Problems · by component
2000 Toyota Celica engine and engine cooling problems
41 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2000 Toyota Celica cite engine and engine cooling, 39% of all 106 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
41
39% of all complaints
Crashes
1
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
Reported by owners
What owners say about the engine and engine cooling
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“CAR HAS 140,000 MILES ON IT, AND IS BURNING APPROXIMATELY 1 QUART OF OIL EVERY FOUR DAYS. BLACK SMOKE COMING FROM EXHAUST. FOUND SEVERAL OTHER PEOPLE ONLINE WITH THE SAME CAR (2000-2002 CELICA GT 1.8L) WITH THE SAME PROBLEM. PROBLEMS WERE NOTICED AS EARLY AS 80,000 MILES. NO VISIBLE OIL LEAKS. FOUND INFORMATION ONLINE REGARDING A FIX THAT TOYOTA MADE TO THE ENGINE IN 2003 FROM 4 HOLES IN PISTONS, TO 8 HOLES AS WELL AS LARGER PISTON GROVE.”
“MY 2000 TOYOTA CELICA HAS BEEN IN THE SHOP 3 TIMES WITHIN THE LAST 4 MONTHS DUE TO THE SERPENTINE BELT AND TENSIONER. BOTH WERE REPLACED AND WITHIN A MONTH THE PROBLEM HAS RECURRED. AFTER RESEARCHING THIS ON THE INTERNET I HAVE FOUND THAT THIS IS A ONGOING PROBLEM WITH THE TOYOTAS. I FEEL THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL ON THESE VEHICLES TO PROPERLY FIX THIS ISSUE BEFORE IT CAUSES SERIOUS INJURIES OR FATAL ACCIDENTS. THANK YOU FOR YOU CONSIDERATION. *TR”
“1. I PURCHASED A 2000 TOYOTA CELICA GT. 2. ABOUT EVERY 1500 MILES THERE'S A QUART OF OIL BURNED OFF. I'VE CHECKED MYSELF A FEW TIMES FOR ANY SIGNS OF LEAKS, AND HAD IT LOOKED AT BY A MECHANIC, NEITHER OF US HAVE FOUND ANY SIGN AT ALL OF OIL LEAKING OUT. I'VE DONE RESEARCH ON IT AND IT IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM WITH THE 1ZZ ENGINE IN THE 2000-2002 CELICA GT AND IN SOME CASES HAS CAUSE SERIOUS ENGINE PROBLEMS. 3. CHECKING THE OIL LEVEL CONSTANTLY AND ADDING OIL AS NEEDED”
“2000 TOYOTA CELICA GT PURCHASED 05/2008 SO FAR MY CAR IS NOT FIXED SO ALL MY MONEY IS IN FIRST DESLUDGING OF MOTOR(2 WEEKS AFTER PURCHASE OIL LIGHT CAME ON & WAS TOTALLY EMPTY) & OIL. AT FIRST I WENT THRU 1/2 TO 1 QRT EVERY OTHER WEEK. I LIVE 35 MILES FROM WORK & 76 MILES FROM FAMILY SO PUTTING ABOUT 500 MILES A WEEK ON VEHICLE.IT SLOWLY STARTED TO GET TO BE MORE AND MORE OIL.IN 01/2009 IT THRU CAT CONV.WORKING BELOW EFFICIENCY ZONE 2 CODE. IN LAST 2 MONTHS STARTED TAKING 2QTRS ON MONDAYS & 2QRTS ON WEDNESDAYS TO GET BACK & FORTH TO WORK. MORE IF I VISITED MY FAMILY (HAD TO RELOCATE AWAY AFTER LOSING HOUSE IN KATRINA.) THEN 2 WEEKS AGO I GOT A CALL WHILE AT WORK THAT MY DAD (WHO ISIN A NURSING HOME) WAS HAVING PROBLEMS. I PUT 2QRTS IN DROVE 35MILES FROM WORK TO MY DAD. PUT 2 MORE QRTS IN IT BEFORE LEAVING TO RETURN HOME & WHEN I GOT OF INTERSTATE 76 MILES AWAY I PUT IT IN FIRST GEAR COMING TO A RED LIGHT & OIL LIGHT FLASHED. I PULLED DIRECTLY INTO CHEVRON THERE WAS NOTHING READING ON DIP STICK. I WENT BOUGHT 4 MORE QRTS OF OIL. AND LIMPED HOME ABOUT 1.5 MILES AWAY. I WENT THRU 8QRTS OF OIL THAT DAY @4.99 A POP.HASN'T BEEN DRIVEN SINCE. I'M SCARED MOTOR WILL…”
“TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2000 TOYOTA CELICA. EVERY THREE MONTHS, THE VEHICLE'S ENGINE WOULD CONSUME ALL OF THE OIL. THE CONTACT ALSO NOTICED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED, A KNOCKING SOUND WAS HEARD COMING FROM THE ENGINE. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN DIAGNOSED BY THE DEALER. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 94,553 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 88,000.”
“PROBLEM: MY ENGINE IS BURNING EXCESSIVE AMOUNTS OF OIL. EVENTUALLY I WILL HAVE TO REPLACE THE ENGINE. ON OCTOBER 2007 I BOUGHT A USED 2000 TOYOTA CELICA GT. IN DECEMBER 27, 2007 THE CHECK OIL LIGHT WENT ON. IN NOVEMBER 2008, ENGINE WOULD NOT START IN THE MORNING. I HAD JUST HAD AN OIL CHANGE ABOUT 1,000 MILES BEFORE THIS DAY. THIS MORNING I FOUND OUT ALL THE OIL BURNED OUT AND THERE WAS NO OIL IN THE CAR, SO I ADDED OIL. I VISITED THE DEALER AND THEY EXPLAINED AWAY THE PROBLEM, STATING THEY SUSPECT THE GUY WHO CHANGED MY OIL SIMPLY FORGOT TO ADD OIL. COME ON - HOW COULD I DRIVE 2,000 MILES WITH NO OIL INTO HE ENGINE? IN DECEMBER THE CAR STALLED AN ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. I PULLED OVER AND CHECKED THE OIL LEVEL TO FIND THERE WAS NO OIL IN THE PAN AND WHEN I ADDED OIL IT LEAKED OUT. I TOWED THE CAR TO THE DEALER. THEY SAID THEY FOUND A HOLE IN THE OIL PAN, SO THEY REPLACED THE OIL PAN. IN JANUARY, I HAD THE DEALER DO AN OIL CONSUMPTION TEST. THEY APPARENTLY MARKED THE OIL PAN AND I CAME IN AGAIN AND THEY CHECKED THE OIL LEVEL. THEY SAID I AM ONLY BURNING 1/2 QUART OIL PER 1,000 MILES. THEY ARE LYING! I CHECKED MY OIL LEVEL AFTER 1,200 MILES AND FOUND THE OIL BURNED…”
Showing 6 of 41 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 10, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.