Mystery Problem! Toyota Corolla

BOBIDGE

Firstly, a big thank you to anybody that can help. I'll be quick and as detailed as possible.

Toyota Corolla 2003 1.6 Hatchback

Never had a problem until last week driving long distance.

-Red oil light came on after 30 minutes after flickering intermittently (everything else fine)
-Stopped, checked the oil (all ok)
-Light disappeared but soon came back on
-Stopped and heard a noise. Almost a rattle sound. Hard to describe.
-Called breakdown and he said the pump. No more diving and bus home!

Here is where the fun starts!


First Mechanic:

-Said there didn't look to be any problem after getting the car warmed up. Was not going to fix a problem he couldn't fix.


So, the last day after on the road for 2 hours the same thing happened as before.

Second Mechanic: Couldn't find a problem
Third Mechanic: Said the car sounded fine but offered some useful info regarding a similar complaint on the same year Avensis.


They all seem to mention low oil pressure. The rumble/rattle is only audible in traffic and low gear acceleration (perhaps aided by the absence of external road and engine noise).


The car drives perfectly. I have no idea what to do and/or where to take it. I need the car for work so need the issue sorted asap.

Thanks!

Leonard Hofstadter

Sounds like you're (very) low on oil. The oil light flickering/coming on when the car is stopped is a classic symptom of (very) low oil for a VVTi engine (or indeed any Toyota petrol engine). It's rather surprising (to say the least) that none of the mechanics that looked at the car mentioned this, as it's the first thing I would be checking. Those early VVTis are renowned for oil burning problems, although a 2003 shouldn't be affected by it. Most of them were sorted out by Toyota at the time the problem became apparent, but some (especially low mileage ones) do slip through the cracks.

BOBIDGE

captainspeed wrote: »

Sounds like you're (very) low on oil. The oil light flickering/coming on when the car is stopped is a classic symptom of (very) low oil for a VVTi engine (or indeed any Toyota petrol engine). Unfortunately it sounds as though you've bought a bad one, early VVTis are notorious for oil burning problems. Most of them were sorted out by Toyota at the time the problem became apparent, but some (especially low mileage ones) do slip through the cracks.

Hey, thanks.

The oil level was was always good. The light comes on mid-drive. The light doesn't come on again when restarted. The mechanic also said the car was burning oil. Oil and filter changed under 5,000 miles ago.

Special Circumstances

Have they measured the oil pressure?
Low oil pressure and "no problem" don't really go together.
You can have lowish oil pressure without the light coming on - usually the light is very bad news.

BOBIDGE

Special Circumstances wrote: »

Have they measured the oil pressure?
Low oil pressure and "no problem" don't really go together.
You can have lowish oil pressure without the light coming on - usually the light is very bad news.

Cheers. Yeah, it's annoying as there is a problem for sure but doesn't show when any mechanic takes a look. I think the new garage he will check for the oil pressure today if they have time. It's just I need the car so need it sorted and every garage seems to be very busy (based south Dublin City).

colm_mcm

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056296962

stefanovich

After 4000 miles my corolla needs an extra litre or two or the light will come on when I accelerate or brake hard. You say you checked the oil but I expect the engine was hot. Let it cool and test it again.

stefanovich

stefanovich wrote: »

After 4000 miles my corolla needs an extra litre or two or the light will come on when I accelerate or brake hard. You say you checked the oil but I expect the engine was hot. Let it cool and test it again.

I recommend you check and top it up more regularly so. What "the light when I accelerate hard" means that you are running at reduced oil pressure while the engine is at full chat. You are hurting the engine every time that happens and one of the days your main bearings will say enough is enough.

stefanovich

samih wrote: »

I recommend you check and top it up more regularly so. What "the light when I accelerate hard" means that you are running at reduced oil pressure while the engine is at full chat. You are hurting the engine every time that happens and one of the days your main bearings will say enough is enough.

Yeah it happened once 6 months after I got the car and again a couple of weeks ago. Twice in 3 years. It was 4000 miles since the last full oil change. I had been checking regularly enough and even have a spare bottle in the boot but I'll admit I let it slide for a few months. Note to self, check weekly.

BOBIDGE

Thanks everyone.

The oil was fine both cold and hot. I actually topped it up to full two weeks ago. I really don't it being a quantity issue, unless it was bad oil or something.

PADRAIC.M

Hi, this a well known issue to me, you need to get your sump dropped and your oil pick up pipe check, I find if they get blocked by 25% this is enough to cause oil pressure to drop off and flicker light, simple fix of cleaning pick up and reselling sump, only fix another one yesterday

BOBIDGE

PADRAIC.M wrote: »

Hi, this a well known issue to me, you need to get your sump dropped and your oil pick up pipe check, I find if they get blocked by 25% this is enough to cause oil pressure to drop off and flicker light, simple fix of cleaning pick up and reselling sump, only fix another one yesterday

Cheers.

He did mention something about the pipe alright. I'm just struggling to find someone to look at the car properly nevermind fix it.

Kimbot

What type of oil are you using in the engine?

BOBIDGE

jonny24ie wrote: »

What type of oil are you using in the engine?

I really cannot remember. I bought it in Sligo and threw out the container last week. It was a medium level price but the brand was unfamiliar (few options in rural Silgo!). Hope it wasn't that.

Kimbot

BOBIDGE wrote: »

I really cannot remember. I bought it in Sligo and threw out the container last week. It was a medium level price but the brand was unfamiliar (few options in rural Silgo!). Hope it wasn't that.

I assume it was 10/40 oil that you got. Next time your changing the oil try using 5/30 Semi-Synth. I know that fixed 2/3 corollas around here a few years ago and my 2001 VVTI 1.4 was the same with the light and when I changed to 5/30 the problem has never come back.

GARAGE.IE

Has any mechanic tried the obvious here? Partially blocked oil filter?

BOBIDGE

So, looks like it was indeed the slump (thanks for the advice). Hopefully be fixed tomorrow and under 200 euro. He reckoned the cause was bad oil. Whether it was the container I got in Sligo, or the Halfords oil I topped it up by, I don't know.

A lesson to not scrimp on engine oil!

Kimbot

BOBIDGE wrote: »

So, looks like it was indeed the slump (thanks for the advice). Hopefully be fixed tomorrow and under 200 euro. He reckoned the cause was bad oil. Whether it was the container I got in Sligo, or the Halfords oil I topped it up by, I don't know.

A lesson to not scrimp on engine oil!

A Corolla can run on even the cheapest of oil without issues. As I said the 5/30 should do the trick. I used to buy 5 litres for 15/16 euro.

colm_mcm

Might I make the assumption that the car has been constantly topped up with oil as opposed to getting regular oil changes?

JohnBoy26

colm_mcm wrote: »

Might I make the assumption that the car has been constantly topped up with oil as opposed to getting regular oil changes?

That's really the only explanation if the oil is congealed in the sump. I've seen it happen before where the owner thought that topping up constantly was as good as putting fresh oil in at a service. They ended up paying the price when it spun the bearings.

26000 Elephants

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

That's really the only explanation if the oil is congealed in the sump. I've seen it happen before where the owner thought that topping up constantly was as good as putting fresh oil in at a service. They ended up paying the price when it spun the bearings.

The OP stated he changed oil & filter less than 5k miles ago. Sounds to me like he did everything right. Maybe it was poor quality oil, but unlikely.

Maybe its just a poor design, as others have said? You would think, being a toyota, it would be able to burn its oil faster than it could congeal it...

JohnBoy26

26000 Elephants wrote: »

The OP stated he changed oil & filter less than 5k miles ago. Sounds to me like he did everything right. Maybe it was poor quality oil, but unlikely.

Maybe its just a poor design, as others have said? You would think, being a toyota, it would be able to burn its oil faster than it could congeal it...

Sure the op may have done everything right and may have serviced it 5k ago but if it's been mistreated in the past(not saying the op mistreated it) there could still be congealed oil in the sump.

These engines don't suffer from sludge issues so I'm not sure how it could be a design fault.

enumbers

They quite often suffer from blocked pick ups quite a common issue, not hard to sort and the first thing to look at on any old Toyota petrol

carzony

As said before I bet it's a blocked oil pick up. Happened to me recently in my citroen. The cars STOP light would come on and tell me low oil pressure while driving and it rattled like **** on cold starts. I changed the oil and filter twice before a neighbour suggested the oil pick up..