Hey everyone, I'm looking to buy a first Gen tc for myself, on a fairly reasonable budget. My question is, because they are first Gen, a lot of the cars I've found are high mileage. Can I get some feedback on how reliable the tc is after 100k miles? Appreciate it!

 

It depends on how well the previous owner(s) maintained it. A trustworthy mechanic might help determine condition.
Ask the seller if they have maintenance records. A CarFax report might help to determine whether it's been previously wrecked or totaled. The seller (in some cases) is legally obligated to tell you anything they're aware of but that's not easily enforced.

 

I'm a 2009 owner since new, with about 123k miles now. I had a funny transmission problem a couple months ago (solved at no cost fortunately but could have been much worse), but I haven't heard of many other people with the same problem. Other than that, I had to replace the water pump at 110k miles, and the third brake light, but nothing else other than typical maintenance.

The water pumps all seem to fail eventually. There are several updated part numbers, but I don't know if the current ones still fail. Just make sure to check the coolant and look for pink crust on the weep hole. You can inspect it with a flashlight pretty easily, look underneath the serpentine belt behind the alternator.

Not many other common problems, so just look for typical things that you'd look for in other cars. They're pretty reliable in general, it's all Toyota parts bin stuff so don't expect a lot of trouble.

 

How much was the water pump replacement? Part + Labor

 

I paid $130 for an OEM water pump and a tube of Toyota gasket maker (there is no paper gasket). That's ordering from a discount parts dealer, list price is higher. I installed it myself and it was not very difficult in the grand scheme of things.

 

Not crazy expensive .. My 2010 is at 58k miles right now so i hope i can last till 100k before that happens. Thanks

 

Yeah, I was hoping that the 08+ models wouldn't have the problem, but I was wrong, at least for my 2009. Luckily, it seems to be a very slow leak, so I caught it before it got too low. Just make sure you keep an eye on it every month or so.

 

deuce8s, where do you live? i have a 2007 with just a tick over 31k miles. I'm thinking of selling it soon

 

Did it make noises when it was going? I'm at 120k miles and i hear some noises that make me think it is the waterpump. Is there a DIY how to?

 

No, I never heard any change in noise before or after I swapped it out. There are plenty of DIYs on the internet, they should be easy to find on google. You have to remove the serpentine belt to get it off, so if that hasn't been changed yet at 120k you should do that while it's no extra work.

 

How did you know it was bad?

 

Slow leak from the weep hole. Keep your eye out for pink crust.

 

I had a gen 1 regret selling it.. they are toyotas and they are reliable trust me. I beat the daylights out of mine (i was 18-24 years old) and it withstood everything i put up again it. I have seen them selling onsite with upwards of 200k miles