1999 Toyota Camry LE problems

dc_sports_rule

I have some small problems that I need advice about regarding my 1999 Toyota Camry LE with 7K purchased in June, 1999 new. I noticed that rust is forming on the edges of my wheel hub where the hubcap meets the steel wheel. I have never had a car where the steel wheels rusted so fast. In addition, the black paint is chipping off my muffler which also seems to be a Toyota Camry problem that seems to be widespread. Are these problems covered under the Toyota warranty? In addition, I have noticed that the inside of the glass in front of the speedometer is discoloring along the bottom edge as if spots are condensating from the inside. This was replaced by Toyota already once before. Will Toyota cover this problem for the second time?
Any information would be greatly appreciated.

2k1trd

This is called wear and tear.You can repaint the muffler with semi-gloss high heat paint.

Mr_Shiftright

Yeah, the wheels and muffler are just what you'd expect from a two year old car that lives in the real world. I would not expect Toyota to do anything about those, nor would I if I were Toyota, to be frank with you. ...the only one of your complaints that I think is unusual and quite valid regarding a warranty issue is that condensation behind the dashboard...perhaps you have a water leak in the windshield area. Too much moisture accumulation back there wouldn't be good, if that is in fact what's happening.

austinone

At least I'm not the only one with moisture spots behind the speedometer glass...I thought it was just me. I purchased my 1999 LE new, and it has nearly 25,000 miles on it, and I've been noticing those spots for the past year or so. It looks like "drops of rain" dried water spots along the lower edge of the glass on the inside where I can't get to them. Lately, I've even seen what looks like a couple of pieces of lint or fuzz clinging to the backside of the glass. Have no clue as to how that is happening, but I will have the dealer check since it is still under warranty. I had that happen once with a 1986 Jetta, and turned out the window seal was leaking, which caused some stuff behind the dashboard to rust and stop working.

The is my first Toyota, and I've been pleased with the ride and gas mileage. But Edmunds' is right about the uncomfortable seats. Didn't notice them in the test drives, but after living with them for a few months, especially the shoulder area is uncomfortable because I must be too tall (6'1") for the seatback. Took me 6 months at least to find some comfort in adjustments, but if I could have returned the car for that reason, I would have. It also seems very low, and scrapes some parking lot speed bumps no matter how slowly I move over them. And with two normal sized people in back, the end seems to drag, so I'm not real impressed with that suspension. Also, I wanted the 6-cylinder, and really find the 4 is not powerful enough a lot of the time. But I wasn't willing to pay a lot to get it; wish they offered the 6 without all the other stuff. I will say the a/c works great in our hot Texas summers, and I like the full-sized spare tire. Don't know if it is me or the alloy wheels, but I have dents in the inside rims of two wheels, and had to have one fixed, because the tire would not hold air. I've never had that happen before and don't know if the alloy wheels are soft or if I'm just driving it like my old Explorer, and think I can roll over everything.

I'd appreciate hearing from anyone who did have the moisture thing checked by a dealer, and what they were told as to the cause. It would be helpful to have that information before I take mine in. Thanks.

manoki

I have a 94 Toyota Carry that Shows A warning Light for rear lights failure but in the real sense the rear lights are working well.

yeahrite

As a Licenced TOYOTA Pro Technician I will advise you that the dash indicator in your Camry only monitors the resistance of the Stop Lamps in your car. The Problem is either a burned out stop light bulb or it may also be caused by corrosion in a bulb socket or tail light harness connector.
some aftermarket spoilers with LED stop lights in them may also trigger this light. Hope this helps

yud

I have a 96 Toyota Camry LE and recently I noticed that there is a creak sound coming from the whole interior body of the car whenever I change the speed of the car or go over a bump. It seems to me that this strange sound didn't come up until the timing belt was changed by a toyota dealer. I am just wondering if anyone knows how to fix it. Thanks a lot.

carmaker1

I own a camry with noisy strut mounts.When turning at low speeds a rubbing rubber sort of noise comes from the strut towers.Because of my affiliation with Toyota I know several other Camry owners who own cars that all came off the line at roughly the same time (within weeks)who have the same problem.The problem begins around 40000-60000km's so if your warranty (60 000km's) is almost up you might want to have this checked.

anselmo1

I have the same problem with my 1999 Camry. All along the bottom inside on the speedometer glass, there is spots that formed. It seems to be condensation from the inside caused by a loose seal or from the air conditioning ducts. Going to take my car in to have it looked at while it is still under warranty.

ksullivan

I've been hearing a rubbing noise too from the front end when I turn at a slow rate of speed. Maybe I have the same problem-noisy strut mounts. Is this something I should be concerned about? My car is well out of warranty (115K) and otherwise drives great. The only annoyance is that it is very low to the ground. I almost forgot, the factory 3CD player is also pretty obnoxious...I'm hoping it'll break so I can justify replacing it. Great car overall, though.

chrisatwood

I recently purchased a 98 Camry LE v4 with only 9200 miles on it from a dealership.
The car seems to be in perfect condition inside and out, but I have found that when I
have passengers in the back seat the car tends to bottom out when I'm coming out
of or going into an underground parking garage. And now my wife tells me that the
car also bottoms out exiting her driveway at work when only she is driving it! Is this
a common problem with Camrys? What does it take to fix it?
(I know this is a '99 discussion group, but any help would be appreciated)

anselmo1

I would take the car back to the dealer and have him check the rear shocks. It should be covered under the warranty. No, my 1999 Camry LE does not bottom out with people in the back seat.

210delray

I think he's referring to the underside of the car scraping the pavement. It's a problem with the Camry because of its low ground clearance.

flaca

in my 97 I counld't go over speed bumps without hitting them. Worse with people in the back seat.

mlb1958

I have a 1999 Toyota Camry LE w/20,000 mi. I brought it to the dealer for normal service and to check for the cause of front vibration at 60 mph. The service tech replaced a shock absorber, steering knuckle, and bearing to correct the problem. The service tech claimed I must have hit something to cause the damage and therefore the repair would not be covered under warranty. Are you aware of any problems with the vehicle that may have caused this damage.

lugwrench

I know that the Camry had problems with a steering wheel vibration that occurred due to a bad shipment of General Tires. Anything faster than 60 mph and the steering wheel would shake. The General Tires couldn't be balanced properly. Unless there is visible damage on the parts replaces, the parts should be covered under warranty. I would ask them to show you the parts they claimed were damaged by your neglect. If no damage is visible, I would then call the Toyota Regional Office and tell them of your problem which should have been covered under warranty. Hope you get the satisfaction you deserve.

anselmo1

Had my Camry in today for an inspection and oil change. Showed service advisor the condensation markings on the lower portion of the speedometer glass. Well, they have a quick fix for the problem. They remove the glass and clean it on the inside. The service advisor has noted this on numerous Camry models and this is what they have been doing at the dealership. I guess when it forms again, they will clean it free of charge each time. Three cheers for Toyota!

bhavaraju

Hi!

I have 1999 Camry with 33000K, I bought it new and from my first year (after six months of purchase or so) I am having problem with my ABS.

It gets activated just like that, when ever I am breaking on a wet surface or rough surface or even on some rough spot.

First it got activated when I was stoping at red light, and I hit my front car, I got a ticket for that, I told the cop also, but still he gave me ticket. from that day I am having this problem, I complained to my dealer everytime I went there for servicing but they found everything quite normal.

Am I the only one facing this problem, or anybody else out there. What did you do about it? any kind of help/info is greatly appreciated.

thanks
- KB

alcan

It sounds like an intermittent open circuit, probably in a wheel speed sensor but possibly in one of the ABS controller power feeds or grounds. Suggest you have a dealer tech go for a drive with you over a rough road, with a scan tool attached to monitor all ABS controller inputs. If it acts up he should be able to identify which signal's dropping out.

lugwrench

Has anyone else experienced problems with the General Tires that came standard on your Camry? Mine had to be replaced due to defects and replaced with Michelins.

twobrowns

I have a 99 camry with general's. The car has 10000 miles on them and they need replaced. This is our second car and my wife drives it 95% of the time. I don't know if it is my wife's driving or the tires, although her nick name is lead foot!

chipperrrrr

Twobrowns, I have a 96 camry le. I was very dissapointed when I wore through the original tires with approximately 17k miles. At that point, I installed 4 goodyear infinitreds and have had very good luck. I have them religiously rotated at no charge at the local goodyear dealer. I currently have 65K on the car and am showing very good tread remaining. I would not be surprised to recieve another 15 to 20 K of tire life from this set. Check them out. I think you will be happy.

jinsongliu

I too changed my original tires in approximately 10k on my 1999 Camary. one of my friend did same thing. Look like toyota orignal tires only good for about 10k or 15k

lugwrench

General Tire produced many substandard tires in 1999 for the Camry. Toyota refused orders and replaced them with Dunlaps and Michelins until General corrected their problem. I was fortunate since Toyota replaced mine with Michelins at their expense at around 1000 miles.

210delray

I rotated them every 7-8000 miles, including the spare, and got almost 50K miles out of them.

dgn9

I have a Camry 98 and also replace the front tires Bridestone RE92 at 20K miles and have to do 4 wheel alignment. The problem is not the tires . The actual problem is the alignment. You can convice yourself by inspecting the front tires, you will see the tires are not worn out evenly.For streering vibration, Toyota did recall this problem for 98 model.