Celica Forums General Discussion General Celica Changes 00-05

I'm making this thread for all the newbies, including myself because this question gets asked so many times and a lot of people don't know the answer. We've finally arrived at the last production year of the beloved Celica, so now is a good time to detail all the changes once and for all. It would be nice to have as much input from all the members as possible, so we can build a good thread to help new and old members on this board. This would really help people considering buying a Celica.

What are the changes between the current generation of the Celica. Known changes so far:

00-01 had tighter shift gate, lift bolt problems?
02 - had the 7800rpm fuel cut
03 - Celica Refreshned
04 - ?
05 - New clear tailights

Please add to the list of changes.

what parts of the clica were refreshed in '03?

perforated leather seats (little holes in them)
power antenna
updated taillights sorta euro look
front bumper freshened with wider air duct, angled between the foglights...

This is what I found on Edmunds.com RE: 2003 Celica

What's New for 2003
The Celica has been revised for 2003 with freshened front and rear styling. In front, the Celica gets a new bumper and fascia with a wider upper air intake. Newly available high-intensity discharge (HID) headlights complement the car's advanced styling, and redesigned rear lights echo the projector-style look. Inside, Toyota has redesigned the center dash cluster for improved legibility and added a standard JBL audio system to the GTS model. A power antenna is now standard on JBL-equipped models. Finally, you can get two new colors: Solar Yellow and Zephyr Blue Metallic.

But I know there were some subtle engine/tranny changes that's not documented.

there's a shitload more than just saying "refreshened"
there were a lot of little things changed

wow i never knew all that

also the interior was changed to black on the 03+ models, as opposed to grey. also, in '01 toyota introduced the TRD body kit as an option. in '02, they changed the name of the body kit and threw in some other stuff and called it the Action Package. for '05, the action package was changed from the TRD kit to the Tsunami kit. as well, the '05 gets a new color, Thundercloud Grey.

they changed the name of the body kit because TRD no longer manufactured it...
Toyota bought it from them and made the kit, TRD didn't want to. so that's why it is action package...the first few were made by TRD.

also the GTS in '03 came with a JBL system to go with the antenna

03-05 Drive by wire

wasn't something changed on the 04 gts's exhaust manifold?

So, the current Action Package (2004 and 2005 models) is not made by TRD? That's probably why it looks uglier.

I'm not 100% sure, but doesn't the Action Package celica look exactly like the TRD version? So how can it have gotten uglier?

Action Package:



TRD:

Could you clarify, what portion or the systems are drive by wire? That would be really cool if my acceleration is controlled by wire, just the wow factor alone.

its an electronically controlled throttle not cable, and its only on the GTS models through 03-05

Okay, thanks, durnit, oh well. I have seen some cool proof of concept vehicles where everything is controlled by "wire." Just imagine how long those cars will last, change the whole industry.

wow ummmm wow ummmm
im still in shock. So what ? No TRD=action package. !!!!!!????????
CAn somebody please clarify

I think I know what aznsaiyan509 might be talking about. There is the new Tsunami Edition (Canada) / Action Package (U.S.) which he doesn't like:




Is that what you mean?

2004 - 2005 Action Package

^^ GTS_Rosh posted one minute before me!

Oops, we must have been working on our post at the same time

I don't hate the new Action Package...I think it looks pretty nice. But it's far uglier than the old one.

I agree. I love the TRD Kit too because its much more aggressive. But the new package looks pretty decent. I like the rear a lot with the C-1 style wing. The front could use a little more meat, but I'm working on that...I got that kit on my own car.

yup... trd "older" action package looks like its gonna eat the hell outta somthing..

What abou the fuel cut off thing? Is it only 2002? and can we get it turned off?

2004 and most likely 2005 has a different style header. it has the egr on it


To eliminate the 2002 rev limiter you need to buy a 2000-2001 ECU & Knock sensor or go with an aftermarket ECU like the apexi power fc. (with the power fc you dont need to change the knock sensor)

also like steven said 2003 - 2005 are drive by wire instead of throttle cable.

there is a brand new 05 spectra blue gts at a local dealer here... I want it, lol... but iono... think i might stick with the all trac and my fossil gens

what do you guys think? it's 26k has the trd package w/ tsunami wing or whatever it is, lol... just came off the truck the other day apparently...

6-speed? if not, then no.

Is it expensive and is it a hard install?

and


Sorry but what is the difference between the throttle cable and a drive by wire?

uh t odo the 2002 - 2000 ecu and knock sensor swap it's not super difficult but it's not super easy either. mainly cause it involves some slight rewiring to get the knock sensor done right. It's mainly a time consuming project.

the "other" celica site has a Very well put together write up on how to do the swap. My team mechanic wrote it and put it together so I know for a fact the info is good

it'll prolly cost ya around $400 in parts unless you get a good deal on the ecu.

the good thing about the power fc way is that you'll get more power, its a 5 second install and you dont have to change the knock sensor.

Throttle Cable means there is an actual cable that runs to your throttle plates, so when you press the gas pedal a cable pulls onto the throttle plates in the throttle body. Drive-by-wire means there is no mechanical linkage to the throttle plates. Its all controlled by the ECU. When you press the gas pedal, it sends a signal to the ECU which then regulates the Throttle Plate via an electronically controlled mechanism.

Actually Thundercloud Grey was available in '04 (but may have been only on a limited number of cars). My '04 GTS is Thunderclould Grey, and I have seen one other '04 Thundercloud Grey, a GT.

I also forgot to add that the 2003+ GTS got slightly larger fuel injectors. about 15cc higher.

also theres a small threaded post that the intake manifold slides over towards the passenger side that is smaller on the 2003+ models. 2000-2002 had a larger stud which made re-installing the intake manifold a pain. you had to remove the vvti controller a ways to allow enough room to maneuver the intake manifold over the stud.

I have a 2000 gts with a 2003 motor so we noticed this when I was takin off my intake manifold last night.

I guess that 7800 rpm fuel cut off is for 2002 only because I rev my 2004 to 8300 so I can land at 6000 rpms when I shift.

Yes, I have an '04 too and you can indeed rev to about 8300rpm, on mine it seems like 8250rpm. Lift comes on about 6200rpm on mine.

New celicas have the controllable HID's for the headlights, the new heat dissapation in the housing as well

my 04 has no rev limit that I found and heat aslo stated this, only when it;s cold

I love the AC kit and the HID with motors and the glass sunroof and the leather with the holes, well sex mess is harder to clean up

You guys helped me a lot in buying mine way back when I signed up on EC.

the early rev limiter was ONLY for 2002.

damn the rev limiter