Man Toyota Corolla Hits 2,000,000km with Original Transmission: Let’s Talk About the Engine!

Yes, you heard correctly there is a car that has managed to clock up 2 million kilometres in one lifetime. This unusual story comes all the way from New Zealand where a 1993 Toyota Corolla clocked up this massive number in thirty-one years. It was first reported in the Whanganui Chronicle last year and has since gone viral worldwide. 

Toyota Corolla Achieves 2,000,000 km on Its Original Transmission

The owner of the most-driven Toyota Corolla, Graeme Hebley, bought the station wagon in a used condition twenty-four years ago with 80,000 km on the odometer. Since that time, Hebley has used the car to commute vast distances every week between Wellington and New Plymouth. His average weekly distance is a mind-blowing 5000 km approximately.  

Due to the long distances that the Toyota Corolla drives every single week, it also has an intensive recovery routine to keep it in operation. It is serviced twice a week and had its cambelt changed between ten and twenty times (he’s lost count). But to Toyota’s delight the engine, drivetrain, transmission and bodywork are completely original and were fabricated in 1993 along with the rest of the car. 

The 90s was a high point of Toyota engineering as not only were they one of the most popular automobile names at the time but they built their cars to last. Everyone knew that Toyota meant reliability. But Hebley still has the opinion that if it wasn’t serviced so frequently then it simply wouldn’t work. 

So what makes a Toyota Corolla capable of such distances?

Toyota has been Japan’s biggest automaker for decades and the Toyota Corolla is still in production today. But when the 1993 Toyota Corolla first was released, it had a complete revamp as it was going up against stiff competition with Honda and Saturn. In hopes of making it uber-successful, they decided to make essentially a “mini-Lexus.” But unlike the Lexus, this had a fancier grille, real wood interiors and leather seats. It came with an option of two engine sizes. The 1.6-litre which could produce 105 horsepower and the 1.8-litre that creates 115 horsepower. The Corolla also had a 16-valve four-cylinder under the bonnet with double overhead cams and electronic fuel injection. Wildly futuristic in the nineties. With a five-speed transmission and excellent fuel mileage in the city and on a highway, it was and is the perfect family car.  

When it comes to handling on the road, it borders on sporty. The suspension is firm and will keep the body of the car straight if you need to take a corner quickly. It dissolves minor bumps on the road so the passengers don’t feel them, making it a smooth, settled drive. These features build a picture of a reliable albeit fun sedan, perfect for family road trips and long distances.  

Is it record breaking?

One would think that looking at an odometer that read 2,000,000kms, you would be a shoo-in for a Guinness World Record. Unfortunately, you are wrong. This car was beaten by a 1966 Volvo P1800S. The record-breaking car, driven by Irv Gordon who is based in New York, was bought brand new from a dealership. At the time of Gordon’s death in 2020, it was found to have clocked 3.2 million miles. Thus, beating the 1993 Toyota Corolla.  

These vehicles are not the only ones that have achieved remarkable mileage while still running. Many of them also retain some of their original transmission and parts. In 2017 in Germany, researchers found that a 1992 200D Mercedes-Benz sedan had clocked one million kilometers. One benefit this car had above the others is that it had one of the Mercedes-Benz engineers behind the wheel. His extensive knowledge has kept the car in service for so long and running so well. So it seems if you look after your car well, it really can run forever.