general problems of the 2003 Toyota Corolla

Rear wheel bearings failure (safety defect) -- 2003 Toyota Corolla. Excerpts from my e-mail to Toyota motor sales, u. S. A. Inc. Follow: "the local Toyota dealership has recently recommended replacing the rear hub axle bearings due to a humming noise, at a cost of over $1,000. 00. This recommendation has floored me as this type of repair for a vehicle with only 90,000 miles does not seem to be consistent with the quality standards promulgated by Toyota motor corporation. Apparently, this problem is widespread as a technical service bulletin (NHTSA #10015608) was issued. " the Toyota customer experience center subsequently acknowledged the rear wheel bearings issue addressed in my e-mail above, creating case # 1703301220. Despite Toyota having issued technical service bulletin #00105 on this very matter, the Toyota representative at the customer center clearly stated in a subsequent phone call there is no warranty coverage, no customer notification, and no-recall issued. After contacting the Toyota customer experience center, I was reluctant to replace the rear wheel bearings for almost $1,000. 00 if the only issue was with humming which blended in with normal road noise. But the mechanics at the local Toyota dealerships subsequently warned me that failure to have the rear wheel bearings replaced meant I was driving a car with a serious safety hazard with a significant probability of wheel failure (I. E. The bearing(s) could completely fail at any time and cause the rear wheel to fall off the car). I then authorized the local dealership in April 2017 to replace the wheel bearings (at my expense). One cannot but wonder how many accidents or incidents in connection with rear wheel bearings have occurred with Toyota Corollas for drivers who unknowingly drive their vehicles with rear wheel bearings that have been compromised or failed.

Original transmission was replaced at 124,000 miles, and only 3 years later, and 25,000 miles later, it now needs another transmission. Not the dependability I was expecting. In both instances, the same thing occurred; although it went out on me a lot faster the second time around. I heard a grinding sound every time I accelerated, until it finally went out on me and locked up both times. The first time I was on a side street, and it happened while I was approaching red light (and only reverse worked, so I was able to reverse it into a gas station nearby). The second time was a bit more scary (and I'm pissed off about this even more, now that I'm reading everyone else's story, because I could've been in a major accident). I was driving 65 mph down the freeway (in the 3rd lane in) when all of a sudden my car bucked (jerked back) back on me. I immediately got off the freeway within 5-7 seconds (thank god I was able to), when all of a sudden it completely froze/seized/locked up on me and proceeded to skid out about 15 feet along the side of the freeway only a second or two after getting off. The more I think about it, the more I am thankful that I was able to get over so quickly or it could've been disastrous. Nevertheless, I just got it towed to the local Toyota dealership, and am looking forward to what they have to say. I am printing out all the links/forums/articles that I have found about this very specific problem with this very specific year and model (with only manual transmissions have you). Not sure what they will do about (my guess is they'll say tough luck and tell me it's going to cost me $3600, and then I'll have to have it towed to another place that can do it with a rebuilt transmission for $2000), but I'm going to give it a try. It really angers me that they can allow this problem to persist and put people's lives in danger.

I was stopped at a red light. When it turned green I started to accelerate and turn the transmission blew. Subsequently, I was read ended. I started to do research and found that the 2003 Toyota Corolla has excessive transmission issues.

Tl-the contact owns a 2003 Toyota Corolla. The contact stated that while waiting at a stop sign, the vehicle accelerated independently and the brakes failed causing the contact to lose control and crash against ten other vehicles and finally stopping against a concrete wall. The contact sustained whiplash injuries to the neck and back, as well as numerous hematomas on the waist that required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed and was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. Aw.

The contact owns a 2003 Toyota Corolla. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to shift into reverse. The vehicle was towed to a private mechanic where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The approximate failure and current mileage was 110,000.

While driving on the freeway, there was a sudden loud whine and loss of power. Since I was in the middle of nowhere, I continued down the road until I got to a service station. There, I checked all fluids, which were fine; I then continued on my way to an appointment with an eye specialist I had, and at that time I noticed the clutch was difficult to use. Once I had the appointment with the specialist, I had the car towed to the nearest auto transmission service center, where I had to have a new transmission, clutch, and axle put on my car for over $4,000 because they said "no one rebuilds Toyota transmissions". I am a 60-year-old woman who always takes the car for regular oil changes, and had a pre-trip car check just 6 weeks before that by a very reliable, honest mechanic. I stay close to home, and only took this trip because I had to see an eye specialist. This car has only 106,000 miles on it!.

The 2003 Toyota Corolla makes noise at speeds over 40 miles per hour. I took the car to 2 different shops and they came back with the same results. The bearings are bad and need to be replaced. I contacted Toyota and they refused to fix it due to the time although the bearings should last much longer then the 40 k miles even their warranty says 60k miles. This is a safety issue since the wheel can came off while you drive and injure the driver and others. People who have this issue and may not even realize it as I did, I thought is the muffler and is not is a safety issue. Please post this on your website as this is very dangerous for people . Toyota should investigate what is wrong with the bearings they use.

Car is a 5 speed and had an increasing "growl" in transmission in 2,3,and 5th gear. After research, this appears to be a common problem in 5 speed Corolla's, matrix, and pontiac vibe which all use the c59 5 speed transmissions. Over $1000 to repair if caught early enough. This is/was my 5th Toyota, and will be my last also!!.

The contact owns a 2003 Toyota Corolla. The driver stated while he was driving 30 mph and approached a red traffic light. The when she tried to accelerate the vehicle failed to move. The contact had to place the vehicle in neutral and to coast to the nearest gas station. The driver also stated that failure caused her axle to break. A local mechanic stated that he has never seen anything like that before. The VIN was not available. The current and failure mileages were around 90,000.

Today, as I was very slowly pulling into my parking spot at work , it felt like a "jet" engine took off and my car accelerated into the building. I was stuck on cement parking borders and the wheels were spining. I did not have any control over this. I do have witneses to his. The care was towed to Toyota.

Car accelerated when breaking to a stop and while stopped. The event happened 4 times in one day and 1 time recently. The dealer could not find a problem with it and had never heard of such a problem.

My wife purchased a 2003 Toyota Corolla. She purchased it because of its implied economy. But despite the owner's manual claims that the car can use 87 octane or higher, such is not the case. In two words, rotten eggs. In two other words, hydrogen sulfide. As we decelerate to a stop light or sign, if the windows are open, or the ventilation system is set to intake outside air, the odor of rotten eggs is overpowering. (note that if the airflow pattern control is turned to either partial or total windshield defrost, the control will automatically enforce fresh, outside air intake. ) when I took it to the dealer, the service manager didn't bat an eyelash. Just opened a drawer and pulled out a sheet of paper which states that tmc assumes no responsibility for the problem, and will do nothing to remedy it. The paper further suggests that I should change brands of gasoline (we had already tried that) or change to a higher grade of gasoline. The dealer refused to write up the problem on a report. I can attest, the rotten egg odor doesn't abate if 87 octane fuel is used - even amoco which purports to be better than the rest. Searching these topics via google, I found a discussion suggesting that the cause was/is a catalytic converter running too hot - probably due to its proximity to the exhaust manifold. Sure enough, this vehicle has the first catalytic converter (there are two, in tandem) is coupled directly to the exhaust manifold. Further, there is no room to move the unit back, and, since the entire exhaust system is welded, any modifications to it would probably negate my warranty. My '88 Corolla uses the same 87 octane fuels, from the same brands (that we've tried on the '03 Corolla) and does not have this problem. Consumers deserve a better product than this. My son's '02 Honda civic doesn't seem to have this problem. Why should we - and our fellow road users behind us and to the sides of us - be forced to tolerate this deplorable stench?.

I brought a 1999 Toyota corola in 2000, in 2001 32,000 miles later the transmision failed, Toyota replaced the transmision with a brand new one. This month may 2003 41,000 miles later the transmision failed again same problem. According to Toyota I'm no longer under warrenty and I have to pay 4,396. 71 for the repair cost. What I don't understand is, if the transmision keep failing every 30,000 to 40,000 miles obviously something is wrong with the car.