2005 Corolla CE Manual Stalling / Bucking / Running Roughly

[ejohan]

Hi,

I did a search through this fourm, but didn't see any similar problems with this car.

I have a 2005 Corolla CE w. PKG C. This car is such a lemon. It's been to various area dealerships with no real fix.

The car is VERY easy to stall. I've driven a few other manuals including a 2000 Mazda Protege LX 1.8, 2004 Ford Focus ZX4 & a 1986 Nissan Micra... all of which drive much more smoothly & they don't stall unless you do something really stupid.

The Corolla feels like it's about to die every time you push on the gas. It kind of hickups and then bucks and then starts driving.

Once it gets going above 2000 rpm, it's perfectly smooth, except for one thing, which brings me to my next problem: the car makes a sqeek sqeek sqeek sound constantly while driving, no matter what speed you're going or what rpm the engine is at.

So far I've had it to (for you Vancouverites): Jim Pattison North Shore Toyota (4 times) & Destination (Regency) Toyota on Lougheed (6 times).

They've fixed the following parts:

Fuel Filter (replaced twice)
Air Filter (replaced once)
Main Engine Computer (replaced once)
Wheel Bearings (inspected)
Engine Mounts (inspected)
Timing Belt (inspected)

The dealers' service departments were both somewhat unprofessional with having mechanics straight out of college and very few people who knew how to operate a manual car.

Judging by the tripodometer, they didn't even road test the car more than a few hundred metres. And I somehow doubt that they've actually done any work to the car, since none of the problems are fixed, and when they said they replaced the car's computer, the tripodometer, radio presets, etc, were all intact... (that's not right is it?).

I've called and emailed Toyota Canada's customer service and they just assign me a case number and tell me to take it back to any Toyota dealer. Since I don't get a curtosey car, and they want $40/day to rent one, I only have the choice of those two dealers, one close to home, and one close to work. So this is getting really annoying.

I purchased this car May 2005, and it has just over 20,000km's on it (about 12,500mi). British Columbia has no lemon-law that I am aware of. Just the usual implied warranty you have to persue in court, which I don't really have time for either.

If anyone has any suggestions, or can recommend a good Toyota dealer in Vancouver or Burnaby, let me know.

Thanks.

[JohnO356]

Well, since power wasn't disconnected, they obviously didn't do much to the car. Do you have a TV station that does a troubleshooter segment on the news? You know- where they highlight a problem, contact the people you are having a problem with, and broadcast the problem and the results their investigation had. If so, take it back to the dealer you bought it from, and explain you are going to contact that station. They don't like bad publicity. Also, I hope you are documenting all of this. Furthermore, I think the place to go to raise hell is the dealer where you bought it. And-- raise the hell in front of as many customers as possible: go on the showroom floor and tell your problems LOUDLY (in front of customers) to every employee you can find, badmouth the service dept, etc. Keep going back and raising hell until they get tired of you and fix it.

[ejohan]

Thanks for your suggestions,

Wish I had more time to do this.

I actually didn't buy the car at either of the dealers I've taken to have it serviced at. Maybe that's one of the reasons why I'm getting lousy service.

The dealer I bought it at is further away... I only bought it there because the salesman I talked to on the phone was willing to throw in a free bonus the other dealers wouldn't.

None of the dealers will give you a free car to drive while yours is being fixed. Even though I paid MSRP (i tried to get them to go down, but no dealers would budge), I bought the 7 year ESP (i thought i would keep this car forever being a Toyota), etc. and I'm not willing to pay $40/day for a crappy rental for a Chevy Aveo or something.

The dealer I bought it from is too far away from home or work otherwise, unless I drag someone else and their car along across town to give me a ride to work and back to the dealer again by 3pm.

All dealers are paid equally for their work by Toyota Canada Warranty, so I don't see why they should descriminate against someone who purchased elsewhere if they want my continued business.

I guess I'll consider the protesting in showroom trick... at the dealer I had most of the servicing done at, and maybe write toyota with registered mail or something. Consumer shows are hard to get on to here.

[toyomoho]

A few thoughts on the subject:

Does this car have on board computer diagnostics. If so, what do the trouble codes read out as?

The throttle position sensor could be bad or misadjusted. Clogged fuel injectors (maybe), does this car have a manifold absolute pressure sensor? A bad sensor can cause engine stall when applying the gas (pedal). This type of behavior is normally a fuel problem. As in lack of fuel getting to the cylinders at low speeds.

Have they checked fuel pressure and fuel flow? Any water in the gas tank, plugged in-tank filter? Bad EGR?

Did the car ever run OK?

I would think a competent shop could run the problem down. As such, I am very puzzled by the dealers not solving the issue. My guess is only ONE part or system has a problem. not the whole car. Do you know of any non-Toyota shops that could at least troubleshoot the car and report back to you? A decent shop, with a Toyota shop manual and some diagnostic equipment could do the job.

As to the sqeek, is this a constant sqeek at a constant pace. Or does it vary with your cars speed or engine RPM?

You might need to spend a few dollars getting this car troubleshooted. The dealers most likely are not that interested in helping as you did not buy the car from them.

Are you sure Toyota reimburses the dealer for parts and labor costs. Just what does an implied warranty mean in Canada.

Worst case, take it back the dealer you purchased it from. They are utimately responsible for getting it fixed and should be more sympathetic.

[ejohan]

Originally Posted by toyomoho

A few thoughts on the subject:

Does this car have on board computer diagnostics. If so, what do the trouble codes read out as?

Yes. Dealers won't tell me what they are though.

Originally Posted by toyomoho

The throttle position sensor could be bad or misadjusted. Clogged fuel injectors (maybe), does this car have a manifold absolute pressure sensor? A bad sensor can cause engine stall when applying the gas (pedal). This type of behavior is normally a fuel problem. As in lack of fuel getting to the cylinders at low speeds.

I'm sure they checked that at some point, but I'll get them to check it again next time I go in.

Originally Posted by toyomoho

Have they checked fuel pressure and fuel flow? Any water in the gas tank, plugged in-tank filter? Bad EGR?

Did the car ever run OK?

Yes. They claim it's normal. I usually only buy Chevron or Esso/Exxon gas, so that shouldn't be a problem. And water, I hope, wouldn't be stuck in my tank for over a year. The car has never worked properly.

Originally Posted by toyomoho

I would think a competent shop could run the problem down. As such, I am very puzzled by the dealers not solving the issue. My guess is only ONE part or system has a problem. not the whole car. Do you know of any non-Toyota shops that could at least troubleshoot the car and report back to you? A decent shop, with a Toyota shop manual and some diagnostic equipment could do the job.

Yeah, I have a good mechanic who used to always work on my not-so-reliable Dodge and Ford cars I've had over the past few years. I'm sure he could give it a go for $90.

Originally Posted by toyomoho

As to the sqeek, is this a constant sqeek at a constant pace. Or does it vary with your cars speed or engine RPM?

It is indeed a constant sqeek at a constant pace. It does not vary by RPM or ground speed.

Originally Posted by toyomoho

Are you sure Toyota reimburses the dealer for parts and labor costs. Just what does an implied warranty mean in Canada.

Yes, Toyota Customer Service said that dealer franchises bill them at the same set labour rate for all warranty repairs, no matter where you bought the vehicle.

Actually, this is an expressed warranty, not just implied, because they say that they'll cover any powertrain parts for 5 years and 100,000km or whatever it is, right in the owners manual.