2005 toyota corolla le - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

nana1010 · 11-30-2010, 06:02 AM

Hi all,
I have a 2005 toyota corolla LE. In the morning when you start the car, the rev counter moves up and down for sometime before it settles, if you move the car whilst the rev counter is not settled, the engine goes off. I always have to start and wait for 5 minutes before i can move the car without stopping. When i park the car for sometime, i will need to let the engine run for sometime before i can move without the engine going off. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS ON. Please help me if you have any suggestions...KWAKU

tarbasd · 11-30-2010, 09:40 AM

It would be useful if you got the error code for the Check Engine Light.

mikered30 · 11-30-2010, 11:31 AM

Where was this corolla made?

NMGeorge · 11-30-2010, 02:25 PM

Autozone will check codes for free - just don't have them clear it in case it's a recall issue.

EDIT: I just saw than you are in Ghana, not sure how to help you retrieve the code.

dorman68 · 11-30-2010, 05:40 PM

Classic symptoms of a bad intake manifold gasket.

tarbasd · 12-02-2010, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dorman68

Classic symptoms of a bad intake manifold gasket.

I'm not so sure... the engine dies, which isn't typical. Of course I wouldn't rule it out, that's why I would like to know the code. I'm not sure how easy it is to get it read in Ghana, but if it is not horribly expensive, I would pay for a reading.

nana1010 · 12-09-2010, 04:12 AM

Thanks for the reply. I did the diagnosis and the codes were: P0303 and P0353.

nana1010 · 12-09-2010, 04:18 AM

Thanks for the reply. I did the diagnosis and the codes were: P0303 and P0353.

nana1010 · 12-09-2010, 04:24 AM

Michigan.

nana1010 · 12-09-2010, 04:27 AM

Thanks for the reply. I did the diagnosis and the codes were: P0303 and P0353.

nana1010 · 12-09-2010, 04:33 AM

Thanks to you all.

Thanks for the reply. I did the diagnosis and the codes were: P0303 and P0353. Hope to hear further suggestions from you soon.

mikered30 · 12-09-2010, 05:19 AM

So do you live in Michigan? I dont think the corolla was ever made in Michigan. Your issue sounds like you need a new ECU. How many miles do you have on your car?

nana1010 · 12-10-2010, 02:27 AM

No. I live in Ghana. I think the car was made in Canada. Some parts of the car like the radiator has michigan written on. It has 52,000 miles on it.

mikered30 · 12-10-2010, 05:09 AM

Well if it is the ECU, is it possible for you to get a new one? Your car is under a recall for the ECU anyway.

aspen007 · 12-10-2010, 09:42 AM

You may have a bad ignition coil that is causing your engine to run rough.

Code P0303 indicates a misfire in the #3 cylinder and P0353 indicates a problem with the ignition coil on the #3 cylinder. Most likely the P0303 misfire code was triggered by the ignition coil problem.

Your Corolla has four ignition coils, one for each cylinder. They are mounted directly on each spark plug. You can see them if you remove the plastic engine cover. The four coils are the same and cost about $60-100 each depending on the brand and where you buy them. They are very easy to replace. All's that required is the removal of the plastic engine cover, unclipping the wire to the coil, unbolting the 10m bolt holding the coil to the valve cover, and pulling the coil off the spark plug.

I suggest you first check to make sure the wiring and connectors to each coil are secure. If so, then verify the coil is bad before replacing it since you normally can't return electronic parts.

Here's how to test the coil. Remove the number 3 coil and exchange it with one of the other coils, say cylinder 4. Now reset/clear the check engine light and run your engine. If the CEL returns and the code is now P0354 indicating a problem with the cylinder 4 coil, then you know the coil is bad and needs replacement.

Also check to make sure all your vacuum hoses are properly secured.