Celica Forums General Discussion General Just got my first Celica. I have some Q’s

So I recently bought a 2001 Celica GT. This is my first car keep in mind, I don’t know much yet but I’m here to learn. It’s got High miles (288,000)! The guy was nice and the record are clean. Great maintenance etc. So basically the car starts kinda slow I start it and it takes 1-3 second each time. I read somewhere that I need new spark plugs? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Second question/issue. 1zz engines are known to burn oil and I was wondering what’s the best oil to use.

Thanks everyone!

Nice! I recently got a Celica too and it is my first car as well. In the time I have had it I have learned a lot about it and about cars in general. One thing that I did that really improved how it drives was cleaning the Mass Air Flow Sensor. Its a simple job and it can do loads to help performance and fuel economy if you clean it. Make sure you use CRC Mass Air Flow Cleaner. That would be the first thing to do yourself. Another thing I did was when I first got it was take it to a good mechanic to get a full inspection on. They diagnosed most all of its problems and now they are mostly fixed. After you focus on the simple and important things you can then work on extra like a performance exhaust, intakes, etc. One last thing, since your Celica has a lot of miles I would check the transmission. The automatics and generally less reliable but they can still be good. If there is a problem with your transmission it doesn't matter how powerful your engine is your car will run bad.

Also for spark plugs, if you take it to a good mechanic they will diagnose it for you if you do a full inspection. For oil, use the right weight of oil and use high-mileage full synthetic. My Celica has 160,000 and I use high-mileage full synthetic and a synthetic oil filter. Celicas are not real fast cars so don't expect that but there are a few things you can do to help it along.

First thing I do buying a used car is basically assume any regular maintenance was not done; Change the spark plugs, Oil & Oil Filter, Air Filter, check all fluids, check all sensors. Have your battery tested, clean MAF sensor, and everything else I've listed, if all those are in decent condition and its still having issues, you might have some loose connections, your starter may be going bad, or you may have fouled fuel injectors or fuel filter. If you can't figure it out, it can't hurt to have a mechanic diagnose. Come back here and search the forums to see if what the mechanic recommends is something you can do on your own. If you don't feel comfortable doing the repair/replacement on your own, have someone who knows what they're doing help you!

Appears normal to me.

Once you crank the starter, the engine will need to wait a few seconds for the fuel pump to pump up fuel pressure before it catches on and runs. If you jiggle the accelerator a little, it will catch on quicker.

Try a couple bottles of fuel injector cleaner. That should help a bit..