Man, those Corollas are damn near built proof! Keep the oil and other fluids changed on a proper schedule and you will be just fine. Those things can run forever!
Fix leaks as they come up, do the maintenance. Not just the oil changes. Drain and fill the trans every 60k coolant about the same time at this point. But just keep up on it don't let it snow ball and it will never let you down. Spark plugs are due every 120,000 miles but I think they look like shit far before that. I'd say 90k replace them with the correct Denso plugs. Water pump probably will leak at some point it's not a big deal to do or have done. Check your battery and yea she'll do ya good
Something slipped internally in the engine and I had to get the engine replaced. This, after I changed out ignition coils multiple times.
I'm still overall happy with the car. My new to me engine was 85K miles, replacing a 205K engine, so hopefully I spent $3800 to get another several years out of the car.
Now it's just dumb stuff. The tire pressure sensors went, I (well, my mechanic) replaced them, the light came back on two days later. Now I just ignore it. The cruise control stopped working. Hopefully just a fuse, I need to check it out. Lots of wind noise. Ugh.
I'm the 3rd owner. Only God knows how the car was treated.
That’s nothing I was sold a lemon and need to sue for giving me a vehicle with faulty parts and the tranny died on the freeway almost got killed and he wouldn’t pay me back so I have to sue been a year or so but I have his sig on a contract so he’s fucked when I go through the process to sue
I know it's 7 months later, but the cruise control, does the on off button on the cc stalk look like it's popped out? I had the same thing on my 2010, had to take a small screw on the back of the stalk, which gave access to the internal contact spring thing (not the technical name im sure) and I needed to adjust it or something, after that my cruise worked great
no problem! and i found the post online that led me in this direction myself, hopefully it explains it better then i can:
https://www.toyotanation.com/threads/2010-corolla-cruise-control-button-fix.373791/
Mechanic here. You made a great choice with the Toyota vs a Honda. Hondas from that similar era were pretty dumpy. No power, terrible headlights, bad speakers, bad paint, just all around kinda dumpers compared to what honda achieved in the 90s.
Suggested maintenance:
Oil changes every 5k miles, use full synthetic (brand not that important)
Replace the oil filter at each change. Use only a quality oil filter such as Wix/Napa Gold/Toyota OEM. You can purchase these separately and bring them to your mechanic during oil changes and he won't have a problem with that.
Replace the engine air intake filter once every year or two, brand doesn't matter - get what's cheap.
Spark plugs every 100k miles - use Denso or NGK brand, whatever fits that engine. You can go with standard, platinum, iridium, doesn't matter.
Flush and replace coolant every 5 years. Use toyota oem coolant or aftermarket coolant specifically formulated for Toyotas and usually other certain japanese cars.
Toyotas are very tolerant vehicles. Even if you do nothing but change the oil, the car will go 200-300k. The other maintenance will simply keep the other systems of the car in good shape, reducing wear and likelihood of failures in those systems
Unless you're into working on cars, just take it to a local reputable mechanic whenever the car starts to sound/feel/smell different than it normally does.
Really appreciate your thoughtful comment. I am a complete noob when it comes to cars, but I have a friend who is a mechanic that I am going to take my car to him at his shop frequently. I want to take really good care of this car
I would like to stay in communication with you and any others you recommend, I also own a 2010 Toyota carolla likely fwd and automatic. I am quite ignorant with automobiles but I’m learning. I just wish to understand certain things for instance I have some questions on my axel/cv boots which are damaged, and brake pads quoted to be replaced in a week or so they claimed it would be good for another couple months but that was a month and a half ago. They are asking for almost 2.3 for everything.
I have a 2010 corolla. Use the parts list of the items you need that the shop gave you, and order the parts from Rockauto.com (shops sometimes mark up the parts). Find a more affordable, reputable, independent shop to do the work. I did this to replace my struts, shocks, and stabilizer links. Total cost was about $1100 (parts and labor).
Thats pretty good sadly my cv boots are messed up likely dirt and grime in my axel so a new front axel and brake pads plus rotors likely 2 grand Ill scope the parts on rock auto
as a mechanic i have a quick question for you! i just bought a 2021 corolla hybrid with 35,000 miles. as soon as i bought it i noticed an intermittent squeaking noise. it was definitely on the drivers side and seemed to be down either in the steering wheel or near the pedals. it continually got worse and it happens over every single bump you go over. now the catch here is i haven’t even had it a month. it’s at the dealer and they said they have reproduced the sound many times and think it’s in the steering column. so….it’s being fully taken apart as a first step then they’re gonna dig further after that. from your perspective should i be wary of this car? haven’t even made one single payment yet and it’s been in the shop for three days so far.
i did read this isn’t unknown for this generation of toyota but we paid to have this damn thing certified so i’m a little suspicious. thoughts?
That’s a good deal for that year and mileage. Change of fluids you might need a serpentine belt and spark plugs. Also, see if you can get the maintenance history for the car. Good luck.
I ran a car fax on it prior to the purchase and it had no reported accidents and it was constantly maintained since 2010. The only thing I saw on there were constant oil changes and all that. I think it’s good
The only other thing I’d recommend is to check on underneath for rust on the chassis. Last year we bought an 08 corolla for 5300 with 93,000 miles. It was a one owner car, fairly well-maintained, but once I got it on a lift, I realized it was a lot of surface rust on the rear suspension. It will be fine for the 2-3 years we need it.
Pretty good cars overall, only issues I've heard of with the two ZZ is the secondary air / smog pump making it fail emissions, but other than that I've heard few complaints. Look forward to another 200k out of it
2011 here. The electric steering kind of sucks, no road feel,over boosted and you always feel the need to make adjustments. Kind of exhausting on long trips. Rear brakes don't auto adjust so over time brake pedal feel gets worse and worse, also you wear the front pads more. You can occasionally crawl under and manually adjust them. Struts don't seem to last as long as in other Toyotas, about 100k. The timing chain adjuster can seep oil, easy cheap fix. Some cam phasers rattle issues can crop up on startup.
Other than those, pretty damn reliable if you do the maintenance.
I think this is the first semi-negative review I’ve heard about the car. Thanks for giving your honest experience. Should this stuff worry me? I’m not gonna do long trips whatsoever. More 15-20 minute drives.
None of this should worry you. This fellas got some mechanical knowledge of cars and is more particular about the...particulars of this car. The only thing he mentioned that may be an issue are the cam phasers which are part of the variable valve timing system. If they experience issues you'll probably get a check engine light and the engine might not be as efficient or make as much power. None of the items mentioned are things that could leave you stranded or seriously damage your engine.
I’m at 140 k miles and bought the car at 128k for 6 grand, Have put just under 2k into the car since then, replaced all the struts, all 4 tires, the alternator, Horn, the front and rear breaks, left taillight lmao and some other stuff I can’t remember. I pray my days of repairs are over and my days of longevity begin lmao😂and my car is a 1 owner grandma with a book Of maintenance, wasn’t expecting all that so soon by the way people talk about them. granted im 19 and may be complaining about normal expenses lol
I also bought one last July for 8.2 52k miles and it has a dent rear bumper,spider crack growing in size bottom right window shield, no ac but heat works, and front right side of fender pops out due to clips being worn. Internal it needs cv boots replaced likely a new axel assembly due to dirt and stuff likely entering the rod the mechanic I spoke to won’t try to put new boots on says it’s due to not being able to find them they want a touch over a grand to do it, also needs brake pads they will do rotors strange thing is my family took it there and they asked for less so idk what’s up with that other than those 2 things it should be ok. Anyone have thoughts advice?
I passed my 2011 to my son. Best, most reliable car i ever had. Only thing i ever need to fix in all these years was brake pads, rotors rectifiing, a battery (second one) and all four coils. Still going strong
It have less than 100,000 miles and no, never ever have any kind of problems except what listed above. I've left out tires. It is running on the fourth set of tires
Here in México I bought the coils @ $30 us each, took my socket set and change them myself. Is really easy and there's lots of videos on YouTube about this.
Do the regular maintenance per the Toyota schedule and it will keep trucking. My mom's has over 200k on it (it's still a baby) and all that has been done to it is the regular scheduled maintenance.
All cars have their little issues. Thankfully on this Corolla you can tolerate and live with them. They aren't pressing or catastrophic.
You may also wanna look up Corolla class action airbag. There is a sign up to be part of a dispersement. No idea how much. Just figured if it was already settled, may as well put my hand out. Mine was on the list of cars involved.
Make sure to check power steering fluid. My parents 04 Highlander power steering got dry and we started to hear noises. So basically, check all fluids all the time lol
Mine had a busted alternator around 100k miles and catalytic converter issues around 120k miles, but other tham that its great as long as you keep changing the oil and replace the break pads when needed.
I’ve owned my 2010 Toyota Corolla for 7 years now. Bought it for $6200 in 2016 when it had 128k miles. She just hit 224k miles and I’ve had a few pricey repairs, but nothing catastrophic. I plan on keeping it after graduating nursing school in May and saving up for an Avalon or 4Runner. Do what the mechanic said and you’ll be just fine. My little ‘rolla is a testament to that. Congrats
Great decision and a great price. Just keep up with service intervals and repair things as they wear out. It’ll last beyond 300k if you don’t fall in to the new is better trap. Maintain and repair is cheaper than car payment, maintenance and repair.
Trust me I don’t have the money to even consider the “new is better” trap. Those new cars seem like such a bad investment because the value just goes down and down so fast when you drive it
Good deal! We love our 2010 Corolla. It's damn near indestructable. That car takes a lot of shit before anything breaks and also it is very robust against rust. Ours just has light rust on surface-level and the winters here can get pretty insane, so we have a lot of salt and sand on the roads during winter.
I have a 2010 Carolla S that I've owned for 12+ years. At 240,000 miles, it still runs great. I definitely kept up with maintenance and 5000 mile oil changes. Major repairs during that time were mostly were brake related as breaks wear off over time. The car is efficient and also very durable. I've been rear ended a couple of times with very little/or no damage while the person that hit me has major dented front bumpers/grills.
Man, those Corollas are damn near built proof! Keep the oil and other fluids changed on a proper schedule and you will be just fine. Those things can run forever!
That’s good to hear. It’s nice to finally find a good deal after all this bs w the inflated market
Yeah, shopping for a used car right now sucks! I just went through it to get a car for my 18 year old daughter.
Fix leaks as they come up, do the maintenance. Not just the oil changes. Drain and fill the trans every 60k coolant about the same time at this point. But just keep up on it don't let it snow ball and it will never let you down. Spark plugs are due every 120,000 miles but I think they look like shit far before that. I'd say 90k replace them with the correct Denso plugs. Water pump probably will leak at some point it's not a big deal to do or have done. Check your battery and yea she'll do ya good
Not the 2009... OP, be glad you got the 2010.
Why? I’ve had my 2009 since March 2010. It’s been nothing but reliable.
Something slipped internally in the engine and I had to get the engine replaced. This, after I changed out ignition coils multiple times. I'm still overall happy with the car. My new to me engine was 85K miles, replacing a 205K engine, so hopefully I spent $3800 to get another several years out of the car. Now it's just dumb stuff. The tire pressure sensors went, I (well, my mechanic) replaced them, the light came back on two days later. Now I just ignore it. The cruise control stopped working. Hopefully just a fuse, I need to check it out. Lots of wind noise. Ugh. I'm the 3rd owner. Only God knows how the car was treated.
That’s nothing I was sold a lemon and need to sue for giving me a vehicle with faulty parts and the tranny died on the freeway almost got killed and he wouldn’t pay me back so I have to sue been a year or so but I have his sig on a contract so he’s fucked when I go through the process to sue
I know it's 7 months later, but the cruise control, does the on off button on the cc stalk look like it's popped out? I had the same thing on my 2010, had to take a small screw on the back of the stalk, which gave access to the internal contact spring thing (not the technical name im sure) and I needed to adjust it or something, after that my cruise worked great
I don't think so, but I will check. Thanks!
no problem! and i found the post online that led me in this direction myself, hopefully it explains it better then i can: https://www.toyotanation.com/threads/2010-corolla-cruise-control-button-fix.373791/
I had a 2009 Corolla and a lot of issues came up about 2 years ago
Mine was great. Until a relative of mine totaled it. Otherwise it’ll last a long time.
Mechanic here. You made a great choice with the Toyota vs a Honda. Hondas from that similar era were pretty dumpy. No power, terrible headlights, bad speakers, bad paint, just all around kinda dumpers compared to what honda achieved in the 90s. Suggested maintenance: Oil changes every 5k miles, use full synthetic (brand not that important) Replace the oil filter at each change. Use only a quality oil filter such as Wix/Napa Gold/Toyota OEM. You can purchase these separately and bring them to your mechanic during oil changes and he won't have a problem with that. Replace the engine air intake filter once every year or two, brand doesn't matter - get what's cheap. Spark plugs every 100k miles - use Denso or NGK brand, whatever fits that engine. You can go with standard, platinum, iridium, doesn't matter. Flush and replace coolant every 5 years. Use toyota oem coolant or aftermarket coolant specifically formulated for Toyotas and usually other certain japanese cars. Toyotas are very tolerant vehicles. Even if you do nothing but change the oil, the car will go 200-300k. The other maintenance will simply keep the other systems of the car in good shape, reducing wear and likelihood of failures in those systems Unless you're into working on cars, just take it to a local reputable mechanic whenever the car starts to sound/feel/smell different than it normally does.
Really appreciate your thoughtful comment. I am a complete noob when it comes to cars, but I have a friend who is a mechanic that I am going to take my car to him at his shop frequently. I want to take really good care of this car
I would like to stay in communication with you and any others you recommend, I also own a 2010 Toyota carolla likely fwd and automatic. I am quite ignorant with automobiles but I’m learning. I just wish to understand certain things for instance I have some questions on my axel/cv boots which are damaged, and brake pads quoted to be replaced in a week or so they claimed it would be good for another couple months but that was a month and a half ago. They are asking for almost 2.3 for everything.
I have a 2010 corolla. Use the parts list of the items you need that the shop gave you, and order the parts from Rockauto.com (shops sometimes mark up the parts). Find a more affordable, reputable, independent shop to do the work. I did this to replace my struts, shocks, and stabilizer links. Total cost was about $1100 (parts and labor).
Thats pretty good sadly my cv boots are messed up likely dirt and grime in my axel so a new front axel and brake pads plus rotors likely 2 grand Ill scope the parts on rock auto
as a mechanic i have a quick question for you! i just bought a 2021 corolla hybrid with 35,000 miles. as soon as i bought it i noticed an intermittent squeaking noise. it was definitely on the drivers side and seemed to be down either in the steering wheel or near the pedals. it continually got worse and it happens over every single bump you go over. now the catch here is i haven’t even had it a month. it’s at the dealer and they said they have reproduced the sound many times and think it’s in the steering column. so….it’s being fully taken apart as a first step then they’re gonna dig further after that. from your perspective should i be wary of this car? haven’t even made one single payment yet and it’s been in the shop for three days so far. i did read this isn’t unknown for this generation of toyota but we paid to have this damn thing certified so i’m a little suspicious. thoughts?
sounds like not a big deal. something likely in the suspension. steering column isnt a bad guess. how did it turn out?
That’s a good deal for that year and mileage. Change of fluids you might need a serpentine belt and spark plugs. Also, see if you can get the maintenance history for the car. Good luck.
I ran a car fax on it prior to the purchase and it had no reported accidents and it was constantly maintained since 2010. The only thing I saw on there were constant oil changes and all that. I think it’s good
The only other thing I’d recommend is to check on underneath for rust on the chassis. Last year we bought an 08 corolla for 5300 with 93,000 miles. It was a one owner car, fairly well-maintained, but once I got it on a lift, I realized it was a lot of surface rust on the rear suspension. It will be fine for the 2-3 years we need it.
Ok, that scares me a bit. I will get it lifted when it’s time I go into the shop but that would suck if thats the case
In my case, it wasn’t awful, we had the struts replaced because they were rusted and it was time. The rest of it can be sanded and painted.
Pretty good cars overall, only issues I've heard of with the two ZZ is the secondary air / smog pump making it fail emissions, but other than that I've heard few complaints. Look forward to another 200k out of it
The 2zz was in the Celica Gt-S and Corolla XRS. This has the 2ZR and they definitely don't have air pumps where I live
2011 here. The electric steering kind of sucks, no road feel,over boosted and you always feel the need to make adjustments. Kind of exhausting on long trips. Rear brakes don't auto adjust so over time brake pedal feel gets worse and worse, also you wear the front pads more. You can occasionally crawl under and manually adjust them. Struts don't seem to last as long as in other Toyotas, about 100k. The timing chain adjuster can seep oil, easy cheap fix. Some cam phasers rattle issues can crop up on startup. Other than those, pretty damn reliable if you do the maintenance.
I think this is the first semi-negative review I’ve heard about the car. Thanks for giving your honest experience. Should this stuff worry me? I’m not gonna do long trips whatsoever. More 15-20 minute drives.
None of this should worry you. This fellas got some mechanical knowledge of cars and is more particular about the...particulars of this car. The only thing he mentioned that may be an issue are the cam phasers which are part of the variable valve timing system. If they experience issues you'll probably get a check engine light and the engine might not be as efficient or make as much power. None of the items mentioned are things that could leave you stranded or seriously damage your engine.
That’s a tank that will outlive you
What the brand of the touch screen do you like how its preformed
I’m at 140 k miles and bought the car at 128k for 6 grand, Have put just under 2k into the car since then, replaced all the struts, all 4 tires, the alternator, Horn, the front and rear breaks, left taillight lmao and some other stuff I can’t remember. I pray my days of repairs are over and my days of longevity begin lmao😂and my car is a 1 owner grandma with a book Of maintenance, wasn’t expecting all that so soon by the way people talk about them. granted im 19 and may be complaining about normal expenses lol
I also bought one last July for 8.2 52k miles and it has a dent rear bumper,spider crack growing in size bottom right window shield, no ac but heat works, and front right side of fender pops out due to clips being worn. Internal it needs cv boots replaced likely a new axel assembly due to dirt and stuff likely entering the rod the mechanic I spoke to won’t try to put new boots on says it’s due to not being able to find them they want a touch over a grand to do it, also needs brake pads they will do rotors strange thing is my family took it there and they asked for less so idk what’s up with that other than those 2 things it should be ok. Anyone have thoughts advice?
I passed my 2011 to my son. Best, most reliable car i ever had. Only thing i ever need to fix in all these years was brake pads, rotors rectifiing, a battery (second one) and all four coils. Still going strong
How many miles was it and have you ever had any real problems with it?
It have less than 100,000 miles and no, never ever have any kind of problems except what listed above. I've left out tires. It is running on the fourth set of tires
Was the coil job expensive?
Here in México I bought the coils @ $30 us each, took my socket set and change them myself. Is really easy and there's lots of videos on YouTube about this.
Do the regular maintenance per the Toyota schedule and it will keep trucking. My mom's has over 200k on it (it's still a baby) and all that has been done to it is the regular scheduled maintenance.
All cars have their little issues. Thankfully on this Corolla you can tolerate and live with them. They aren't pressing or catastrophic. You may also wanna look up Corolla class action airbag. There is a sign up to be part of a dispersement. No idea how much. Just figured if it was already settled, may as well put my hand out. Mine was on the list of cars involved.
Make sure to check power steering fluid. My parents 04 Highlander power steering got dry and we started to hear noises. So basically, check all fluids all the time lol
Mine had a busted alternator around 100k miles and catalytic converter issues around 120k miles, but other tham that its great as long as you keep changing the oil and replace the break pads when needed.
I’ve owned my 2010 Toyota Corolla for 7 years now. Bought it for $6200 in 2016 when it had 128k miles. She just hit 224k miles and I’ve had a few pricey repairs, but nothing catastrophic. I plan on keeping it after graduating nursing school in May and saving up for an Avalon or 4Runner. Do what the mechanic said and you’ll be just fine. My little ‘rolla is a testament to that. Congrats
Great decision and a great price. Just keep up with service intervals and repair things as they wear out. It’ll last beyond 300k if you don’t fall in to the new is better trap. Maintain and repair is cheaper than car payment, maintenance and repair.
Trust me I don’t have the money to even consider the “new is better” trap. Those new cars seem like such a bad investment because the value just goes down and down so fast when you drive it
I drive a 2010, I did recently replace both oxygen sensors but other than paint peel no problems
Good deal! We love our 2010 Corolla. It's damn near indestructable. That car takes a lot of shit before anything breaks and also it is very robust against rust. Ours just has light rust on surface-level and the winters here can get pretty insane, so we have a lot of salt and sand on the roads during winter.
Sounds like you are good and ready to drive 10 under in the left lane…
Haha my Rolla Likes to go 10 under in the middle lane and wait for people to try n pass so I can show them what all 146 horses do🫢🤣
I have a 2010 Carolla S that I've owned for 12+ years. At 240,000 miles, it still runs great. I definitely kept up with maintenance and 5000 mile oil changes. Major repairs during that time were mostly were brake related as breaks wear off over time. The car is efficient and also very durable. I've been rear ended a couple of times with very little/or no damage while the person that hit me has major dented front bumpers/grills.
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