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2000 Toyota Corolla with automatic transmission, not sure what other info is relevant. I'll be taking my car to someone who knows what they're doing, but in the meantime I want to learn as much as I can about the problem I'm having. When I drive lately I've been hearing a humming sound that rises in pitch with the speed of the car, not with with rpm of the engine. I only notice it while accelerating, when I ease up on the gas the sound seems to disappear. More recently, about two days ago, I noticed that on the hwy I can't go faster than about 62mph. The car seems to drive fine until I hit that speed, at which point acceleration stops. No matter how far I press the gas down the rpm of the engine does not increase. While it's doing this the check engine light flashes. If I ease up on the gas, the car slows down and starts behaving normally again as long as I don't get up to 62. I know very little about cars, but to me it seemed like the transmission might be the problem. I checked the transmission fluid and the level is fine, but the fluid seems dirty. Also, I don't if this is related, but when idling every now and then the engine will, I don't know the proper terminology, but it's like it stumbles for a fraction of a second, like it's going to stop then returns to idling. Any ideas?
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Jan 5, 2015 06:47
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| # ? Apr 27, 2024 05:59 |
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Not being able to get upto speed could be your overdrive not working. there could be a fuse or relay that's gone bad. The humming could be a lot of things, wheel bearings, or differential could be low, some of the corollas have separate fill points for the transmission and the diff.
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Jan 5, 2015 07:26
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Go to an auto zone and have them pull the codes, and then post them here. Flashing CEL while driving means equipment damaging situation happening. To me it sounds like your car is misfiring something fierce. Intuition is saying not transmission related by the symptoms you posted.
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Jan 5, 2015 08:18
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I agree 100% with what mafoose said. A flashing check engine light means "pull the gently caress over NOW and get me towed to a shop" - generally a severe misfire. The fact you can't get above 62 tells me that your car is in "limp home" mode, meaning it's just trying to run long enough to get you home or to a shop. I'm betting it also won't rev past about 3000-3500 RPM, even if you're in park (or neutral, if it has a manual transmission) even if you stand on the throttle. Do not drive it with a flashing CEL, period. You'll wind up, at the least, damaging the catalytic converter (outside of California, that's a couple of hundred bucks.. inside of Cali, potentially thousands, thanks to CARB regulations requiring that a new cat be sourced from a dealer) and oxygen sensor. Worst case, you may be looking at a replacement engine, if you keep driving it like that. The "humming" sound could be something like a hose between the air filter and throttle body knocked loose - that would cause a check engine light, and cause a lot more noise under the hood when accelerating (and the noise would disappear once you took your foot off the gas). The mass air flow meter (the device that tells the engine computer how much air is entering the engine) is usually close to the air filter, so if there's a leak, or disconnected hose, between the MAF and throttle body, the engine computer will be confused as poo poo. With the engine off, look for the box that holds the air filter - it'll be a decent sized square or rectangular box near one of the headlights, with a few metal clips holding the top to the bottom (if you have the owner's manual, look in the maintenance section; it'll have a diagram of where it is). The mass air flow sensor will be attached to it, it'll usually have at least one plug to it, and possibly a couple of other plugs/sensors/hoses nearby. See that big hose leading to the engine from the MAF? Make sure it's tight at both ends, and that nothing is disconnected along the way. Beyond that, take it to AutoZone or any other chain parts store (unless you're in California) and tell them "my check engine light is on and I'm not sure why". If you're in California, it's supposedly illegal for a parts store to read codes for you. My best case guess is the hose between the MAF and throttle body got knocked loose, and the engine computer just doesn't know how much air is going into it. That usually (usually) doesn't cause a limp home condition, but that depends on how pissy the engine computer is. I know on my current car (GM Ecotec, Chevy Cobalt/Saturn Ion/Pontiac G5/Chevy HHR, same poo poo different body), it causes it to hesitate really badly and a high idle, and turns on the check engine light, but doesn't cause a limp home condition. On my last car (Nissan Altima), it did keep it from revving above 3000, and it would barely idle. randomidiot fucked around with this message at 08:40 on Jan 5, 2015 |
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Jan 5, 2015 08:34
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Transmissions in these cars are pretty stout. The flashing CEL usually means a misfire is happening. Those things require fancy expensive plugs, and run like poo poo with regular plugs. The spark plug boots can also let water in, which causes basically the same symptoms as you're describing. They also like to eat o2 sensors and the cheap aftermarket ones don't work worth a drat. My sister has one of these, so I've had a bit of experience dealing with it. Boy it was a shocker paying $40 for corolla spark plugs...
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Jan 5, 2015 18:29
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Based on what you guys have said, I now feel like an idiot for forgetting to mention that I've had an oil leak. I was only able to see oil in one area, and from what I've read it could mean that I have a leaky valve cover gasket. Could that leak oil onto or around the spark plugs and cause the problems that I'm having? I've been diligent about making sure I have enough oil, but I want to get that fixed asap. I watched a video on youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OGbbZ8gsz4 and it seems pretty easy to do once I get the right tools. In the video he uses a sealant or glue to put back the old gasket, but it sound like he was saying that a new one wouldn't require the sealant. Is that true? And thank you for your help, it is greatly appreciated.
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Jan 5, 2015 20:54
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one of us one of us one of us
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Jan 5, 2015 22:29
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Also yes, your valve cover gasket is actually a combination of five gaskets. One rectangular gasket goes around the perimeter of the valve cover, and four circular gaskets go around the spark plug channels in the middle of the valve cover. If one of these circular gaskets were leaking, it could pool oil between your spark plug wire and your spark plug, and create problems not unlike what you're experiencing. This is one of the easier jobs to do and you are absolutely capable of doing it yourself with minimal downtime, even as a first timer. One thing to make sure to get critically correct is to torque down the bolts to the correct torque. Do not over-torque them, as they can crack the valve cover pretty easily. Edit: also obviously check to see if there is indeed oil in one of the spark plug channels, and if there is, get it out. See if your car likes that better. Then replace the gasket once you've isolated the issue. Adiabatic fucked around with this message at 22:38 on Jan 5, 2015 |
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Jan 5, 2015 22:34
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Yep, this is all good stuff, OP. Note that an oil leak in the wrong place (eg onto an electrical connector plug) can sometimes wick its way up the wires, and cause interesting issues if it does do on a part of the loon relating to the running of the engine. And yes, if you can turn a ratchet, you can change a valve cover gasket. Do pay attention to any instructions in the manual as to the order in which fasteners should be tightened, as this makes sure the parts mate together flat/straight.
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Jan 5, 2015 22:59
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I've had 3 of these cars - they leak/burn oil like exxon and BP had an all night oil rager. The valve cover gasket turns brittle after about 100k miles and cracks and a big leak can pour oil into the spark plug tubes. Happened to my '99. It takes about 15 minutes to replace if you are knowledgeable, an hour tops if you have't even played with legos before. Also check the air filter box and see if it's secured properly, it can pop loose easily. They last forever, I hit nearly 400K miles on one of my 99's.
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Jan 6, 2015 02:55
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Yeah I'd also guess massive oil consumption leading to a hosed o2 sensor. That or the MAF needs cleaning.
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Jan 8, 2015 08:08
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Be aware that if it's a VE it might have a three-speed auto. Yes, In 2000 Toyota was still selling cars with 3speed automatics. If you think it's a transmission problem this is important to know. The 3 speed will be an A131L and the 4 an A245E I think. As others have said make sure it's got oil in it. the 1ZZ-FE loves to snack on the oil. Carry Extra. Changing the PCV Valve seems to slow down the consumption on these. I can vouch for the Oxygen sensors being a problem, I tried replacing mine with the Bosch 13051, and it stumbled and coughed and would. not. go. unless I matted the pedal. It HAD to be the Denso 234-4205 in order for it to work right. I put Denso Iridium IX plugs in mine, and it works ok. There's a sticker that says "only use iridium plugs" on the valve cover. Voltage posted:I've had 3 of these cars - they leak/burn oil like exxon and BP had an all night oil rager. Nicely put. I find the solution is to mash your foot down and ride it up to near redline now and again to keep the rings free.
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Jan 8, 2015 23:40
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I had a '99 3 speed VE - pretty hilarious transmission and got absolutely poo poo mileage compared to my '99 and 01' 5 speed prizms. I cracked 50MPG in the '99 priz on an entire tank, which was pretty amazing. All 3 drank oil faster than a 2 stroke, thus lowering the amount of savings I had from good MPG. I was putting a quart in every 3-400 miles in the 99 prizm, but that thing had well over 300k miles at that point.
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Jan 8, 2015 23:47
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P0300 P0303 P0420 (hehe) P0420 pending I plan to clean the MAF, and am thinking I should remove, check and reconnect the hose it's connected to, and change the air filter. Mainly because I've done this before, and haven't done so in almost a year. I also will replace the valve cover gasket, as that's where the oil appears to be leaking from. Also my mileage is at 147k, and from what I've read the gasket should have been replaced by now anyways. I have a couple questions about this. On the first video I watched the mechanic suggested using 10 ft/lbs for the bolts. Another video I saw on dragtimes said to use 8ft/lbs. My Haynes manual says to use 89 inch/lbs, which is about 7.5 ft/lbs. A friend gave me a torque wrench he wasn't using, but its lowest setting is 10 ft/lbs. Is 10 ok? Also, I read that the lowest and highest 20% of the wrenches range might not be accurate. Is that something I should be concerned about? I've been looking for a torque wrench that can do 89 inch/lbs, but can't seem to find one. Also, what's the best way to clean the valve cover before I put it back on? Just wipe it with a clean rag? Or should I spray it with something? Tsioc fucked around with this message at 05:52 on Jan 10, 2015 |
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Jan 9, 2015 23:06
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Tsioc posted:P0300 You can get inch/lbs torque wrenches for not a lot of money, harbor freight has this one for  Granted, I've snapped off bolts on bikes because I set one of them wrong  e: re: cleaning valve cover. I work in machining, so dykem layout remover is always an easy thing to spray onto anything oily and get the oil to come off. I've also used varsol but that poo poo can eat plastic and foam and I have no idea if toyota made the valve cover out of anything but metal. If you don't want to inhale toxic fumes you could always use a nice dilution of simple green.
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Jan 10, 2015 12:18
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It's a metal cover - I used simple green and then hosed it off with water and let it completely dry.
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Jan 12, 2015 18:59
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