Avoid 2001 Corolla over oil consumption issue?

[aaron_l]

I have a friend who's moving away from the area and offered to sell me his 2001 Corolla LE with 62k miles for a very tempting price. I was learning very heavily towards buying it, but then I read about the oil consumption issue that's common on the 98-02 Corollas. While this particular car is supposedly not burning oil, I'm now wary of buying a car that's predisposed to a serious engine issue. Should I avoid this model year entirely, or is the chance of running into this defect remote enough that I shouldn't worry about it? If it matters, I drive less than 5000 miles a year and probably won't own the car beyond 100k miles.

Thanks in advance for any rational advice on this.

[sam333]

Unless the car has been abused ( no regular oil changes ) its probably fine at 62000( most oil burning comes on after 100000), and if it has been run on synthetic oil since new I wouldnt worry about it at all. Make sure it isnt burning oil now and then use nothing but synthetic oil( I have not heard of any corollas run on synthetic having the sludging /stuck rings problem).Ask to take the car on a long trip ( 500 miles +) or borrow it if you can . Make sure the oil is right on the upper line on the dip stick before the trip/ test and the check it at the end. If its burning more than 1/2 quart in 3000 miles dont buy it.

[Clayton1984]

Originally Posted by aaron_l

I have a friend who's moving away from the area and offered to sell me his 2001 Corolla LE with 62k miles for a very tempting price. I was learning very heavily towards buying it, but then I read about the oil consumption issue that's common on the 98-02 Corollas. While this particular car is supposedly not burning oil, I'm now wary of buying a car that's predisposed to a serious engine issue. Should I avoid this model year entirely, or is the chance of running into this defect remote enough that I shouldn't worry about it? If it matters, I drive less than 5000 miles a year and probably won't own the car beyond 100k miles.

Thanks in advance for any rational advice on this.

Oil burning does not happen in every generation 8 Corolla. In the overwhelming majority of Gen8 Corolla's the oil burning is minimal... ie you only notice it at each oil change - you might be down 1/2 to 1 quart of oil.
Usually the only people who notice are those who change their own oil.

[sam333]

Originally Posted by Clayton1984

Oil burning does not happen in every generation 8 Corolla. In the overwhelming majority of Gen8 Corolla's the oil burning is minimal... ie you only notice it at each oil change - you might be down 1/2 to 1 quart of oil.
Usually the only people who notice are those who change their own oil.

That is simply untrue . Its a serious problem with the 1ZZ engine recognized by Toyota.

My corolla , my sons , the neighbors, all 8th gen, burn oil( or did ) like crazy.I cant tell you the number I have seen at work that have the same problem. I rebuilt mine and my sons ,the neighbors has since run his out of oil. Mine was burning about a quart every300 miles my sons even worse. Mine and my sons were bought new and had oil changes every 3000 miles( dino oil).
Read the sticky about oil burning and just do search on line.

[fishexpo101]

Must be the oil used (synthetic) that seems to be the key. Might also be a viscosity issue as well as I've found that thinner oils tend to not get consumed as fast as thicker oils, depending on the avenue where the oil is being consumed (ie, past the rings or past the valve seals).

Be nice to see a chart of people that have seen oil consumption - what oil they use, maintenance history, transaxle choice, model year, factory where build, driving conditions. Also need a good number of people that didn't have any problems with oil consumption also put in their operating conditions. I'd say a fair number of people that post on boards are looking for info on a problem their are experiencing currently - not many will post to say how great the car is running. Doesn't mean that there isn't a problem - just cannot properly see any trends until you get both sides in the mix because Toyota mentioned the oil consumption issue in a TSB for European 1ZZ-FE engines means that they are aware of an issue.

In my neighborhood - we have a handful of 8th gens spanning the whole generation (1998-2002). Only one of them noted any oil consumption - she also mentioned that maintenance was pretty sparse - just pump gas and go.

Of the later ones - one 2000, two 2001, and my 2002 - all of us run synthetic, have over 100K+ miles and don't have any appreciable oil consumption - half are 4-speed automatics, the other half are 5-speeds - DC Metro traffic, so a good mix of speeds, lots of idling in traffic, high speeds when clear.

Myself, I didn't switch over to synthetic until after the first year I had the car (bought new). That time, I was getting free oil changes at the dealership as part of a promo. After that, changed oil myself with synthetic on an extended drain program. Anywhere from 7500-12000 miles OCI depending on the conditions and what the UOA indicated.

Like they say, YMMV.

[01loadedLE]

That car sounds like it could be a great buy. Check the oil on the dipstick and see if the level is low. Open the oil fill hole on top of the engine and look for a lot of varnish which is a sign of oil burn, and smell in there too. If it burns oil it will smell burnt. Ask your friend if it burns oil and if so ask how much.

I wouldn't care if it burned more oil than 1/2qt every 3k miles. My car burns more than that and it could drive from Mexico to Canada and back again if I needed to. Just keep it topped off once a week or every few hundred miles and you'll be fine.

The only ones you may want to avoid are those that burn a qt every 300 miles or so and ones that have seals that leak bad, and even then those can be fixed and driven another 200k+ miles making it worth the investment.

[ManfredN]

Before getting some o-rings fixed mine was losing 2 quarts every 3k. I would rather put in 6 dollars worth of oil every 3k miles and get 41mpg on the highway with my ethanol hating car than get a more modern car that gets 31 due to emission standards.

Just so you know it is well known that ethanol gas will eat up the rubber parts in your car. My guess is that there is even more ethanol in california gas than in most places.