Toyota Camry: Problems & Solutions

inexxess · September 2005

I have a 1998 Toyota Camry that will sometimes not start. When you turn the key in the ignition it only makes a clicking noise coming from the engine. After a few tries, the car will start and run just fine. Any ideas on what could be causing this?

davhealy · September 2005

does anyone know how and where to replace a cabin air filter. the dealer's price seems a little high for what i have heard is a 10 minute job.

loucapri · September 2005

Maybe problem with your starter?
I had the same problem on my van and I had the starter rebuild ($120.00)

210delray · September 2005

It's behind the glove compartment in the 2002-06 Camry sedan. I assume it'll be in the same place in the 2000 Solara. See you owner's manual for how to get to it. It is an easy procedure.

210delray · September 2005

What do you mean by a tune up? Today's cars don't require tune ups in the traditional sense; all you really have to do is replace the spark plugs (at 60K mile intervals for the 1997-2001 Camry; I'm not sure about the earlier generation).

If it's a 4-cylinder, the labor cost for just replacing the spark plugs should be minimal.

unhappy10 · September 2005

Yes for approx. 4 years I was making small trips 6 miles. Now I am driving further but there is still a lot of stop and go. I am truly convinced even without being a mechanic that this has to do with oil buildup but the district manager doesn't want to dish out the money to repair the car or whatever the reason may be. I still have not heard back from the General Manager as to what else can be done. $7,200 is way too expensive to repair the car when the Blue Book value is only $7,155. What else can I do?

210delray · September 2005

The best way to handle this is to work your way up the corporate ladder, starting with the dealer and ending at Toyota Customer Service. Then, if you don't get satisfaction, you may want to go to small claims court. After that, you can hire an attorney, or cut your losses by selling the car for salvage.

It seems to me if you can show a judge you maintained the car by the book, and the engine failed at such a low mileage, you could win in court, if it came to that.

haefr · September 2005

"Urban crawl" is definitely conducive to sludging. But Toyota also bears responsibility in the matter. Meticulously changing the motor oil every 3,000 miles should've been more than sufficient to avoid a sludged engine. The fact that owners were mailed notices that their engines would be covered for sludge related issues for 8 years is tacit admission by the company that it screwed up. umhappy10's one mistake in all this was not insisting he be allowed to view the actual tear-down and document the appearance of the engine's guts as they were revealed with a digital camera. He still has the option of binding arbitration or even a lawsuit. Toyota's apparently betting he'll cave since he's so close to the cutoff point in the warranty extension. I hope unhappy10 understands that as long as he brought the matter to a Toyota dealer's attention before the cutoff date, he's still protected legally. His proof is his copy of the dated service complaint ticket.

mnazn82 · September 2005

if it's the starter than 99.9 percent of the time, it's just the starter contact inside the starter that's all wear-off. cost less than 15 bucks to replace.

faldoc · September 2005

My Lexus did the same thing, till eventually it would not start at all. It was the battery. Get it tested at Advance Auto or Autozone for free. Good luck

unhappy10 · September 2005

Unfortunately my first mistake was to have taken the car to a Toyota dealer. Secondly, I agree that I should have asked to be there for the tear down, but not knowing much about cars I don't think it would have helped me any. By the way, another thing working against me is that I am a SHE and not a he and I think that has a lot to do with things as well. If the cutoff point was 8 years from the purchase date, then I am 4 months over the cut off date, but if Toyota valued me as a customer (since I bought a 2005 Sienna XLE Limited just last year) am I sure that they could have worked around that. I am considering writing the matter to 7 On Your Side and other local News Stations to bring attention to this matter. I don't think it could hurt.

210delray · September 2005

7 On Your Side and the like can't hurt. I had to use the local newspaper's consumer advocate here to help me with a nightmarish Sprint long distance billing problem a few years back, and they were able to resolve the problem. Needless to say, I won't do any further business with Sprint, except for local service, in which I have no choice (unless I give up my landline altogether).

I suppose you could have taken the Camry to an independent shop first, but that would have cost extra money. On the other hand, you hopefully would have been able to obtain an unbiased diagnosis. Still, only Toyota can repair the problem for free, if they so choose.

haefr · September 2005

Nope, it can't hurt. (You go, girl!) Don't be afraid to try binding arbitration through the BBB, either. Contact their "alternative dispute resolution" section at 1-800-955-5100. You'll be sent a packet of forms to fill out and mail back. The process is handled by an independent arbitrator (NOT a manufacturer flunky) and takes no more than 40 days. The arbitrator's decision is binding on the manufacturer, NOT you. In plain language this means if you win, Toyota HAS to fix your car - the company cannot appeal the arbitrator's decision. If you lose, you're free to pursue legal action if you wish. It's also possible that the arbitrator might "split" his decision by percentage of assumed fault and/or service obtained from your current ride. (The arbitrators are often retired judges with expertise in consumer law and have at their disposal independent automotive engineers for advice as well as access to all the manufacturer technical service bulletins that might be applicable in a particular case.) Alternative Dispute Resolution is FREE to the consumer. You have absolutely nothing to lose by making that toll-free call. (Some stqtes' "lemon laws"* actually require an attempt at alternative dispute resolution before a lemon law action can be pursued.) To be brutally honest, though, if you're contemplating hiring a lawyer to fight a battle in court on your behalf, even if you prevail in court, your legal bills would probably outdistance by a country mile the value of the judgment - which Toyota could appeal. (their staff lawyers get paid whether they're working or not, yours gets paid as long as he or she's working for YOU) After all, you did get eight years service out of your Camry, and juries aren't totally oblivious to a point Toyota's lawyers would hammer away at.

*By the way, folks, "Lemon Law" cases ain't what they're commonly presumed to be by the public. The terms aren't a simple one-for-one trade to a brand new vehicle like the consumer rights lobbiests like to promote. The amount of time the "lemon" was in service will be factored in determining the value of the "lemon" against the MSRP price of the replacement car. (and by using the MSRP of the new car, that also assures the dealer and manufacturer will gain some further monetary advantage) In other words, if you win a "lemon law" resolution, you're essentially just trading in your lemon for a new car minus the depreciation for service attained. In a car eight years old at the time an engine tanks, the achieved use depreciation would pretty much negate most of the old car's value, anyway. My son-in-law fought Ford over a buggy Focus for over two years and finally "won". When it was all over, he'd have been better off just trading the original Focus as soon as it started acting up - it had enough extra resale value at that point to have been worth more as a straight trade against a new car that he could've negotiated the final price on than his final out-of-pocket expense eventually resulted in. Of course the dufus won an intangible moral victory against $6,000+ out-of-pocket personal expense. Its ultimate value? "priceless"!

ict_jazz · September 2005

I recently bought a '95 Camry. I started to replace the plugs this morning, but was only able to get the 1st one out. They'll loosen ok, but I can't get them to 'stick' in the socket. Any suggestions? (Wish the plugs were as easy to access as they were on my Accord!)

210delray · September 2005

Use a small swiveling magnet on a shaft, the kind used for picking up loose metal fasteners that fall into the engine compartment. Sears should have them. A second alternative is a "spark plug socket" that has a rubber insert to grab the loose plug. A lower tech solution is to put masking tape inside your socket in such a way as to stick onto the loose plug.

imidazol97 · September 2005

I just saw the magnets at Autozone and they had the 3 foot long grabber with three prongs on it to grip things you can't reach. All the auto parts like Advanced Auto, PepBoys should have both of those.

Of course you can try bubble gum...

unhappy10 · September 2005

Thanks for your support. I am going to do whatever it takes to get an agreeable solution. I don't know of too many people that just happen to have $7,000 to repair a presumably quality car.

driveitforever · September 2005

I have heard that this symptom may be due to oil gelling/sludge. Check out google with keywords Toyota oil sludge. There was a recall issued for this problem and they are willing to fix it even if you are no longer under warranty. Other symptoms are also listed on various sites. Good luck! :lemon:

driveitforever · September 2005

:confuse: My 98 Camry (109,000 miles) is driving me nuts! For a few months now, since about 104,000, it has been occasionally stalling on me when I brake. Before this happens, the accelleration will kind of lurch while steady pressure is applied to the gas pedal. In fact, when that happens, I know it will die when I slow to a stop. Another strange symptom is that when I am driving it and take my foot off the gas, the rpm gauge will lurch upward briefly to about 1500 rpms from around 1000 and then go back down. This is now the norm, and happens when the car does not stall as well as when it does. As I near the point of stopping, the rpm gauge will flutter up and down and then the car will suddenly die. At first, it seemed to kind of shake as it would die. Once I smelled a burning smell right before it happened, and that time there was no erratic lurch. I stopped the car to make sure that a cigarette had not flown back into the car and started the carpet on fire, and when I was stopping, it died. It starts back up after a minute or two. Recently, it has been happening more often--twice this week already. The accelleration/engine performance does not feel smooth at all. My mechanic and another mechanic could spot no obvious problems. Does anyone know what the heck is going on? This car has been very reliable for the past four years that I have owned it, I have performed all routine maintenance--belts, plugs, hoses, water pump, replaced brakes, etc. I had a tune up about a month before the stalling started. I am at a loss. Once the stalling nearly caused an accident, because it died before I completely stopped and I lost the ability to brake. Please, please help me!!!!

user777 · September 2005

did someone check for proper fuel delivery pressure to the engine? how about a clogged EGR valve?

since the stalling started after the "tune-up", maybe there is a hose or something else which was left unattached (sensor wires?) or got crimped. seems like something might not have been put back together properly.

bildow · September 2005

sludge problems I have found that sludge problems are normally from not changing the oil and not driving the car enough. When I say not driving enough every time in the morning when you start your car there is water condensation in your block you might have seen some cars spitting water out the tale pipe or steam in the cold winter. It takes about 5-7 miles of driving to clear out the condensation but a lot of folks drive only a couple of miles and stop and the next and days after never getting out all the condensation(water in the engine block). (Remedy) it's a good idea some saturday morning to take your car on the open highway and run it a 65-70mph for about 15-20 miles round trip to clean out the condensation. It also helps to run all the oil thru the filter helping cleaning the engine oil and possible keeping the sludge down. I have been using synthetic oil for over 20 years and never had any engine problems pushing some engines up to 350,000 plus. Transmission tip make sure to change your transmission oil every 20-25,000 miles on the 2002-2005 toyota transmissions I see that toyota is using a special trans oil called type iv that I have been told it is semi synthetic and has some kind of friction modifier for the new transmissions to make them shift smoothly. If you want to use synthetic transmission fluid Amsoil says theirs will work in the new transmissions????. If you live in cold weather and don't have an engine heater use synthetic oil 5-w 30 it will flow fast and lubricate the engine down below zero. you can go to google and put in synthetic oil it will explain how much better it is for cold weather . I have found that wallmart has the lowest prices for changing synthetic oil.

haefr · September 2005

The first thing you should elliminate before anything else is to have a load test on the battery and charging system done. You do NOT have to have this done by a dealer either. Most national auto parts chain stores are equipped to check both out while you wait. By the way you do not lose the ability to brake in the event the engine stalls out. You just have to push the brake pedal a LOT harder once any retained vacuum reserve in the vacuum operated power brake booster is bled off and not replaced by normally continuous intake mainifold vacuum. Nevertheless, actual four-wheel braking is always available.

ict_jazz · September 2005

Don't I feel stupid! That actually was a plug socket, but the little rubber piece came out! D'OH!

cing · September 2005

Let me start by saying I've changing a many of spark plugs back in the 80 and early 90s, but in my 02 camry (4 cyclinder) where are the spark plugs located. I've searched a the engine, and dont even see the distributor or distributor cap, nor spark plug wires. Would it be under the plastic cover where the oil is poured in? Or is it under or behind the engine itself?

Thanks.

scoti1 · September 2005

The sludge problem in some 97-02 Toyota's was different from the norm. You can read up on it in some old forums here on Edmunds. Toyota acknowledged the problem with an 8 year unlimited mileage sludge warranty. Owners must still prove proper maintenance to get the warranty repair.

brownies10 · September 2005

Hey, i have the same car jsut bought it myself about 2 weeks ago. I actually found out yesterday how to turn the alarm on and off. First you must have the key in the ignition clicked to the 3rd turn I think. ONce the key is in, simply push the blac little button thats to the right of and above the hood release lever. I usually click my alarm button to hear if its on or off (it usually beeps).

210delray · September 2005

They are under the plastic cover. The Camry 4-cylinder has no distributor or spark plug wires. The ignition coils are on top of the spark plugs.

haefr · September 2005

"Would it be under the plastic cover where the oil is poured in?"

Bingo! It mystifies me why automanufacturers feel it's necessary to hide the engine under a piece of plastic with cutesy metalized bright logos. I always felt the intricate castings of the art and craft of well-wrought mechanical engineering were works of art unto themselves and worthy of being displayed and admired when the hood is raised. So far I have not seen these abominations to good taste mounted on Ferrari engines. The plastic cover for my Sonata V-6 resides in a place of dishonor along a wall of the garage - in case the car's next owner disagrees. (or in case I can unload the stupid thing for profit on eBay... As Tim Allen might've quipped on Home Improvement, "Real men don't need sissy plastic engine covers! Aurgh, aurgh, aurgh!")

imidazol97 · September 2005

>were works of art unto themselves

I always figure I'm helping the air flow for extra cooling by removing those silly covers they spent $1.50 on instead of some other feature they could have kept and left off to save a few pennies here/there.

210delray · September 2005

Blue smoke doesn't necessarily mean sludge. It does indicate oil burning. I had blue smoke on cold startup (first thing in the morning), and it was caused by worn/hardened valve stem seals, which were replaced under warranty on my '97 Camry LE 4-cylinder. The engine did not have sludge, and it ran fine till the day I sold it on eBay at 111K miles.

Wow -- 4000th post!

loucapri · September 2005

so how much you sold it for?

210delray · September 2005

$4301, $800 above my reserve. This was in Feb. 2004. It was in very good condition, just had high miles for its age. Also it was the "basic" LE, with no options other than floor mats.

I recommend eBay highly for selling, especially if you have a car without problems. (I wouldn't buy however, unless I could inspect the car ahead of time.)

toyoman1 · September 2005

Hey,

So... I am getting really fed up with this car. I went to get out of it after getting to the college today and bam! the door handle breaks off right in my hand. The plastic didnt break, the handle just popped out of the assembly. So now my options are leave the window down and DUKES OF HAZZARD it to get in and out, or replace it. How hard is it to replace and if I take my door apart am I going to be able to put it back together, I dont wanna look ghetto. If anyone knows or can help, PLEASE PLEASE DO! Not so happy motoring anymore

Toyoman1

jdeib · September 2005

Toyoman1,

If you want to tackle the repair yourself, I believe you can if you have a basic mechanical ability. The thing you need is a diagram of where the clips are that hold the door into place. The easiest place to get one of these is Crutchfield (the stereo catalog place). I had a '92 Camry and needed to replace a power window switch when it was 8 years old and they sold a how to install booklet that showed how to remove all of the door panels (to replace speakers) as well as how to remove the stereo head unit. You may need to buy a inexpensive tool to remove the clips as well. It worked well for me, no broken items. I even decided to replace the stereo after this.

But anyway, once you have the door apart, you will be able to see what failed and replace it without too much trouble. Either with new or junkyard parts. Don't get too fed up with your car, ten years can put alot of wear on a door handle mechanism. It could be something worse breaking. Your '95 is one of the best car models ever built, but no car is perfect, especially after ten years.

Good luck,

Jayme

clocker · September 2005

For the last several months my steering wheel on my 2003 Camry with 49,000 miles would squeak when I turned the wheel. The quicker I turned the wheel the more pronounced the squeak. I assumed lubrication was needed. I took the car to the dealer this morning. They lubed the lower bushing in the steering column since that bushing needed lube before. That didn't stop the squeak. They said my clock spring in the steering wheel needed to be replaced for $374. At that price, I intend to try to get along with the squeak. Has anyone else had this problem? Any other solutions out there? Thanks.

96help · September 2005

I have the same problem with my 96 Camry. All my power windows and door locks just quit all at the same time. I replaced the master switch which is all the power door and window switches on the drivers door and it didn't help. Checked the 30A fuse and it's okay. I have the schematic now and traced it back to the same "Power Main Relay". It's the only thing common in the two circuits. I've called the dealer to ask about it and they never heard of it but tell me that most of the relays are behind the "junction box" (fuse box) and you have to pull the junction box out to access them. I haven't done this due to knee surgery. Cheapest I could find to work on it would be $40 hour. Let me know if you find any more about the power relay - ALL HELP APPRECIATED!!!

rajesh99 · September 2005

My 97 Toyota Camry LE has got a serious problem, which is like this.
There is a lot of Cranking Noise when i accelerate the vehicle and i took it to the mechanic nearby, he has drained the Engine oil and noticed the metal deposits in the oil. later he thought the Connecting rod bearing might be broken and he removed the oil pan under the engine cylinders. We noticed lots of Brass metal pieces which are in a few millimmetres size. Then he said i need to replace the Engine altogether.
Can someone advise me please if they had a similar problem and let me know the possible solution if u know of one.
My car has 83K miles on it.
Thanks in advance
Raj

haefr · September 2005

Did the mechanic mention anything about "sludge" in the engine oil pan? If not, request him to pull the valve cover (or one of them if you have the V-6). If there's any sludge, it'll be painfully evident. However, if you're the original owner, it may be covered under a blanket warranty extension Toyota sent letters to affected owners about. The key is whether you're the original owner and whether you took delivery of your car less than eight years ago. Good luck - you'll need it. A rebuilt engine and installation runs about $7,000.00 through Toyota dealerships.

angel8 · September 2005

Hi everybody i have a 2000 Toyota Camry LE and i am having problems with the door locks and the alarm system. Can any1 tell me where i can find the brain of my alarm (ECU Box). Please help me, manually locking my doors is a real pain.

amitr · September 2005

I have toyota camry 2000 with 62000 miles in it. In the morning (after 7-8 hours of rest), the car does not start up normal. I have to press the gas pedal and then start. If I pump the gas pedal and crank up, it starts. Then I have to keep the pedal pressed for few mins and then go.

Why its happening?

Pls share your experience. How much it may cost to fix it? I just did my 60K major services. Since its intermittent, they could not reproduce the problem there. But its happening on and off.

amitr · September 2005

I have toyota camry 2000 with 62000 miles in it. In the morning (after 7-8 hours of rest), the car does not start up normal. I have to press the gas pedal and then start. If I pump the gas pedal and crank up, it starts. Then I have to keep the pedal pressed for few mins and then go.

Why its happening?

Pls share your experience. How much it may cost to fix it? I just did my 60K major services. Since its intermittent, they could not reproduce the problem there. But its happening on and off.

drinkwaterxyz · September 2005

Hi,
I own a 2002 Cmry 5 speed which I purchased new. The clutch just failed at 72K miles. I have owned several std transmission cars and never had a clutch fial before 100K miles. I noticed and reported that the clutch peddle felt stiff. I believe that there is something wrong with the linkage since the car was new and it manifested itself into a premature clutch failure.
To make matters worse the 2002 Camry requires 11 hours of labor to change the clutch. That is nearly 4 hours more than the previous model. The cost is $1,150.Has anybody elas out there experienced a similar problem?
I would have never purchased a standard if I was told that the transmission would fail in 72K miles and it would cost $1,150 to replace.

210delray · September 2005

Well, I don't know if the stiff pedal really meant anything. I doubt you'll get any responses to your post unfortunately, because so few Camrys were equipped with manual transmissions (I believe only something like 1% were).

$1150 is bad, but not anywhere near the cost of replacing an auto tranny (for example, $1600 for my '90 Sable way back in 1996).

Also, on my first new car, a 1975 VW Rabbit, the clutch failed at only 13K miles, and I learned to drive on a stick shift back in 1968, so it wasn't that I didn't know what I was doing. And it wasn't covered under warranty. As a poor graduate student, I wasn't very happy!

Just a thought: have you priced the work at an independent shop? My Sable was done at such a shop and cost $700 less than it would have at the place I normally go for service work (also an independent). I wouldn't trust national chains like AAMCO, and I only go to the dealer for warranty or recall work.

user777 · September 2005

yeah in decades of owning VW, Mazda, Toyota and Honda MT vehicles, I never had a clutch go out...and they all had at least 100K, one had 185K which I sold and was still going strong. even if you are very well mannered in driving a MT vehicle, I presume there will be units that fall on the

i agree with you, drinkwaterxyz should consider looking for an independant specializing in toyota repairs to see how the rair and parts costs would compare.

deon1 · September 2005

I have the exact same problem in a 2002. This is probably a Camry characteristic. Do you think that this should be related to the drivetrain warranty?

docharvey · September 2005

I just spent 5 hours replacing6 plugs on my '96 camry. I feel your pain. I used needle nose pliers that had jaws about 3" long. It worked great although I had to use both hands in the back under the intake.
Persistence will overcome!
jon

deon1 · September 2005

I have heard that the resistors go bad and can be replaced by soldering if you are up for it. Other wise expect $100.00+ (US) for the dealer repair.

tallgreen · September 2005

After checking out an engine oil leak on my 2004 Camry 4 cyl. engine, my mechanic told me the leak is coming from the oil galley external plug on the front of the engine block next to the water pump. This is basically a small aluminum cap about 3/4" in diameter. The plug covers up a hole made in the block as part of the casting process when the engine was made. It's a little hard to get at but easily replaced. The problem is when my mechanic called the Toyota Dealer to get the part, he was told it has no part number and was not a stocked part! The Toyota Dealer parts person said the only way to get this little 50 cent part is to replace the entire block at a cost of $2,000. How can I obtain one of these plugs? Has anyone else had this problem?

mcdawgg · September 2005

Why not go to the dealer? It is a warranty issue.

haefr · September 2005

If this turns out not to be a warranty issue, your mechanic could drill and tap the opening for a standard English system plug of the same approximate size. It'd certainly be cheaper than $2,000.00! I'll bet that Toyota dealer was flat-out lying - you can't be the only Toyota owner who's run into this problem (though it's probably a rarity), and Toyota's sure as poop's not gonna go around replacing otherwise perfectly servicible $2,000.00 engine castings under warranty over a 50 cent chunk of aluminum.. Might wanna try another Toyota dealership parts department or, if necessary, a local engine rebuilder with on-sight machining capability. There HAS to be a source for a replacement even if it has to be fabricated.

Toyota Camry: Problems & Solutions

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Toyota Camry: Problems &amp; Solutions

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Toyota Camry: Problems & Solutions