Engine Noise When Idling.

[RubyOrchid]

Hi guys,

I'm new to the forum, so if this is in the wrong section, please can you direct me to the correct one!

I have a 2001 Toyota Corolla 1.6 WTi GS Automatic. I bought it 3 years ago from a reputable dealer with full service history and low mileage for age (32k)

It has only had minor issues (sludge buildup which made the whole engine vibrate under pressure, and worn brake discs (whoops!)) up until about 4 months ago when an engine light came on. At this stage there was no noticeable change to the drive. I took it to a local garage and he put some engine cleaner through as he said the valves may be dirty. Once I had run through that tank of gas, the light was still on and I was starting to get loss of power on acceleration and a noise when the engine was idling. The local garage once again put a stronger engine cleaner through, but again there was no change and the car had really started to struggle. I took it back for him to inspect properly, and he stuck a camera down into the engine and said the valves and pistons look fine, but that he had done a bit more research and discovered that this particular model can have issues with the Air Flow Sensor. He had replaced it and said to let him know how I get on. The engine light is now off, and the car has power again, however it still makes the same noise when the engine is idling. To describe it, it sounds like a rhythmic whooshing noise every 1.5 seconds, kind of like the noise that Wiper Blades make across the windscreen. I wanted to get as much information I could from fellow Corolla owners who may have experienced this before taking it back to the garage again, so that we have a starting point to look for a problem at least!

Any help/ideas welcome!

Thanks,

Ellie

[KenMavor]

Ellie,

Firstly welcome.

Secondly, your mechanic sounds like a very good one. Give him a box of chocolates and some beers to keep him sweet!

It does sound like a leak from somewhere that you are describing. Any idea where the noise physically comes from in the engine area? Does it happen at idle ofr just driving? It is more noticeable when driving or is it exactly the same either standing still or driving. Are there any other symptoms? What is your fuel consumption like?

Others will be along to assist shortly.

[RubyOrchid]

Hi Ken,

Thanks for replying so swiftly!

I really appreciate my mechanic, he is a good guy and I trust him completely! Having been ripped off by previous garages, its nice to find someone who isn't only in it for the money!

I haven't been able to locate where abouts in the engine the noise is coming from, I can hear it noticeably from both the cab and from outside the car. It is only noticeable when idle or at very low speeds, however it is possible that as the engine noise increases at speed it drowns out the other noise. Certainly there is no delay between me slowing down and the noise starting. Symptom wise it has always been rather thirsty for oil, we are having to top up every couple of months, however there has never been any leakage wherever I've parked, so I presumed this was down to the age of the car?? Fuel consumption hasn't been as good lately, tank lasting about 1.5 weeks as opposed to 2 with same amount of driving.

Once again, thanks for getting back to me so promptly!

Ellie

[oldcodger]

Hi,

Two possible things that might be causing that sound, the inlet manifolds have a known problem where some internal part works loose and its generally said to create a more rattley sound, but perhaps it would whoosh of air instead ? seems a carefully placed screw fixes the problem.

The other thing my be some fault with the brake servo, does it still make the sound when idling , but when you press hard on the brakes .

Also, could the whoosh be more a mix of air and water , perhaps you have a bad airlock in the cooling system, any work been done on it recently / just before the noise started ?

As for your oil and petrol , kind of difficult to judge from your description, my manual does about 12k in 12 months and the dipstick only goes from full to low, so it uses no more than 0.75l oil. What kind of mileage and amount of oil are you using ?

Same with petrol, can get an average of 40mpg, though know autos are a good bit less, plus what kind of driving do you do, short local journeys or like me a mix of motorway and town ?

[RubyOrchid]

Hi,

I haven't had any work done recently on the cooling system. There is an occasional rattle accompanying the whoosh noise so I will suggest to my mechanic that he checks the inlet manifolds, thanks!

Oil wise, I always do at least 13 miles per week day of traffic crawling (for work), and usually have a couple of outings at weekends which range between 20-100 miles, so between 105 and 265 miles per week. My husband is Scottish, so each quarter we travel up to Ayrshire, a good 435 miles there and another back, mostly motorway driving but some windy country roads towards the end! Also, being Scotland, we are doing a lot of driving whilst up there too, so my average annual mileage is about 15k.

Petrol wise the tank lasts anywhere between a week and a half and 2 weeks with the above mentioned driving excluding the Scottish trip which eats a tank and a half of petrol each way.

I have always been a toyota owner, having come from a toyota driving family, and have found them to be very reliable little cars. I started with my mums yaris, then had a silver corolla which got smashed to bits by an idiot van driver, and now this blue corolla. I hope that after this whoosh has been sorted, jack (yes I named him *hangs head ashamed*) will carry on and on! Certainly my Dads Carina made it to 175k miles and was 12 years old when she finally became too expensive to justify fixing! The garage that took her off my dad did cheap labour on her and continued to use her as a short term courtesy car for 2 years after that though, so I know these things can run and run!

Thanks for your input, very helpful!

[oldcodger]

Hi,

So it sounds like you are geting about 24mpg on a long run like the Scotland trip.

With a light load , say 2 up, I would get typically 42mpg, but with your auto box and if heavily loaded and with back seat passengers then 24 mpg could be true, though would have thought you could get better.

Same with oil, sounds like you are toppng up about every 1000miles or so, do you mean the dip stick goes dowen to the low mark and you top up to the full mark - if so then thats still less than whats said to be an oil burning problem, that is using more than 1 ltr per 1000 miles.

There was a known very heavy oil burning problem, and Toyota did fix them for free, but not now as the car is way too old eg 14 years and 70k+ on the clock.

Assume both the oil and petrol consumption, though a little vague on exact figures, have got a lot worse since you originally got it ?

[RubyOrchid]

When we go to Scotland, the car is loaded up with my husband and I, 2 dogs, 2 cats and a weeks worth of clothes/dog and cat stuff, so yes, it is fully loaded! Also, it being such a long journey we do not drive 'fuel efficiently' as such, as our aim is to get from a to b in as quick a time as safely possible!

With the oil, yes, it needs topping up from the low mark on the dipstick to the high mark every couple of months. This has always been the case with this particular car, however my silver one before, which was exactly the same model but a year older, needed topping up every 7-8 months, so this has been a surprise to me that this one is so much more thirsty on the oil. I am always checking for oil patches on my drive, but have never found any!

Would there be any difference between cars that are built for selling directly to the consumer and cars that are designed with minimum spec to be show room models? As the Silver Corolla had all the bells and whistles (for that age car) electric windows, key fob activated central locking, air con etc, as opposed to my blue one which was an ex show room model and has none of the aforementioned extras, only rear parking sensors (which in fairness are quite handy!)

Ellie

[oldcodger]

Hi,

If you have had the car for 3 years , driven 45k miles and still use the same amount of oil and passes the mot tests, then I would say no problem.

You are probably using 1ltr per 1,000 miles . so in context thats about 15ml or a tablespoonful of oil for your daily commute, though only 13 miles its probably equal to 2, 3 or even 4 times the mileage on an open road.

Nooo... such thing as showroom engines, and yes some engines do use more oil than others and yours is on the high size but as long as it doesn't suddenly get a lot worse, I'd live with it.

If you are cleverer than me (not difficult ) with the camera and uploading why don't you take a video/sound track of the strange noise in the engine bay and put it on an new post to catch other folks attention.

[RubyOrchid]

Great, I will take a video of it at the weekend and post to see if anyone has heard anything like it before.

Thanks