Around 60,000 miles, engine started to sound terrible....really knocking and loud. Took to our regular and much-trusted mechanic....he gave us the bad news. He said it was about the 6th corolla he had seen that had developed an "oil absorption" problem. His recommendation was to only use the car around town, but it would not be wise to drive long distances....he also recommended that we check the oil on a very regular basis. We kept the car for almost a year, never drove it on interstates, etc. Finally traded it in....watching current toyota problems with interest....have to wonder if they had known about this oil problem, but never admitted it??? Have owned toyotas for years, but really questioning if we will own another.....only got 72,000 miles out of the corolla...expected twice that amount!

I'm so disappointed in my car. Reading 16 people saying they have EXACTLY the same problem, and most saying it started at almost EXACTLY the same mileage ($90K). This is just an inexcusable problem. Should be a recall. None of my friends can believe a Toyota needs head gasket replaced. Anyone with suggestions on what to do, I'd appreciate it. My mechanic says if i don't fix it, I risk the oil damaging the starter and all the rubber around the leak and I could ruin the whole car. Cannot afford a new one, so figure I HAVE to fix this. Any ideas?

I bought this vehicle (used) as a "first-car" for my 16 year old son in 2006. It's held up well, despite being operated by a still-learning yet responsible operator.

Being a former Army Officer vehicle maintenance was something I've grown to rely on and understand the importance of so checking oil is always "routine" in all my vehicles .

(at least once every two weeks) in all vehicles.

Shortly after purchasing this vehicle (after about a 2-3 weeks) I checked the oil and found it to be a little low. I added about a half-quart and checked it about again after about 2 weeks. It was down about a half quart again. Since this vehicle already had 115,000 miles on it I took a guess at "worn piston rings" . I was told by a retired Toyota mechanic that a lot of Toyota vehicles did this and the simplest fix was to "keep and eye on the oil (once weekly) and add more as needed".

So far this vehicle has been a great car for my son to "learn" on. So now, he's learning about "adding oil when needed".

I'm still curious about finding where the oil is being lost as it doesn't visibly show (exhaust-smoke) and there is no loss of power or performance.

I did notice that around the "oil-fill" that there is some "excess-oil" and I was told that the "PCV" valve (worn) may be the problem. (and perhaps a quick fix).

or, maybe a bad oil-fill cap (another potentially cheap-fix)

I'm going to try that and I'll post the results later.

Ed

I bought my Toyota Corolla new in 2000. I was told that this car would last me for at least100,000 providing that I take care of it. Guess what? I took care of my car and it needs a new engine. Turns out this car is an oil burner. Toyota does not recognize that it is a design defect although it seems to be very prevalent in these cars(98-2002). Problems with the struts. Of course manage at Toyota blames my driving habits for the problems. If my driving habits were the cause then I wouldn't have a problem. I am a poor retired teacher and thought that I could depend on Toyota. I guess that Toyota misled me. Instead of fixing the problem I am having to do with out the car. I am walking or riding the public bus system. Perhaps Toyota management needs to be in this predicament and lets see what happens.

Classic combination of Corolla problems - started going through a lot of oil and engine began stalling after coming to a stop and accelerating agin. You'll have to look at the latter seperately. This post has to do with the oil burning.

Fortunately, I'm not one of those who let the engine run dry. I heard valves begin to chatter and checked the oil and it was down a couple of quarts. A couple of years ago it was burning a quart every 600 miles or so. Now it burns a quart every 300 miles or so. Still A LOT less expensive to add oil rather than spend $1500 for a ring job on a car that's 9 years old wtih 173,000 miles on it. Still the environmental cost needs to be factored in. I give myself another 1-2 years with the car before replacing it.

I replace the oil every 3-4000 miles, so have not had a problem with sludging up. I live with the knowledge that the car can go at any second. But then again - it still gets 40 mpg on the highway, and only costs a few hundred to insure so I'll keeping buyin' oil.

Now check out the stalling problem........

I purchased my 2000 Toyota Corolla new in early 2000. After a break-in period of about 4k miles, I have used only high-quality synthetic oil in the engine, based upon prior excellent experience with synthetic oils. At about 80,000 to 88,000 miles, the engine, which had always burned a bit of oil (about 1 quart per 1,000 to 1,5000 miles) started to burn oil at a faster and faster rate, quickly hitting milestones of one qt/700 miles, then one qt/400 miles and then one qt/200 miles. As of June 2009, The engine currently has about 144,000 miles on it, and it currently burns a quart of oil per 120 miles.

There is not, and have never been, any oil leak from the engine, and there are never any oil spots under the car where it is parked in the driveway. Interestingly, the car never smokes while driving; that is, there is never any smoke visible in the exhaust while driving or while stopped at traffic lights, etc., and rather, the only time that I see smoke is after first starting the engine and for the next 2 to 3 minutes while warming it up.

I continue to drive the car, and I continue to feed it oil When I can afford it, I will likely choose to have the upper part of the engine rebuilt, or to have the engine replaced with a rebuilt engine.

I have always liked Toyotas, and continue to like Toyotas, but this problem is rather annoying.

Had this car since 2000, bought it brand new. I must say this is a very reliable vehicle, that caused no problems despite the fact that our entire family learned how to drive on this particular car. However, the engine goes through the oil faster than a Malibu princess goes through her daddy's credit cards, and I find myself constantly adding more oil to the car. After 100,000 km the car becomes a financial problem, as you will find yourself constantly buying more and more oil. As much as I hate to say it, Toyota really didn't live up to it's hype for this particular model in terms of oil consumption. However, this did not put me off Toyota for good. I must say that aside from this issue, the car was an outstanding vehicle.

I'm so pissed. I bought this car in 2004 when I was 21 and spent 8k on it. Needless to say, at 21, I didn't have a whole lot of money. Within a month, the engine was rattling and I took it into my trusted mechanic to have them check it out. Apparently, it was COMPLETELY out of oil and there was carbon on my spark plugs. They determined that it burnt oil.

I added oil and it burnt oil like it was going out of style. Mind you, I purchased this vehicle at only 34k miles. My mechanic suggested a very expensive fix and that if I couldn't afford that (which I couldn't) to dump 20w50 oil and Lucas into it.

This became a VERY expensive habit. I replaced anywhere from 5-8 quarts of 20w50 in between oil changes. Lucas costed around $10.

Finally, after visiting my family in Seattle for Thanksgiving of 2006, the car stopped working, and we were stranded. In a mountain pass. I was pregnant. It was 7 degrees. And 11pm.

We were lucky that a local towing company towed us even thought we were 6 miles out of his range, and they were the only towing company in the area. We would've been fvcked.

Now, I am moving and the fvcking thing won't run. We have to 1) sell it to the salvage yard for $1,000 (someone else offered us $100) or 2) pay an extra $78 (+the extra weight's worth in gas) to rent a hitch for our U-haul and tow it 144 miles across the pass to take to our mechanic so they can replace the engine.

I logged on here to see other people with the SAME complain and am LIVID. I got screwed. Hard. I'm now 26, married, unemployed (even though I have a college degree) and have a 7 month old daughter to take care of. Whatever happened to Corollas being RELIABLE?

I wish I had seen these complaints back in 2004 before I bought this lemon. In summary, that's $8k I spent buying the car, hundred$ in oil, and the $2,000 miscellaneous fix I had to to pay a few years ago.

Booo Toyota. Shame on you.

Yeah I got same problem always adding OIL stumbled on this site and dannnnnnng same problems amazing. Well I guess it started about a year ago noticed using more and more oil check weekly now I don't see any LEAKS? also hesitates but I think that's normal those ox sensors should be replaced at about 70 k miles I read somewhere . WAIT TILL YOU SEE THE PRICES! Are they made of gold? Compared to other models they are made the same dam way..Hey can we curse on this page? lol thanks been fun other then that I still love my car WHY ? HAVE YOU SEEN THE GAS PRICES :) OHHH OH TOYOTA!!!!

What ever you do don't buy one of these vehicles used. In the owners manual it states it is normal for the vehicle to burn a quart for every 800 miles. This is the only manual ive ever seen this stated in. My corolla is currently burning about 3.5 quarts every 1000 miles. There is no leeks on the garage floor and no smoke noticed out the back. It started using excessive oil at about 90 thousand miles and gets worse and worse. I cant believe its made it to 145 thousand ive ran it bone dry many times. In the end watch out fot this jap pice of sh*t.

The car now has 90000 miles and is losing oil rapidly. I have had it in the shop twice to have it looked at and they claim there is no leak. The problem appears to be getting worse. The engine originally was knocking, but now I realize most any engine noise is a symptom of low oil (noticeable before the engine oil light comes on). It is now difficult to maintain a proper amount of oil, since it loses oil so rapidly. I had a high opinion of Toyota cars and have two Camrys (1990 and 2004) that do not have this problem.

I bought this car new. I maintained to or exceeded service. Never missed an oil change. It is burning a litre every 1000k now. The engine sputters on start up, looses power or stalls on startup. Hesitates at a light. It is not leaking oil as we used the dye check other have used. It is burning oil but no blue smoke as it probably gets burned in the catylitic converter. The car is now at the point where I think it might leave us at the side of the road. It is a great car except for this problem. It has been suggested that seals need to be replace and maybe even the head gasket. No assurance of where the leaks are, it looks like it is getting into the cylinders and causing the hesitation and stalling. Really frustrating for a car that is supposed to be stone solid reliable especially if you treat it well. I am not shocked to see others having the problem, but with a Corolla, with so little mileage? And so expensive to fix? To boot, the service has always been done at a Toyota dealer, complete records. And this happens. This is not a new car but it has also been babied and has low mileage and it is progressively burning more and more oil. The thing these cars are known for is good engines and good drive trains and look at this. Looks like I am facing a choice. Spend and fix? Trade it? and why would I look at another Toyota?

Totota corolla LE 2000 with 126K miles, I noticed that the oil light would come up on sudden breaking. (This was after 4 weeks of dealer service). On checking the oil i found very little oil. I took it to the dealer and he said that the engine is buring oil and would require 6K to fix. I am planning to get a second opinion.

Now i keep checking the oil. It gets to 1/3 mark on the dip stick after 600 miles. There are no tell tale signs of leaks, or losss of power. I still get 60 miles per hr at 2200 rpm. and no blue smoke.

Can any one help and let me know what can be the issue. I can't beleive toyota will have an engine that requires remaining at 126K miles