Toyota Corolla 1.4 petrol?

Brian2011

Hi,

Am interested in a 2003 Toyota Corolla Hatchback 1.4 petrol with VVTI engine, but have been reading that these engines can drink lots of oil? Has anyone experience of this car and your thoughts on it? Thanks

MAJJ

Brian2011 wrote: »

Hi,

Am interested in a 2003 Toyota Corolla Hatchback 1.4 petrol with VVTI engine, but have been reading that these engines can drink lots of oil? Has anyone experience of this car and your thoughts on it? Thanks

I have a 00 one, it does burn a bit but no issue if you check every month. Doesn't use much I would expect by, 03 it would be improved. Not sure what to check when buying one though was ignorant of the fact when we bought.

Elephant Man from china

Asking about its known "problems" seems a bit odd to me. You are on about an eleven year old mid to low range car.. It's going to be, by and large, a heap that's not worth more than a grand or two... Either buy it or don't..

Toyota are probably the best of this type of car.. So maybe that will help you make a decision

colm_mcm

Oil burning was sorted by 03.

Elephant Man from china wrote: »

Asking about its known "problems" seems a bit odd to me. You are on about an eleven year old mid to low range car.. It's going to be, by and large, a heap that's not worth more than a grand or two... Either buy it or don't..

Toyota are probably the best of this type of car.. So maybe that will help you make a decision

I think its a reasonable question to be asking. OP mightn't be spending massive money but is as entitled as anyone else to ask a question.

jayunot777

My mates girlfriend has a 05 one hatchback, doesnt burn oil, mate of mine also had one a few years ago 2003 one and was a grand car.

Elephant Man from china

Maybe I came across wrong..what I meant was.. When your buying from the bottom of thebarrel like this, you shouldn't spend time worrying about known issues. Rather you should, get it looked t by a mechanic, ensure it's not clocked, buy from a reputable dealer and check the service history.


The last thing in the OP's mind should be how long the oil will last, I'd be more worried about the oil outliving the car TBPH

Cee-Jay-Cee

My wife had an 02 (03> model) for 6 years. It never burned a drop of oil in that time. It was a remarkably clean engine, I serviced it once a year (every 6/7k miles) and the oil always looks clean and clear when being drained. If the car was properly serviced then you won't have a problem.

pepe the prawn

They're a great car. I've worked ok them since they were new. Some of them burn oil, some don't. Some burn litres every month, some might only need a pint every month. Most of them were covered under warranty when they were new, but not all of them. And some of the ones that were done under warranty still burnt oil even after work was done.

No way of knowing whether or not it's an oil burner before you buy it. If you look to the dipstick and the oil is dirty then chances are it's not an oil burner as the oil is dirty from staying in the engine. If the oil is clean but it hasn't been serviced recently then it might be an indication that it's burning oil and someone has just topped it up with clean oil.

All in all, they're a great car, give very little trouble. As with any second hand car, buy the best one you can afford. I sold a 2001 last week with 80k on it for€2100. It was immaculate but did burn a small bit of oil which I made the buyer aware of, but it's not an issue for most people as long as you keep it topped up with oil.

mrweatherman

I currently have that model and never ever had a problem, the only problem was the clutch which cost 300 to fix but apart from that cheap to run and easy to service. Parts are easy to get. The only time a car burns to much oil is when theres a serious engine problem or ecu giving car the wrong info

joujoujou

Oil problem's been solved in the middle of 2002.

Good idea is to contact a dealer with reg number to check when exactly has car been manufactured (month/year).

mrweatherman

actually another way is have a look at the rear seat belts theres a tag on them which states year belts were made

JohnBoy26

Their isn't any oil burning issues with the vvti engine in the e12 corolla. The only time I've seen one using oil was when the owner left it go well over the service interval, but to be fair this will happen to any car in the same situation. As long as you adhere to the service interval you won't have any issues.

Karl Stein

Nippy little engine too for a 1.4

mrweatherman

i service the car myself all in €150, last time i went to a toyota dealer i was charged €380 and at that the didnt change air intake or the pollen filter. youtube is a great tool if stuck on something