Toyota Corolla 1979

Toyota Corolla 1979 Q&As

Check out real-world situations relating to the Toyota Corolla here, particularly what our experts have to say about them.

• What could be causing the sudden current leak in my 1994 Toyota AE94 Corolla SECA?

  On older cars like this one, some pretty strange electrical things can start to happen as switches and wiring ages. The first thing to check for is that there’s not a cargo area or interior light staying on when it shouldn’t and subsequently flattening the battery.

  But the failure of the stereo and temperature gauge both point to a body computer problem (as does the battery going flat). The body computer basically controls all the car’s functions that are not driveline related. So, the central locking, lighting, entertainment, security, power windows, climate control and much, much more are body-computer driven. And if this computer fails, lights can turn themselves on, the central locking can cycle over and over again and various other electrical bits and pieces can switch themselves on and drain the battery.

  But there’s one other check to make before blaming the computer (which, on a 1994 Corolla, won’t be as complex as one on a more modern car), which is to make sure there are no bad earths on the car. Failing gauges are a common symptom of a bad earth somewhere on the car, and if that’s the case, you might find this is also causing the starting problems by not allowing the battery to fully charge when the car is driven.

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• Why don't I see more 2008 Toyota Corolla Seca sedans?

  While the sedan sold alongside the hatchback version of the Corolla in Australia, the hatchback easily outsold the sedan. And that’s pretty much the reason you still see a lot of hatchbacks getting around, but sedans are thin on the ground. They just didn’t sell in the same numbers back in the day. Fundamentally, buyers were much more likely to go for the extra practicality of the hatchback layout.

  Of course, that’s in Australia. In some other markets (China, for example) the sedan version of a particular make and model is often more popular than the hatchback variant. It’s a cultural thing, in essence.

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• Can I use RON 95 or ethanol blend fuel in a 2022 Toyota Camry hybrid engine?

  Even though your car has a hybrid driveline, the bit that runs on petrol uses the same technology as any other Toyota petrol engine. So E10 is fine according to Toyota, although it also says 10 per cent (hence E10) is the highest percentage of ethanol you should consider using. Likewise, 95 RON petrol presents no problems.

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• My 2013 Toyota Corolla won't go over 40km/h

  If the car won’t accelerate beyond 40km/h, it could be because it has gone into limp-home mode in order to protect itself from further damage. If so, that’s possibly because there’s a major problem somewhere in the driveline. But the chainsaw noise is pretty worrying, too, and suggests that something is rubbing on something else that shouldn’t be.

  The best advice is to not drive the car any farther until it’s been checked by a mechanic. Continuing to drive it risks doing more damage to whatever is already wrong with it.

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