[vigsom]

Introduction

This is to share with you my roller coaster experience with my first automatic car – a 2003 Corolla H4 in a rare blue colour.

This car was quite special in its own ways:

1. a massive upgrade from my Versa

2. my first Toyota – considered a premium brand in India then

3. my first car with all wheel disc brakes, airbags, hydraulic power steering, leather upholstery, Automatic Climate Control, power folding and adjustable mirrors, double barrel headlamps, defogger, immobiliser

4. my first car in a shade other than white

In stark contrast to the Versa, this was the car that I held for the shortest time. Although a short ownership period, it was one helluva experience.

Read on.

Acknowledgement

In owning and maintaining the Corolla, I have to specifically thank

1. Late Chacha’s team of Arun and Ravi

2. my car transformation specialist friend, Joby, for helping me acquire the car in the first place and then sprucing the car up

Why did I want to move from a trouble-free Versa that I had nurtured with so much care?

I’d narrated the story of my 2003 Maruti Versa to you all here (Review: 2003 Maruti Versa – The car that never tires!)

Flashback to Oct 2010

The Versa was the vehicle that I’d held for over 6 years, and was doing its duty without complaints.

A lot of time and effort went into transforming the vehicle from a bland box to a hot star.

However, as they say, all good things have to come to an end and remain sweet memories; and that is precisely what happened with the Versa.

Sometime in 2009, I was smitten by the Corolla for its stately looks, and well appointed interiors save the wood grain console.

There were four manual transmission Corollas in our company being used by senior executives – one 2003 H2 Pearl White , two 2005 H2 Pearl whites, and one 2007 H2 Champagne Mica.

Every time I saw these drive by, they’d make me feel like owning one some day.

And that is how I was bitten by the upgrade bug.

My usage from 1998 averaged no more than 6,000 kms a year, therefore it made no sense going in for a brand new car; in any case, maintaining used cars was my USP.

While buying a car, I have seldom considered options among several brands/models.

I zero in on one model, study the target car carefully, evaluate if it would work for me, and then, like Arjun, just focus on the target.

This time, my target was a used Corolla.

[vigsom]

Studying the Corolla and Fixing a Budget

Based on my experiences, observations and memory, I have tried to create a snapshot of the key differences among the variants of the 2003-08 Corollas.

You will see that the H2 to H5 are the better variants. The H1, with all safety features of the H2-H5, misses out on the style part with basic interiors and a manual AC.



The interiors of the H1 are bland, as can be seen from the sample images attached.

Interior of a H1 Corolla


interior of a H2 Corolla


Small yet significant things about the 2002-2008 Corollas

The Nice

• Dual Airbags standard on H1 to H5 variants

• Disc brakes on all wheels (ventilated front discs and solid rear discs)

• ABS on all variants on Jan 2005 and later Corollas

• the 1794cc bullet-proof 1ZZ-FE engine with 125PS on tap

• Power windows on all four doors

• 60:40 spilt folding rear seats on the H2 to H5 variants

• 6-spoke alloy wheels on all variants from Dec 2002 to Aug 2005

• all Toyotas come with an Organic Acid Technology red coolant (now pink since 2016), which has an initial drain interval of 1,60,000km and subsequent drain intervals of 80,000km

• The automatic transmission fluid need not be replaced for life.

The word “life” here can be debated but I believe it is forever (I later discovered that the Ford Endeavour and the Maruti automatics also came with an ATF replacement interval of 1,65,000km or 11 years).

Yes, dusty driving conditions, constant stop and go in crowded cities, and other such severe driving conditions can alter the fluid drain interval

• very high quality rubber components, wiring, switches. The white lettering on the switches would remain intact. The only lettering that would normally fade away was on the ORVM power retractor switch

• most electricals were from Denso – virtually indestructible

• Chrome boot garnish, chrome inner and outer door handles on the H2 to H5 variants.

• rear sunshade on H4 and H5 variants from 2004

The Aug 2005 facelift came additionally with

• 10 spoke alloys, LED tail lamps, and a printed antenna, better headlamp and wiper stalks across all variants

• 6MP3 changer, lumbar support for the driver (H2 to H5 variants)

• auto headlights, steering controls, wood finish steering, perforated leather seats on H4 and H5 variants

There was also a limited edition H6 variant introduced in 2006 and 2007 briefly which had fabric seats with most features of the H5 plus side skirts along the running board.

The Not-So-Nice

• The stock Potenza RE88 tyres were the worst one could think of in a car of this class

• Dec 2002 - Jan 2005: no ABS (ABS became standard only on all variants post Jan2005)

• Dec 2002 - Jan 2005: no headlamp leveller (this became standard only on the Jan2005 and later Corollas)

• Dec 2002 – Aug 2005: no cabin air filter or even a fine mesh

• Aug 2005 facelift : H1,H2 and H3 got only a fine mesh (H4 and H5 got a proper cabin filter)

This is why evaporator coils on 2002-05 Corollas would get fouled up fast, necessitating opening up of the dashboard for evaporator coil service.

• The lid of the compartment just below the AC controls would go loose and remain open if the center console were opened without taking due care.

Reason : the small spring would fly off the small stopper. This, in my view, was the only badly designed bit inside the Corolla

Loose lid on the center compartment


I have also seen Corollas with the lid of the center compartment taken off. This looked ugly, in my view.

Center compartment lid taken off


• Dec 2002-Aug 2005 : The orange-ish wood grain finish was quite an eyesore; in my view the dark wood grain finish on the facelift Aug2005 and later Corollas was better looking

The orange-ish wood grain finish on the Dec2002 to Jul2005 Corolla


The dark wood grain finish on the Aug 2005 facelift Corolla



• The HE(Executive?) variant introduced in the face-lifted version was one horrible looking car with those bad looking steel wheels with wheel caps. This variant got the ABS but no airbags.

The Corolla HE



Steering and center console on the 2006-08 HE


The only good looking part in the interior of the HE and H1 was the instrument cluster - in my view, this looked better than the silver dials of the H2-H5.

Instrument Console on the HE/H1


Based on a study of the above variants, I then set out hunting for a Corolla with the following considerations:

1. pre-facelift Corolla, preferably 2005 model H2 variant
2. budget of INR 5 lacs

I had also, in the meanwhile, done a quick check on typical prices of spare parts for the Corolla just to prepare myself for ownership costs.

Spare parts prices from my file


So, that’s how I set the ball rolling to get a used Corolla !!

[vigsom]

The Hunt for a Corolla

Because of my 6 years+ with the Versa, I had practically lost touch with the used car market in Surat.

I’ve said this with the Versa, and with the Esteem – that the same formula need not work always when it came to hunting for a used car.

Nevertheless, I attempted the following “search engines”:

1. newspaper ads – no luck
2. team bhp classifieds – no luck
3. clubs – no Corollas seen
4. asking a few people – no luck

One executive in our company was looking to sell a 2005 H2 Pearl White Corolla but I knew that the car was battered in the 2006 floods, hence gave that option a miss.

I then turned to dealers and got to see the following:

1. 2003 H4 Blue automatic done 67,000km– this was a dealer car that had come for an overcoat job to Joby’s workshop.

I wasn’t impressed with this example. However, since it was the first Corolla I could see at ease with nobody snooping over me, I went about building some data points about a Corolla to help me in my search.

2. 2004 H1 with CNG – 70,000 kms on the odo - assessed this purely for comparison. The dealer quoted 4.5 lacs but this was negotiable.

3. 2004 H2 Black, but registered in a nearby town – 67,000 kms on the odo , good car overall but had an XYG make front windscreen and rear windscreen- dealer quoted 4 lacs but this was negotiable.

4. 2005 H5 with ABS - one look at the inside and I could tell it was affected in the 2006 floods-the Instrument console was a H1's (the plane jade console minus the silver finish) and the seat bottom metal was all well painted to mask corrosion as a result of flood.

The dealer quoted 5.01 lacs , but I just took a look to build on my database.

5. 2004 H2 White-Perfect condition with 1,50,000km on the odo. This would have been perfect for me but the owner wasn't interested in selling. So I used it as a benchmark.

6. 2007 H5- with some 60,000km on the odo. Perfect again but this was over my budget at 6.75 lacs.

I built all my observations on examples # 2 to 6 into my own database.

I had, by then, assessed the local market w.r.t availability of Corollas, and drawn a blank; and that is when I decided to study example no.1 viz. the blue 2003 H4 automatic Corolla again.

Since I had never ever evaluated or used an automatic car, except riding in some of them overseas, I obtained feedback from:

1. a few old members of the forum on the positives and negatives of an automatic and,
2. my cousin in Chennai who then had a 2004 H4 automatic that had done close to 1,00,000km.

Here are a few observations that I had made about the blue 2003 H4 Automatic in comparison to the other Corollas that I had seen this far.

The Good

• Mar-2003 registered, from the first lot of Corollas

• rare metallic blue colour that was offered on the Corolla only in 2003

• single owner, comprehensive insurance

• negligible corrosion

• non-flooded

• structurally sound

• no signs of accident

• healthy engine- the engine note was clean plus I used a torch to look all the way down the engine through the oil filler port – the engine was quite clean and minus any sludge indicating that oil changes had been done in time

• Transmission oil dipstick showed oil at the COLD mark and was clean

• original glass all around except the front windscreen that had been replaced in 2010 with an original

• Michelin Primacy LC tyres of Week 2210

• steering boots and driveshaft boots in decent shape

• all four wheels' brake pads with a lot of life left

• K&N Air Filter

• rear seats were in pristine condition

• all door inserts were in very good condition

• two sets of horns – stock Denso and Hella Supertone Red Grills

The Bad

• leather on the front passenger seat was cracked at the portion where the thigh contacts the seat

• leather on the driver seat horizontal and vertical corners were chaffed

• only one transponder key

• the TOYOTA and the G monograms were missing

• three of the four wheel hub ornaments (chrome center caps) missing

• the plastic bar below the glove box was cut at one point – made me believe that there was an attempt to remove the evaporator coil without taking the dashboard apart. It is possible to remove the evaporator coil on the old Accord this way

• the metal shield under the engine wasn’t available. Some lazy mechanic must have not refitted it after an oil change.

• there was this horrible red marker than was drawn approx. 4 inches above the doors to give the car a “sporty” look – tastelessly done, in my view

• one of the fog lamps had a damaged reflector

• the alloy wheels had been painted partly in the body colour – again, to everyone, his taste.

The Test Ride

I hadn’t driven an automatic car ever, so asked Joby to drive the car, with me in the co-driver seat.

This Corolla came with a very robust 4-speed torque converter automatic transmission.

The gear lever could be slotted in 2 and L as well to limit the gears to no.2 and no.1 respectively - a useful feature when driving on steep inclines.



This transmission was old school with an O/D(Overdrive off) button. When pressed, the transmission would limit the gear to no.3 when the gear lever was slotted in D.

The O/D Button - Sample image


The O/D button, when pressed, would trigger an O/D OFF light on the console. The instrument console featured an old school display, indicating which gear the car was in – this was in stark contrast to the digital displays of today.

Corolla Automatic Instrument Cluster with O/D Off Warning


I knew that some automatics were notorious for their jerky gear shifts and that is precisely what I looked out for when the car was being driven.

There were no abnormalities noticed except

1. some minor rattles that were audible (the car’s door panels had been taken off since she was being prepped for an overcoat), and

2. a minor whine from the transmission at speeds over 70kmph

I had also taken a look at the papers and found them all in order.

As always, I based my assessment of this Corolla on its As-Is state without looking at its service history.

Since I was principally okay with the car, I asked Joby to check with the seller on his expected price.

When the seller was contacted, pat came the reply that he wasn’t interested in selling the car midway through the overcoat job.

That led me back to square one and I, thus, suspended my search for a Corolla since I had exhausted all my search options by then.

I wasn’t dejected, but, it was a little disappointing that things weren’t moving forward.

The blue Corolla , had, in the meanwhile started getting prepared for the overcoat job with Glasurit automotive finish chosen as the brand of paint.

[vigsom]

Twist in the tale

A few days later, at approx. 8:30pm, I got a call from Joby telling me that the seller was open to sell the car if I were to discuss and seal the deal the same night.

Maybe the seller had another car in sight, wanted to buy that off and needed the money? Not sure. All this was just before Diwali.

I swung into action, told Joby I would pick him up at 9:30pm, and we would go to the dealer’s residence to discuss and finalise.

That was the first time I saw the seller – a rustic dealer, at his residence.

He was there, seated on the porch like a Seth.

I was asked if I would have tea and I said water would do. The seller beckoned out to his better half, “Ae, thodu pani aap nee” (give us some water). And that is when I found a novel way of water being served.

She was on the first floor of their house and down comes a bucket tied to a rope, with three glasses and a bottle of water in it. Now, that is what you’d call fulfilling the purpose with least effort !!!

The bottle of water and the glasses were taken out, and then the bucket went up.

There were the usual back and forth discussions and the deal was finally sealed for INR 3.4 lacs for the car in its As-Is state and that I would pay for the overcoat job.

Paid the seller INR 25k as token advance and gave the balance minus 20k two days later.

The 20k was held back because there was a bank loan on the car that had been cleared (had a copy of the challan), but the bank NOC was required. The bank was closing for Diwali and hence the delay in getting the NOC.

So, the same car that didn’t impress me initially made me look at her again and again before the bond was firmed.

Here are some copies of the old paper RC that I have preserved




Acclimatizing to an Automatic Car

Two challenges now:

1. getting used to a sedan after spending six years+ driving an MUV.
2. getting used to an Automatic car

Before the rest of the restoration was to start, I spent some time acclimatizing myself to driving the automatic Corolla.

Trust me, if one hasn’t driven an automatic before, one can’t just hop in and drive any automatic the first time.

It took my feet a while to understand the new normal.”Hey, Left foot, you know what, why don’t you just stay put?”, was what the brain was saying.

I had to program myself to keep my left foot idle, press the brake, slot the car in D, release the brake, and then press the gas pedal to start accelerating.

I was able to come up to speed in about 2 kms of driving, post which I never had an issue with toggling between the manual Versa and the automatic Corolla.

Restoration and Delivery

Since the car was officially mine, I took the decision to go ahead and give it the original look

The following jobs were undertaken at Joby’s:

1. taking the wheels and tyres off to give the alloy wheels a fresh finish

Wheel before re-finish


Wheel after re-finish


2. overcoat using Glasurit automotive finish to match the original paint formulation (the name plate in the engine bay carries the paint code as well)

3. canary yellow solid colour on the calipers


4. interior cleaning

5. painting the grille dark metallic brown



6. removing the dark sun film

7. installing new headlamps of DEPO make (the old headlamps had started cracking)

8. did not install new fog lamps; instead, had the old fog lamps painted bright silver since I was contemplating installing LED strips on them.

9. replacing engine oil with Castrol Magnatec 10W40 with a new oil filter. I’ll take a while to talk on the Oil filter.

Those days, Toyota spares weren’t available in the aftermarket. The only oil filter available locally was made by A-Brain, priced at 120 bucks.

I wasn’t sure if this filter would be ok but examined it thoroughly, and found it better made than Purolators or Elofics. The finish, density of filter element was all found to be good, hence I decided to go ahead.

On the eve of delivery

Took the car for a puja on the evening before delivery

At the temple (sans front T monogram and door side strips)


Resting before D-Day



On D-Day




I finally took the car home on 16 Nov 2010 and I relived my Esteem days – felt like a king driving a smokin’ hot Corolla home.

The two beauties together


Again, that evening, fellow residents’ jaws dropped, looking at this beauty parked in my parking.

[vigsom]

Initial Impressions

Over the first few days of driving the Corolla automatic, I observed a few characteristics.

Likes

• great on space and interior aesthetics

• good all round view with a massive windscreen

• fuel efficient engine never strains itself; one can coast at 60kmph at some 1500rpm with a very light foot

• consistent Fuel Efficiency (10.5-11kmpl) in city traffic with ac on. I tested a 2009 Hyundai i10 automatic in the same conditions in traffic and the Corolla bettered the Fuel efficiency of the i10 by approx. 1.0 kmpl

• the brake calipers looked real hot in yellow; just that they used to pick up some brake dust and needed cleaning once a month.


• a hot looking car, especially when viewed from a height


Dislikes

• refinement not up to expectations

• steering a little too hard at city speeds and too light at higher speeds eg.70kmph

• suspension not up to my expectations ; my Esteem AWIS was better

• extra long bonnet, making judgements in bumper to bumper traffic difficult

• seating position could have been a little higher up

• with the sun control film off, I could feel the sun even in the winter. This is primarily because of the large front and rear windscreens

• unlike the manual, where one could cruise in the 5th gear at 45kmph, the automatic would shift to the no.4 gear at 50kmph and that would mean driving faster than in a manual

• no engine braking unless one downshifted to 2, or L

Ownership and Insurance Transfer

Approx. 15 days after I took delivery of the car, I got the bank NOC and released the balance payment of INR 20k to the seller.

The applications for hypothecation cancellation and ownership transfer were submitted to the RTO, but this time there was a difference.

As per new rules, there was an Owner Transfer Tax @15% of the lump-sum tax paid for any transfer till the car was 8 years old. Post the car completing 8 years, transfer tax would be only 1% of the Lump-sum Tax.

I ended up paying a transfer tax of INR 5640 and an additional INR 100 as RTO fees for transfer. Agent fees was an additional INR 1000.

I submitted the papers to the agent at 9am and I received a call from him at 4pm that the transfer has been done




Post that, I submitted an application for insurance transfer which was also done with a nominal fee for endorsement.

Since this was a >1.5 liter engine, I found that the Liability Only part of the policy premium was 3 times that of a car with an engine size <1.5 liter. This 3x factor continues even today.

[vigsom]

Project - ICE

I was just waiting for my name to appear in the RC as the registered owner before going ahead with anything else in this car.

I transplanted most of the equipment from my earlier Versa into the Corolla plus added a new set of components.

The final set up was as follows:

1. HU-JVC KW-XC404 Double Din with a double din fill panel from DHC (DH Corporation IIRC was Mumbai based)

The HU in its slot


The fill panel


HU in position - installed


2. Kenwood 8401 amp under the co-driver seat with settings as follows:

* Amp Channel A - front components with HPF at 100Hz
* Amp Channel B – bridged and connected to subwoofer with LPF at 100Hz



3. Boston Play Smart Sxi606 6.5" components in front – with crossovers neatly tucked away above the kick panels and tweeters on the dash

These pictures are as of yesterday – mothballed for 8 years


4. Oxygen free cables from the amplifier to the crossovers and from the crossovers to the woofers

MDF rings and OFCs seen inside


5. Oxygen free cables from the amplifier to the Sub

6. Monster 100 series RCA interconnects

7. stock Corolla rear speakers off the HU amp

8. 10" sub in sealed MDF enclosure in the boot



9. 40A fuse on the main supply wire

I set the switch on the crossovers to 0dB since the tweeters sounded bright.



I did not install the new tweeters in the stock position as I wasn't interested in disturbing the stock tweeters and wiring (they were still there but remained disconnected).

Installation was supervised by me and done by my Electrician - total time was 5 hours.

The set up sounded great ; the amp gains needed to be slightly tweaked for this car.

While project ICE was done, I also got the Denso starter serviced and the LED DRLs installed on the painted fog lamps


Project Duplicate Key

The car came with only one key, and getting a duplicate transponder key those days was a big deal.

The couple of outlets in Surat quoted big, so I waited for an opportunity to get the key from Mumbai.

In the meanwhile, I got in touch with Krishnaraj Enterprises near Kabutar Khana, Dadar, Mumbai and was told that the key would cost me INR 1500 but I would need to bring a working key, a copy of my driving license, and a copy of the RC book for their records.

The opportunity to go to Mumbai came in Feb 2011. I went straight to Krishnaraj Enterprises first, and got the key done in 15 minutes flat. This was a Silca key and the gentleman there told me the key would work without fuss.

My train ticket that night didn’t get confirmed and so I got an open ticket, boarded the general coach of the Bandra(T) – Bhavnagar Superfast Express at Borvli and travelled standing three and a half hours to Surat.

While in the train, I was like holding on to both the keys in my pocket like I was to dear life.

I returned to Surat that night, and the first thing the next morning, I tried the new key out and the engine fired – Phew !!!

New home for the Versa

Around the first week of December 2010, after I had got the Corolla transferred to my name, I asked Joby if he would be interested in the Versa.

He had helped me immensely in all the improvements that I’d done on the car, and it was only fair that I should offer the car to him first before looking for any other buyer.

He was perplexed initially with my offer, but he did think about it, and two days thence, said he was keen. I was extremely happy in selling him the Versa for all that he had done for me, and the car.

A few days before Christmas 2010 , the Versa was gone, but till date, this vehicle remains at my service whenever I go to Surat.

Maintenance

I wanted to have my armory filled with all ammunition to counter any maintenance issue that I would encounter on the Corolla.

I managed to download the service manual and the file would always ask me for a password, which also I had stored somewhere.

Extract from the service manual for the Corolla


After a honeymoon of one month, my perception about Toyotas being fuss free was just about to start going for a toss.

Normally, one blows hot and cold, but in this case, I had to blow a lot of hot to make the car cold.

Read on.

[vigsom]

The Maintenance Saga of the Air-Conditioner

Episode#1 : Dec 2010 – one month into ownership

By putting the AC on AUTO with the temp setting even at coldest, the cabin wasn't cooling enough. I suspected that some refrigerant must have leaked out, so got the system pressures checked.

Low side (suction) was 20psi and Hi side (compressor discharge) was 120 psi or so ;the low side pressure of 20 gave me some relief as that meant there was no major leak.

Got approx. 200g of refrigerant topped up via a Robinair recovery cum charging equipment to take the compressor low side pressure to approx. 35 psig and discharge pressure to 150 psig levels.

The engine rpm was raised to approx. 2000rpm, water was poured on the condenser after the refrigerant top up to get the actual pressure readings, and it was also checked that the compressor cut on and off with the engine running.

Expense : INR 200

Episode#2 : Mar 2011- 4.5 months into ownership

The same issue as in Episode#1 surfaced – the cabin wasn’t cooling enough.

This time, I located the same technician who had serviced my Esteem.

With the ac pressure gauges connected to the low and high side ports , the gauges showed a low side pressure of 20psi and high side, 140 psi ; after stopping the unit , got the system de-pressurised and found that there was only air in the system.

The reason air remains in the system is because, prior to refrigerant charging, technicians do not evacuate the system properly. They just start the vacuum pump, and as soon as the low side reading reaches -30in.Hg, they stop vacuum and immediately charge refrigerant.

This is a wrong practice. Evacuation is to be continued for at least 30 minutes, even if full vacuum is achieved in ten minutes.

I used a bit of my experience of commissioning and operating large refrigeration systems and applied the same principles in the car ac.

1. had all air removed , checked the complete system for signs of oil (refrigerant oil shows up in case there's a leak).

2. had vacuum pulled till almost full (-76cm Hg OR -30in.Hg) and put system on hold for approx. 20 minutes; vacuum was holding

3. added approx. 80ml of fresh refrigerant oil.

4. got a fresh refrigerant charge – approx. 550g from sealed cans

5. system worked perfect ;inside grille temperature recorded was 8.5deg.C.

Expenses : Refrigerant recharge INR 1150

Episode#3 : Jul 2011- 8.5 months into ownership

I was on leave for a week and when I returned ,I checked that the Corolla AC compressor would not cut in ; rather surprising because the ac worked super perfect for four months and even on the day I left on leave.

checked the pressure in the system and there was none - just a low "pssssssssss" when the low pressure side valve was pressed.

Took the car to my technician.

We pressurized the system to 350psig and did a leak check of all hoses, all joints - no abnormalities seen.

The pressure held for 10 mins. or so but then all of a sudden dropped by 10 psi and again held - strange phenomenon.

The ac technician looked under the compressor using a powerful light and felt traces of some darkish deposits below the compressor body.

He removed the compressor and opened the clutch - a small weep hole on the Compressor casing showed oil - indicating that there was an oil seal leak.

Surprisingly, the seal leak did not show up even when the compressor alone was pressurized to 350psi and dipped in a bucket of water.

He said that seal leaks show up only in operation and may not show symptoms of leak in standstill mode.

He replaced the seal - but also found one gasket inside the Scroll compressor damaged.

The gasket was not available anywhere but he managed to use one from an old damaged compressor lying at another mechanic's place.

He then pulled vacuum, charged oil and refrigerant, and we hoped the system would perform well.

Expenses : 1200(Refrigerant re-charge) + 300(compressor seal replacement) + 350(Compressor seal) + 150(gasket) = INR 2000

Episode#4 : Sep 2011- 10 months into ownership

Loss of cooling was experienced yet again; having checked everything outside viz. compressor, condenser, hoses, we now decided to attack the evaporator coil.

The evaporator coil and the hi pressure switch were replaced.

Expenses : 6500(Evaporator Coil) + 2500(Labour+ Refrigerant Charge) + Pressure Switch(500) =INR 9500

Please refer to this for details.

Episode#5 : Dec 2011- 13 months into ownership

Run the car for, say 15kms, with the ac on, and one could hear this grinding noise every time the compressor would cut off.

When the compressor cut in, all would be well ; when it cut off, the noise would begin - the noise is akin to what you hear when you place a metallic strip against a moving disc and it was very very embarrassing.

The problem was because the AC compressor pulley bearing, which is tightly pressed into the pulley, had come out causing the pulley to sway and thus rub against the compressor clutch disc. It is surprising how the bearing could come off the pulley. Manufacturing defect?

The clutch assembly was not available as a spare ; we punched around the pulley bearing housing so that it held the bearing in place

The compressor was fitted back and the AC began working well.

Expenses: 1200(Refrigerant recharge) + 300(bearing re-fitment labour) = INR 1500

Episode#6: Apr 2012- 17 months into ownership

The AC would work fine when the car was started up and for the first, say, 20 minutes. After that the compressor would not cut on.

Switch off the AC for a while, and restart after, say 10 minutes and the AC would again work but the problem would re-surface after, say 20 minutes.

I once pulled over, checked that the relay was signaling the compressor clutch to engage, but the clutch would not engage.

I then concluded that the compressor clutch coil (magnet) had become weak.

The compressor clutch set viz. disc, pulley and magnet was ordered from Mumbai and arrived a day later.

Only after this was fitted did the saga of the Air-conditioner finally get over.

Expenses : 4500(Compressor Clutch Set) + 1200(Labour) = INR 5700

Special Fluids Ordered

While the air-conditioner kept me busy, I had asked someone in the UAE to bring me one liter of Toyota long life coolant and one liter of T-IV Automatic Transmission Fluid for top up if needed.

The T-IV fluid came in a sealed tin can, similar to one holding pineapple slices. One would need to punch the top on opposite edges to pour the fluid out.

Toyota T-IV Automatic Transmission Fluid


Toyota Genuine Long Life Coolant

[vigsom]

Other Maintenance - Dec2011 to Feb2012

I noticed that vibrations inside the car had gradually started increasing.

I first associated it with loose steering column bolts, which hadn’t been fully tightened post the AC evaporator coil job.

When faced with issues one after the other, the mind loses its capacity to diagnose correctly. This is what happened to me and I ended up doing some silly diagnosis, suspecting engine vibrations to be the cause of the problem.

I added a can of Nulon, a product that I had been using since Esteem days with very good results.

Vibrations on the Corolla remained even after addition of Nulon.

Meanwhile, the car, over the last 1 year and 3 months had developed some scratches on the rear fender edges and the front right corner of the bumper because of scrapes, thanks to the narrow clearances in the apartment parking.

I decided to have this vibration issue examined along with a make over for the Corolla

1. When the engine mounts were examined, they were observed to have collapsed. There are four engine mounts

a. one towards the rear of the engine
b. one towards the front of the engine viz. between the engine and the radiator
c. one below the battery plate
d. one just next to the power steering reservoir

Mounts a, b, c were all gone with a in particular being in very bad shape.



The three mounts were ordered and replaced.

Man, the blue Corolla just became super silent - even better than what she sounded in Oct2010. This was my first experience with engine mounts.

2. The engine tappet cover was leaking – got that also replaced

3. The plugs were cleaned and put back.

4. The bumper and the rear quarter panel were re-done

5. Joby and I also decided to give the Corolla a different look with a custom built mesh painted in hyper silver.

6. I had, by now, realized that having fog lamps would really improve the looks of the car. The same spare parts dealer who got the mounts was also able to source some aftermarket fog lamps for INR 2200.

Here is a pic of the car after the makeover


Upkeep of the Exterior

Till this day, I clean my cars myself and do some quick detailing too.

With all my earlier white cars, it was a breeze washing and wiping them clean. They were all solid colours. They seldom needed to be waxed.

The blue was an extremely tough colour to keep clean. Once the wax on the exterior came off, dust would come back in no time and irritate one to the core.

It took me several months to perfect a wash and wax formula for a dark colour.

1. Wash one panel, wipe it dry and immediately wax it
2. Move to the next adjacent panel and repeat step1
3. Repeat 1 on each panel until you come back to the first panel. By then the wax on the first panel would have dried adequately.
4. Wipe the wax off on every panel using micro fiber towel#1 to cover all panels one after the other
5. Use Micro fiber towel#2 to give the panels the finishing touches

By doing this, I needed to only wipe the car off using a dry microfiber towel for upto 45 days, until the glaze remained.

After that I would repeat the Wash – wax panel by panel procedure. I used only Meguiars Yellow wax for the glaze.

This is how the car would look after this procedure



I conceptualized and got faux center ornaments fabricated to fill those ugly holes in the center of the alloys; these were made through a sticker – cum- keychain shop .

I had to just stick them to the wheels using fevibond and they stuck well and were durable.

Unfortunately, I’ve lost the pictures that I took of the car with those caps on.

Money Matters

A: Expenses on routine maintenance

a) Engine oil 4lit (1200) + Oil filter(120) = INR 1,320 (Castrol Magnatec)
b) Nulon INR 400
c) Starter service INR 280
d) Wiper blades 24” and 16” Bosch INR 300
e) Engine mounts INR 6,000
f) Tappet cover gasket INR 400
g) Alignment INR 400
h) T-IV ATF and Toyota Coolant INR 720

Sub Total A INR 9,800 approx.

B: Expenses on Accessories

a) Boston SXi 606 components INR 3,800
b) MDF rings INR 200
c) Installation INR 700
d) Fuse INR 100
e) Double Din Fill panel for Corolla INR 1,200
f) Wiring adapter for Head Unit INR 200
g) Wiring and installation INR 700
h) Steering cover and sofa covers INR 850
i) Fog lamps INR 2,200

Sub Total B INR 9,950

C: Expenses on Beautification (a + b were capital expenses)

a) Overcoat and alloys re-finish INR 30,000
b) New DEPO Headlamps INR 5,200
c) Front bumper and rear Q panel refinish INR 6,000

Sub Total C INR 41,200

D: Expenses on Air-conditioning INR 20,050

TOTAL A+B+C+D INR 81,000 approx.

[vigsom]

Goodbye Dear – Jul 2012

It was time to bid goodbye to Surat after spending over 2 decades there.

After having spent so much of time and effort with the blue Corolla, it was a difficult decision parting with the beauty after a mixed bag of experiences in just 1 year and 9 months.

Selling an automatic car those days wasn’t easy as people were apprehensive of maintenance of an automatic and its fuel efficiency.

I did see my share of sharks who were out to forge a deal, but I was clear – if the Corolla didn’t sell till the date of my departure, she would travel with me.

There was this potential buyer, who was employed in my company. His only intent was to fork a good deal for himself, knowing that I was leaving the city.

He tried to pressurize me into accepting his offer which was 10,000 bucks lower than my already low expected price. That was the last straw and I just stopped responding to his messages thereafter.

After almost 3 weeks, an old colleague of mine, who wanted only an automatic car on his return from overseas, accepted the Corolla.

My job was to get him an NOC to transfer the car out of Surat which I did.

The intra-State NOC


The NOC marked in the RC


Meanwhile, I removed the Boston components, the amplifier with all its wiring, and the subwoofer and put the stock speakers back in. The JVC Head Unit remained.

The car was finally picked up three days before I was to leave Surat.

I handed over the unused T-IV automatic transmission fluid to him and gave him clear DOs and DONTs with this car, including advising him on oil change intervals.

Car on the day before Departure


Learnings + What I could have done better

Reminiscing on my experiences with this Corolla, here are a few thoughts on opportunities for improvement, technically and behaviorally:

1. It is normal for us to blame our luck, and those around us if something goes wrong – I did precisely this.

Every time the AC problem kept coming up, I would be muttering to myself that I’d got a lemon of a car and why Joby had to put me in this state. It was he who led me to this car with a good intent of helping me own a Corolla, but certainly didn’t deserve this criticism.

In hindsight, the better way to look at this experience was that maybe God wanted me to attain silver standard in Air-Conditioning; which I have.

2. The car showed tell- tale signs of minor negligence – badly modded exteriors, the cut bar below the glove box, missing ornament caps, chaffed/cracked leather on the front seats, and the loose lid on the center console.

With this learning, I started giving a lot of weightage to such tell-tale signs whenever I evaluated cars thereafter.

3. With air-conditioning, there is no mid-path. Every service has to be thorough, and should be performed such that there are no issues in performance for the next, say, 5 years.

An extremely important step in AC service is the time spent in evacuating the system( pulling vacuum) before charging refrigerant.

Evacuation must be performed for at least 30 minutes else moisture in the system will not get removed and that would eventually affect performance of the AC system.

No AC technician that I have come across does this.

4. When it is time to sell a car and move places, potential buyers only want to make hay; and the best way to beat this tactic is not to succumb to pressure tactics by buyers.

This is not a game where the buyer wins and the seller sobs; it has to be Win-Win.

5. Any car over 7 years that is shown to have 65,000 or 67,000 or 83,000km type odo readings should be taken with a pinch of salt. I am pretty sure this Corolla's odo was back clocked.

Everything from odo readings to service records can be doctored; the only thing one can trust is one's eyes, ears, and years. Again, this is my view.

AC is one area that one just cannot assess on the spot, but other tell tale signs of negligence in ownership will help one evaluate the residual life of the AC as well.

The Ownership Experience

The Corolla was a special experience for me -my first automatic, my first non-white car, and my first entry level luxury (by standards those days)

For an engine this large, the fuel efficiency was phenomenal.

The K&N filter was another bonus – the engine growl is something I would always love to hear even today.

Yes, the air-conditioner kept me busy, but it was, again, great learning.

Related threads

Corolla-ac-problem-diagnosis-solutions-experiences

Corolla-ac-evaporator-replacement-steps-pics

Would I want a Corolla again?

Well, may be not, but stay tuned.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Sreesh1009]

Old Toyotas like the Corolla are in a league of their own. I love how thoroughly you've compiled each and every part of your ownership stint.
The car looks like a real stunner and I'm pretty sure it would catch people's attention whenever it drove past them.
You seem to have a knack of picking up unique used cars.
Cheers!

P.S What do you drive now?

[baskar]

This brings back very sweet memories of my Champagne Gold Metallic color 2007 H2 Manual corolla. Even now, Corolla looks very stately - spacious interiors, good FE, easy to drive, reasonable maintenance cost. solid build quality etc.
I met with a severe accident - a drunk driver hit me in his truck from behind when I was stationery in a red light. The front also got damaged due to impact on a car in front. But the sturdiness of the car was great that I did not have any injuries. It was also restored fully in Toyota dealership and I had no problems for 2 more years. I sold it to my colleague and went for Innova later.


I also had my evaporator coil replaced after 3 years , front discs replaced after 50K KMs. But otherwise a great car.

Thanks for bringing back memories of a great car.

[Crow]

Vigsom, I really enjoy your writing style and meticulous attention to detail. This can be observed not only in the way you’re able to diagnose issues with these cars, but also in the fact that you have such detailed records of service, changes made, cost, and so many old photos of your cars too. Please keep up the good work. I can’t wait to read the next one.

PS: I don’t know anywhere near as much about cars, even though I’ve been driving for two decades now. I can only hope that I find a friend like you to help me learn more. Thank you once again for posting.

[catchjyoti]

Great details on this thread and enjoyed reading about your modifications. I also used to own a 2003 Toyota Corolla Lxi in black color. It didn't have much power but was truly a fill it and forget it kind of car.

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by Sreesh1009

I'm pretty sure it would catch people's attention whenever it drove past them

Thank You @Sreesh1009

The car would be the target of brats, at our apartment and at some public places. People just can't leavy a shiny car alone.

Originally Posted by baskar

I also had my evaporator coil replaced after 3 years , front discs replaced after 50K KMs

Thank You @baskar

Champagne gold was a preferred colour in TN.

In my view, the evaporator coil in your car could not have failed. Maybe they changed it by cooking up a story of low cooling.

I know three facelift Corollas of 2005, 2006, 2007 that are on their original evaporators even now.

Originally Posted by Crow

I can only hope that I find a friend like you to help me learn more

At your service, @Crow.

Originally Posted by catchjyoti

I also used to own a 2003 Toyota Corolla Lxi in black color. It didn't have much power

Thank You @catchjyoti

Where overseas did you use this variant? And what was the engine size?