I purchased this car on Ebay. It was a 2002 Celica GTS. The modifications that were on the car was a very nice body kit (don’t know brand), cold air injection kit (Injen), and a cat back exhaust from TRD. The car was a dream to drive. Took off fast and held the road like it was on rails. I drove it pretty hard during the first three weeks then I committed the fatal mistake of shifting down into third rather than fifth and bent a valve.
I took the car to a Toyota dealer. I told them it was my fault so they charged me for repairing the top end of the engine. When I got the car back it was blowing blue smoke as I left their lot. I should have taken it back immediately, but I wanted the car back. They had it a month in their shop as they had to order special parts because the 2ZZ-GE engine is not one they regularly deal with. I mistakenly assumed it was a seal that had not yet seated.
Less, than one week later the engine seized up. It still had plenty of oil so it was not a neglect issue as the dealer claimed. I whined and said I wanted an official Toyota rep to look at it. The Toyota rep looked at it and decided to fix it. The dealer told me it was a good will gesture and it was still my fault, but Toyota was being generous.
The dealer said they replaced the engine. When I got it back it was not smoking, but as soon as the car hit 6,000 rpm (exactly the time the variable timing should kick in) it would die. This was not right. I took it back to the dealer and they told me this was normal. They told me that there was a governor in the car that was supposed to cut out the ignition at 6,000 rpm. Strange, it didn’t happen before this and the redline on the car is about 7,500 rpm. They also told me that this was a high performance automobile with modifications and I should take it too a shop where they could deal with this sort of car.
At this point I was disgusted with that dealer and thought that it would be wise to take it to another dealer. The other dealer told me almost the exact same thing! Less than 500 miles later I break a rod and drive it through the block. I was accelerating hard at the time, but was nowhere near the redline of the engine when it broke. I couldn’t get even close to redline as the engine would cut out at 6,000 rpm.
At this point I am wondering why in the world I bought a Celica. I took it to a local shop that had a guy that loved to work on Tuners. I paid to have them replace the engine. At this point I had given up on Toyota shops and just wanted the thing fixed right! They put a 2003 engine it that had 8,000 miles on it. I got almost 81 miles out of that motor. They said I spun a rod and replaced it under warranty with another 2003 engine that had 12,000 miles on it. Please understand that at this point I am driving like a grandmother. I am afraid to step on the gas for fear my engine will explode.
The engine I have now is still not right! Most of the time the engine in the car runs fine. However, there have been three occasions now where the most unusual thing has happened. On occasion (not all the time) when I push the car hard enough to kick in the variable timing (6,000 rpm’s, no where near redline) it will stall at the next stop sign. This occurs even when the next stop is more than a half-mile away. When I restart the car it sounds like a hydraulic lifter has collapsed. I know that the car has no hydraulic lifters, but that it the best way that I can describe the sound. It will last for between 5 and 30 seconds. It then smoothes out and runs normally. I do get a check engine light at this point.
I am a grown man (32 years old) and have driven my fair share of high performance automobiles and motorcycles without ever blowing an engine, and yet this thing keeps dying.
I would really like to get the car fixed. I love the way it performs when everything is operating normally. I do not necessarily want warranty work I just want the thing to run right!
Has anyone had similar experiences or have any suggestions for me?
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