Faults:

Had a head gasket issue at 125,000 miles, which was mishandled by mechanic, resulting in a cracked block. :( Had to replace engine - got a used one with 25,000 miles on it for $1000. Never had another problem, other than routine wear, such as CV boots, fuel filter, catalytic converter, etc.

Engine noise increased with heavy acceleration after about 200,000 miles, but what do you expect?

Several interior lights stopped working eventually (dome light, gear indicator light, etc) but I'm sure would have been easy to fix if I had cared.

General Comments:

I LOVE this car! My family talked me into getting a new car in 2007, and I love it, but I still miss my Tercel. I couldn't sell it for any amount of money, so I gave it to a friend, who is still driving it. It must have close to 260,000 miles on it now, and of their two cars, it is still the "reliable" one they use for road trips.

And I was not nice to that car - I drove it hard! I bought it when I was in high school, a year after I got my license. I used it to deliver pizzas. I took it on countless 600-plus mile road trips, and one from Seattle to San Diego and back. I used it to move several times. I had muddy dogs in it. I start fast, and I stop fast. I'm horrible about changing the oil, and I think I got a tune-up maybe twice the whole eleven years I owned it.

Someone tried to steal it several times, and each time (including the one when they completely removed the steering column cover and hot-wired it) the steering wheel locked and thwarted them.

It handled ten times better than my 2007 Mazda 3 in the snow. With chains on, you'd think it was AWD.

The seats showed very little wear, even from the dogs.

Anytime something did need fixed, it was never more than $200 at the most to fix it (except the engine issue mentioned above). Used parts were readily available at junkyards, and new parts were easy to come by as well.

And the gas mileage!!! The last road trip I took in it (at twelve years old and 240,000 miles), it got 40 mpg on the freeway! Hybrids don't actually get that kind of gas mileage!

I loved that little car like a family member, and still do. I vowed that I would never let it die - if my friend ever doesn't want it anymore, I will take it back in a heartbeat.

Faults:

Nothing.

Replaced Timing Belt at 120K miles.

Second Timing Belt replacement at 245K miles.

Replaced Engine Oil Pan / Container (?) at 230K miles only because the bolt thread was worn out.

Front Right Axle Boot replaced around 200K miles.

Replaced O2 Sensor at around 240K miles.

All other parts are original and still working wonderfully!

My mechanic just told me that my clutch is wearing out, but at 250K miles, I don't mind spending $500 to replace the clutch for the first time.

General Comments:

I purchased my Tercel in summer of 1995, brand new with 7 miles on it.

This morning when I drove in to work, the odometer read 250,010 miles.

NEVER had any problems with it!

I've driven this car all over West Coast of United States, from Mtn. to beach, to desert. In snow, rain, hail, dust storm.

I've owned Hyundai Excel, Toyota Pickup, Nissan Maxima, and Toyota Tercel.

This little Tercel ROCKS! And I just may purchase another Toyota if I ever have to let her to rest...

...although I'm thinking about purchasing a Subaru because of their AWD and H-4 engine.

But been reading a lot of bad reviews about it in regards to their reliability. Hmmm...