2012 Camry: Eyesore under the hood

oparr

Recently looked at some 2012 Camrys at a local Toyota dealer and was somewhat shocked to see that none of the power plants had exhaust manifold covers. While the average Joe/Jane probably wouldn't notice anything amiss, this was the first thing I noticed after popping the hood.

The salesman claimed that they rattled over time so Toyota had stopped using them. A head mechanic said that they did have covers originally but the upstream O2 sensors had to be replaced with longer ones and so the covers could no longer fit.

What's the real skinny on this? Is this a general "trend du jour" or is Toyota just cutting corners once more? Here is a picture of what I'm talking about (2012 Camry power plant);

http://www.pbase.com/eldata/image/141424437/original

Here is a picture of a 1996 Camry power plant;

http://www.pbase.com/eldata/image/141424442/original

oparr

Under the hood of a 2011 Camry;

http://www.dealersyndicator.com/upload/146/2012%20camry%20engine.JPG

ewkid

Looks like they got the idea from the previous hybrid.
http://dhybridcars.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/2011-Toyota-Camry-Hybrid-Sedan- -VVTI-16-Valve-Engine-8.jpg

oparr

Looks like they got the idea from the previous hybrid.

And here is the same hybrid power plant with the manifold cover in place;

http://www.autopressnews.com/2006/m01/toyota/camry_se_4cylinder.jpg

So the idea is probably that you can leave something in plain sight, that is going to discolor and rust over time, because most customers aren't going to look under the hood. A third world mindset that probably originated with Toyota USA. It would be interesting to see whether this sort of thing is also happening in vehicles assembled in Japan and elsewhere.

oparr

By the way, this is what you see under the hood of a 2012 Sonata GLS;

http://gtcarlot.com/data/Hyundai/Sonata/2012/51133486/Engine-51095969.html

Cheese to chalk in terms of aesthetics. Toyota needs to get their act together in that department.

mcdawgg

Well, that's interesting. In another board, you said on Feb 7 that you "JUST GOT A 2012 Camry", but here, on Feb 11 you say you "looked at some 2012 Camrys at a local Toyota dealer ".

Hmmmm, just curious......

Me, I could care less about how it LOOKS under the hood, as long as it is reliable and easy to do maintenance. And if they upgraded the interior but made the engine compartment LOOK worse to keep costs the same, then that's a big plus for 99.9% of the people.

All-New 2012 + Toyota Camry 2/11/12 159
Message #156 2012 Camry: No exhaust manifold cover by oparr Feb 07, 2012 (9:52 pm)
Just got a 2012 Camry and the engine has no exhaust manifold cover. In fact, none of them at the ...

oparr

In another board, you said on Feb 7 that you "JUST GOT A 2012 Camry", but here, on Feb 11 you say you "looked at some 2012 Camrys at a local Toyota dealer ".

Both statements are true.

Me, I could care less about how it LOOKS under the hood, as long as it is reliable and easy to do maintenance.

No surprises there.

And if they upgraded the interior but made the engine compartment LOOK worse to keep costs the same, then that's a big plus for 99.9% of the people.

No surprises there either...with the reasoning that is. There are two certainties here....1) It's cheaper to leave off a cover, 2) In your face welding, discoloration and rust are not things one expects to be in plain view when looking under the hood of any car. Especially a brand new Camry.

bdyment

I had a chance to look under the hood of a Camry at the dealers on Saturday. You are right this looks terrible. What was Toyota thinking? I have seen $13,000. Kias that look better. Sure will be a rusty mess in a few months.

oparr

What was Toyota thinking?

Probably overconfidence together with the general owner nonchalance and ambivalence associated with this area of a car. They'll certainly get my thoughts regarding it when they send their usual survey.

ewkid

Here is a 2012 Camry with a manifold cover. http://images.thetruthaboutcars.com/2011/08/Camry-XLE-4-engine.jpg

If you want the cover you need to skip the CA emissions package.

mcdawgg

Well, thanks for clearing that up. Case dismissed – Toyota did not cut corners by eliminating a manifold cover. I confirmed this – I checked the gen 6 (2007-2011), and the California emissions cars from that generation did not have a manifold cover either.

In fact, for the new gen7 2012 Camry, Toyota ADDED another cover to make under the hood look pretty. The area between the grille and the radiator is now covered – it was not on any of the gen 6 Camrys.