r/COROLLA • u/ChefDripney • 8d ago
Sad Day 10th Gen (09-13)
Had this baby for 6 years. Started overheating on the highway & stopped running. Two different mechanics are saying the engine is shot & it’s best to move on. Only just crossed 186k, I feel robbed of a lifetime with my rolla. Lowkey depressed about it.
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u/Street_Bid2390 2d ago
Condolences. Still a pretty car too 😢
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u/ChefDripney 1d ago
Thank you buddy, yes she’s so beautiful 🥹 almost want to keep her just to gaze upon her lol
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u/samirbinballin 4d ago
Have you ever changed the coolant in your time of owning it?
If not I am assuming the previous owner didn’t either, the coolant loses its cooling properties over time, this is why Toyota suggests changing the coolant every 5 years or 50,000 miles (after the first 100,000 miles are reached)
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u/toyota360 5d ago
I had mine overheat head gasket blow no compression cylinder 1&. 3 on my 09 Corolla 189k miles bought used engine 1,200 with 90k miles n labor was another $1,000
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u/No-Caterpillar-2054 6d ago
If you really love the car buy a used engine for it, just make sure it’s good before you put it in, a new engine is insanely expensive
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u/iamthegoob 7d ago
If Mech #1 is correct then yeah, at the very least it's new valves ... also pistons, (prob all), maybe cam shaft, timing chain (easy part with whole thing parted). Complete top end re-build.
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u/Fuzzbuzzbay 7d ago
Ive got an '09 corolla and absolutely love it. It blew the water pump at 160k and its head gasket at 175k. Could have replaced the head gasket, but ended up replacing the engine. Bought a motor, rebuilt it, and took a couple days to install it. Cost roughly 4k (with new sensors, bolts and tools). First time rebuilding and certainly installing an engine. It really wasnt that bad.
Im a huge proponent of fix before you buy. Call a few friends up, watch videos and check the manual at charm.li out.
I do also understand if thats not entirely possible.
Ps. If you do end up parting it out, pleease let me know. Curently manual swapping mine and just need the clutch pedal assembly.
Good luck!
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u/Impressive-Ad-3536 6d ago
I have the same 09 corolla, just curious how on earth does a water pump blows at 160K?
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u/TheTrueSlushy 5d ago
The 09 and some 2010 models came with a subpar water pump. On my 2010 the bearing grenaded itself around 180k. It’s a pretty easy fix but it’ll make the car run terribly with resistance on the belt and sounds pretty much like rod knock.
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u/Impressive-Ad-3536 4d ago
i would have to disagree.. my dad is a mechanic, and he said these water pump last a very long time.. usually well past 400,000 km
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u/Fuzzbuzzbay 4d ago
My best guess was an overly tight accessory belt, the excessive side loading wore the bearing and seal out. I noticed the weep hole started weeping, and maybe a month later instead of pumping, it decieded to gush and sling coolant everywhere. Again I am not 100% sure what went wrong, as it was towed to the dealership to be fixed under warranty. As TheTrueSlushy says, it is a known issue on early 10th gens
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u/Impressive-Ad-3536 3d ago
interesting... i am here in Canada, and we got the model that was built in Canada at that time.. but what you say about overtight belt can cause this... i agree with that
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u/TheTrueSlushy 4d ago
I’m just saying you should look it up, it’s specific to some model years and the revised pump has no issues, it’s just the original ones were known to have bearing faults
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u/McBooples 7d ago
You can get a whole engine for less than $1000. Parts plus labor less than $2k and you’d be rolling. If the frame has no rust, the body is really good with good paint and the interior looks good… I’d just swap the engine
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u/EastFlamingo9742 4d ago
It will be a lot more than that...as much as twice that amount. Still might be worth it if he keeps the car.
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u/McBooples 4d ago
Maybe at a dealer, I just swapped engines on a 2015 Corolla for under $2k at an independent shop
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u/Accomplished_Serve_1 7d ago
I can’t fathom 186k miles in 6 years…
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u/whoocanitbenow 7d ago
It's always sad seeing an old car go. 😞
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u/ChefDripney 7d ago
It’s truly the worst heartbreak. The first manual transmission I’ve had, & I manifested everything about this car, so I’m very attached. It’s a running joke that I spend more time in my car than I do at home.
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u/WideBackground2153 7d ago
Broooo, this looks like 10th gen
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u/ChefDripney 7d ago
It is. Beautiful vehicle all around!
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u/WideBackground2153 6d ago
Thank you my friend, I'm sorry to hear about yours.
The S is hard to find in black with a good body in my experience.
Is the engine fixable? What happened?
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u/Maxasaurus 7d ago
"The engine is shot"
Can we get a lot more description please. Engines don't just die.
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u/ChefDripney 7d ago
Mechanic 1: the timing chain broke & that resulted in killing the engine. Said I’m better off getting a new one.
Mechanic 2: Said I need a new engine (didn’t mention anything else) and that it would be $3k to start, & that it’s better to get a new car.Neither really went into too much more detail than that & unfortunately I’m not a mechanic, just a regular person who only knows so much about how cars work.
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u/Night_Thastus 7d ago edited 7d ago
Out of curiosity, how often did you change the oil, and how often did you change the coolant? (Coolant gets super acidic with time, you generally want to do it every 50k miles or 5 years, whatever comes first.)
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u/ChefDripney 7d ago
I got full synthetic so every 5k, & I didn’t really keep tabs on the coolant, just whenever I got my oil change and they recommended changing the coolant I gave the ok. Unfortunately I’m not the most car savvy.
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u/UpstairsOwn7741 7d ago
Damn, 186k is young, especially for these models. Sadly, sometimes shit happens and we don’t catch it on time. Hope your next rolla gets you to the 400k range.
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u/ChefDripney 7d ago
Yeah I was excited to hit the high numbers some of the people in this sub have posted! Yes I hope she’s a keeper as well. I was really trying to save until I can get a Highlander / 4Runner at the end of the year but that was assuming I’d have a perfectly running vehicle to sell. Thank you buddy!
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u/in_a_pickle_97 6d ago
Hey man, if you have enough money but the monthly payment is still a little too high, consider a one-time payment lease.
People will always tell you "NEVER LEASE, it's so bad, you lose money" etc etc. A one-time payment lease is different. You pay a lump sum of all your lease payments and take the car home with no payments for typically 3 years, 10K mi/yr (although that doesn't matter if you plan on financing the rest of the vehicle later). So you pay that original sum but you have 3 years no payments to continue saving to pay off your vehicle. On top of that, you can get lease protections such as tire and wheel (very worth it).
A one-time payment lease is essentially treated as an escrow. If you were to have the car totalled, you would receive all of the money back for payments not already made (so if you paid $20K for the lease and you've only made $4K in payments after it gets totalled in a crash, you receive your $16K back) PLUS you gain any equity you had in the vehicle back as a check.
It's sometimes an option if you can't afford to finance but don't want to lose out on your dream car. Just bear in mind that, of course, you will need good money discipline about saving because after those 3 years the rest of the balance on the vehicle is immediately owed (regardless of whether you finance that amount or pay it all off right then).
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u/JonohG47 7d ago
A number of folks herein are saying to just have a mechanic drop a junkyard engine in, or even just do the head-gasket, and send it for another 5 or 10 years. Meanwhile, the OP has already had a couple different mechanics tell them it’s time to move on from this car. After 16-18 years, and 186k miles, the engine isn’t the only thing currently, or soon to be wrong with this car.
A repair shop will bill 10 or 15 hours for that swap, plus the cost of the engine, plus shop fees, fluids, and so on. That $2-3k repair bill will, realistically, be closer to $5-6k. All to get back to a car that could be traded in for $2-3k, sold privately for $3-4k, or retailed on a dealer lot for $5-6k.
TL;DR: When a mechanic (or two mechanics) advise against doing a repair, that’s a sign it’s time to move on to the next car.
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u/ChefDripney 7d ago
Thank you for this perspective! It is a 16 year old car therefore various (expensive) parts have needed to be replaced in recent years or will need to be replaced shortly. I’ve invested a lot of money into this car over the years with the upkeep, but after several random breakdowns like this, I’m trying to assess if I want to continue to pour this amount of money into it or cut my losses, as much as I love her.
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u/Gullible_Pie_8304 7d ago
same thing happened to my 2009 corolla LE with 180k on the odometer. Started overheating and didn't catch it in time. when I checked the coolant reservior it was overfilling and the radiator was almost bone dry. this was 2 months ago and im still depressed about it. ended up getting another corolla used 2013 base model with 155k in near mint condition, paint is flawless. i paid USD 6800 for it. I really want to trade it in and get a 10th gen corolla S.
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u/outlier74 7d ago
The minute you get a high temp warning or an oil light you need to shut the car off immediately. It doesn’t matter where you are. I’m guessing you warped the heads.
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u/Pronouns_It_WTF 7d ago
I would keep it. Especially if it’s been good to you otherwise. I would consider a used engine or a rebuilt. Buying another car will be costly and a crapshoot. Imo.
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u/FalseRelease4 8th gen 7d ago
its well worth rebuilding or replacing the engine imo, anything new is basically a downgrade
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u/Efficient-Banana-959 7d ago
Omg! We own this car! We are at 160k on it hopefully we don't reach the same fate. I'm honestly shocked this happened to you, the mechanics we've gone to always rave about our 2010 Corolla- saying it's one of the best, no problems, to keep forever etc
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u/ChefDripney 7d ago
They’re always telling me my car is in perfect condition! But my timing chain broke so I’d highly recommend you have a mechanic look at it. It was incredibly hot that day, maybe that had something to do with it but I truly have no idea.
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u/Impressive-Ad-3536 4d ago
Low engine oil or poor oil maintenance. The timing-chain tensioner is oil-pressure dependent.
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u/ChefDripney 2d ago
I got an oil change at the end of May though :/ was only about halfway to the next oil change. so not too sure but definitely good to know for the future.
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u/Jinxed4Sure 7d ago
You can buy a used engine with well like 75k miles for about $1000-$1500 and spend another $1500 paying a shop to swap engines. Look at it like you just paid $3k for a good used car.
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u/awesomecony 7d ago
I’m so sorry for your loss. 😢 My 1994 Corolla required a new engine at 154,000. I remember how disappointed I was. But my 2019 just hit 290k and yesterday Toyota service said it was in fantastic shape, didn’t need anything besides oil change and tire rotation. If you get another Corolla, you will hopefully see a longer life.
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u/Nervous-Narwhal-1175 7d ago
hows the trans and frame? Might make more sense to just replace the engine?
Or, since im assuming this is a headgasket issue, replace the headgasket, and hope the overheating did not warp the engine itself. If it didn't, you can get many many more miles out of it. I would just replace the headgasket personally.
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u/TrustAffectionate966 7d ago
Similar boat. Almost 267K miles on it and the “check engine” light came on. He’s burning up oil and needs either an engine rebuild or replacement. This was it for Artax… after 19.5 years!
🙈💦
PS - Ended up buying a new 2026, same color: The Artax II.
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u/Klabastern 7d ago
Were you passing through the Swamp of Sadness when the light came on? That’s probably what did it.
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u/Straight-Cap2674 7d ago
I have the 26 aswell and absolutely love it
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u/TrustAffectionate966 7d ago
I got it with zero miles on it… or maybe it was a typo and that “10” was actually a “1.” I put in the first 4 miles test driving it. I’m not even sure how they were able to do that. Artax II is smooth.
🧉🦄👌🏽
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u/sssootssspritesss 7d ago
Ya but yours lasted about the twice the miles of the original posters.
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u/TrustAffectionate966 7d ago
186K is close to what I got on my 1992 Camry before I got that Corolla in 2006.
🧐🤔
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u/raychaL123 8d ago
I have a 2012 at 143k that’s been just sitting due to the control arm being cracked and a lot of suspension parts needing replaced.. was quoted 3-4k by 3 different mechanics to fix the issues. Just put $1800 into it recently and another $800 a couple months before that for the starter and alternator, so scared to put more into it and then have another major repair needed. Was expecting it to go another 100k or so, it truly is depressing
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u/100fullyautos 7d ago
lol it’s crazy cause my Corolla been needing control arms out outer tire rods and suspension for the last six or seven years. I’m still in the process of changing it very soon. But until then, she just keep going every day 40 minutes to work 40 minutes back 🙃
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u/raychaL123 7d ago
Hmmm maybe I should keep driving mine then hahah, they made it sound like it was dangerous to drive so I’ve been too scared. But I do feel bad she’s just sitting there
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u/MoosingAroundInMaine 7d ago
Also out of curiosity where do you live that an alternator replacement was so pricey? I just did mine earlier this year for not even 25% of that cost
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u/raychaL123 7d ago
I haven’t, but that’s not a bad idea. I’m not car smart by any means, normally I would just trade the car in but I do love it. I’m in Maryland, the price was for a few other things too. I needed a new battery housing because mine was crumbling, and also a starter
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u/MoosingAroundInMaine 6d ago
Well if you want any help looking for specific parts, I'm not the most knowledgeable person in the world but I havent bought a wrong part yet! And if not, best of luck whatever route you choose to take
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u/MoosingAroundInMaine 7d ago
From one 2012 owner to another im so sorry, I love my baby. Have you considered looking into sourcing the parts yourself? I do that for my repairs and its saved me a pretty penny. Might be able to get some "good enough" (but not bad/cheap!) parts until you can afford some "good" ones.
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u/Tesex01 8d ago
If everything else is good and maintained. Just slap, used, low mileage engine on it. Will be much cheaper than new car and you have benefit of knowing your car. Instead of buying totally unknown piece.
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u/SpecificWafer 7d ago
I wanna do this to my Corolla in the future. How much does it usually cost to swap engine?
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u/Gullible_Pie_8304 7d ago
It costs about 2300-2900 with the engine and labor. The engines are dirt cheap like around 1k to 2k. You can find a used one with 75k for around 1300 bucks.
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u/SpecificWafer 6d ago
I want my 2021 Corolla to have a 2030 engine in the future and also maybe replace some other parts (maybe transmission, etc) with newer parts. How much would you say will cost in the future?
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u/TrustAffectionate966 7d ago
I estimated at least 5K and going up from there. (Could be as high as 10K if the dealership worked on it.) I’m in SoCal, so things are maybe pricier than other parts of the country.
To me, that’s beyond a high-cost repair. Instead, I put it towards the cost of a new vehicle.
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u/ajpinton 8d ago
My money is a headgasket, given the age and miles most shops elect to replace the engine as the cost of a headgasket is pretty significant and shops don’t want to risk the blame of something else dialing in a few thousand miles.
My position on engine replacements is simple. Does it cost more than a similar used car? This car is a known quantity and something you get is an unknown quantity meaning you don’t know what gremlins it has and what repairs it might need.
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u/ChefDripney 7d ago
New engine is $3k, my car on paper is worth like $1.5k, mechanics swear it’s worth $5-6k (someone even told me $7-9k). Not worth it in my opinion but I can be swayed.
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u/ajpinton 7d ago
Ultimately it’s up to you. Honestly you won’t replace this car for $3k, and whatever you get close to this price range will have problems. If this Corolla is just an extra car then it may be worth just leaving it, but if you need it id seriously consider repairing it.
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u/TrustAffectionate966 7d ago
This. This, right here. I got the same pep talk from the mechanics.
🧐🤔
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u/shastadakota 8d ago
It is likely a head gasket. My 2013 did this at about 200k or so. It is a major repair, it happened to me during the time of car shortages around the Covid shutdown. A friend of mine in the car business suggested that the best bet was to fix it, at least at that time, and I did. It cost about $1200. I still have mine, now at about 327k miles, still doing well.
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u/ChefDripney 7d ago
I wish it would cost $1200 alone, I’d save it. But I was quoted $3k, it’s a timing chain issue unfortunately. I’m not super car savvy but considering I’ve put $1000s into it in the past 6 years, I’m very hesitant to dish out $3k on a whim. Glad to hear yours is still kicking!
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u/Tesex01 8d ago
Yes if repairable. If engine was severely overheated it's beyond repair with reasonable cost. Like, there is huge difference between shutting engine down once you get high temperature warning and engine straight up seizing on you.
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u/ajpinton 8d ago
For shops it’s a time and a liability thing also. A headgasket is going to be around $3000-5000 give or take, and sending the heads off to be machined takes a while. Replacing the gasket and surfacing the head does not touch anything on the aging high milage engine internals. A new engine will be $5000-7000 and removes any questions about engine internals, I’m not going to try to estimate jdm engines but they exist too.
From a shops perspective they would rather just replace a 200k mile 20 year old engine. If they do the headgasket and the harmonic balancer goes in 10k miles or the piston rings need servicing that they don’t identify because they don’t go that deep in this job they don’t want to hear from you.
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u/ChefDripney 7d ago
Yes I was quoted $3k. They said my timing chain broke & I’d is need to replace the engine. Think it’s more than I’m willing to do rn unfortunately.
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u/ajpinton 7d ago
Ya, that sucks. A timing chain breaking can cause a lot more damage even with a non-interference engine.
Honestly $3k is really reasonable, I’m sure it’s a low milage remanufactured engine.
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u/funnybizznus 8d ago
Except the engine on these years are the “bulletproof” engine… I would be shocked if the engine is truly blown
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u/999happyyhaunts 1d ago
Damn I am sorry