Ever since I owned my first car its every 3 months regardless the miles but I'm sure its around 4,000 miles and I never ever had engine failure in any car I owned :)
I thought in those years they had a yellow handle to pull on so that people couldnt be locked in a trunk ?? Might be a spot to put a small screw driver in the hole and turn it ... :)
This is my wife's 98 corolla with a 2002 front end conversion :)
More pics here http://www.corollacarclub.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=suyr&action=display&thread=194&page=2
What that sounds like is the neutral safety switch which might be located by your brake pad if it is stick but if it is automatic there is a tab you lift up and stick a flat head in it .. and if its a automatic I took the by pass off on my 8th gen for awhile till I found one in the junk yard...
Hey there my name is Rincon I'm from florida and just wanted to support other corolla fans like myself . I have a club in florida which features corolla's .... I found this site and I just figured I throw some support this way :)