How can I tell if a Corolla has a 3 or 4 spd automatic?

[BudmanTom]

I'm looking into buying a Corolla and I see that the 2001-2002 Corolla's are extremely fuel efficient, is there an easy way to tell if it's a 3 or 4 spd automatic, keep in mind that I will try to determine this over the phone as I will be shopping on CraigsList and such, perhaps a trim level or vin number to check?

I have already made a few phone calls to sellers and most had no idea, I would imagine that if I took it for a test drive it would be easy enough but I don't want to travel 100-200 miles to find a 3spd.

One other question is there a way to find out if that same Corolla suffers from oil consumption, would a compression test help or just checking the tailpipe?

Thanks for all you help,

Tom

[Buurin]

1. Overdrive button on shifter. A button there means 4spd.
2. Vehicle certification label on driver door jamb. Look for C/TR. 3spd=A131L, 4spd=A245E.
3. Pop the hood and look at the vicinity of the big shift cable. 1 plug = 3spd, 2 plugs = 4spd.

[BudmanTom]

Originally Posted by Buurin

1. Overdrive button on shifter. A button there means 4spd.
2. Vehicle certification label on driver door jamb. Look for C/TR. 3spd=A131L, 4spd=A245E.
3. Pop the hood and look at the vicinity of the big shift cable. 1 plug = 3spd, 2 plugs = 4spd.

Overdrive button on the shifter.... perfect.

Any ideas on the oil usage?

Thanks again.

[fishexpo101]

For oil consumption - that is a little harder to assess over the phone and even in person. Compression test is not a bad idea in buying any car - same with Carfax.

Sooty deposits are found on well running engines as well as poorly maintained ones. Could always just flat-out ask if they know of an oil consumption issue. Ask for past maintenance records, previous work orders. Oil consumption is a tricky beast, as some cars that previously had no history or indications of oil consumption suddenly become oil burners. Most of the time, maintenance intervals and type of oil used are the keys.

There are a few out there running synthetic motor oil and good filtration changed at regular intervals have oil consumption, but I'm willing to speculate that is a small number of people. Later 8th gen Corollas (2001-2002) with 4-speed automatics or 5-speed standard seem to be not quite as prone as the earlier ones for oil consumption. My own 2002 has about 180K miles on it, bought new, switched over to synthetic after the initial break-in - zero oil consumption. I run extended oil changes, backed by periodic UOAs - also run mixed driving of 70/30 (hwy/city) on average. There are others with even greater mileage with zero oil consumption - just depends on matching the maintenance to the conditions.

[MacktasticSlick]

I didn't even think that the 01-02 Corollas came with the 3 speed auto. I thought that was only on the 98-00. Interesting. Also wasn't it just the VE?

[BudmanTom]

Originally Posted by fishexpo101

For oil consumption - that is a little harder to assess over the phone and even in person. Compression test is not a bad idea in buying any car - same with Carfax.

Sooty deposits are found on well running engines as well as poorly maintained ones. Could always just flat-out ask if they know of an oil consumption issue. Ask for past maintenance records, previous work orders. Oil consumption is a tricky beast, as some cars that previously had no history or indications of oil consumption suddenly become oil burners. Most of the time, maintenance intervals and type of oil used are the keys.

There are a few out there running synthetic motor oil and good filtration changed at regular intervals have oil consumption, but I'm willing to speculate that is a small number of people. Later 8th gen Corollas (2001-2002) with 4-speed automatics or 5-speed standard seem to be not quite as prone as the earlier ones for oil consumption. My own 2002 has about 180K miles on it, bought new, switched over to synthetic after the initial break-in - zero oil consumption. I run extended oil changes, backed by periodic UOAs - also run mixed driving of 70/30 (hwy/city) on average. There are others with even greater mileage with zero oil consumption - just depends on matching the maintenance to the conditions.

Thanks for the detailed answer.