Toyota 1.8lt Corolla Mobil DC+ 5w-30 3k

[Bill in Utah]

Ok folks,

Here is the OCI for my Mobil Drive Clean Plus "SL" 5w-30 that I bought on closeout at AZ for 50 cents a quart and a STP Filter. Total cost of Oil change is $5!

Changed oil and filter. Put in Mobil 1 SM 5w-30 and Bosch Filter. This change was quite a bit more @ $20 for the oil. Got the filter free with rebate. 4 times the cost of the last Oil change.

I'll run this to 5k and UOA it.

Still LOVE the car, not a single problem and has not been back to the dealer for anything!

It's so easy to change the oil on this car.. I'm going to get a Fram Sure drain for it. The sure drain works excellent on my Truck and my Dads Vue. I'm sold on it!

Comments anyone? Thanks in advance!

Take care, Bill

 

[Al]

That oil must have been ancient..no boron and no moly. But it did good. Its not due to the oil though-just a good engine.

I think the Corolla is one of the best/most practical cars on the planet. I always try to make sure I know which car to buy in case my Sentra gets wrecked. There is no doubt that Corolla is #1 on my list. Is it Manual or auto?? Anything about it you don't like?

 

[Pablo]

I always wonder why I click on UOA posts with "Corolla" (or even Toyota) in the title. Nothing exciting here.

3000 miles in one month should be easy on any oil!

 

[Bill in Utah]

quote:

---

I think the Corolla is one of the best/most practical cars on the planet. I always try to make sure I know which car to buy in case my Sentra gets wrecked. There is no doubt that Corolla is #1 on my list. Is it Manual or auto?? Anything about it you don't like?

---

Al, I really have to say that there is *nothing* I dislike about the car. It's a manual, no ABS, even has crank up windows (after paying $300 to repair a window motor on my Ford Taurus, i wanted SIMPLE) and it's a great car to spend time in.

After the problems we had with my Dads 2001 Civic, The Honda Warrenty is almost 1/2 of Toyotas, Belt vs chain and most of all, Price (Honda does not deal very much) we made the deal. It came down to Honda civic, Mazda 3, Saturn Ion and Corolla. Sadly, The Sentra would not start at the dealer so I never drove one of those.. But I was tight in the Sentra so even if it started, It was not on the list. (I'm 6'6" and 300 lbs... need to lose a few lbs..

)


You can tell I like the outfit. Of all the cars I've owned (and with the miles I drive, I do go thru outfits..

) it's in the top 3 along with my 2000 Chev Truck and 1985 VW Jetta which just turned 250k with nothing but brakes, belts and oil *ever* done to it...

quote:

---

I always wonder why I click on UOA posts with "Corolla" (or even Toyota) in the title. Nothing exciting here.

3000 miles in one month should be easy on any oil!

---

I'll take that as a good sign!

I like No exciting UOAs after my Taurus!

I'm going to run a few more oils and UOAs to see how this car is going. But I think I'll stay with 3-4 k OCIs until the Warrenty is done, then maybe run 6-7k with a Blend (Castrol Syntec or Mobil 7500) or 4-5k with Dino (Castrol GTX or Pennzoil ). I have a stash of Pennzoil and Castrol Syntec laying around that I picked up cheap)

I agree, my driving does have a few trips in a day below 3 miles, but then it's on the freeway aroudn 3k rpm for almost a hour with no stop and go. I normally go 120-150k before brakes!

ALso, Hats off to Mark and Butler for the excellent service! I sent it in late Monday of this week and had it by Thursday!

Thanks for the comments!

Bill

 

[2x]

We have the 2004 1.8 Corolla and the car is great, easy to work on and smooth. The only gripe about it I have is that I am not tall and I find that the driver and passenger leg room is weak. The seats don't slide back far enough. I would recommend this car to anyone and I would buy another, but people over 5'11" be warned.

 

[Bill in Utah]

quote:

---

The seats don't slide back far enough. I would recommend this car to anyone and I would buy another, but people over 5'11" be warned.

---

I'm 6 foot 6 and the steering wheel hits my right leg when getting out. Other than that, I've got good amount of room when driving..

I must have short legs...

Take care, Bill

 

[The Critic]

Bill,
I'm starting to believe that the silicon leaching from gaskets in Toyos is a myth. I recalled that you changed the air filter during the middle of the 4K run of Syntec Blend+Syntec, and look how much the silicon dropped during this run, as well as the wear.

Michael

 

[Bill in Utah]

Hi,

Yep, changed the Air Filter about 1/2 way after watching the MPG drop.

I still have the orginal one and can not believe that it only lasted a few months, but it does look dirty and I guess with the construction and road salt around here, it was time.

Take care, bill

 

[Minou]

Can I chime in?

I have a 05 Corolla CE 5 sp with package C. Includes AC, power package and cruise control.

For those contemplating to buy a Corolla, I suggest to look at these things;

1) I'm half of Bill's size... 150 lbs and
5'-6".

Driving position is weird. Pedals and dead pedal are too close to the seat if you have the wheel right. Or if you have the pedals right, the wheel is too far. To alleviate that somewhat, I removed my dead pedal and managed to shave about a 1/2" or more off of it with a hacksaw. Much better now but I wish the car had a telescoping wheel.

2) I had an issue with a rattle around the radio and center vents. Was fixed on warranty. There's a TSB on the issue.

3) It appears that most 05 Corollas have the warm start issue. Car refuses to start after being stopped for around 1/2 an hour to a few hours. It cranks for several seconds before it finally does. Mine did it 3 times and some folks on the web didn't have the issue solved after several visits to their Toy dealer. They replace the fuel pump, injectors, ECU and it's still there. I'll wait until I see a TSB or hear that a solution is out.

4) Stock Good Year Integrity tires are miserable. I will replace mines with Yokohama TRZ 195/65-15 next week. Might want to have them changed before you buy.

Otherwise, I'm very pleased with the car. It is a well designed and assembled quality vehicle. My GF's 01 Protegé ES is a POS next to my Corolla and the 05 loaded Focus she had as a loaner when her car was in the shop for a 3rd, yes 3rd rebuilt automatic transmission is very far behind the general quality of assembly and fit and finish of my Corolla.

Now back to the topic of oil...

I changed mine last week and I have switched to Esso Extra XD-3 0W-30 and the longer Toyota YZZA1 filter. I have another one of these filters and I will then use Napa Gold's 1396. Have 3 in stock.
Curiously, they are cheaper than the short OEM size 1394.

[ April 23, 2005, 09:22 PM: Message edited by: Minou ]

 

[luvs2drive]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Minou:
Can I chime in?

I have a 05 Corolla CE 5 sp with package C. Includes AC, power package and cruise control.

For those contemplating to buy a Corolla, I suggest to look at these things;

1) I'm half of Bill's size... 150 lbs and
5'-6".

Driving position is weird. I wish the car had a telescoping wheel.

2) I had an issue with a rattle around the radio and center vents. Was fixed on warranty. There's a TSB on the issue.

3) It appears that most 05 Corollas have the warm start issue. Car refuses to start after being stopped for around 1/2 an hour to a few hours. It cranks for several seconds before it finally does. Mine did it 3 times and some folks on the web didn't have the issue solved after several visits to their Toy dealer. They replace the fuel pump, injectors, ECU and it's still there. I'll wait until I see a TSB or hear that a solution is out.

4) Stock Good Year Integrity tires are miserable. I will replace mines with Yokohama TRZ 195/65-15 next week. Might want to have them changed before you buy.

---

I have a Corolla S with Sport B package. 5speed.

Yup, driving position is a tad weird. I'm 5'11" and I have the issue if the cruise control stalk tappin my leg at times. I can adjust. I do find the reach to the radio controls a bit much.

As for the start issue, I do believe they have a TSB out that has to do with the chip key receiver in the dash being not strong enough to read the key. I don't have any issues yet! hope it stays that way, but I bought the extended warranty just in case.

I changed the tires before I bought. Michelin HydroEdge. Way better than the Goodyears.

On the oil topic... I will not use XD-3 as I think it too thick for this motor and it's not energy conserving. I'll be using Amsoil XL-7500 GF-4 formulated if I can find it, after this engine has finished breaking in.

 

[kwikrnu]

quote:

---

Originally posted by luvs2drive:

Originally posted by Minou:
[qb] I changed the tires before I bought. Michelin HydroEdge. Way better than the Goodyears.

---

I also have the michelin hydroedge tires.
What is your average mpg? I think they are hurting my mpg. They do work good in the rain though.