another costly corolla item to worry about

nmp1

New Member
#1
as if the CVT trans didnt worry newer corolla owners enough, here is another item. the vane type brake booster. starting in 2014 toyota offered the LE ECO with the valvematic engine that required the brake booster to be replaced every 120k miles. now i do not have an exact quote but the part from toyota seems to be about $900 from online toyota suppliers. if you have it done the part will be marked up and add labor youre probably talking about $1500 or so would be my guess.

now, to avoid this you could buy a trim with the VVT-i engine that didnt have this part. but that option is no longer available. ALL new corollas with the 1.8L engines are valvematic, even the rental car level L model.

between the trans, brake booster, direct injection fuel parts, its a big gamble to hold onto a car that isnt worth much when its over 100k miles and some of these repairs could exceed the cars value.

like many corolla owners, i wanted to hold onto my car forever but more and more negatives keep popping up and now im thinking its better to get out before any big items go and tank the cars value. in the long run its probably better to trade up ever 100k-150k miles. i predict in the future a lot of used corolla will be on the market with a lot of costly problems.

as far as the new 2.0L, there is a lot of new and unproven tech in that car and i usually like to give a manufacturer time to work all the bugs out.
 
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#2
s if the CVT trans didnt worry newer corolla owners enough, here is another item. the vane type brake booster
Not sure that would give owner the same type of worrying than CVT (although actual statistics should take care of those). But yes, replacing the vacuum pump for the brake booster is another addition to the cost of ownership, just as timing belts for others.

It’s not just a Corolla/Valvematic thing: the technology is used more and more by manufacturers to compensate limitations of some configurations (diesel, turbo, DI and of course hybrid/EV). As such the cost should go down.
 

nmp1

New Member
#3
Not sure that would give owner the same type of worrying than CVT (although actual statistics should take care of those). But yes, replacing the vacuum pump for the brake booster is another addition to the cost of ownership, just as timing belts for others.

It’s not just a Corolla/Valvematic thing: the technology is used more and more by manufacturers to compensate limitations of some configurations (diesel, turbo, DI and of course hybrid/EV). As such the cost should go down.
i hope the costs do go down but they havent changed on the corolla and its another expensive maintenance item to add to the list. cars are hard enough to work on yourself now as it is and most people cant tackle this themselves. most people drive 10-12 thousand miles a year so 10 years down the road when this needs to be done your corolla that was 20k new is now worth what, 3-4 thousand dollars. thats gets though to justify. if the cvt goes at that time forget it, drive or push the car to the scrap yard.
 
#4
ALL new corollas with the 1.8L engines are valvematic, even the rental car level L model.
I'm buying a 2014 Corolla L 6MT, you think it was used as a rental car? Sorry, I know this isn't related, but I had just never heard the L was for rental companies. Thanks.
 

delrey

New Member
#6
I'm buying a 2014 Corolla L 6MT, you think it was used as a rental car? Sorry, I know this isn't related, but I had just never heard the L was for rental companies. Thanks.
I'm with Jolly on this one. I doubt yours is due to the MT. And around here, Enterprise has SE's and LE's. I've never seen an L....ever actually.
 
#7
I'm with Jolly on this one. I doubt yours is due to the MT. And around here, Enterprise has SE's and LE's. I've never seen an L....ever actually.
Never seen one... Ever. Lol. Well, it's still pretty nice even with the base model. They included a lot. And I can add cruise control for something like $65 doing it myself and it only takes about ten minutes. I'm excited for it. It's got 100,000 miles, in pristine shape, a Florida car so no salt/rust, and paid $7000. I'm happy.
 
#8
as if the CVT trans didnt worry newer corolla owners enough, here is another item. the vane type brake booster. starting in 2014 toyota offered the LE ECO with the valvematic engine that required the brake booster to be replaced every 120k miles. now i do not have an exact quote but the part from toyota seems to be about $900 from online toyota suppliers. if you have it done the part will be marked up and add labor youre probably talking about $1500 or so would be my guess.
The OEM brake booster vacuum pump is ~$450. It's a simple DYI. I haven't spend much $ on my Corolla to date (60K miles/5 years). I do all my own maintenance to keep costs down. If I keep it for another 5 years, that cost is minimal in the grand scheme of things. Just be glad you don't own a Nissan, Chrysler, or German made vehicle.
 
#9
I'm buying a 2014 Corolla L 6MT, you think it was used as a rental car? Sorry, I know this isn't related, but I had just never heard the L was for rental companies. Thanks.
Since 99% of drivers on the road today have no idea how to operate a manual transmission, we can be confident that no rental car of today was ever equipped with a manual transmission.
 
#11
L is not for rental companies, it is just the base model. As mentioned rental companies (in North America) don't by manual transmission cars, most don't know how to drive them, and I would imagine the transmission would not last long with some many different people driving it. Automatic makes it much easier to rent.
 
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