Toyota Reliability?

January 12, 2015

I have a 2006 Corolla E12 (?) 1600 colour collection.

So at only 8 years old, and just 74k miles on the clock, a headlamp bulb has blown! I am outraged at this; from a car maker that claims to be reliable. This is the first thing that has gone wrong with this car in the 5 years I have owned it, and it better be the last or Toyota will be getting a strongly worded letter of complaint.

But seriously .... I just cannot believe that this is the first bulb to have blown! Apart from normal service items, I think this is the first part I have had to replace. Hope I am not tempting fate here. So much more reliable than any of the number of VWs I have owned.

January 12, 2015

Shocking, terrible, send an Email to the Presidente at Totota Japan :mad2:

What I have done is replace the dipped beams with some Osram Nightbreaker bulbs, they really do improve things dramatically. though there is a trade off in their life, mine just blew last month after about 3 years use.

Bit of a pain to do, but use a mirror to see how to release the wire clip aroun the bulb.

January 12, 2015

Osram Night breaker Unlimited +110% in H7 fitment (which I think is the figment for the Corolla - but check) quite cheap at Amazon currently:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/BREAKER-UNLIMITED-halogen-headlamp-64210NBU-HCB/dp/B00EPLCPRG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421059894&sr=8-1&keywords=h7+upgrade+bulbs

http://www.amazon.co.uk/BREAKER-UNLIMITED-halogen-headlamp-64210NBU-02B/dp/B00FQ8AT6Q/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1421059894&sr=8-2&keywords=h7+upgrade+bulbs

January 12, 2015

Thanks for the bulb recommendations, but I have already fitted a pair of Bosch bulbs. Apart from having to remove the Battery to get at the nearside bulb, and a bit of skinned knuckles, it wasn't too bad. I replaced them as a pair just to err on the side of caution, and there was an offer on for buying the pair. I don't expect to have to do it again for another 8 years!

January 13, 2015

I would definitely send a letter or email. If you have twitter it might be worth trying to contact them on there first to try and get the best person to contact.