Toyota Corolla automatic 2008: owner reviews
The demand for Toyota Corolla has not stopped growing since 2008. All thanks to the reliability of the Japanese automobile industry.
Advantages of automatic transmission. Owners' opinion
Reviews from owners about the 2008 Toyota Corolla automatic testify to the undeniable advantages and qualities of the car.
Evaluation of Toyota Corolla 2008 automatic
In 2008, drivers who switched from manual to automatic transmission felt a significant difference when driving in traffic jams.
The first plus is that the automatic transmission selects the optimal gear shift moment for the engine. Due to this, there is no possibility of overloading the motor.
Typical breakdowns and operational problems: Experience of car enthusiasts
Japanese automatic transmissions are famous for their high reliability, but this does not prevent them from having typical transmission problems. Problems can occur with mechanics, hydraulics, or electronics.
Opinion of the owner of a Toyota Corolla 2008 automatic
Reviews of this kind about the 2008 Toyota Corolla automatic are somewhat subjective: some people like a measured ride, others need drive.
Mechanical problems
Owners of Toyota Corolla may experience a decrease in transmission oil levels. This occurs due to burnt gaskets and worn pipes.
Gears not engaging on Toyota Corolla is a recurring problem. The reason may be wear of the clutches or failure of the clutch.
These are the main causes of mechanical failures common to Japanese automatic transmissions.
Electrical faults
The electronic control unit is responsible for the operation of the machine.
If there are electrical failures, the automatic ECU may incorrectly select the speed to change gears. The electronic unit begins to “think” for a long time before changing gear.
The 2008 Toyota Corolla with an automatic transmission rarely has problems with the electronic control.
If you notice strange behavior of the gearbox, but do not hear any extraneous sounds, you should contact a service station, where they will diagnose the control unit.
Hydraulic faults
A 2008 Toyota Corolla with an automatic transmission may have problems with hydraulics if it is not used correctly. The reason lies in the malfunction of the hydraulic unit. During operation, it becomes clogged, after which it requires washing.
If you feel serious shocks and impacts, the valve body is most likely to blame. Have your automatic transmission diagnosed to correct this problem.
Weak points of Toyota Corolla X (E140, E150)
In addition to the shortcomings of the transmission, reviews of the 2008 automatic Corolla noted other features:
- There are no particular complaints about the body, but the locks freeze at low temperatures.
- Headlight washer nozzles clog quickly. As a result, the elements jam and remain in the open position.
- Low quality plastic in the interior, not suitable for the status of the car.
- The car's 1.6 and 1.8 liter engines are worthy of attention. The same cannot be said about the 1.4 liter power unit, which performed significantly worse in dynamics.
- Almost all cars this year have an increase in oil consumption after a mileage of 150,000 km.
- The weak point can be called the robotic gearbox. After 60,000 km, it begins to live its own life (early shifts, sudden transition to neutral, sharp increase in speed).
Toyota Corolla 2008 automatic
Weigh all the pros and cons before looking for this car on the secondary market.
Changing the oil in the automatic transmission of Toyota Corolla
The 2008 Corolla automatic requires timely maintenance from the driver. If the car is operated correctly, then the list of necessary work will only include changing the transmission oil. Otherwise, the box will not fail even after 100,000 km.
The manufacturer recommends changing the lubricant every 60,000 km when driving on a flat road. The Russian climate is characterized by sharp temperature changes and poor road surfaces. Therefore, the oil change schedule may be reduced.
Most owners are inclined to believe that it is better to change the transmission oil in the Corolla after 40,000 km. This will increase the resource of the gearbox.
When choosing transmission fluid, pay attention to the year of manufacture of the car. For Toyota E150, Toyota ATF WC is recommended. The use of cheap analogues can have a detrimental effect on the service life of the vehicle transmission.
avtoexperts.ru
Corolla is one of the most popular Toyota brands; the car has been produced since 1966 and during this time has changed more than one generation. In particular, the car that we will talk about today was produced from 2006 to 2013, and this was already the 10th generation of Corolla. This model alone can tell the story of the history of the automobile industry. For example, in the 2000s there was clearly a trend towards creating more complex but less reliable cars, so the tenth Corolla could not reach the levels of previous generations in terms of trouble-free and reliable performance. Although we are getting ahead of ourselves, the Toyota Corolla E150 had not only pros, but also cons.
Toyota Corolla E150, restyling 2010
Let's talk about everything in order. Let's start with the positives.
Cool design
We understand that issues of appearance are a matter of taste, and now people will probably come to the comments and say that the Toyota Corolla E150 is ugly to the point of disgrace. But we won't agree. For its time, the style of the tenth Corolla was fast and interesting. It looked much more dynamic than its predecessors, but at the same time it was devoid of pretentiousness. Strictly speaking, the appearance of this generation of Corolla is still not rejected. Yes, the car doesn’t stand out in traffic, but it’s not an ugly duckling either.
And this particular generation of Corolla was outwardly very similar to the Camry that was current at that time - an inexperienced eye from afar would not be able to distinguish one car from another, which also added advantages to Corolla, because it made it more significant in the eyes of buyers. Nonsense, you say, but the author of the article personally remembers how, at the end of the 2000s, Corolla was a dream car for many. And not for technical features, but for style.
Reliable electrics
The Toyota Corolla E150 was not the standard of indestructibility in everything, but here’s the thing, its electrical components are almost eternal. This will be a very short point, because there is nothing special to describe here - the electronics hardly break down.
Comfort and options
Many drivers in Russia have already begun to forget what a golf class is, but look even at a ten-year-old Corolla and a lot will become clear - the car is in many ways not inferior even to today’s state employees. The interior is spacious, there is enough space for everyone, the finishing materials are not bad, there is decent driving comfort, the suspension has a reasonable compromise between softness and handling, and the equipment is not bad at all for its time. For example, the base already included air conditioning, power steering, front windows, heated and electrically adjustable mirrors, heated front seats and even headlight washers. And in the top versions, the car sported a dual-zone climate, light and rain sensors, a good radio, starting the engine with a button, and so on. Quite a relevant set even after 10 years.
Toyota Corolla E150 interior
I would like to talk about one more feature of the tenth Corolla separately, without classifying it as an obvious pros and cons, because the assessment depends on whether you want to buy or sell a Corolla X, but this car is extremely reluctant to lose value. Judge for yourself, cars of this generation are on average 10 years old, and decent copies cost around 550-600 thousand rubles, only slightly cheaper than the new Vesta. Our customer believes in the reliability of the Toyota Corolla E150, so he keeps the bar high. If you want to buy a Corolla X you will have to overpay, the car is not without dark spots. We also talk about its disadvantages .
Robotic gearbox
For those who consider Toyota engineers to be gods who do not make mistakes, we strongly advise you to read the history of the appearance of a unit called MMT under the hood of the Corolla. The engineering department suddenly decided that their old 4-speed automatic transmission somehow consumes a lot of fuel and the dynamics with it are not very good, but let’s replace this old “automatic” with a new progressive box. This progressive gearbox was a “robot”, but not a preselective one, but a primitive one - with one clutch. Of course, today we have already learned that this is a generally uncompetitive type of transmission that is not worthy of existence, and at the end of the 2000s, Toyota Corolla E150 buyers were the first to know about this.
Aisin clutch kit
The Corolla with the “robot” moved poorly and did not last long. The clutch, as usual with such types of transmissions, became a consumable, but that wasn’t even terrible - it was impossible to drive this box normally. Each gear change was accompanied by a dive of the car, from dynamic driving the gearbox went into neutral and simply refused to go, the “logic” of gear shifting was such that this “robot” could leave without traction while overtaking, or could “saw” on flat terrain at high speeds . In addition, the car did not have any anti-rollback systems, so every time the driver started up a hill, he had to pray that the clutch would work quickly and the Corolla would not roll into the nose of the car behind.
MMT Clutch Actuator
They say that there were craftsmen who adapted to the nature of the box and could even move on it, learned to release the gas pedal when switching, start with two pedals and bought a discount card for a service to replace the clutch, but why live like that? The MMT robotic box is a complete fiasco.
Fortunately, the engineers quickly realized their mistake and during the restyling, instead of the “robot”, they returned the old 4-speed “automatic” U340E. It had higher fuel consumption and worse dynamics, but you could drive happily ever after.
In fairness, it must be said that there was a way to avoid an extremely unsuccessful “robot” - simply buy a car with “mechanics”, to which there were never any complaints.
Oil consumption
The Toyota Corolla E150 has a fairly wide range of engines: 1.3 petrol engines; 1.4; 1.6; 1.8 and even diesel. The most popular, of course, is 1.6, because such cars were sold new in Russia. 1.3 and 1.4 were also sold, but they were too weak for a Corolla, so they were never in demand. All engines are naturally aspirated, quite simple in design, and have a good service life. And at the same time everyone consumes oil. With mileage, many owners add 1-2 liters from replacement to replacement (and this is 10,000 kilometers for Toyota, remember). The problem does not appear immediately, but it is very stable, you can only come to terms with it. Any repairs or intervention in the engine will be very expensive; all that remains is to constantly add new oil.
Under the hood 1.6 1ZR-FE
Weak steering rack and column
The suspension of the Toyota Corolla E150 is relatively reliable, but the steering turned out to be an unexpected weak point. On the rack, the headache was the plastic bushing, which weakly holds the load and tends to crumble. There are even more problems with the steering column - the crosspiece and steering shaft gear are loose in it. By the way, the dealers willingly replaced the column under warranty, but apparently the problem was a poor design, because even with the replaced parts everything was the same. The prevalence of the problem has forced some services to learn not just to repair, but to modify the unit, which is usually expensive, but allows you to solve the problem for a long time.
Steering rack Toyota Corolla E150
In general, the Toyota Corolla E150 can be assessed as a very successful car, which is only let down by certain components. If you forget the “robot” like a bad dream and take a car with a “mechanics” (or a Restyle with a conventional automatic transmission), rebuild the steering column and buy more oil for gravy, then you can drive this car for a long time and relatively happily. And this cannot be said about all cars from the late 2000s.
Automatic transmission Toyota Corolla 2008: disadvantages and features
The automatic transmission on the 2008 Corolla has a number of features that must be observed during operation.
The automatic transmission is afraid of overheating. If the temperature rises to a critical level, the oil begins to burn, causing the seals and clutches to burn. This leads to leaks and serious transmission problems.
The main disadvantage mentioned in reviews is the high cost of maintenance and repairs. However, this can be compensated by the high reliability of the Corolla.
Reviews of Toyota Corolla 2008 automatic
Many people complain about the long-thinking machine, but this is a matter of habit. After driving a couple of thousand, you will forget about this feature of the car.
Recommended engines
Petrol 1.6 l
A good compromise between performance and economy. The absence of direct injection and turbocharging means reasonable maintenance costs even at high mileage. If funds allow, it is better to pay attention to cars that appeared after the end of 2009 with a 1.6 Valvematic with a continuously variable valve control system, consuming an average of 7.0 l/100 km. The earlier 1.6 Dual VVT-i with variable valve timing is a little more voracious - 7.5 l/100 km.
Turbodiesel 1.4 D-4D
The small turbodiesel will appeal to thrifty drivers. Thanks to the average fuel consumption of 5.4 l/100 km, you will rarely need to visit gas stations. The absence of a double flywheel and the presence of a timing chain drive significantly reduces maintenance costs. Larger diesel engines have problems with the head and block. The only drawback of the 1.4 D-4D is the need for constant monitoring of the oil level due to its consumption due to waste.
Automatic transmission, robot or CVT: which is better?
The 2008 model range was equipped not only with an automatic transmission, but also with a robot and a CVT. All these transmissions have automatic gear shifting in common.
Robot
Many drivers definitely did not like the robot. This is due to the rigid operation of the system. Strong shocks when shifting, frequent stalling and incorrect gear selection. This is exactly how they speak online about the Toyota Corolla with a robotic gearbox.
A peculiarity was noticed that when starting off on a steep hill, the car with the robot rolled back 15 cm.
Having received a flurry of negative reviews, the Japanese concern stopped installing manual transmission on Toyotas.
Variable speed drive
This is a continuously variable transmission that can change torque over a wide range.
But due to the complexity of the design, car enthusiasts refused to buy a car with such a transmission. Everyone was afraid of CVT breakdowns: at that time, not every car service center took on the repair of a continuously variable gearbox.
In addition, the variator does not like overloads. Therefore, it cannot slip or tow other vehicles. Even a trailer gives a significant load, which is undesirable for a CVT.
Characteristic frequent overheating frightened drivers, forcing them to choose a car with a traditional automatic gearbox.
Updated interior of Toyota Corolla
Restyling is also noticeable in the interior of the Toyota Corolla. The first thing that catches your eye is the wider lower part, smoother steering wheel with a wider rim. An additional section of keys has appeared on the right side of the steering wheel. The instrument panel has become more minimalistic, and changes have also been made to its backlighting.
Door cards have become more ergonomic and functional. For the convenience of the driver in the Corolla, the armrest is moved forward, closer to the gearbox. Minor changes have also been made to the seat cushions. However, the driver's seat does not provide lumbar support, which creates discomfort during long periods of driving.
Updated interior of Toyota Corolla
According to Toyota, higher quality materials are used in the production of the restyled version of the Corolla in the middle and maximum configuration. For connoisseurs, there is the opportunity to become the owner of an Alcantara interior. Since 2010, the interior has been additionally available in two color schemes: light and dark gray.
Even after restyling, Toyota Corolla retained the image of a compact family car with a neat but attractive appearance. The car's spaciousness is provided by a 450-liter trunk and the ability to fold down the rear seats. The rear seat is quite soft, which can be considered both a disadvantage (you can “fall through” when landing) and an advantage (additional comfort when driving long distances).
Thus, Toyota Corolla still remains one of the most popular cars in the world. Excellent technical characteristics combined with improved exterior and interior details of the car allow the Corolla to easily win the hearts of more and more fans!
