Five problems related to engine belts and pulleys have been reported for the 2003 Toyota Corolla. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2003 Toyota Corolla based on all problems reported for the 2003 Corolla.
I recently traded in a Ford explorer on a 2003 Toyota Corolla. . 2 weeks after I bought the car the tensioner started to squeal and got worse progressively. At first I thought the belt was worn and got a new one,went to replace it and found that the bolt that holds the tensioner had snapped off due to the poor design of it. I was just notified by Toyota that I had to buy the new(correctly )designed tensioner at an additional cost to me of $180. 00 plus the labor to do it which involves unbolting the motor mounts and jacking the engine up!I am a contractor and if I do something wrong or something the customer doesn't like I eat the cost. Shouldn't Toyota's bad design be paid for by Toyota. I was going to trade in my Ford truck on a new Toyota truck but after this little experience I think I will stick with Ford.
I currently drive a 2003 Corolla and the belt squeak a lot. I work at Toyota myself and I know that every Toyota Corolla belt squeaks. It's not due to the fact on the drive belt but the belt tensioner. I was told by the service advisor that only people that are under the warranty will be replace but that's a outrage. Toyota already knew that the belt tensioner was a bad design and they made a new version to replace the 1st design. I spent 140 bucks to buy the part and the squeak weak away. Every 9th generation Corolla should have a recall on this belt tensioner thing because my car was slipping and losing horsepower. I kept the old part in case you want me to ship it to you. I hope this problem will be resolved.
Automatic tensioner failed. Bearing makes terrible squeaking sound when cold. Getting worse as months go by. Also worse in cold, wet weather. Brought car to dealer. They said it's not covered in basic warranty. Didn't get extended warranty. Is this right? seems like a defective part. Seems like it should be covered under drive train warranty. Have seen same problem with 2 other corrolla's from similar years. Why doesn't Toyota replace this part as part of regular warranty?.
No incident, just defects.
The contact owns a 2003 Toyota Corolla. While driving 45 or 65 mph, the vehicle makes a squealing noise. The serpentine belt was replaced five times, but the noise persists. The vehicle is currently at the dealer who stated that the tension pulley was causing the belt to detach. The manufacturer stated that there is no recall due to the small number of complaints. The current mileage is 93,620 and failure mileage was 1,000.