Faults:
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.
General Comments:
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.
18th Sep 2002, 12:50
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!