Burns through about 3 quarts of oil every gas tank. Problem has gotten so bad to the point that massive clouds of smoke are blowing out of the exhaust. Was told by a mechanic that the only fix is a rebuilt or new engine, so either way you're talking thousands to fix it. You may be able to slow the burning rate with a thicker viscosity oil, but that's about as much as you can do without a rebuilt or new engine.
So my 2001 Toyota Corolla just hit 112,000 miles and has started burning oil worse than an oil rig burn off platform in the gulf. Burns thru about a quart every 100-200 miles. I have been running 5/30 oil in it but after following up on some leads from the internet have switched over to 10W40 oil in an attempt to thicken up the ratio a bit. Doesn't burn white smoke, but it is definitely burning it. Only option is to fill er up and check the gas or sell it on to someone who is willing to deal with it. 99% of Toyotas are top notch in my opinion. However Toyota really screwed up with these.......
I own a 2001 Toyota Corolla LE and it burns oil at about 1 quart per 800 miles. I think it has the oil consumption issue for this model year. I am a fan of Corolla's from pre-1998 years so I am sad this car burns oil. It also
has a check engine light on issue which may or may not be related to the oil burning. Still runs well though and plan to keep it until it dies. It has 125,000 on it.
I bought a 2001 Corolla in late 2012 with 103,000 miles. It burned oil rapidly from day 1. My oil light flickered on after I'd driven it about 1500 miles. I checked the oil and it was 2-3 quarts low. I have to add a quart every 600 miles to keep up with how fast this car is burning it.
I have contacted Toyota about this issue. They declined to provide any assistance as the vehicle is out of warranty. I had hoped that a major car manufacturer like Toyota might take a little pride in their products and acknowledge that a car that was designed and built properly should never, under any circumstances burn half a quart of oil with every tank of gas. But they don't, so I have to either pay $4000 to get the engine rebuilt (twice the current value of the car), or keep adding oil nearly every time I stop for gas.
My father owned a 1990 Ford Taurus. The car had its fair share of mechanical issues but it never consumed oil during 18 years and 260,000 miles. Ford figured out by the 90's how to prevent a problem Toyota still struggles with today. I have read that there is a class action lawsuit against Toyota for models as recent as 2011 consuming too much oil.
I have lost quite a bit of the respect I previously had for Toyota vehicles. I will be very leery about purchasing Toyota's in the future.
I have had my Toyota for 4 years now. It had 225kmiles when I got it, a large share of those being pulled behind an RV . I noticed fairly soon that it seemed to go through oil. A shop found I had a leaking valve gasket so they replaced that. A few months later I had to have the oil pan gasket replace. Finally no oil leaks. However my car continues to burn oil at the rate of at least a quart a week. Even right after an oil change the oil looks dirty. I can't afford to replace this car nor can I afford a new engine. For now I keep oil in my car at all times and check the levels 1 - 2 times a week. Very frustrating for a car I expected to get so many more miles out of.
Bought 2001 Corolla to commute to job wile interning, driving 100 miles a day, thought corolla with a hundred thousand miles would be better than some Honda or Nissan. Boy, was i mistaken, cars burning a quart plus a week, thinking with all the oil I'm burning through the 35mpg 20 bucks to fill is equaling the same price as a six cylinder would cost. Minus the constant headache and stress of breaking down far away from home. All my extra moneys going into my car as mechanic as a list of ideas it could be. So upset with Toyota for not making a car that's built to last.
The private seller told me about this problem right after I signed the papers. What a jerk! Car consumes significant oil, my mechanic told me it wouldn't be worth it to fix since it's probably a matter of leaky seals. I had to add about a quart of oil every week, and it smelled terrible most of the time. After some brief research, we found out this was a common problem among Corollas of this vintage. My first experience with a Toyota did not live up to expectation. Needless to say, I sold it a year later.
I bought a used 2001 Corolla S 113K to use as a commuter car. I travel 600 mi a week. Since I bought the car I have had to put in several quarts of oil between oil changes. Now its several quarts/wk. Toyota was aware of this problem back then and is still putting the same crappy engines in the newer models. I have owned 2 of the older model Corolla's both with the same problem and I will never buy another Toyota new or otherwise.
Adding at least a quart every 120 miles-RIDICULOUS!!!! Can't afford a new car right now and this one is not worth a new engine! Funny, this is a common problem, Toyota knows it & doesn't give a crap. Used to think they were better than that.
I bought a used Corolla with 135k on it in August. Changed the oil, filter, and transmission fluid right away since it's an older car.
2 months later it started making progressively worse rattling noises, and motor vibration/noise began to increase.
Took me a while to realize it was on the verge of using up all the motor oil I had put into it. Only took about 3k miles to do so! Thankfully I caught this before the motor had blown up, but it was close....
Be warned sooner or later, this model (and probably any of the 98-03 engines) will cost you a fortune to fix.
Last estimate I saw pegged it at $1-2000 to replace the piston rings.
I bought this vehicle 1/17/12 it was very clean looking and it ran great the oil had just been changed so it was clean & full. I drove it home 200 miles and the oil was down over a quart. I called the person I bought it from and they won't return my calls. I've been using the vehicle for the last 4 days and it runs great but I have to add a quart of oil every 180 miles. After reading all the complaints I see it's probably the piston valves. After what I paid for the vehicle I don't have the money right now to rebuild the engine talk about getting screwed!
Someone else was driving the corolla for awhile & said it was using oil & he was adding it. Now I'm driving it & one day the oil light goes on & it starts knocking BAD. So now I'm stuck with it & can't afford to buy a new car or fix this one. If this was a known problem & they didn't make owners aware of it before it's too late, I say they need to make this right.
I am also now putting in heavy weight oil & babying it as much as possible till I can get a new one. Problem is I live in the mountains & going up these hills is damn near impossible. This is my only way of getting to work & my jobs are all over the county. I'm so screwed & my usual MO is to never buy from people who burn me. I realize my car is 10 yrs old but it's worthless now. I can't even use it as a trade in when or if I could afford to buy one.
if you read this, and have the same problem, you know that there really is no known solution to this corolla, problem, and the saddest part is that toyota claims that there is no problem!!!!!!!!! mine is using about a quart every 100 miles!!!!!! i read the letter about someone who bought their corrola from a co-worker!!!!! egads!!!!!!!!!!!!! why not turn around a re-sell it to your mother-in-law!!!! let me know how that works out. toyota has no shame. they used to be the gold-standard of quality, now they are just a bunch of liars, and cheats. really quite sad. aint it?
I noticed most of the complaints predate Aug 2008. I just bought my Toyota Corolla back in April. All of my children have had corollas, but newer than mine. I bought mine found it was low on oil when I drove it home. I have been monitoring the oil ever since. It goes through a quart every 100 miles. I was thinking it was the head or maybe the piston rings or both. I was looking on line for a new head when I came across this website and found 25 complaints for burning oil but none of them beat mine at quart per 100 miles. Some of them also said their cars ran poorly and would hesitate on acceleration; mine too. I am just heart sick. I lost my means of livelihood because I am in construction and someone (Corrupt politicians in Washington) made sure my business wasn't viable anymore. I spent all of the money I had for the corolla. I do not have any money to fix it with. What did any one else do short of getting rid of the cars?
I bought this car new due to past experience with Corollas and reputation, figuring I'd have this car at least until my daughter was out of college but for several years, it's been using oil. None shows up on the ground so I figured it was burning but every time I mentioned it to the mechanics, they said they didn't see anything. I've done more than the suggested maintenance, added oil regularly between oil changes and kept an eye on the temperature gauge to be certain that it has never overheated, and I accelerate smoothly - no jack rabbit starts or screeching halts. At this point, the engine is making noise and smoke can be seen coming out of the tailpipe so now the Toyota mechanics admit that the engine is worn out and it's not worth replacing because the car also needs a catalytic converter. This car still has the original rear brakes! Kind of sad when the brakes outlast the engine.
After years of use and no problems with the car, I noticed an increase in oil consumption 5 yrs. into ownership. From that point it went downhill. I sought help from Rodland Toyota in Everett, Wa. was told that it was a common problem and there was nothing to do, but add oil. Oil use now is at 3-4 qts. per tank of fuel. EPA is nothing when it doesn't include the cost of petroleum products overall. This is the beginning of the end for Toyota unless they LISTEN to their customers. We will actively seek out other brand names and increase their wealth and the loss of customers will become the mantra for Toyota...No help from above!
Same problem with burning oil - It has gradually gotten worse every year, now at 165k miles it burns about 1qt/week. The 'check engine light' stays on all the time from the down-stream O2 sensor. With the spark plugs fouling , the computer tends to 'flip' and lean it out making it worse. Found that the most inexpensive plugs, well undergapped near .025-.030 works the best. From experience don't waste your money at the dealer - where I live they don't have a clue! It has 1 safety advantage - the exhaust is nasty enough to keep people off my back bumper! Brings back memories of my 1963 America Motors Rambler - an oil fillup at every gas fillup!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
Burns through about 3 quarts of oil every gas tank. Problem has gotten so bad to the point that massive clouds of smoke are blowing out of the exhaust. Was told by a mechanic that the only fix is a rebuilt or new engine, so either way you're talking thousands to fix it. You may be able to slow the burning rate with a thicker viscosity oil, but that's about as much as you can do without a rebuilt or new engine.
- evanma, Hatfield, MA, US