Pinking Corolla

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
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Thu 26 Jun 2003 13:03
Pinking Corolla - shamus
Hi - I have a 2000W Corolla 1.4VVTi with 30k miles and fTsh. Its a great car - much better than my previous T reg - they sorted most of the things I didnt like with the pre-facelift.

Anyway ... I only have one problem with the car. For some reason it is pinking. I change gears at the right time and I avoid Supermarket fuel.

The car is due for its 30k service - but this doesnt include plugs etc.

Any ideas what could be causing the pinking and how to cure it ? It does it most of the time, not only when going up hill. Is it harmful for the engine ... which otherwise is very very sweet, fast and does 45mpg avg.

Thanks !
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Thu 26 Jun 2003 15:06
Pinking Corolla - kal
45 mpg thats good how do you acheive it? motorway or town driving or a mixture of both.

If the car is under warranty (most Toyota's come with 3 year) take to dealers and complain like hell...and tell them you do not use cheap fuel....also if you drive in town or at slow speeds then possibly the car engine has suffered from excessive carbon build up (I think) and thus requires a "bypass decoke"! ie take it for a good high speed high rev run on local motorway in 3rd or 4th gear.

kal
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Fri 27 Jun 2003 01:03
Pinking Corolla - shamus
45mpg - 20% round town and 80% on motorway 70-75mph. I was amazed at the economy ... but thinking about it, my earlier 1995 Nissan Sunny 1.4 was just as good (and gearing was lower in the Sunny for more relaxed cruising). Driving purely around town gives about 38mpg.

Going back to the pinking ... mentioned it to my Toyota dealer today (the car is 2 months out of warranty ... typical). They also said carbon build up and suggested Reddex. Bought some and intend to try tomorrow. Anyone else had this problem .... and solved it ?

Thanks.
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Fri 27 Jun 2003 12:23
Pinking Corolla - Aprilia
Hmm - not sure that Redex will be terribly healthy for the cat...
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Fri 27 Jun 2003 12:25
Pinking Corolla - Aprilia
Further to the above - carbon build up is not much of a problem on modern cars. Two suggestions:

1. ECU or sensor problem is leading to over-advanced ignition (this is easy to check with a timing light).
2. Spark plug heat range is wrong and/or you have a faulty plug. Try a new set of NGK's one 'heat range' lower - won't cost much to try it.
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