03 Corolla 1.4Vvti

[frankie406]

hi thinking of changing the avensis 1.8vvti due to oil problems!need to know if these oil problems are on all these engines??im trading in for 03 corolla 1.4 vvti has this the same problems or is it just on the 1.8?also is this corolla timing chain or belt? many thanks

[oldcodger]

Hi,

From what I have read in the forum it did affect Corolla engines up to around 2005

I similarly moved from the old 1.8 Avensis, but not for oil burning problems.

How much oil are you burning / miles done / age, and how do you know if it is the 'toyota fault' or not something like value guide seals etc ?

[frankie406]

thanks for reply oldcodger..the car is a 2003 new shape avensis with 109000 miles on it and i put in 4ltrs of oil 5w/30 fully synt.and got maybe 1400 miles on it.checked the other day and its on the low end of the stick...have now put in 10w/40 and goin to try that for awhile.

[oldcodger]

Hi,

Mine was a 2000 1.8 4AFE engine, had done 150K+ miles by the end.

Always used 10w/40 in - believe that was the recommended grade for it, used about 3/4 ltr per 10k miles.

Think your 2003 engine will be a different series, so not sure what was recommended for it.

I'm sure there are some posts on the oil burning problem in the Avensis forum.

Think you mean the 4 ltrs of oil is going from dipstick full to low in 1400 miles ? thats around a litre of oil, which is on the heavy side, think Toyota start seeing it as a problem when it does 1000miles or less per litre.

10W/40 might do the trick.

Might also be worth trying Toyota or some local garages for an idea of what the problem is.. if you otherwise like the Avensis it might be more economic to sort the problem rather than get another older car with unknown problems.

While the Corolla is a decent car, a bit smaller, its nippy to use and so far very reliable, given the choice of a between the Avensis and Corolla, for me it would be the Avensis if you were doing lots of load carrying or motorway miles, the Rolla if its all town work.