Regulators launch inquiry in Corolla /Matrix

[daves87rs]

For a minute it had me thinking about the Vibe too....


Even though I'm more of a GM guy, I can respect the Corolla. It makes a great commuter car, and can take a great deal of abuse. There are only a few things I don't like about it: It's gutless (power wise), and they have insane resale value. I still see 100k+ rollas going for 10k! Don't think so...


It does suck, but it does sound like toyota got a handle on it...

 

[mareakin]

My 2007 Corolla stalled while slowly creeping out of a KFC parking lot ( I was gettin' some of that grilled chicken--its hella good! )

Car just died... I put the car to park, turned the key off then turned it back on and I'm back running.

So far, no problem.

This would be the second time in three years this has happened.

 

[tom slick]

Originally Posted By: daves87rs
For a minute it had me thinking about the Vibe too....


Why isn't the Vibe included? unless the issue is limited to the the Cambridge Ont. plant.

 

[DeeAgeaux]

Originally Posted By: heypete

26 complaints out of how many Corollas and Matrices on the road today, with no mention of how those 26 vehicles were maintained or what kind of fuel they used?



Most people will not make formal complaint to the feds.

Each of those complaints represents 10-1000 cars with similar issues.

Most people will complain to the dealer and the 1800 number and if they still can't get satisfaction usually will just get rid of the car.

People who are anal enough to buy a Toyota and make a formal complaint to the feds are anal enough to do good maintenence and buy top tier gas.

At least the vast majority of them.

 

[crinkles]

Originally Posted By: rudolphna
Hahh.... Somehow I can't help but feel a bit smug for all the toyota owners who thought they were buying perfection.


i don't get it... last time you were very upset people were having a go at GM, and couldn't understand why people were doing so. yet, you're the first one in here with a stupid comment like that.


this place is going one way.

 

[river_rat]

Originally Posted By: defektes
I have a few complaints about my 07 corolla with 60k miles.

Ya I had a Corolla courtesy loaner while they fixed the windshield seal noise, and I thought it was pretty cheapy-basic looking inside too.
Mostly, I don't fit in it. I've driven cars that small with more room. My legs were bent in half with the seat all the way back.

 

[saberz]

The thing I don't like about the Corollas is the seating. You sit with your knees bent as if you were sitting in a straight back chair. Not like most cars where your kind of slumped and the pedals are deep into the cabin so your feet are out. Below is your leg in the car. Corolla is basically straight. Most of the cars I've driven are arched/angled leg. I had one as a loaner and it is a good commuter car indeed, but its a matter of preference. At the time I had a Scion tC which was geared differently so it felt much more responsive.

Corrola seating:

|


Preferred Seating:

\

 

[javacontour]

Originally Posted By: ls1mike
Originally Posted By: nfs480
About 10-15 years ago (i'm 20)

The Nova had to be old and what style Cutlass.
Are you talking about the Nova that was a Toyota Corrolla?
GM got the 80's Nova off a Toyota line.

Edit: It had slightly different styling.


The thing about the 80's Nova was that GM spec'ed a different carb for the car compared to the Corolla.

The girl I dated in college, her parents had a Corolla and then bought the Nova because they thought it was a Corolla with Chevy badges. It largely was, but enough things were "downgraded" to make it less reliable than the true Corolla.

 

[ls1mike]

It was the same Carb metered differently. The engine was exactly the same. Explain to me what was "Downgraded"
Timing belt? Cam bearings? Crank? Most of the Toyota versions were the 110 hp DOHC fuel injected vesion.

 

[rjundi]

You got to be kidding with 26 complaints.

That seems like a meager number compared to the likely 100k++ sold that year.

 

[wapacz]

Originally Posted By: ls1mike
700 bucks? Holy cow. That thing is pricey. I think when I bought the spare ECM for my WS6 it was 280 bucks new.


who's for wiring a laptop in the place of the ecm. It has to have more than enough computing power

 

[javacontour]

Originally Posted By: ls1mike
Originally Posted By: javacontour
The thing about the 80's Nova was that GM spec'ed a different carb for the car compared to the Corolla.

The girl I dated in college, her parents had a Corolla and then bought the Nova because they thought it was a Corolla with Chevy badges. It largely was, but enough things were "downgraded" to make it less reliable than the true Corolla.

It was the same Carb metered differently. The engine was exactly the same. Explain to me what was "Downgraded"
Timing belt? Cam bearings? Crank? Most of the Toyota versions were the 110 hp DOHC fuel injected vesion.


You said it yourself, most Toyota editions were FI, while GM was still using carbs.

If I recall, and it's been 20 some years now, it had different radios, GM alternator instead of Denso, and some other things.

Most of the greasy parts were Toyota, with a few exceptions such as the carb issue, alternators A/C units and the like.

It wasn't a bad car, but they didn't like it as well as they liked their Corolla. (They had one of each.)

It ended up her dad drove the Nova and her mom had the slightly older Corolla because the Corolla was a more reliable car.

 

[oldmaninsc]

Originally Posted By: mechanicx
Originally Posted By: The Critic


And non-existent brakes. Brake pedal feels like a sponge on every 03-08 Corolla I've seen.


You know just about every Japanese car I ever drove no matter how new or what had spongey/springy brakes. I've never heard anyone make mention of it, but I always noticed it ad didnt care for it.


I know we are getting a little off topic here, and I don't post that often here, but I just have to agree with you in the strongest terms. My wife bought an 05 Camry brand new and it has had the spongey brakes from day one. Toyota states it's "normal" and cleaned the rear drum brakes and readjusted them (no charge).

I don't drive the car that often, but after driving either one of my Fords or even my Chevy I notice it big time!

Funny thing is - a few family members have borrowed the Camry, and I asked each one about it - and they all said "The brakes felt just fine!" Hmmmmm.

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: wapacz
Originally Posted By: ls1mike
700 bucks? Holy cow. That thing is pricey. I think when I bought the spare ECM for my WS6 it was 280 bucks new.


who's for wiring a laptop in the place of the ecm. It has to have more than enough computing power




Car ECMs have way more in/out ports. One needs a megasquirt if they want to DIY.

On topic, for years and years GM ignition modules had the ability to think for themselves and still spark with retarted timing if the ECM stopped talking to them. With fuel injection this kind of became moot as many failures would still cause stalling. But it was a nice failsafe.

 

[JakeR22]

Originally Posted By: tom slick
Originally Posted By: daves87rs
For a minute it had me thinking about the Vibe too....


Why isn't the Vibe included? unless the issue is limited to the the Cambridge Ont. plant.


I was wondering the same thing. My parents own a '06 Vibe. No stalling, yet.

 

[Jonny Z]

I bet it is a fix to the sudden acceleration problem.

 

[mikered30]

Originally Posted By: Jonny Z
I bet it is a fix to the sudden acceleration problem.


The acceleration problem is not apparent in this generation of corolla.

 

[river_rat]

Did you all see the news video where the accelerator stuck under the floor mat on a Camry and the drivers were on the phone to 911 for like 2 minutes before they crashed?

Nobody thought to shut off the engine or put in in neutral?

 

[JohnBrowning]

Well Mr. Toyoda the founder of Toyota is rolling over in his grave. His Grandson has taken over at Toyota and been firing and hiring like mad because Toyota has gotten too far away from what made them the secess that they are. He actuarially said "We can not afford to become an American automotive company and if some at Toyota need to find new careers then so be it!" I read it one of the automotive magazines not much more then 2-4 weeks ago!He is really shaking things up and is dismayed at the lower quality standards that have been accpeted int he last 10-15 years since they moved more and more production to the USA. He also wants to see them scale back on all the specialty market niches and do more modular thinking. This is why the new 4Runner will not get a V8 option. The only place from what I gathered that it had the V8 option was North America so they got rid of it as an option for the 2010 model. They are doing the same thing with other models.

The stalling though gets me a bit confused I see tons of Pontic Vibes and Matrixs and Carolla's all over the place here in Michigan and have never seen one ont he side of the road. All the owners I know that have them have had trouble free vechiles. I will be interested to see what they find as the cause and weather or not it is a warranty issue of a maintence issue? It is a fact though that TOyota is not what they where 15 years ago even if they are still number 1 in the quality department their competition has imprpved while they have declined.

 

[mechanicx]

Wow I can't believe it J-B gave Toyota a less than glowing assessment for once.

I've said it before. You could slap a Toyota brand name on a Chevy and a Chevy label on a Toyota. And many people would claim the Chevy (Toyota) has so many things wrong with it and the Toyota (Chevy) is wonderful. A lot of it comes down to sunjectivity and bias.