VEHICLES > DAILY DRIVERS/GROCERY GETTERS
Replacing the Alternator - 2011 Corolla XRS
Der Bugmeister:
The alternator in my 2011 Corolla failed the other night, when my wife was running errands with it of course. I drove it home on the battery, pulled the positive cable and the engine died, pointing to the alternator. So, how hard could it be to replace a little old alternator in such a common car? Well lemme tell ya....
My car is the XRS version, the last year it was available in Canada (2010 was the last year they were sold in the US) and I believe mine was the last one sold in Canada. I bought it in early 2012, the dealership was trying to clear old stock. A salesman at another dealership was trying to upsell me to a Camry and looked up the Corolla XRS, telling me the one I was looking at was the last one anywhere. So kinda cool.
The XRS features a 2.4 litre engine compared to the 1.8 litre in the regular models at the time. Some of the other differences included sportier suspension, stiffer steering feedback and a few other things. It's interesting to note that my daughter's 2022 Corolla 6M (6 speed manual) isn't a performance model but has more horsepower, better gas mileage and a smaller engine than mine.
But back to the alternator. (I'll have to grab some photos when I "go back in"). It's accessible from the top, three simple wire disconnects. The belt tensioner, however, is a royal PITA to access. Have to jack the car up an remove the wheel and under engine splash guard to access the tensioner lock bolt. A 19mm socket and ratchet or breaker bar is needed to relieve the tension to get the belt off but about the only way to get onto the 19mm boss is to remove the engine mount. You can see the socket in position for that in the photos. A bunch of bolts on the topside and one only accessible from underneath. And then it's a tight squeeze unbolting the alternator and working it out of the engine bay.
So I got the new alternator bolted in and moved the tensioner to get the belt back on. It was still pretty tight, so a little more pressure on the handle, and SNAP! The 19mm boss broke off the tensioner assembly. Argh. As it turns out, it's a good idea to replace the tensioner assembly and the belt any time you replace the alternator, or so I'm learning. I'll be picking this back up with more photos once I get some parts to continue!
fatfillup:
Yes looks like a PITA
I really like my old Chevy trucks. Alternator or starter were 20 minute jobs.
goodfellow:
I feel for you Clay -- been there and done that. Bright side is that you got it handled in short order, and the mishap is readily rectified.
BTW -- nice looking car for a 2012 model year. Good thing is that those older Corolla engines are so well built that they'll be happily chugging along well over a decade from now.
Der Bugmeister:
The photos of the car are several years old! It still looks decent but isn't quite so spic and span.
I'm accustomed to alternator swaps being pretty straightforward too, Phil! I started the job in my driveway on Tuesday figuring I could knock it out in half an hour and hand out candies to the few trick or treaters we get in the area. It didn't take me long to realize the job was a lot more involved than that so I reconnected everything and made room for it in my shop. Now my Beetle and Cutlass chassis are outside partially protected by a car shelter and tarp.
The sticker shock on the tensioner is real. Calling around locally, the price ranged from about $400 to over $600 (Canadian$$$) with the dealership being somewhere near the upper end of that (but not the most expensive). None of them had the part on the shelves so I'd be having to wait for the part anyhow. Rock Auto was a lot cheaper, coming in at $250 CDN including a new belt (I was quoted $80 just for the belt at one place!) but I have to wait until at least Wednesday for the part. Being down to a single vehicle isn't going to be fun!
Rock Auto's prices started at $154 for a Continental brand on clear out and went up from there. The one anomoly was an SKP brand "Economy Replacement" for $32! Assuming it's the complete assembly and not just a replacement part, I don't have confidence that a part priced so much lower would be worth the savings in the long run.
I do love my Toyotas...but right now I'm not too happy with them :-D
oldcarguy:
It never ceases to amaze me to discover what should be an easy task to replace a part turns out to be a day's project. Does anyone believe that today's engineers care about the poor mechanic that needs to work on replacing that alternator? Some things just don't change. When I work on 100 plus year old car, I find myself dealing with same kind of issues. Of course Rock Auto does not carry parts. Need to improvise.. Plus I have a number of custom engineered sockets and wrenches to get the job done.
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