ZEEROLLA

U buy the genuine **** in a bottle from the parts section...the workshops buy the oil in big drums and just pretty much use the same on every car they get in.. Toyota can use anything they like in my car with or without my knowledge so long as the car drives reliably. By using their products and service, it will also be harder for them to refuse a warranty repair if something breaks. I am only thinking of using their stuff because i doubt dealership's integrity when it comes to servicing cars. Servicing is their main revenue, and if you think about it, the easiest way for them to go about it is to skip an oil change or cut corners during service to save time and labour even though you requested for it to be done properly. Who would know anyway?

So what actually constituted this failure? Poor driving habits or a manufacturer defect or both? Since Toyota covered it under warranty, they have almost admitted its a manufacturer defect but with the Stivos being a hi-performance car they should also expect owners to drive it enthusiastically. But i guess it's not something we should worry too much about since its the first case we have heard so far :P

Darn it seems like every Toyota Dealership is using different oils, so how will i know which is genuine Toyota Oil???

Is the 10W30 Toyota VVTi oil (mineral) made by Valvoline as well or something recommended by Toyota Japan for our engines? I am thinking of switching back to using Toyota's mineral oil on my next service (10,000km). I am having doubts about some mechanics' integrity hence to save the worrying i am reverting back to genuine Toyota. Its cheaper anyway and the engine oil don't seem to make too much of a difference.

Thanks man, but still waiting here for Toyota Oz to give us a confirmation on what needs to be modified on our Stivos. Haven't heard from them since the last email a week ago. Confident something will happen though. From the SA forum, it seems that most guys experience slight differences. Most say its the midrange that has improved. I think the best method to test the "kit" out is to have a pre-recall Corolla RunX Rsi take on a post-recall RunX Rsi. That way you will be able to see for sure if there were any improvements in torque or power. Cheers, Zee

Hey qkslvr, isn't your avatar the DC5 TypeR gearshifter? Back to topic, i've realised on some occassions people are honking at my car for no aparent reason sometimes, maybe its for that???

How much stiffer is Pedders and Whiteline?

I watched that clip over and over again and i would say for sure it was down to the gear ratios. The Stivo started in 3rd changed to 4th before 160km/h and pulled away because the Clio's 4th gear ratio is longer, then the Stivo changed into 5th and revs dropped while the Clio was still in 4th and reeling in. That was what happened and the guy in the Stivo never backed off. Also another point to note is the slipstream where the car behind can gain easily on the car in front at certain speeds like 200km/h.

Hey Pecker good run, matches the best Celica 1/4 mile time. So was that a perfect run for you or do you think the Stivo could have ran better? Did the 1-2 gearchange go alright? Do you know what mods the Civic R had because in stock trim i know they run close to 15 seconds 1/4 mile. It definitely needed the ECU to be retuned to run on 98RON. Zee

I find that the gearbox shifter is only hard to shift at very high revs. Any revs below 7500rpm is fine, but it just pi55es me off because i keep falling out of Lift. If i am driving a V8 or a turbo car then i don't care if the shifter was slow as i will still be in the fat torque band. But for the 2ZZGE and the VTEC equipped cars the gearbox and shifting quality is crucial. That is the only reason why the Celica and Stivo will get outdragged by other cars. Anyway, the gearbox does feel slightly better after the oil change especially notable in the morning when the car is still cold. The gearbox is smooth to shift right from the turn of the key now instead of having to wait for the car to fully warm up. I guess that is the only difference the Synthetic oil has made to the gearbox. Zee

It was actually TORY TOYOTA at Albion Park Rail that i brought my Stivo into. Apparently Wollongong Toyota is also owned by Tory so that is it for the 2 Toyota dealerships in the Wollongong and Shellharbour area. I will have to either drive up to Sydney or further down south to find another Toyota dealership.

Forget it guys The tranny oil change did nothing to solve the problem, i am just going to accept the fact. Was worth a try though and i can be more confident with pushing the tranny now with a full synthetic oil. However i can't help but wonder if Toyota really did change the oil for me or maybe some poor mechanic decided to keep my $50 worth of tranny oil for himself. I will find out though because the Castrol Syntrax is red in colour. Also another interesting thing Toyota did was they used a less than expected amount of lubricant. With my engine oil as well they used about 3.8-4L of engine oil and with the tranny, the manual states 2.4L but they only used 2 bottles of Castrol Syntrax which is 2L. But i have decided not to go back to this dealership again for service. Zee

Thanks a lot Quicksilver, without the info from you SA guys we would probably still be kept in the dark. But i am happy with the acknowledgement from Toyota Australia so hopefully they would give us an answer soon. By the way, have you had the "Kit" installed yet? Please let us know of the outcome. Cheers, Zee

GUYS READ THE OTHER POST ON ANOTHER EMAIL I RECEIVED FROM TOYOTA AUSTRALIA. WE ARE IN FOR SOME POWER BOOST

Hi guys, i received another email from the nice lady at Toyota AUstralia today and it says: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Just a further follow up. We can advise that Toyta Australia are currently investigating a matter affecting the Corolla Sportivo vehicles involving a minor engine power rating discrepancy. We have advised the relevant Australian Government regulatory agencies of the issue and are now working with them and with TMC to implement necessary actions. We are preparing to provide all involved customers with clear advice concerning this issue at the earliest possible opportunity and we will contact you again shortly in that regard. Thank you for providing us with the opportunity to respond to your concerns and thank you also for your patronage of the Toyota Corolla Sportivo. Regards, Jenny Stewart Customer Relations Centre Manager Customer Relations Department Customer First Development Division Toyota Motor Corporation Australia Limited Email: jenny.stewart@toyota.com.au ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WOOHOOO!!!!!! Sounds like we are getting more power soon like the SA guys! Zee

I went down to my dealer today with a couple of friends wanting to purchase a Corolla and it was the first time i saw the facelifted Rolla in the flesh. The front end looks really nice when i saw a kitted Black Rolla in the showroom. The rear end doesn't look any different. However, that was also an opportunity for me to ask the salespeople about the Sportivo and 2 sales person stated different reasons for ceasing sales on the Stivo. One said it was due to emission levels and the other said it was due to noise levels from the muffler. They did say there was a possibility the Corolla Sportivo would be sold again, maybe next year.

I booked my car in on the 28th June and i thought i had it booked for the 21st :P Will have to let you all know next week! Zee

I sent a casual email to Toyota Australia to get some info and this is their reply: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you for your recent email regarding the performance of the Corolla Sportivo. We would like at this moment in time to acknowledge receipt of this email and to advise that the issue at hand is not safety related, nor is a vehicle reliability or normal operation compromised. The issue is being reviewed with Japanese departments and regulatory bodies. Details will be released to the public once the action plan for resolution has been clarified, and yes we agree that rectification should pose no impost on the customer. Our apologies for any inconvenience that this concern has created and please be assured of our best intentions at all times. Regards, -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I sent a casual email to Toyota Australia to get some info and this is their reply: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you for your recent email regarding the performance of the Corolla Sportivo. We would like at this moment in time to acknowledge receipt of this email and to advise that the issue at hand is not safety related, nor is a vehicle reliability or normal operation compromised. The issue is being reviewed with Japanese departments and regulatory bodies. Details will be released to the public once the action plan for resolution has been clarified, and yes we agree that rectification should pose no impost on the customer. Our apologies for any inconvenience that this concern has created and please be assured of our best intentions at all times. Regards, -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nice pics and review. Although i must admit the new T-Sport looks very nice but it is still basically the same car with the same drivetrain, maybe even the same problems. Its only cosmetic and a few "claimed" suspension mods. I could have done suspension mods myself for little money and have my Stivo handle better so i don't personally feel the new T-Sport would get me too excited. If the Civic Type-R lands in Oz, i probably would race down to the dealers :P

I sent a casual email to Toyota Australia to get some info and this was their reply: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you for your recent email regarding the performance of the Corolla Sportivo. We would like at this moment in time to acknowledge receipt of this email and to advise that the issue at hand is not safety related, nor is a vehicle reliability or normal operation compromised. The issue is being reviewed with Japanese departments and regulatory bodies. Details will be released to the public once the action plan for resolution has been clarified, and yes we agree that rectification should pose no impost on the customer. Our apologies for any inconvenience that this concern has created and please be assured of our best intentions at all times. Regards, -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I sent a casual email to Toyota Australia to get some info and this was their reply: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you for your recent email regarding the performance of the Corolla Sportivo. We would like at this moment in time to acknowledge receipt of this email and to advise that the issue at hand is not safety related, nor is a vehicle reliability or normal operation compromised. The issue is being reviewed with Japanese departments and regulatory bodies. Details will be released to the public once the action plan for resolution has been clarified, and yes we agree that rectification should pose no impost on the customer. Our apologies for any inconvenience that this concern has created and please be assured of our best intentions at all times. Regards, -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I think the sizzling noise we hear is from the air induction for those who still have the stock setup. My car has: -gearbox shifting problems, -rattles everywhere every now and then, -reverse brake squeal, -flickering lights, -car pulled to left when i first got it and 2 allignments didn't help but gradually disappeared (but check your tyre pressures and try rotating them to see if it solves the problems, if not i suspect its a shock absorber problem that some owners are experiencing already) -Steering wheel shudder during braking (dealer told me to wait till next service and they will do something to the brake discs) -Clicking tapping noise from clutch or somepart of drivetrain every now and then -And of course the engine power output issue (I am sure there are more but just cannot recall. This car is far from PERFECT :P ) Zee

Tivo Matt, are you having gear selector cable rattles? Because the hard shifting could also be due to the selctor cables or anything gearbox or clutch related basically. And i don't think anyone of us stuffed the gearbox during the run-in period because you would have to be pretty brutal to damage anything. The Celica 6 speed has also been known to be a pretty strong box, definitely stronger than the WRXs' box. Plus i am not having difficulty shifting all the time, just more difficult when the weather is cold just like when you try to shift when the car ain't warmed up yet. But there was this time i came back after a trip up to Sydney and back traveled about 200kms and off i go revving in 1st to 8100rpm, clutch in shift and CRUNCH. That was a slow slow shift and my clutch was in fully. It's weird because on that shift i was able to shift out of 1st smoothly but had trouble getting into 2nd :( plus the tranny oil should be warm enough by then. So i have come to a conclusion that the 6 speed is just underdeveloped and can be improved, just like the gear ratios and the 2ZZGE lacking torque below "Lift". Zee

I think your probs could be due to the colder weather at the moment. I am having issues as well with the synchros and i suspect its tranny fluid being a mineral based hence thicker and in Winter has trouble getting up to temperature. That's why i am getting the tranny fluid changed tomorrow to full synthetic which is much thinner. However, that might not slove the problem, will have to wait and see. I also know that some S2000 and WRX owners also have some gearbox issues, and its usually on very new cars with very low mileage (5-10,000kms).