2016 Corolla S service loaner review

My truck has been sitting in the shop at the dealer for over 2 weeks waiting on a repair part so I have gotten to know my service loaner really well.

Pros
1. Super easy to park.
2. Little engine is pretty peppy. My wife totally smoked some redneck road rager in a Dodge 1500.
3. Great gas mileage > 36MPG

Cons
1. Annoying rattle from the dash area on the drivers side. Must be a Toyota thing.
2. Not very good for off roading. No crawl control.
3. Will only hold 6 bags of mulch in the back seat.

Apparently Toyota did not contemplate that any of the mechanical parts on these trucks might fail. Hopefully, this is not a precursor of more to come. I am second guessing the decision to decline the extended warranty.

 

I got the same story. New engine so parts are not immediately available. I completely forgot about the "do not buy the first year" rule.

 

You can still get the warranty.

 

Finally got my truck back today. The replacement water bypass joint was $753 (under warranty). They had to remove the injectors to replace the part. The transmission fluid and it was a quart low, "causing abnormal shift points".

 

If ypu dont mind my asking, but why did you need a new water bypass pipe?

 

According to the description below "poor assembly of part".

 

^ Are you happy to see that sheet of paper or what?

 

no that was enthusiasm for getting my truck back.

 

What engine part broke?

 

Corolla S wasn't bad.

Peppy, would make a decent commuter. Definitely not a race car, fun enough around town.

 

CVTs suck. I leased a 2014 Corolla S Plus with a 6 speed manual. Nice little car and had tons of options for a Corolla (auto climate control, moonroof, nav). I wish I had the money to buy it as a second car when the lease ran out.

 

I would have no problem driving a Corolla or Civic if I had need for a DD. Wife received a Corolla S as a loaner late last year while her Tacoma's AC compressor was replaced. I was thoroughly impressed.

 

My daughter liked the Corolla as well... But not enough to displace her desire for a Tacoma.

 

Coolant cross pipe assembly. See the above ticket. There was no overt indication this was a problem. The coolant was leaking on hot engine parts and evaporating so no evidence under the truck. If my technician had not been checking the transmission fluid level it would not have been discovered. My dealership service department did me a solid. The tech told me Toyota hates them because they are a high volume dealer and often are first to find first year design issues.

 

My daughter was also considering the Corolla but I may have convinced her to get another Mazda 3. Her current Mazda 3 has held up awesome over 10 years of neglect and abuse.

 

My wife has a 2012 Corolla base. It runs and gets 37mpg on road trips, that's about all I have to say.

My 4cyl Tacoma is quicker and handles better, but gets 21mpg all day long.

My sister in law has a Rav 4 and it gets a solid 27/33mpg. Hands down my next DD when the taco is paid off.