Problems with 2003 Toyota Corolla POWER TRAIN

6853 miles need a new transmission

Car accelerated when breaking to a stop and while stopped. the event happened 4 times in one day and 1 time recently. the dealer could not find a problem with it and had never heard of such a problem.

Twice while driving the car has suddenly dropped out of overdrive while coasting on flat road or going down a slight hill. in addition, the engine makes an unusual and very loud 'tingy' or high pitched reving noise when accelerating, which disappears when at cruising speed. the first incident occured about 2 weeks ago and was followed by the inability to go above 15 mph. this persisted despite pressing the accelerator fully to the floor. the only way to stop this was to pull over and restart the car. the most recent incitent only involved dropping out of overdrive. dealership has been contacted and has tried to find problem with no success. manufacturer will be contacted.

Vehicle lurches while sitting in traffic.*jb

My wife purchased a 2003 toyota corolla. she purchased it because of its implied economy. but despite the owner's manual claims that the car can use 87 octane or higher, such is not the case. in two words, rotten eggs. in two other words, hydrogen sulfide. as we decelerate to a stop light or sign, if the windows are open, or the ventilation system is set to intake outside air, the odor of rotten eggs is overpowering. (note that if the airflow pattern control is turned to either partial or total windshield defrost, the control will automatically enforce fresh, outside air intake.) when i took it to the dealer, the service manager didn't bat an eyelash. just opened a drawer and pulled out a sheet of paper which states that tmc assumes no responsibility for the problem, and will do nothing to remedy it. the paper further suggests that i should change brands of gasoline (we had already tried that) or change to a higher grade of gasoline. the dealer refused to write up the problem on a report. i can attest, the rotten egg odor doesn't abate if 87 octane fuel is used - even amoco which purports to be better than the rest. searching these topics via google, i found a discussion suggesting that the cause was/is a catalytic converter running too hot - probably due to its proximity to the exhaust manifold. sure enough, this vehicle has the first catalytic converter (there are two, in tandem) is coupled directly to the exhaust manifold. further, there is no room to move the unit back, and, since the entire exhaust system is welded, any modifications to it would probably negate my warranty. my '88 corolla uses the same 87 octane fuels, from the same brands (that we've tried on the '03 corolla) and does not have this problem. consumers deserve a better product than this. my son's '02 honda civic doesn't seem to have this problem. why should we - and our fellow road users behind us and to the sides of us - be forced to tolerate this deplorable stench?

Vehicle drops out of over drive while going down a slight hill and gently applying the brakes to slow down. also does it while going straight on highway, at 60 mph or higher and applying the brakes with medium pressure. does not resume over drive for 1/2 mile after that.*jb

The problem is . when i start my car i "must" press on the clutch very hard ( all the way inwards ) in order to start the car. i never had this problem with my previous manual transmission cars.*ak

I brought a 1999 toyota corola in 2000, in 2001 32,000 miles later the transmision failed, toyota replaced the transmision with a brand new one. this month may 2003 41,000 miles later the transmision failed again same problem. according to toyota i'm no longer under warrenty and i have to pay 4,396.71 for the repair cost. what i don't understand is, if the transmision keep failing every 30,000 to 40,000 miles obviously something is wrong with the car.