am very happy with the car overall, but there are a lot of corners cut in the production of this model.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 1st December, 2003