Originally Posted by Shark Man (Post 7673573)

Headlamp dimming is caused by a voltage regulation issue. the problem is the engine ECU that controls the alternator, other symtom is the radio breifly stops working. Its a £600 fix. Some Corolla T-sports are also affected.

Lift bolts on VVTLi mechanism, they wear prematurely and shear off, simple but labour intensive fix, but an annoyance. Later cars had bolts with a improved design, but some have post MY02 cars where they have still broken, so it seems that its still an issue. :(

Gearbox, gerenal shift quality issues, baulking, and noted some failures. Grating noise on overrun on 1st 2nd and 3rd common.

Brakes; compound issue on front pads/disks. resulting in disks rusting up on inner sufaces thus eating brake pads for breakfast (so on next service, you get a "new disk required, sir" from the mechanic). generally result in degraded braking performance and poor pedal feel. Advise to use non-Toyota disk and pads.

Wheels: Poor/wafer thin top coat laquer, thus start corroding in a matter of months. People have had up to 3 or 4 complete wheel sets replaced on warrantee because of this. Worse on older cars (the 5 spoke rims are the worst). Whilst talking about wheels, should you ever trip over a celica still wearing the OE Yokohama A680 tyres, bin them, they are awful in the wet.

OE alarm; It's a retrofit system. A poor one at best (The Scorpion retrofit systems fitted as an extra on the older shapes were far better). Biggest issue is false alarms caused by the mircowave sensor located in the centre console underneath the window switches. It is adjustable, but objects placed in the cup holders can still cause false alarms (especially loose change).

Catalyst failures have been noted, noted by a rattle/metallic vibration which initially sounds like a loose heatsheild.







Thats the mechanical issues. In a more detailed and indepth reply to the previous post, the following part of this post is giving some reasons as to why the older shape Celicas were better cars, its not that there is anything wrong, but at the same time its a step backwards from the older models:

Now to address the petty cost cutting:

Front leather seat: Rear vinyl - that doesn't even match in colour!

Driver's Seat memory: Older Celicas had a driver's seat that retained its postion memory after it was folded for rear acess. This model now resets in a bolt upright position; like the passenger side. Simple annoyance.

Headlining; what material is that?; seems like its the same material as the interior lining from a 1980's passenger jet. Older generations had a much more plush lining, not that it matters much, but it just looks nicer.

Also older versions had a proper sunroof that slid into the roof cavity; not one that slides over the top (called a "moon roof" by the Japs :lol1:...again, they are a retro-fit, fitted after the car was built). Consequentally, headlining and A-pillar trim issues loose/rattles maybe caused by this. Obviously if the car wasn't specced with a sunroof, its not a problem (just as well considering how much it costs as an extra when new).

Dashboard material; hmmm, <scratches finger nails on it> Jury's out on that.

Storage bin above the radio: nasty, although it doesn't break, it feels like it would quite easily. Something I'd expect in a Aygo or a Starlet, not a Celica.

Reverse gear interlock: Why is it so hard to fit one of these like any other car with 6 gears? What Toyota employee thought it would be better to have a irritating, annoying, distracting bleeper that constantly bleeps at you when your trying to perform a tricky manouver. To the uninitated, one may mistake it for reversing sensors....<beep><beep><beep><BANG!> ;)

Bumpers, particularly rear. Older cars had a proper inner girder protecting the chassis, and minimising damage. I recall inadvertantly reversing into a bollard in a MY91 at 5mph+ and it didn't even scuff or crack the paint! Try the same in a modern one and the only thing that protects the car from damage is a polystyrene lining and nothing much else. Of course we have insurance for such matters, but in such a rear-accident event, I'd rather the car just have bumper repair work over having it written off or stuck in the body shop for weeks on end whilst the boot floor gets straigtened out.


Obviously one can put up with all that, but after knowing what the older generations are like (stretching back to 1986 for us), it is a let down on what was a very solid quality icon.

I'm not going to go into the drivability issues, with referece to ride quality, stability or the stupidly narrow powerband as its so well documented. Why the Corolla got the supercharger and not the UK Celica just doesn't make sense to me.

Originally Posted by scoobberdoo (Post 7671280)

Totally agree, especially when they're participating in F1! :

Originally Posted by subaruturbo_18 (Post 7673192)

i heard the last celica GT4 wasnt as fast as other cars with similar spec? is this true?

Originally Posted by saxperience (Post 7689560)

lolzzzz, what a plank.

Lexus, cough cough cough buzz buzz buzz

Originally Posted by Northern Nick (Post 7697296)

UK 1994Toyota GT4 ST205 made 240hp out the box
UK 1994 Impreza Turbo made 215hp out the box

JDM 1994 Toyota Celica GT4 ST205 made 260hp out the box
JDM 1994 Impreza WRX made 240hp?

The ST205 Celica was a fast car as standard and very under estimated but can only be modified to normally about 320-350 before you need to forge the engine.

They are a great car and it is a shame Toyota never continued with the developement of the 3S-GTE.

Originally Posted by saxperience (Post 7698613)

And what luxury motor are you going to buy next? focus or a corsa?

Originally Posted by Shark Man (Post 7699173)

Already have: BMW 530iA M-sport.

Celica's stuck festering away at the back of the workshop.

Originally Posted by Bullitt_Rich (Post 7705868)

Toyota is the richest car manufacturer in the world so to make a decent all out performance car wouldn't hurt them really. It'd be a damn site cheaper than funding the waste of time F1 team they have.

Originally Posted by subaruturbo_18 (Post 7698663)

yea im not doubting power, but i just heard that overall they weren't that fast? only saying what i had heard anyway