mrfixer

I spend about half of each year living and working in Thailand. As anyone who has visited Thailand will know, most taxis used here are locally-built Toyota Corolla Altis. From 2001-2010 the Thai Corolla Altis used the 1ZZFE and 3ZZFE (3ZZFE is very similar to 1ZZFE but with shorter stroke giving 1.6L capacity). Many of the 1.8's were fitted with the U341E automatic transmission. The vast majority are converted to run on gas (LPG, or these days CNG) - its cleaner and a lot cheaper than petrol. In 2010 there were about 90000 taxis registered in Bangkok - nearly all being Corolla Altis. Around 70000 on the road at any time! Normally they are run to about 600 000km - around 7-8 years old. They seem to be incredibly reliable and over the years I have probably only seen a couple that have broken down. I've chatted with many drivers and never heard even one complain about the car. Given the heat and harsh driving conditions these models seem to have been astonishingly reliable! Parts are extremely easy to get and pretty cheap. E.g. 1ZZ coil pack (Denso) is £20. An Aisin radiator (tropical spec. - double UK thickness) is £40. All the mechanics know the cars backwards. There's a huge area not far from Bangkok international airport where secondhand parts are available - literally hundreds of sellers. A good used 1ZZ engine is about £200 and an auto transmission about £250. Rebuilt with new parts is about double the price. Fitting will cost about £50. Subsequently Toyota introduced newer Altis models with 2ZR and then 2NR engines and CVT. The CVTs don't have such a good reputation as the older style autos. There are now about 140 000 taxis in Bangkok...along with about 10 million private cars (eight times the estimated road capacity...).

A light metallic rattle under load suggests detonation/pre-ignition to me, or possibly a loose exhaust heatshield.

People do get very hung up over oil grades.... The reason 0W20 oils have become commonplace is that they absorb less energy within the engine than a heavier grade like a 5W30. This results in slightly better fuel economy and low CO2 emissions. Obviously manufacturers want to show the best economy and lowest emissions during EU certification. Regulations require that the manufacturer 'recommends' the same oil to the customer as was used during certification. Therefore Toyota must recommend 0W20. Mechanically there is no reason you cannot use a 5W30. Its only a few percent difference in operating viscosity and would make a couple of percent difference on fuel economy.

I have found that the Yatour YTM-TOY2 adapter plugs into the Toyota B9010 Nav unit and works perfectly with it. Oddly enough Yatour themselves say that the adapter DOES NOT work with the B9010 !

Most likely air blend flap stuck or servo motor not moving.

Probably slightly poor paintwork from the factory. We've just sold a GT86 that had some lacquer coming off near a rear light - and pretty sure its original paint. Modern paint is not a patch on the old stuff. Get a can of acrylic car lacquer off eBay. Flat the area with some very fine wet and dry (to lose the edge). Then dust over with your lacquer. Wait for a warmish day.

There EU regs don't make provision for an LED 'bulb' in an enclosure designed for halogen bulbs. Therefore you will not find an E-marked LED conversion 'bulb'. LEDs can cause problems when used in enclosures designed for halogen bulbs because the enclosure optics are designed to work with a point source of light. LED conversion bulbs are not point sources and therefore can give rise to odd beam patterns and scattering. However, the MoT inspector will likely pass the car IF he finds the alignment and pattern acceptable - its a subjective assessment. According to the letter of the law the light uniy would still be illegal though...

Some post-2015 Auris had LEDs... We recently sold a GT86.. was one we had taken in P/X against a BMW. On prepping the car we found one of the LED headlights had failed. Possibly due to a tiny crack in the housing. Over £900 from Toyota. That was the profit gone...

Something like this....https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fp%2F650087181

Strongly advise looking at live data so you can see what is going on. If you a laptop then get hold of Toyota Techstream and a clone lead.

P0191 indicates an unexpected signal from the fuel rail pressure sensor. This is a sensor which is installed in the fuel rail on the engine. The sensor receives a 5V power supply voltage from the engine control unit (ECU). It also has a ground connection. There is an output signal to the ECU. An output of 0.5V = 0psi pressure and 4.5V = about 2000psi pressure. You need the Toyota wiring diagram. Check the 5V supply, the ground and the output signal. Check the wires and connections. If the wiring is OK it is most likely that the sensor has failed. Replace it.

I see a bit of corona stain on one plug - its just oil particles attracted onto the porcelain by the HT. No problem. Mayo probably from short runs. Don't worry if not using water..

The fan draws in excess of 10A which means it is a considerable electrical load. The engine ECU senses the load and increases the engine idle speed to increase the generator output and ensure that the battery is not discharged.

Increasing the performance in this way obviously imposes considerable additional loads on the engine, turbo, clutch and transmission components. You are making everything work harder. IMHO doing this to a 15 year old car with 160k miles is tempting fate.... just be glad its still running and can get you from A to B. One of my cars is a 20 year old Camry with 400k km - I'm thankful that it still runs great and drive it very gently.

I was in the motor trade for a long time - buy/sell/repair cars. Retired now but still a passive partner in a used car and repair business. Don't like TT's. We always found used TT's to be a bag of trouble. The GT86 is not really a Toyota - its a Subaru. Therefore avoid the autos... Post 2014 are best (there were some engine mods). Occasional head gaskets like all Subarus. Mid range torque is a bit weak but can be mapped out. Have to rev them a bit when pulling off and the clutch pedal bites high. Car is pretty solid otherwise. To get at the plugs, raise the car. Take out steering rack bolts. Loosen off subframe bolts on one side and pry down subframe a couple of inches. You can then access plugs easily with long extension through the gap. Repeat other side.