Toyota Camry 2006 and earlier

210delray · April 2005

Their widths are identical.

ian721 · April 2005

I never toured a Toyota plant, but I did once get a tour of a Ford plant in NJ. Highly recommended if you're in the vicinity. It's truly amazing.

midusa · April 2005

We just took our 2002 Camry LE to the dealers to have a slight squeal in the steering checked out. The car has 23000 miles on it and an extended warranty for 5 years. The car is 20 days out of the regular warranty but not to worry- there is that extended warranty that cost an arm and a leg. The serviceman just called and said the airbag clockspring has to be replaced. $361.00 and No it is not covered by the extended warranty.

So much for extended warranties!! Anyone else have this problem?

andrelaplume · April 2005

1) Get another opinion from another dealer. Are you aware that the 02 Camry's are afflicted with the squeeling steering wheel. Mine has done this twice, both times in the cold. It occurs when you turn the wheel. It sounds like a squeeling or rubbing noise. The first instance was when the car was about 3 months old. At my oil change I mentioned it and the dealer knew about the problem. They lubed something in ths steering shaft. The second time was this past winter. I again mentioned it at an oil change and they again lubed it. I mentioned that if it happens again I have no intention of paying for the lube---once out of warranty. They said there was a new 'tool' that allows them to get the lube higher up the shaft and it should not be a problem again. Are they blwoing smoke up my...who knows but it appears to be a common problem. If this sounds like your issue mention it to the dealer or better yet get to another Toyota dealer. For all you know they are making you replace a part that has nothing wrong with it.

2) Extended Warranty. You say it cost an arm and a leg and does not cover the part. Did you get a genuine Toyota Platinum Plus warranty? The warranty covers just about everything except for normal maint. items. I am not aware that a clock spring is a normal maint item...perhaps others can comment. I do know 3rd part warranties or lesser Toyota warranties do not cover as much as the Platinum Plus. As far as costing an arm and a leg, I paid $675 for my 7/75K platinum-plus warranty with $0 deductible. Sure they wanted to sell it to me for $1400. I declined, waited a few weeks, researched costs here at Edmunds, determined I could actually buy the warranty at any dealer in the country, found a dealer here that would sell me one for $675 and then offered my dealer that deal. I pointed out up front I got the offer via email from another dealer over the net. I also pointed out that was exactly how they landed my sale - best price over the net. They took the $675. On a $19K car I did not think that too unreasonable. Some have argued you could drop AAA and save $$$ each year since the warranty covers breakdowns.

Check your warranty, check with the dealer, get another opinion. There is no way you sould be out $300+ on a newer Camry. If such happens to me then its back to domestics for me---where I pay less up front! I bet it just needs some lube though.

pat · April 2005

Hi midusa, what a bummer - andrelaplume has some great suggestions for you. You may also want to check into our Extended Warranties discussion.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

307web · April 2005

Does the new 5-speed automatic on the 4 cylinder 2005 Camrys have the same "slow-to-downshift" problem and acceleration hesitation problems where you floor the gas pedal and then wait 2 seconds before the car reacts with an increase in speed as the V6/automatic that is often complained about?

moeharri · April 2005

I have a 2005 XLE 4 cylinder and it does have the hesitation problem. I believe this is due to the drive-by-wire system rather than the transmission. It's mildly annoying to me, as I don't ever floor it anyway. If the need to floor it arises, I'm confident the car will be fine--it's not a 2 second delay for me, more like 1 second or so, hard to say w/o timing it.

carzzz · April 2005

Yes... it tends to up shift quickly and down shift slowly

alpha01 · April 2005

IMO, it is more of a drive by wire issue than a transmission issue (so I agree with the above statement). It isnt a Camry, but our 05 Legacy with a 4 speed auto and drive by wire has a observable hesitation when downshifting. Neither of the two 05 Camrys (that I've driven) felt as pronounced as what I've experienced in our Legacy, and even the Legacy's performance is not something that I am concerned about. I actually dont feel the Camry upshifts early, especially under 3/4 throttle...and the downshifts arent as slow (as some people seem dramatize).

~alpha

scoti1 · April 2005

For more info, refer to these articles if you haven't seen them yet.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05036/453222.stm

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04345/424551.stm

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04343/423383.stm

There is a board here at Edmunds dedicated to hesitation (inappropriately titled "Engine Hesitation" but site is almost 100% discussion of hesitation/lag upon acceleration in Toyota/Lexus line), so if you wish to discuss with others, you can go to http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.ef4cdbd/570

midusa · April 2005

The squeal was not loud and only occurred when turning the wheel at low speed such as when we backed into our driveway or when parking. My wife, who normally drives the car had complained about the sound. At normal highway speeds it was not heard. The mechanic at first lubricated in or around the steering boot at first thinking that this was the cause of the noise. He then brought the car around to me and said that he thought that this was all it needed but he said that he thought he heard the squeal or squeak in the steering wheel. He said that he would have to take the steering column apart to see if he could find the source of the sound. We left the car with the dealer overnight. The next day is when the service dept called with the bad news. Yesterday, I went to the cashiers office just at closing time and paid about $385.00 for the repair and asked the cashier whom I might speak to about the warranty. She directed me to the finance dept and after speaking to a couple of salesmen in the sales dept. I was taken in hand by one of the finance fellows who listened to my story and even though it was past time for him to go home, said" let's see what we can do about this" In a straight forward no nonsense fashion he made a few phone calls, ending up talking to someone in California where it was only about 3:30 pm. He said to the man on the other end of the line " I don't think he should have to pay for this." The conversation lasted about 5 minutes or so and the man on the other end of the line came to the same conclusion. Toyota is going to reimburse me for the total amount. I think it is great that this dealer went to bat for me. He also took the time to explain to me that the CostGuard Complete warranty was a very good extended warranty that covered all components but a few items that were listed. He stated that he had the same warranty on his car.Unfortunately airbag assemblies are one of the few items not covered and the clockspring is a component of the airbag assembly. We bought the Camry after hearing what a great reliable car it was. So far, except for this problem it has been trouble free and we both love the car. It is my firm hope that it stays that way.

andrelaplume · April 2005

1) I'd stick with only genuine Toyota brand warranties.

2) As far as the dealer going to bat for you....I hope they indeed did so and were perhaps not fearfull that a newly informed customer was about to start yelling and screaming about a 'repair' that was unncecisarily made. The squeeling you descibe is EXACTLY how mine was.

In any event..I am glad it worked out for you.

edmund2460 · April 2005

My 03 V6 had the same squeaking steering wheel, was lubed once with the noise returning. The second time they said "they took it all apart" and lubed it. This was two months ago. The noise hasn't returned.

mcgirl0730 · April 2005

Everytime I fill up the tank, I reset the trip meter. When it's halfway empty, the trip meter shows about 200 miles. But then it goes on E when it's only a little bit over 300 miles. Shouldn't it go all the way up to 400 since it's 200 at a half tank? I drive mostly on the expressway and I go 50 mph.

jrct9454 · April 2005

Well, firstly, you're not measuring fuel mileage using the method you describe, because ALL fuel tank sending units are gross approximations at best. All of them use a float in the fuel tank that is attached to an electronic sending device. The float bounces up and down, and is never [except at full-full or empty-empty] anything but an approximation of how much fuel is left in the tank.

Secondly, every car I've owned [and I've had over 50] behaves exactly the same way - the fuel gauge hardly moves for the first half of a tank, and then seems to plunge off a cliff for the second half.

Only way to accurately measure fuel use is to log, at each fillup, how many gallons you put in versus how many miles you have driven since the last fill. Do that religiously for several months, and you have a good idea of what kind of MPG you're getting. The fuel gauge is nothing but the equivalent of a wet finger in the wind about what's going on in the fuel system.

fredvh · April 2005

Good post jrct9454. I hate it when people report mpg via the trip computer. As you stated, this is not reliable. I have heard that the trip computers on most cars are off by 20% or more.
As a side note, I would like to hear from recent Camry owners with the I4 auto trans as to what kind of mpg they are getting. Please no trip computer figures.

lmacmil · April 2005

The trip computer in our Highlander usually overstates the mileage by about 1 mpg on extended highway trips. Given the 22 mpg we get, that's less than 5% error. I agree though that the only way to accurately measure milesage is via actual gallons used vs miles driven over several tankfuls.

No computer in the Camry SE-V6 I just got and haven't gone thru a tank yet but based on the miles driven and the position of the gas gage, I'm sure I'm getting at least 20 mpg around town ;-)

jbollt · April 2005

I believe there are two main reasons for this behavior, and I agree, I have owned way too many cars in my day, and they all do the same thing.

First reason, the tanks are usually a very odd shape, in order for the manufacturer to fit the largest gas tank they can, and allow for rear axles, brakes lines, exhaust pipes, etc. If they could build a tank that was perfectly cylindrical, (or box shaped for that matter) the gauge COULD be much more accurate...if they wanted it to be...which leads to the 2nd reason...

Second reason...they really don't want you running out of gas, so they allow the second half of the guage (lower half) to be pessimistic, causing you to feel the need to refuel sooner.

jbollt · April 2005

We have a 2003 Camry SE 4cyl, 4 spd automatic. We get about 25-26 in town, and 30-31 highway. In town is my wife commuting 12 miles to work on surface streets, takes about 25 minutes for reference. Highway is defined as high speed (75-80mph) accross the Arizona desert, almost always with 2 people and A/C use.

hank2 · April 2005

I have a 2004 Camry SE 4cyl, 4 spd automatic with ~13K miles. I commute 25 miles to work @ 65 MPH. I started out getting 26 MPG. Now getting about 28 MPG, and have never gotten over 29 MPG.

-Hank2

18fan · April 2005

I have a 2004 Camry LE with the I4 engine. Around town, I usually get between 22 to 24 mpg. On the highway (usually cruising between 68-72 mph), I usually get 35 to 37 mpg. The highest highway mileage I have ever recorded in this car is 42.

larryt22 · April 2005

Wow! I have heard other talk about clay bar but had never tried it. Decided today that I would try it and see how it worked. I bought a kit at AutoZone that had the clay bar, a liquid cleaner and carnuba wax. The kit was by Mothers. I used all 3 products on my 04 Camry. All the crud was removed, water spots and swirls disappered and this car really shines. I would highly recommend these products. Here are some pictures of my 04 Camry in Phantom Gray after I cleaned it. :-)

http://www.myimagestore.info/upload/images/b6685058.jpg

http://www.myimagestore.info/upload/images/XZm85280.jpg

http://www.myimagestore.info/upload/images/8cn85434.jpg

motownusa · April 2005

The car look great. I am thinking about trying it on my 2003 Camry. How much did you pay for the cleaner and the wax ?

mcgirl0730 · April 2005

My Camry has an 18.5 gallon tank. I filled up when the warning light came on, and it only came out to 16 gallons. So that means I still had 2.5 gallons and I could have gone at least 50 miles, right? I think that's pretty good.

lmacmil · April 2005

I think 40-50 miles after the warning light comes on is typical. Btw, your manual says try to keep the tank above 1/4 full. That's because the fuel pump is inside the fuel tank and the gasoline keeps it cool. Running the tank down to empty too often could shorten the life of the fuel pump.

jrct9454 · April 2005

Running the risk of going dry is not to be trifled with - it's hard on the fuel pump, and very hard on the catalytic converter [the misfiring that can occur just before it goes dry can significantly damage the catalyst]. And for the reasons discussed before, never count on the fuel gauge [and that includes the warning light] to keep you out of trouble. I just don't like to run any of our cars below 1/4 tank unless there's a really good reason and I know where I'm going to fill it.

larryt22 · April 2005

I think it was $15. I am sure you could find it cheaper at a discount place. But even so, it was worth every penny. My car has never had a shine like that.

lmacmil · April 2005

There have been 219 oosts in the Honda Accord Sedan discussion since April 1st vs 56 in this forum. Wonder why those Accord owners have so much more to talk about? Is it because more "enthusiasts" purchase Accords vs. Camrys?

petl · April 2005

In most cases, posters like to discuss 2 subjects... 1) problem areas and, 2) new releases or major changes to vehicles. In many cases it's the same posters involved in the discussions. Finally, there may be more "enthusiastic" Accord owners as you stated. For the most part however, satisfied owners do not post.

rxanand · April 2005

When I bought my Camry XLE V6 last September, my dealer, Parkway Toyota in Englewood Cliffs NJ, had their own maintenance schedule displayed prominently in the service department. Instead of maintenance every 5000 miles, the dealer had a long list of suggested maintenance every 3750 miles.

Since this appeared to be a revenue enhancement technique of the service department, I disregarded it and stuck to what the manual says. When I went for my 10000 mile oil change recently, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the dealer had replaced their own creative service schedule with the official one from the manual. Is Toyota cracking down on this practice by dealers?

Also of note: The "Main reqd" dashboard light flashed on when starting the car about 4500 miles after the last service. How long does it take for others? What is the method used by the car to determine when to display this light?

lmacmil · April 2005

My son recently took his Matrix in for the 30,000 service and called in a panic when the dealer said it would be $600. They were going to change plugs, fuel filter, clean injectors and change the transmission fluid, none of which are needed at only 30,000 miles. He told them to forget the plugs, fuel filter and injectors which saved $200 or so. I don't think the Toyota recommended maintenance should have run over $250.

When I picked up my Camry, the sales guy went thru the maintenance schedule with me explaining what needed to be done, i.e., what's in the Toyota manual, not what the service department may recommend.

I believe the maint req'd light is for oil changes and the mileage will vary depending on your driving habits. 4500 miles is about right for a typical mix of city/highway driving. Here's something on the GM oil life monitor. ZDP is a zinc-phosphorus anti-wear compound.

"The GM engine oil life monitor counts engine revolutions and accumulates the number for the basis of the oil life calculation. It then adds deterioration factors for operating temperature, start up temperature, soak times, ambient, coolant temperature, etc... There are a LOT of factors that "adjust" or affect the slope of the deterioration but the fundamental deterioration is traced back to the ZDP depletion that is inescapable with engine revolutions."

210delray · April 2005

...blinks 12 times beginning at 4500 miles when you first start the car. It stays lit continuously beginning at 5000 miles. It's not an oil life monitor like in GM cars; it simply comes on at fixed mileage intervals. The light was added starting with 2004 models, as a result of the oil sludge controversy, where at least part of the problem was due to people not changing their oil frequently enough.

I've always reset mine when it stays on continuously, and I change my oil at more frequent intervals (about 4000 miles).

tuffy · May 2005

Yes, your Camry looks great! What type of tire dressing do you use as it looks great too? I have tried all kinds and some work better than others but most tend to fly off as you drive which is annoying?

Thanks!

Tuffy

andrelaplume · May 2005

Is a trip computer giving you your MPG? Do you fill up before it goes less than a half tank? I have an 02 LE 4cyl automatic which I fill consisitently at 1/4 tank left. The best highway I have gotten has been 28mpg...usually it is around 25/26. In town I get just under 21mpg consistently. In town is pure start and stop driving never getting above 40 mph. I calc the mileage by resetting my trip odometer and computing the gallons used. I think if your city mileage is indeed accuate you must have a Hybrid in disguise! Then again, maybe your city driving is really mixed or you don't stop every few blocks for a stop sign or traffic light. My experience has been the trip computer is always off on actual mpg. Also, I notice if I fill the tank at 1/2 full my mileage is ALWAYS 2 -3 mpg more when I compute it...very weird!

leesa2067 · May 2005

Just purchased an '05 Camry LE, AT, Silver, with side airbags. After reading the forums here, my husband and I chose our Camry with the Continental tires rather than the Goodyear Integritys, safety being paramount. We walked around the lot and noted the VIN with Goodyears and the ones with the Continentals. We also live in Florida and face many thunderstorms and wet road conditions.

Thanks for the heads up.
:shades:

jbollt · May 2005

I guess its hard to compare city driving with city driving. My wife's commute is 12 miles each way, at speeds of approx 40-45, with traffic lights at an average of approximately 2 miles apart. We don't have a trip computer in this car, so we fill the tank when it gets to approx 1/4 tank, and divide the miles driven by fuel added, usually at the same station...I usually pump once more after the first shut off...

lmacmil · May 2005

Lately (last week or so), when I first get into the Town Hall and pick one of the groups with the most recent posts, I get the following message:

Web Crossing server is unable to process "/.ef13089?ERIGHTS=-8370751339414516329lmacmil@XXXXX.com"

(I replaced my email account with XXXXX). On the next selection, everything works as it should. What's going on?

lmacmil · May 2005

I have the JBL 6-CD changer in both my 05 Camry and my wife's 04 Highlander. At a given volume setting, the HL stereo is much louder. Hers on 10 is like mine on 20. Do you think the volume control is just calibrated differently? I think they are the same wattage.

rutger3 · May 2005

Before buying the camry, please check the seats. Toyota has done something to them which makes them uncomfortable to some people, i emphasize some, because many buyers are okay with it. You may not notice this initially on a test drive, so be sure to spend as much time as possible in the seats. I owned a 99 for 6 yrs and 179k miles, no problems, but my new 2005 I cant get comfortable in the seats. This is very annoying. Perhaps it will get better in time as I have only had it a week.

pat · May 2005

See the message at this link and Sylvia's reply following it. "Wednesday" should be tomorrow.

ab348, "Forums Software! Your Questions Answered..." #1938, 28 Apr 2005 8:15 pm

solara00 · May 2005

I use Zaino Perfect Tire Gloss. It is not sticky like some of the others, so it won't pick up dirt and debris from the road. It gives a nice, clean look and is easy to apply.

I'm sure there are many others, but Zaino has a good one.

andrelaplume · May 2005

If you think you were wise the get the Craptinental tires think again. Do a search on the many posts here describing the poor wet performance of these suckers. Toyota should be ashamed of putting them on the car. I replaced mine with10K because I was afraid to drive in the rain with my family. Do your self a favor and try to have the dealer swap them out or bite the bullet and immediately invest in a good wet-weather tire. Also, if offered now, get TRACTION CONTROL. There are two reasons I likely would not purchase the Camry again, 1) Rattles (not a big deal to most but 2) very poor road grip. It is horrible in snow and marginal in rain. If traction control is around get it. I wish they made an AWD Camry!

alpha01 · May 2005

There are ways you could have accomplished saying what you did in your post without coming across nearly as obnoxiously. Maybe you consider being a little more tactful to new (and happy, I might add) members here? The Camry thread isnt exactly rolling in participants, and itd be nice if we could keep people around.

No, the Continentals are not a good tire. They will require replacement in less than 30K miles, and the grip is poor.

However, we switched ours for Pirelli P400 Tourings, and there is ZERO issue with grip, on dry, wet, or snow. Traction control is a help, but it is NOT necessary. Now stability control (VSC) can definitely help things out bigtime, BUT it wont help you get going in the slick stuff, it will simply keep the car from sliding. TRAC isnt that great a system and doesnt really do much.

So you swapped your Continentals out... but what did you switch to? Also, the rattles were primarily an issue on the 02 and 03s.... you will find BARELY any postings here on 04s or 05s with signficant issues.

And finally, they do make an AWD Camry, its called a Highlander.

~alpha

petl · May 2005

AWD Camry's are available in Japan. In fact, most (if not all) Toyota cars are available in 4WD format in Japan. I also would like the Camry (not the Highlander) to be available in AWD format.

victorc · May 2005

I'm starting to look @ the 2005 Camry. It appears to be a Very nice car. Solid doors, Huge trunk... . My question is this, I will most likely buy the Camry or the Chevy Malibu Maxx. Both cars get Great Gas Mileage. What do you think is a Good price for the Car. base and Le Models? I'm thinking about $18600. But should I get it cheaper? Money is tight, so I want to get the most out of my dollar. Can someone help with Prices. I live in NJ. But I would travel to to get a cheaper price. I want A/c, P/B with ABS, Cd radio, a sun roof would be nice, but not important. Thank you for your time.
Victor

another_person · May 2005

The 05 camry comes with A/C, CD, and power everything standard. ABS is standard now too. I live in WA and recently got an 05 LE with premium sound and sun roof, for only 18500 before a 1000 rebate. If you're concerened about price though, I'd get the striped down standard camry. It still has the A/C, CD, and power everything, but doesn't have the ABS. The thing is though, it might be hard to track one of them down. A dealer is more likely to have 20 or 30 LE's over 1 or 2 standard camry's. Either way, base your offer off of the invoice, ignore the sticker. And if you want a closer estimate of how much it's going to be for a car, try Kelly blue book, or edmonds.com. You can "build" your car and see the est. invoice and MSRP

maristella · May 2005

Are they cloth or leather? I'm considering purchasing a XLE with cloth just because the rear crash testing score was better with the cloth than the leather so I haven't even test-driven the leather. Should I?

phd86 · May 2005

it's because 80% of the people who bought camrys found out soon that toyota fibbed about the mileage on this model and are pretty bummed out as gas prices rose.

Just not alot else to say.

Out.

ian721 · May 2005

All the 05's have ABS

cam2003 · May 2005

I agree with you that Camry is not good on snow. It happened twice for me that the car almost run into snow bank, very scary. It was unpredictable situation, the steering was felt not connected to road anymore. What I had OEM tires with less than 5K miles on them. Last winter, I switched all-season to winter tires (Michelin Pilot Alpine PA2), and the traction was acceptable.
I still believe something about weight distribution on Camry is not correct and that causes poor traction.

Toyota Camry 2006 and earlier

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