Hello all PC owners,

I dun own one but my wife just got hers on Saturday. She's not the forum type of person, so here I am on her behalf.

Color: Aqua Blue
Location: Penang Island.
Tinting Option: Chose a 8mil security tint with 98% IR rejection, 45% light transmissivity. Front windshield, I can't remember what it was. UMW Toyota charges RM1400. Tinting done by SPEED in Jelutong.
Head Unit: Stock OEM Pioneer with Bluetooth
Booking: Early April and collected the car End September.

The first thing I like to change is the horn cos it sounds lame as it uses only 1 horn. But to access it, I dun think my wife will allow me to remove the top panel.

For myself, I own a Corolla SEG and has been with me for 16 years. It's still in very good condition, giving me 15 to 16km/L with a manual tranny.

This post has been edited by RM1: Oct 3 2012, 09:23 AM

Yeah, my wife has the 1.3GLi 1999 model with manual tranny and she got it as a used car. She sold it off to get the PC.

Agree, the SEG is one of the well built car from Toyota with a lively engine response. At one time, the car was in poor condition due to using fake iridium NGK plugs and almost dead plug cables which made the engine kind of harsh and lack of power, and yet it still out run a Civic 2.0 Vtec from the traffic light. It wasn't my day that morning when I saw the Civic was in the wrong lane (right turning lane) and had the intention to squeeze rudely into my lane when the lights go green. There was also a VW beetle on my left which also tries to outrun all of us but of course it wasn't as quick as the Civic or the lamed SEG.

Beware of imitation Iridium plugs, which is sold quite rampantly. I got a fake NGK which became too HOT and causes the engine to ping under load. It was so hot that no deposits/residue was found on the ceramic, a pure white clean ceramic. And I thought my car was running too lean, and caused me to look for vacuum leaks. Took me a while to figure out it was the fake plugs. SEG is now with the old genuine NGK iridiums, and lately blasted the intake valve deposits with water treament, the car now is like what is was suppose to be. Lesson learned, never neglect the car.

BTW, I noticed the 96-97 model SEG model was used in the Service Manual diagram in the Rust prevention chapter of the PC. It's legacy still lives on.

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Added on October 3, 2012, 10:24 amI forgot, let me contribute a little info on the PC.

It uses the spark plug from Denso, FK16r-a8. Info on this is hard to get in Google but I found that the "F" means Iridium. There is also a "S" which I think has a longer lifespan and also Iridium. "K" means 14mm thread size. Gap is 0.8mm. I've told my wife to reject any plug changes from UMW SC for at least 100k km in her schedules services.

It would not be compatible with IK16 as this uses the gap of 1.1mm. The older Prius that uses the 1.5L engine (which the PC also uses) recommends the IK16. I.e, IK16 not to be used in PC.

This post has been edited by RM1: Oct 3 2012, 10:37 AM

Thanks for the welcome timeonce. If it is Iridium, then it should be 100k km. I have checked my NGK Iridium (the real thing) at 80k km and the iridium tip is worn some and it appears to be at an angle (no longer a flat surface at the very tip). Ground electrodes are still ok, although no longer have the sharp edges. The gap appears to have grown, but I knock the ground electrode to close up the gap.

Also, on a low mileage (less than 10k km) fake NGK iridium, the so called iridium electrode already worn with the sharp angle on the tip. But the main issue with this fake plug is the heat dissipation. I think they make one plug but label it as different colder plugs. So for mine, it is BKR6EIX but I think it is really a '5' rather than a '6'. Perhaps cars that uses the '5' won't notice any pinging. But cars that needs a '7' would really feel the pinging and probably cause severe meltdown of the electrodes and eventually destroy the engine. I was just lucky that it didn't destroy the engine.

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Added on October 3, 2012, 12:49 pmSad to hear that there are owners of PC that is so inconsiderate. For me, expected lah from Civic Vtec, most probably impatient YUPPY people would own it.



This post has been edited by RM1: Oct 3 2012, 12:49 PM

I change my horn on my bike as well to Hella Siput type.

Forgot to add. Most importantly, change the HORN Fuse to 15A as this red Hella horn sucks up 12A per pair. Your stock 10A fuse will blow.

My bike's fuse was changed to 15A, and no issues except that when the engine is off, the sound is very soft. Car battery has more Amp capacity, that would not be a problem.

When the engine is on, the voltage system would rise up to 14V, which causes the Hella horn to use LESS current, about 10+ Amps.

I think I know that fella who is selling in Penang and the car is already sold. Main reason for selling is the small size; lady owner who use to drive a V6 Harrier. So u know why it is considered small and underpower when u use to drive a V6 SUV.

To me, coming from a big bike rider, most cars available in this country is "underpowered" U want power, get a bike. U want comfort, get a car. U want comfort yet save fuel, get the P.C.

sbsoo,

U said they adjusted your brake, as u noticed something. Is it the hand brake level? If it is the lever level, simply ask the SC to loosen it back a little. The lever only connects to the rear drum brakes. The shoes are brought closer to the drum when the lever is adjusted, and perhaps it was too close and caused too much friction, hence the increased in fuel consumption. Any mechanic shop can readjust the drum brakes if SC plays dumbo.

All cars with drum brakes will noticed that the lever will be able to pull further away as they driver over the years. This happens when the shoes wears and gets further away from the drum. Hope this helps you to envision what could have happened to your P.C. n rest easy that SC is not the only way, but of course, do NOT tell SC that u had visited an outside workshop.

This post has been edited by RM1: Oct 27 2012, 06:29 PM

sbsoo,

My wife's PC after brake lever adjustment is 4 clicks, which I think is too little, n if I recall corectly, 7 clicks is standard. (BTW, this is after the 1s 1k km service)

Anyway, I did some homework and check the rear wheel freeplay. I found the Left rear to have some interference at a particular spot, as there is a sound each time the wheel rotate pass that point. The Right rear is free as Free Willy. I can rotate the Left rear easily but eventually the frictional part will stop the wheel.

More observations with the PC after 1k km service. The acceleration is very poor. Overtaking a kapcai at 50km/h and increasing speed with pedal to metal was very very slow. I thought my wife who was driving wasn't stepping it more but she told me that the pedal is all the way down already. Something is not right. The car does not have the forward moving urge like it use to be. Furthermore, when cruising around 80kph, the motor doesn't run the car, then engine is the one that is coming on. Seems like the motor is not running at all by itself. Feel that something is holding back the car.

sbsoo,

Thanks. I was advised by a friend that jacking up the car to check the drums brake free play maybe misleading. When the load is on the wheels, the hand brake lever cable tension actually increases. So while you may only feel a little friction when jacked up, there will be more friction when the wheels are under normal load.

Anyhow, this kind of problem will eventually go away as the shoes gets worn. I was advised to just brake hard a few times and just let it slowly wear over time. My wife today says the car is better but still not to the point like before.

sbsoo,

My wife's Drum brakes have been adjusted to 6 clicks on the brake level and it is much improved. Car can accelerate like before. The SC says there is no connection on the drum brakes and the problem. Looks like they are not that smart, well for the mechanic that attends to my wife's.

Before ging in the service, check the number of clicks on your hand brake lever (about 7 clicks). If they adjusted it (will be less clicks), there is a possibility they adjusted too much and cause the rear brake to have higher friction. It will lead to poorer FC and lack of power.

usually they may not do the rear brake lever adjustment at 1k km service but just in case they do.

Happen to my wife's PC. Overtaking a kapcai going at 50kph and pedal to metal only saw the PC gaining speed very slowly and took about 8 secs to overtake the slow kapcai. After we complained to the SC, adjusted the lever and now I think back to normal.

I took this notice and check my rear wheel drums also and had my mech adjust to loosen up a little. Glad I did it as the car do run better. Hope to pick up more for Fuel economy.

China is good at making copies of original device, and they have access to these since most are manufactured in China, and intellectual property do get stolen easily.

Looking at some of these copy devices, they do need access to the Diagnostic port in order to retrieve the security codes. If a mechanical lock is put in place to prevent access to the port, it will surely discourage them to try to hack your system.

I'll look into how to make a lock.

Only unlock it when servicing at the SC.

I could not find the diagnostic port in the engine bay. Anyone know where it is? Thought it was going to be obvious but really can't find it.

Zarr,

Congrats on your up n coming PC. My wife owns one Aqua blue n am enjoying the low FC. Apart from the overtightening of the brake lever/drum brakes during the 1st service, the PC does well. Dun worry about the lack of power, it has an 'urge' to move forward all the time.

I didn't bother with the DVD-AVN unit for the Garmin, since the SA wasn't able to demonstrate to me. Fortunately too we didn't take this option, as a Garmin Nuvi 2465LM worked a lot better with more features.

I'm still with my manual SEG. Still going strong.

This post has been edited by RM1: Nov 8 2012, 08:49 PM

Zarr,

Yes, long time no see since the TT session. My wife sold her GLi (1.3 SEG) at about the same time she collected her baby. Will miss that car.

I already have a K&N air filter, installed long time ago. Maybe advertise in Mudah or the Corolla forums? Thanks for the offer though

The tinting option my wife took was a 8 mil security tint, with 90+ % IR Rejection. Paid RM1400 "special price", else it will cost RM2k. One lousy thing about 8 mil thick film is that the rear screen with the de-mister lines won't stick so well; so u can see a some air gap between the conductors n glass.

BTW, the air filter of the PC is very small. Even my Kawasaki Versys 650 air filter is larger than it.

Found a good site for Hybrid Toyota technical info
http://www.autoshop101.com/

They have updated with Prius information.

This post has been edited by RM1: Nov 8 2012, 09:14 PM

Do check your brake lever, to see if they did any adjustment to it (should have less clicks after adjustment)? Happen to my wife's PC. Had them adjusted it back (more clicks) and car is better.

Oil viscosity would also increase FC, n that may be the cause too. In our hot weather, it's better to stick with W30 oil.

Depends when u get the PC. Free parts n labour is valid for PC up to the first 3 services for PC booked in April onwards.

The best info for W20 or W30 oil usage is in the manual. The ambient temperature will determine which viscosity is best for the PC. Unfortunately, I don't remember it n need to refer to it. Anyone remember off hand?

The worst case or severe temperature for the oil is during stop n go and very high engine speed (80% of red line) driving.

Speaking of oil which needed to be made known, I hear one case of our national car being serviced by their SC and use P******* oil. So for 1st n 2nd service, mineral oil is used. On the 3rd service, the user selected Fully Synt oil since the next service will be 10k km later. Fully syn should have longer drain intervals by default.

Unexpectedly, the oil failed to provide basic function. Symptoms of harsh engine sound, like a diesel engine began to suffice. Complains to the SC went to deaf ears and get the common stupid answer, "it's normal". However, the user was insistent and lucky for him, there was a SC auditor there. So they went for a spin and the auditor said the unexpected things.

He said, dun ever use P brand fully syn oil and he demonstrated why. Took a drop from mineral and Fully syn and rub them on the fingers for some time. The mineral remained on the finger but the fully syn vaporized or dissapeared (maybe it entered your skin ??). He also demonstrated the stickiness of the oil. Place oil on index and use the thumb to slowly separate out from the index and the mineral oil shows that it has good surface tension while the fully syn oil very quickly breaks off.

The auditor agreed that the engine is not normal and had it dissected to investigate further. Cylinder walls were scratched! Since it is under warranty, a complete new engine was implanted.

It may just be counterfeit oil as P brand oil is notorious for it. But what is the chance of getting a fake oil if it is sold by the SC?

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Added on November 9, 2012, 12:34 pmTHe main thing is do not keep the engine speed the same, vary it.

There is another school of thought, which goes against the soft break-in advice. It's called Hard Break-in, notably written n tested by Motoman. http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm It makes a lot of sense to me, and I did it on my big bike the moment I got it off the shop

The objective is to get a good sealing between the mating surfaces of the piston rings and cylinder wall, and to achieve that, the initial rough surfaces of the cylinder walls are used as a honing tool against the rings. With that said, you only have a small window of mileage before the surface becomes smooth. High engine load is required to get the rings to brush against the wall. I leave the details to ur own reading. The method of doing it is very important, it's not just pedal to metal.

This post has been edited by RM1: Nov 9 2012, 12:34 PM