2001 Corolla stalling

Hello all,

I've got a 1.6L 2001 Toyota Corolla CE Auto with about 110,000km on it. The car is given synthetic oil every 3 months or 5000km, has had the tranny fluid changed at 90,000km, and is regularly and well maintained. The only major work done was my downlink cable was replaced about 7-8 months ago.

My last oil change was April 20 and everything was working great up until that point (the only thing it ever does is periodically (maybe once a month) it would not start right away (it always started on the second try ...like it either didn't get enough fuel or it flooded briefly?)). Anywho, shortly after my oil change (approx. May 4/5), I went to drive the car one morning and as soon as I backed to the end of the driveway, it stalled. I started it back up and it idled very low and rough ...similar to how my old carbuerated Jeep would idle (it was a p.o.s.). I thought nothing of it at first but a minute later I parked, got out for a minute to do something, came back to start it and it did it again. This had me a bit worried. Anyway, for the next few months until now, it has been doing this quite regularly - but not every time. Once the car has been running for a few minutes it is usually fine (only once or twice has it given me problems after being "warmed up" but it does periodically happen at red lights).

The car seems to idle OK in park but once it's in a gear, such as reverse when I first back out of my driveway, it idles like shit and sometimes stalls. The mechanics said it might be the changing weather or humidity but it seems unaffected whether it's cold out or warm out and has happened for several months now. I researched on the net and some sites have said to check the connections to the air filter (which was also replaced at the time of my oil change) but the mechanic rechecked the hoses and connectors and said they are fine. Last week I took it back in and they did an inspection and told me it was my plugs which were worn right out. I had them replaced with NGK plugs (total bill was $118 CDN for 4 plugs and labour ...is this normal?! When I did my Jeep plugs it was $20 and took my 20 minutes ...)

Anyways, the plug change didn't do anything to help. The car goes back in on Tuesday but if anyone has any suggestions before that that may save me time and money, lemme know!

Thanks

Reply to
griffin
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Sounds about right for Firestone. My daughter had some relatively minor repair work done there and they charged almost $1,000 for an alignment and some tie rods being changed.

Reply to
Mike Dobony

Who is doing the work on your car?

Check the air flow sensor to make sure it is not fouled. Check the idle air control valve to make sure it is not clogged or gummed up. Check for vacuum leaks and holes, cracks, or gaps in the black plastic intake tube between the air filter housing and the throttle body. Make sure the air filter housing cover and all of the clamps are installed properly.

Reply to
Ray O

A local Midas shop here. They used to be really good and have always done great work on my Corolla's but it occurred to me when I brought it in for the last oil change that neither of my two mechanics work there anymore and it's all new people. Maybe it's time to switch shops ...

Reply to
griffin

I personally do not have much confidence in a Midas shop's employee to diagnose and repair a drivability in a modern computer controlled car.

Reply to
Ray O

It looks like I'm joining you in that regard. The two original mechanics were actually really good ...maybe they got scooped up by a company that pays more or opened their own garage.

The trouble is, finding a good mechanic is like dressing yourself into a straight jacket ...impossible. I've been to the local 'Yota shops here and they are by far the most frustrating.

Reply to
griffin

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