Toyota Corolla (1997 to 2002) - 01 1.6 Loss of power in lower gears

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Mon 6 Jul 2009 17:06
01 1.6 Loss of power in lower gears - MrGodfrey
Hello all,

I bought my Y-reg Corolla (my first car) in early April of this year. I am a new driver - qualified last year at the age of 23 - and have little technical knowledge. Prior to the Corolla, I learned on a Fiesta 1.4, and also drove a Focus C-Max 1.6 and an Astra Estate 1.6. While I would hardly call the Corolla sporty, compared to those other cars I initially felt it was fairly 'nippy', which was one of the reasons I chose it.

Unfortunately in recent weeks, I have been experiencing a noticeable loss of power in lower gears. Once I shift up into second, fairly moderate acceleration now seems to send the revs flying - it begs me to shift up into third much sooner than it did previously. And yet, once I change into third I no longer get the 'boost' that I did before. This is most noticeable when going up familiar hills, which now require much harder acceleration and where I now find it difficult to overtake. Also in traffic I now have to change down more often as it takes longer to pick up speed in third.

Oddly enough I do not have these problems once I change into fourth; acceleration is still good even when I have slowed down quite a bit.

Could this be an issue with the gears, or possibly with the enging management system? Or is it just me? As I said, I am new driver so please forgive my ignorance. Thanks in advance for any advice or thoughts.
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Mon 6 Jul 2009 20:38
01 1.6 Loss of power in lower gears - galileo
SQ - no need to quote the message as you're the only one who's replied so far

Revs rising with poor acceleration suggests the clutch is slipping and needs replacing.
I suggest you ask a trusted friend with some experience and /or mechanical knowledge to try the car and give an opinion.
How many miles has the car done? Did you get any warranty when you bought it?

Edited by Dynamic Dave on 06/07/2009 at 20:41

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