Is 91 MR2 a dependable car?

[jimmy02flames]

Hello everyone, I have been looking for a mr2 for awhile and have run across one I think I might want. Its a 1991 model turbo with standard tranny.

This car has 150K miles on it and looks to have been taken reasonably good care of especially for the age.

O know nothing about mr2s but love the look of them and edmunds has good owners reviews of the car except the tranny synchros. How common of a problem was it with this year 91? many people on Edmunds says no problems with this particular one.

And do these cars typically run as well as other toyotas? What is typical mileage before problems start popping up regularly, especially engine problems. It looks to me mrs of this year has the 3s gte I think is what it was. It worries me buying a car with 150k miles on it.

I have an old camry and it has ran and ran and ran. My camry has the 3s-fe I think it is called. This camry is the first toyota for me and the best car Ive ever owned and Ive own alot.

Thanks for any help. You lucky forum posters here have a beautifull car well ahead of its time. IMO the 91a-99s are the prettiest and Edmunds reveiwers LOVE the cars handling and speed.

I am more worried about reliability especially with engine and tranny synchros. I dont do alot of racing type driving

Thanks again

[SilvertopRyan]

The MR2 turbo is actually a very dependable engine and you see a lot of them with 250k+ on them

[titleist]

make sure the timing belt and clutch have been done recently.

[jimmy02flames]

The current owner doesnt know about the cltch or timing belt. Are they particularly alot harder being a mid engine car? I think I paid maybe $400 for timing belt and tensioners and pump ect for my camrys belt. Never had a clutch put in my camry since its auto.

On the + side gates.com has the car as a non interference engine design meaning if the belt breaks its not suppose to junk the motor. I will just wait till it breaks if I buy the car.

Also I was inccorect in my first post. Many Edmunds reviewers actually say 91 and 92s DID have lots of problems with the tranny gear syncros especially between first and second but act as though the cars are still drivable even with the issue

[TheEngineer]

The tranny definetly does. My 91 had some grinding into 2nd gear. Its fine unless your trying to run down the track and are fast shifting. But for daily use they still ride fine.

You are correct that they are non-interference motors. Just another one of toyota great designing.

Replacing a clutch in an mr2 isnt too bad. Doing the timing belt is a PITA though however i know that alot of dealerships do it for decent prices and i would totally reccomend having a dealership just do it. Not worth the hassle.

As long as the car has been maintained you wont have any issues with the engine. One thing i love about these mr2's is that an unopened block is very strong. Meaning that the headgasket and internals will last a long time unlike some other turbo cars....(dsm's in particular). And yes the handling on these things is awesome especially with some decent upgrades like struts and springs.

[jimmy02flames]

Cool. thanks for the heads up. thats all ive been wondering bout the tranny. Wether it was ok for daily driving. I dont plan on hot rodding this car at all but as a depndable commuter wihtout needing tranny synchros replaced. Im gathering most are able to just live with it as if I have problems thats what I would attempt to do.

I wondered about the turbo effecting the engine too but this is good news as you say to the extent of the engine ruggedness.

The camry I have sold me on these Toyotas. as I said in my earlier post it is the best car Ive ever had. And oddly its certianly not the most expensive Ive ever had but the best.

I think the 3s GTE is probably the same block and design as the 3s fe that I think is in my 2nd gen camry. My camry actually only has 110k miles on it but still it is a 21 year old daily commuter, never garaged and never any problems (yet). Many people seem to get 200 k easy out of the 3s-fe.

[MR2Jedi]

asjoseph,do you or have you ever owned a 2nd gen MR2 turbo?