1989 Toyota Tercel Service and Repair Manual

Every 1989 Toyota Tercel left the line with the same engine, a naturally aspirated 1.5L single-cam four (3E) driving the front wheels, so what separates one car from the next is body and driveline rather than power. Toyota sold the year as a two-door coupe, a two-door hatchback and a four-door hatchback, in Base, DX and EZ form, with either the manual or the automatic transmission behind that one engine.

Engines

• 1.5L 1456CC l4 GAS SOHC Naturally Aspirated

Trims

• Base, 2D Coupe, Automatic
• Base, 2D Coupe, Standard
• Base, 2D Hatchback, Automatic
• Base, 2D Hatchback, Standard
• DX, 2D Coupe, Automatic
• DX, 2D Coupe, Standard
• DX, 2D Hatchback, Automatic
• DX, 2D Hatchback, Standard
• DX, 4D Hatchback, Automatic
• DX, 4D Hatchback, Standard
• EZ

Known issues on the 1989 Tercel. One recall stands on the federal record for this model year, campaign 92V111000, filed against exterior lighting and the headlights: there can be interference with the headlamp housing if headlamp bulbs are replaced with any brand other than Koito brand bulbs. Owners have filed 32 complaints against the 1989 Tercel, and 7 technical service bulletins have been published for it.

Because that recall condition is created by the replacement bulb rather than by the car as built, the headlamps are worth a look on any Tercel that has passed through several owners. The rest of the work follows the split above: the same engine on every car, but transmission and body-specific procedure that changes between a manual Base coupe and an automatic DX four-door.