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Toyota Camry: Problems & Solutions
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I rotated them once so far, and used the full-size spare in the rotation.
I haven't measured the tread though yet with my tread depth gauge.
anyone replied to your question. If you have an answer by any chance, I would appreciate if you can forward the programing instructions to me as well.
Thanks
Bob
tataboca@hotmail.com
My question is, do all Toyota mechanics work on commission?
This practice has been outlawed in some states for obvious reasons.
Are others experiencing this with their dealers?
Here are the problems I am concerned the most. After getting the car back, the brake seems to be softer and it takes more distance for the car to stop. The second problem is the acceleration. The car is reluctant to move. I have to push the gas pedal down more to get the same speed as before I took the car to dealership. I am not sure if the brake pads were too close to the rotor that is why it keeps the car from accelerating faster. Any advices from car repair experts are greatly appreciated. Even the car has warranty but it is very hard to deal with the service people in the dealership. They usually claim everything is normal. They don't really care about customer satisfaction. What should I do in this case? How do I talk to them to get this resolved without too much of hassle? Thank you for reading my post.
I then put the relay back in and it did not tick (thought it might have been knocked out of place and needed to reset). I then tried to start the car again, nothing. The next evening I replaced the relay, nothing (but the door ajar light came on). After trying to jump it to no avail I opened the door to get the key out and the door ajar light did not turn on. I tried to lock the door and it would not lock (electric locks). I could not even push the button on the auto shift to move it out of park and into neutral.
When jumping it my cell phone car charger light came on, but nothing else did. PLEASE HELP!!!
Crisi
if me, i'd take my battery out, bring it to an autoparts store, see if it is at no charge, and consider either getting someone to externally charge it, or purchase a new one (probably the latter), being mindful that if I live in a northern climate, to go with the same or more cranking amps than the one I'm replacing.
Crisi
Alternatively, you could ask to test drive another Camry just like yours and see how it behaves. If there's no difference, then I wouldn't worry about it.
BTW, I'd have a hard time believing a Toyota dealer wouldn't use genuine replacement Toyota parts, especially for a new car under warranty.
Also in regard to Edmunds, the hosts are sooner or later going to move this topic to Toyota Camry Problems and Solutions.
autozone and others have testers that can put a progressive load on the battery and alternator, and determine if one or both is not working properly.
the cost of a battery isn't too bad.
hope it worked out for you.
Mine is 2002 Camry and has 45k miles on it..
Anybody has solution to this?
Thanks alot...
But the first place I took it for the CA Smog check (a 76 gas station), the mechanic tried to do the test 3 times and gave up, saying, "your car is too sensitive. i cant make it maintain 15mph speed. try some place else, with different equipment".
The next place I took it to (another 76), said the car failed the CA smog test. The emissions were ok, but the "Check Engine" light came on during the test. The fault code was "P0500 Vehicle Speed Sensor Malfunction". But the check engine light went away after I drove the car for a few miles.
(Incidentally, the ABS warning light also comes on during the test and goes away after a while.)
So now I am confused. Should I try my luck with a different Smog Test station, or take it to the dealer for some diagnostics?
Any useful advice is welcome. Thanks.
Agree. Not all the parts automakers hang on the car at the factory are actually made by the automaker - they all outsource many components. Perhaps Toyota furnished replacement components from one of the many sources they contract with to the dealer. If that's the case, the replacement part IS a "Toyota" part - just not made by Toyota.
On the service sheet was this notation:
"found intermittent steering shaft in need of replacement. Toyota will be releasing a recall regarding condition in near future. Will receive notice by mail."
I am still waiting for recall notice.
The next day the car stared to make a very loud noise from the engine and we had it towed to the same dealership. After some investigation I was told that a bearing was gone in the engine(piece broke off) I then went onto the "Forums" site and read up about "oil sludge problems on Toyotas" in cars of this era.I mentioned this to the service manager. To make a long story longer, Toyota replaced the short block, oil pump , ground the valves, and re sealed the heads. By the way my car is 8 years old and has 176,000 kms now. Needless to say we are very happy that Toyota covered the entire repair cost. Thanks to all the folks who supplied the info on "forums". I hope this helps others who may have similar problems.
HAPPY MOTORING
TOYOMAN1
A few weeks ago, I noticed spots on my garage floor. The dealer tells me that the rack is leaking and causing the steering boots to swell with power steering fluid. (I didn't even know there were such things as steering boots.) If the problem isn't fixed, the dealer warns that the boots could rupture. The leak must be slow, because I checked the levels of all fluids just before bringing the car to the dealer, and they were all OK.
The dealer wants $1100 to replace the rack with Toyota parts, but tells me that they'll do the labor for $470 if I bring them a rack.
Part of me thinks I'm crazy for continuing to put money into this car. It's been springing leaks (oil leaks until now) for two years, and I've been patching them up. In fact, I just bought a Hyundai Sonata 4, but driving back from the Hyundai dealer the other day, I realized I don't want to part with this car just yet. In spite of its 133 HP engine, it would blow the doors off a Sonata 4. And I was offered only $3000 for it as a trade-in. So I will fix it and put it out to pasture.
Any advice on how to buy a steering rack?
Thanks.
w.r.t. floating, check the sidewall rating on your tires. yours may be grossly underinflated. of course, running them nearer to rating will cause probably more noise and more sensitivity to steering input.
*perhaps* there is some adjustment which can be performed related to steering power boost. perhaps you could research that angle.
there may be something else you can do w.r.t. stuts. dunno. good luck.
I had the Goodyear Integrity tires on my '04 LE, and they weren't at all noisy. And the '04 was quieter overall than the '97 LE that preceded it, but not by a whole lot.
About the floatiness, I'm not sure there's anything wrong. But you could always test drive another Camry like yours at the dealership to determine if yours is somehow abnormal.
Then I bought a used 1980 Volvo 240 that sounded like a luxury car to me -- so quiet, or so I thought.
But it was nothing compared to my new 1990 Mercury Sable, and so it goes.
My '04 and '05 Camrys are very quiet, the former even when it still had the OEM Goodyear Integrity tires. Now I have Hankook Optimo tires on it, and it's still very quiet. The '05 Camry has OEM Bridgestone Potenza RE92s.
If you really want to drive a noisy car drive a Nissan Altima 2.5s. We just traded our 2005 Altima in for a 2006 Camry because the engine was so noisy it was obnoxious. No matter what speed.
And the ride? The Altima's ride would be equivalent to sitting on a skate board and riding that. We also have a 2005 Honda Element and that put the Altima to shame as far as ride and road noise. Both the Honda and the Toyota beat the Nissan head's down as far as quality and fit goes. Nissan also designed the 2.5S only with a AC/heating unit that if you used any "windshield" or the "recycle" settings. The AC stayed on until you re started the car. Very bad design. Our Altima had 7,000 miles when we traded it in and it was waiting for it's third stereo replacement. The Camry is like driving in heaven compared to the Nissan.
Seeing it's our first Toyota I will say I do not care for the cruise control setup or the fact it seems to downshift on the least little grade a lot.
D
With regard to downshifting, the transmission is a 5-speed, so it will downshift more readily (more gears).
In hilly terrain, you can always lock out 5th gear (overdrive) to keep the tranny from going no higher than 4th gear.
Interesting that back in the 60s GM went from a 4-speed Hydramatic tranny to a 3-speed because people didn't like to feel the shifts so often. Of course, neither the 4-speed or 3-speed units were true overdrive trannies.
Today, shifts are (usually) smoother, and I would assume the upcoming 8-speed in the Lexus will have barely perceptible shift points.
My manuals only tell what to do if the door is open.
Any ideas?
Then this morning it hit me.
You must depress the brake pedal, FIRMLY, in order to shift out of parking gear. If I were the engineer writing the firmware that is exactly when I would most expect the accelerator pedal to be fully released.
So, if, drive cycle after drive cycle, the shift from park into a drive range occurs with the gas pedal depressed, even ever so slightly, the engine/transaxle ECU might re-learn, likely adjusting the parameter gradually, the sensor output voltage for the accelerator pedal idle position.
The next part you will not believe.
I NEVER use my left foot for braking..
WRONG!
My RX is always parked "nose in" into the garage.
This morning I used my left foot to brake while I started the RX and shifted into reverse, and continued to brake with my left foot as I backed out of the garage.
I know I do not use my left foot for braking in the normal sense and I have no idea when or how I developed the habit of doing it in reverse, or maybe only while backing out of the garage.
So, if you have DBW be sure you do not have any pressure on the accelerator pedal as you firmly depress the brake in order to shift into gear. And be mindful of floor mats having inadvertently slipped forward and now laying on the accelerator pedal.
Kudoes to user777, to whom I should have listened more closely and who was much closer to this idea than I was.
Question... I know you have been contemplating this problem for many months now, but I would like to assume that Toyota engineers are at least as smart as you and User777 (this is not meant as a put down to either of you) and I would hope that they have been spending more time on it than you have (hopefully since it first presented itself in 2002), so don't you think this is something that they would have figured out by now? Man, it sounds like an EASY fix if it is the problem.
Too bad the Toyota-Lexus transaxle shift delay forum is closed. I am sure what you have surmised would be of interest to more than Toyota Camry owners.
(Like you, I would swear I am not a left foot braker, but...just like you, my driveway is a downslope and in the event I pull in behind by wife, I must keep a foot on the brake as a press the gas to keep from rolling into her.)