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Then he said I was being difficult. Are they not suppose to take care of you? I tried to work with him but i am not going to take off work so they can fix something that should of be right in the first place. THis is the first toyota i have ever bought and it will be the last.
The "thunck" sound is NORMAL! It is your ABS turning on after it has checked out everything for a few yards of actual driving. It is not the VSC.
Disclaimer: I do work at a Toyota store.
After four 4c Camry's from 1989 to 2005 I switched to a Prius ( DBW ), in addition to my wife's Highlander ( DBW ) and MR2.
I normally drive thousands of different Toyota's each year. Recently many have exibited the 'hesitation' characteristic, some more-so some less-so. You posted.. " I just dont understand the cover up on it."
Many of the posters complaining about the I4's hesitation and the lack of response by Toyota Corporate on the matter. This is the 'coverup' you mention. It appears to me that Toyota has made it clear that as opposed to the snap ring mismanufacturing issue the hesitation issue is one of performance and not an error in manufacturing. It would be similar to saying that 'I wish my 4c did the 1/4 mile in 6.5 sec'. Cold hearted? Possibly, but it has to be viewed in the larger context and that is with nearly 150,000 new '07 Camry's on the road now not many are complaining about the 'performance'.
As I mentioned the hesitation is there but in speaking with many people who have noticed the characteristic it seems that..
a) it goes away over time;
b) the driver adjusts to the unique situation in the Camry;
c) the vehicle adjusts to the drivers inputs.
d) most of the 150,000 '07 vehicles delivered thus far just don't have much of an issue.
My alternate viewpoint is that there is no coverup it's just the nature of the beast at the moment. Can it be improved in order to improve the driving experience for you and others. I am certain that many people within Toyota are trying to improve it but as the prior poster stated there are compromises in every technical advancement.
I thought Toyota had solved their problems. I recall my wife's 1994 Camry V/6, and the oil sludge problem (which we avoided by using Mobil 1). However, our local Toyota dealer never found the leaking head gasket until the engine was ruined. (So much for those blanky-blank plastic engine covers and lazy and stupid service technicians.)
At first I was extremely impressed by the Toyota representative on this board. When the subject got to problems Toyota hasn't been able to resolve, he conveniently disappeared. What a chicken little! It appears to me that if he tells the truth, he will be fired. So, all the young kids working in customer relations are given a script to follow denying any problem. Maybe Toyota learned this tactic from Ford!
After driving the 2007 Maxima with CVT, I decided that I would rather risk this new technology than buying a Toyota with a transmission that may quit working after three days and with hestitation problems, and RPM spiking on engine up shifts.
I bought my new 2007 Maxima this past Saturday! And, the transmission works properly and is the smoothest transmission I have ever driven. I feel sorry for all you 2007 Camry owners with problems. (For you Toyota diehards, the 2007 Camry hybrid comes with a CVT transmission.)
Is it an issue from a stoplight? Or at speed?
And how is it related to the cruise control shifting problem?
The lack of engine covers wouldn't have aided diagnosis of the coolant leak. Your engine's leak was internal - there was no visible moisture tracking down the exterior surfaces of the engine. A master Rolls-Royce service tech would've fared no better than your dealership's "lazy and stupid service technicians". (By the way, were you too preoccupied with matters of paramount galactic importance to bother checking the pink coolant level in the conveniently located and plainly visible transluscent overflow tank periodically?) When an internal leak occurs, most coolant is going into the affected cylinder(s) and out the exhaust as vapor. But, some gets blown past the piston rings of the affected cylinder(s) and ends up in the engine oil in the crankcase. The chief component in most antifreeze solutions is ethylene glycol. The stuff is very corrosive to bearing metals. A $20.00 used oil analysis would've caught the presence of glycol in the oil - perhaps soon enough to save the engine. Most owners don't bother with submitting an oil sample to one of the analysis labs yearly to get a report on their engine's health. It's no trick to ask the tech to catch several ounces of oil midstream into a clean, sealable container you bring in as a sample container while it drains.
As for the smoothness of a CVT, of course they're smooth - there aren't any gear changes taking place in forward motion. The drive consists of a torque converter and a segmented steel "belt" engaged on a continuously variable diameter set of "pulleys". The pulleys engage the belt at various diameters by contracting and expanding against the width of the steel belt. The necessary ratio changes to accomodate load and cruise conditions occur seamlessly in real time. Toyota is using something similar in the Camry hybrid when the gasoline engine is operating. The long term durability of this technology in cars as large as the Camry and Altima remains to be seen.
Have you guys thought of put a big sign on your windshield "Buyer beware Hesitation problem" and park it in front of dealership ? This would make them attention!
Is it an issue from a stoplight? Or at speed?
And how is it related to the cruise control shifting problem?
I have never had the hesitation problem from a dead stop.
It usually occurs:
a. when cruising and you want to speed up.
b. when cruising and you encounter an upgrade and want to maintain speed.
c. when slowing down and then trying to speed up again.
The issue is related to the cruise control shifting problem in that when you are using cruise control and encounter an upgrade, the vehicle tries to maintain speed, but cannot. This leads to the transmission coming out of lockup and, sometimes, still not being able to maintain the set speed, downshifting to 4th. Worse, if the grade is more than moderate, the vehicle will downshift again to 3rd and then accelerate brickly. On a longer upgrade, this can lead to over and undershooting the speed continuously, with repeated up and down shifting.
Not fun, not normal.
As I have stated before, the engineer who diagnosed my vehicle found a lean condition upon a request for acceleration. This is most certainly a major part of the problem and others have reported similiar findings when their vehicles were scanned.
Excessive lean means excessive heat, and this can lead to catastrophic damage over time. Some emission control components can also be damaged by running lean.
If I was you, I would want to know how it was determined your engine was running 'lean',how it managed to do this 'intermittently', and what diagnostics were done to determine this? I would also want to know on what basis and what relationship the 'lean' condition has to the hesitation phenomenon.
IMO, that theory doesn't make much sense.
Ultimately, our goal is to ensure a very satisfactory ownership experience for Camry customers. Many on here have taken the time to say that is exactly what they are getting. But many others are disappointed/frustrated. TMS USA is unable to address individual case issues in a public forum and TMS USA is not technically qualified to comment extensively about such complex components as transmissions. But be assured we are reporting these discussions to the right people, who in turn are using the data collected to help determine if real problems exist and, if so, the root cause.
If your hypothesis re telling the truth was valid, TMS USA would have been EX-TMS USA a long time ago. The fact is that TMS USA will provide relevant/new information re our Camry to the readers/participants of this forum whenever there is new information to share. In the interim, the discussions are very worthwhile and noted by TMS USA. You missed out on a great automobile nissanron, but I'm sure you will be happy with your Maxima. . . A fine automobile it is, too.
The Big 3 didn't change and now....
This was the mantra used by the Big 3 for years, they are rotting now. They didn't change and assumed that there was another sucker born every minute, so their sales would remain strong forever.
Toyota was the up and comer, always growing in quality. Now that they are part of the Big 3, they are starting to rot. They reached their goal of market penetration and are now producing vehicles with as much, if not more, problems than GM, Ford and Chrysler.
I think Toyota will experience a backlash of loyalty when long-term Toyota owners get tired of the BS fed to them. Or the coverup by the dealers or corporate HQ for poorly executed, half-baked vehicles.
My Toyota dealership has remodeled and now EVERY technician is locked in a garage with absolutley no access for the questions poised by consumers. They have removed any liability of a technician actually saying something that could jeopardize the Toyota 'quality' perception or future litigation. So everything is channeled through the moronic service writers who never write on the work order what you say.
I say Toyota is walking a fine line and if they don't start producing trouble free vehicles along with a solid service experience. I might just go back to domestic.
Anyone else had to take the car back to get alignment checked? I really hate making early morning Service Dept appointments and then have them tell me that this is a "tire pull".
On a different note, I think this is one quick car with comfortable leather seats, good firm ride, cheap interior and idiotic center console lighting that annoys me when driving at night. Lots of other bad ergonomic/esthetic design decisions went into this car's interior that I will have to learn to live with, but rant about every time people ask me how I like the car. Could it be that all 2007 Camry's center console design and ext/int color combinations for non-SE models were made to feel cheap and look stupid just to give drivers and their passengers that "this is not a freakin Lexus - you cheap [non-permissible content removed]" feeling? Oh yeah - I test drove this car during the day.
marjoe11
email me. I have some good news about your car (and mine). Click on my name "mesquite57" to get my address.
Despite having 7000 miles on my original car, TMS via SE Toyota has waived any reduction in a refund of my purchase price, and working with Rice Toyota in Greensboro, NC the transaction for switching to the TCH should be complete next week. Other than leather, heated mirrors and mats, it is standard. They are throwing in Toyoguard, at no charge, since I did not want that option, but they order them in all their Hybrids.
I have had a good experience with Toyota USA (Danika), SE Toyota (Todd) and Rice Toyota (Jack, Jim) in the handling of this transaction, with prompt, courteous updates and service. I will post a review and pics when the Hybrid gets home.
I will miss my V6 power, which is awesome, and the bigger trunk, but was time for a new car. Best of luck to all the 2007 V6 Camry owners.
Toyota does not call it a CVT, but rather a Power Split device. An electric motor (MG2) drives the wheels through a planetary reducer. In parallel, a second planetary arrangement acts like a differential between the engine, an electric generator (MG1) and the wheels.
The computer controls MG1's speed by setting how much electrical power is sent to MG2. Since the wheels speed is roughly the engine's speed minus MG1's speed, a variable drive ratio is obtained.
What I feel is significant, as a Hybrid Camry owner, is that there are no cone pulleys, no belt, no friction and no wear in this design.
However, there are many "single points of failure" : Should the computer, or any of the iGBT transistors, or MG1, or MG2, or the battery, or the up/down voltage converter fail, the car would completely stop.
As an electrical engineer, I know iGBT transistors and permanent magnet motors/generators have become extremely reliable and durable, which is why I have trusted this technology and bought the hybrid.
I believe your caveat about the durability of CVTs in cars as large as the Camry and the Altima needs some qualifying when it is extended to the hybrid Camry.
jimmy57, "Toyota Camry: Problems & Solutions" #5193, 4 Aug 2006 6:19 am
Toyota identifies the hybrid's mechanical transmission as an "Electronically controlled continuously variable transmission (ECVT)" in the 07 Camry Hybrid Specifications section (very last page - actually the inside back cover) of the 2007 Camry sales brochure. Since I'm not an electrical engineer, I found it an informative read.
I live in mid-atlantic area, very hot the past week.
I went out to my car after work, about 95 - 100 degrees.
The car started, but would not come out of park. AC, power windows, turn signals, did not work. Brake light, tire pressure light, and ABS light, were all on. I called dealership and they told me about the button to push to get it out of park. I drove the car to the dealership, probably about 120 degrees inside, 50 minute drive.
Left it there overnight, same symptoms in the morning. They hooked it up to diagnostic machine, and everything started working properly, without doing anything. They kept the car for another day, did not happen again. So they have no idea what happened.
My theory is computer/heat/short circuit problem.
I called that Toyota number and they assigned me a reference #.
driving a 2002 Maxima(has been a great car!) and a young kid ran a stop sign and hit me, and the car has got quite a bit of damage on the front. I'm still waiting to hear from my insurance co. as to whether the car will be a loss or if it can be repaired. I was almost at the end of my lease too!
Anyway, I like the changes that were made to
the interior on the 2007, but the car keeps
growing in length. It's now over three inches
longer than my 2002. I've got a single-car
garage and I liked to keep the Max garaged, but
it's a tight fit, mainly length-wise.
I'm not sure I could fit the new Max in my
garage. Let me know how you like your 2007.
Guess I will hang on to my '03 Camry XLE ..."if it ain't broke....."
Doug