Toyota Solara

webguyster

Is your car under warranty? I did not have any luck with the Toyota customere service number. If the dealer cannot help resolve your issues, there is always the Better Business Bereau, @ bbb.com. Toyota has cleaned up most of it's image with the BBB, with the exception of the Cedar Rapids Financial, administering the Extra Care warranty. I hope you do not need to deal with this group. The BBB stats..."Based on BBB files, this company has an unsatisfactory record with the Bureau due to unanswered complaint(s). The company has resolved most complaint(s) presented by the Bureau; however, the Bureau did not receive a response to other complaint(s). "

Did you happen to check out which engine Toyota is using in the new 2004? How many ponies??

squinty25

silversolara - I have a 2000 Pearl White Toyota Camry Solara SE. I appreciate your response, but I doubt it's a broken gas cap because I actually stopped by the dealer (on their request) and he readjusted the gas cap (thinking that might be the problem). I'm assuming if it was cracked, he would've noticed. Yet, every inclination tells me it's due to something that simple, which is why this is making me so angry. They've said they've never had a problem this complex before...I find that hard to believe when I read all these posts of people having the same exact problem.

My car has almost 60,000 miles on it...transmissions are covered up until 60K miles. So all of this hassle has been covered.

Webguyster - I am praying that it doesn't get to the point where I actually have to go to the BBB. I'm frankly very torn here because they generally do treat me professionally and courteously at this dealership, yet now I'm finding they just dismiss or ignore me, basically because I'm just a "customer service issue" to them now. I'd hate to ruin what was once a decent relationship by going that far, but I don't know what to do anymore. Toyota itself doesn't respond either it seems.

webguyster

Do you drive until your tanks is almost completely, before filling up again?? My neighbors camry had repeated problems with the check engine light, always reset and and blamed on the gas cap. Of all the problems i have had, knock wood, I have yet to have this. My Dodge Avenger was a repeat offender of bad O2 sensors!

squinty25

webguyster - Actually, yes, I am guilty of frequently waiting until the very last half gallon before I stop for gas. I'm on the go so much that I roughly calculate in my head how many miles I can make it before going empty. If that's what's causing this, then I guess I'm the careless one here. But I ALWAYS put premium gas in it and fill the tank completely. I would think the quality of the gas would be more important than when you fill it.

Please clue me in if this is a probable cause, and I might actually dare to bring it up to the dealer. If this is the problem, then how can it be corrected? New gas cap?

squinty25

Just a minor pet peeve...does anyone know if the cassette decks in the Solara only play under 90-minute tapes? I've noticed every time I play a long-length tape, it will either stop midstream or flip to the other side. And at that point, I cannot either rewind or forward. I've tried cleaning the heads and all that, but that doesn't seem to work.

canc

I've never tried playing 90 minute tapes or longer, but beware that anything longer than 90 minutes is very hard on your cassette player, plus there's a greater chance that the tape will break.

canc

I got my car with gold badging but I noticed for some time that the gold is starting to wear off. My dealership says that they can redo them, but does anyone know of a way to prevent the wearing off?

dixzoo

Does anyone know where there are pictures of the new notchback solara???

silversolara

have your dealership's chief mechanic replace the gas cap; neevr assume anything at this point with your dealership.

cassette tapes - i was a studio tech in my college days. i will concur with Canc on this even further: cassettes really should only be 60 minutes in length. we were warned on tape breakage on 90 min tapes.

stoosh95

It was a little bigger (like 3.3 or 3.4) with ~240 hp ... The guy there had no idea if it will come in a Manual Tranny.

The 4 cyl will have ~165 hp.

loucopits

you gas up the car? This was a common problem with the Lexus RX300 when people wanted to keep the car warm in the winter while filling the tank. Apparently the engine computer sensed a loss of fuel pressure. Solution was to turn off the engine when filling the tank.

squinty25

No, loucopits, never did that and now certainly never will. I always thought that was counterproductive anyway.
It's now Day 5 and it hasn't come back on...yet. BTW, I got my oil changed (at a different place) last Friday morning and that's when the light went off the next day. It might be a long shot, but does anyone know if it might be oil-related? I've always changed my oil between 3,000 and 5,000 miles, but I don't trust the service station that last changed my oil because that's when all these problems started.

cunnr

Yes, I had the same problem (see previous post a few days ago) and it stopped when brake fluid was added, which my dealership (at which I bought the car 2 years ago - World Toyota in Atlanta) did at no extra charge.

fastdriver

squinty25-

WOW!!! Sorry to hear about your problem. At first, I thought I was in the CHRYSLER topic! I know webguyster has a dealer like that, but I didn't know there was more than one! Hope Toyota isn't going that route or their sales will be the next to drop!

Hope your problem is resolved.

fastdriver

squinty25

Thanks, at least you guys have some concern and sympathy.
Well, I was getting hopeful for a while but NO, the light proudly shed its bright orange beam to me this morning ONCE AGAIN. Since I've already given them a week to call back, I called this morning to follow-up...same song and dance that they and Toyota have been playing phone tag. Right.

Low and behold, however, I DID get a response yesterday to my e-mail to Toyota. Very politely written, they basically just copied and pasted the FAQ solution I already read on their website and stated I should speak with the dealership service manager or customer relations manager to get a more specific answer. Oh...well, that's funny...when I do speak to the dealership, they say they're calling Toyota. Uh, hello?? SO what is this, the blind leading the blind???

I'm getting better feedback from you guys, so thanks a lot for your help. If you know anything else, let me know.

dixzoo

Where can I find a picture of the 2004 Solora? Is there any out there? Is Toyota that good at hiding all the information on the car? HELP!!!!!

dixzoo

Your check engine light comes on whenever you leave the gas cap off, of after a couple times of "topping off" at the pump. The car has a like an extra tube that releases the vapor from your tank, it gets filtered through a charcoal filter and if it gets gas in it, it's damaged which turns on the engine light. If you left the cap off, the tank is pressurized and the light will come on when it loses pressure. This should be a pretty simple problem for your dealer to turn it off, takes about 5 seconds to shut off. But you have to be very careful at the pump. I work for a dealer in Wisconsin, and we've dealt with that problem many times in our climate!

maemark

Squinty - I have a 2001 Solara ragtop. I had three incidents where the C/E light came on. No problem was ever found, and I got the "you must not know how to put gas in the car and secure the cap" abuse. Finally, the dealership replaced the engine computer. Their explanation was that the computer and sensors for the C/E system was so sensitive that differences in gas formulations, engine heat etc would trip the emission sensors and the light would come on. They told me the replacment chip was programmed to be less sensitive.

I have not had any more C/E light problems since they did this. If you need it, I will look at the invoice to see if they referenced a tech bulletin. Good luck.

squinty25

dixzoo - Thanks for the response. They've checked the gas cap several times, but supposedly it's not the cause. I would believe it might have to do with occasional overfilling, since I live in Jersey where pumping your own gas is illegal and many hands have pumped it for me. I guess I have to get out of the car and watch, huh?

maemark - Thanks for your response also. I've asked several times if maybe it's a problem with the light itself, meaning a short in the sensor. But it falls on deaf ears. So I would GREATLY appreciate if you could get me a tech bulletin reference to make a supporting statement to them. Thank you!!!

maemark

Squinty - I do not see a tech bulletin reverenced on my invoice. This happened with only &k. miles, so it was all under warranty.

Things that may help you -
Concern "customer concerned that check engine light is on see SOP"
Cause "Replaced ECU"
Correction - "Engine control module R&R P/N TOY 89666-06182"
Operation 895001

So, there is no TB listed, but I remember that they talked about a new TB when I made my third trip to have the light cleared. You might show them this and ask that they search for TBs on the C/E light. Hope this helps.

cliffy1

These things are finicky. With the advent of new emission controls, just about anything can set them off and the codes do very little to tell a technician where to look. I fell bad about the problems of squinty but I also understand that there may be little a dealer can do about it. It sounds like they do need to do a better job of communicating with their customer though.

webguyster

The light went off after squinty got the oil changed!?! EECH!!! That reminds me of the ol' sludge threads, but I am not talkin'!

squinty25

Maemark - Thanks again for the info. I assume by "TB", you mean "tech bulletin"? In any case, I did get a call back today that they believe the problem is attributable to a "faulty wiring component" that is causing the light to go off and apparently is related to the transmission. I had him clarify whether or not he was talking about that sensor, and he said "No", again stating that it has nothing to do with the sensor. But wouldn't the transmission wiring have to do with the ECU? Isn't that where and how the transmission is controlled? If so, he might be referring to what you got replaced. HOWEVER, supposedly this is only covered up until 36K miles and I'm well over that, so whatever this costs, I'm forced to pay it. What a "holiday treat", not to mention I'll probably be stuck with a rental car since he also has no clue how long it will take. But it's understandable that he wouldn't know the cost, since he's also unsure of amount of labor hours. I cringe to think this will probably end up being $500 or more. Any idea how much this should be? I don't want to get rooked.

PLUS: Has anyone heard of deferring payment when using your credit card? Reason being, if the light goes back on after I've paid for it, I don't want them getting paid. Is it possible to tell the cashier to wait two weeks after I've left the dealership before she charges my card? Just want to play it safe.

cliffy - Yes, although I don't seem to convey it, I do have some empathy for the dealership. I realize he's not the mechanic and is only doing his job. And, in fact, I do believe the technicians made every good-hearted attempt to resolve this. I'm just annoyed it's taking 7 visits to get it over and done with. I feel like I've been dealing with trial-and-error for the past two months, and frankly, I've been way too lax and patient about it.

webguyster - Ugh, don't tell me that - lol.

strawbs

When I open and close my driver's side door, the top of the window rubs against the frame above the window. As you know, Solara windows don't have a frame around them, so the top of the window is exposed when the door is open.

Now, about two weeks after noticing this, the driver's side window rattles frequently. Also, that door is really hard to close--it seems like I never can get it closed all the way (the hard-to-close problem happened last winter too, and seems to be a cold weather thing).

I have an '02 Solara SE 4 cyl. I have an appointment first thing Monday at the dealership, but wanted to see if anyone had experienced anything like this before.

Thanks

webguyster

My passenger door did this. The dealership pulled back the door panel(causing a crease), and lowered the window a few millimeters. No more banging noise closing the door. I did notice more wind noise at highway speeds, as the seals were already set to the different height. Took 30 minutes.

"Now, about two weeks after noticing this, the driver's side window rattles frequently. Also, that door is really hard to close--it seems like I never can get it closed all the way (the hard-to-close problem happened last winter too, and seems to be a cold weather thing)."

That sounds more like your locking mechanism thingy (strike bar, etc) is lose, as thats what was originly thought the problem with my car, the door position, or hindges. Relax, Toyota dealers can fix it!?! ;^)

Squinty...good thing for the oil gell SPA policy, just in case! Your seven visits, for one problem seems too many. Is your car under warranty still. I always was required to return multiple times for the same problem, and I could only justify this as the dealership would charge Toyota for each visit, or work order closed out!?! Good luck!

Anyone at the point you need to replace your tires yet? I am at 42000 miles, and at the wear mark with the Michelins. NTB wants $680.00, and the dealer well over $700.00, with alignment. Anyone replace with cheaper tires? Are they more "loud" than the Michelins? Better or worse handling???

canc

My Michelin MXV4 Plus tires are done at 51000 KILOMETRES! I don't know what happened. Maybe the person that had my car before I bought it screeched the tires way too often??? I got a price quote for $989 installed and balanced, with taxes (15% here). I'm definitely going to shop around.

strawbs

Webguyster-

Thanks for the response. I'm not sure the way they fixed your problem sounds like a good thing. I won't be satisfied with wind noises, especially on my driver's side, where it will be more noticeable. Hopefulle they'll take care of it in a professional manner.

squinty25

Webguyster - Yes, 7 times is a lot, but only 3 visits were actually dedicated to attempted repair. The other 4 times were where they said "Don't know what's wrong. We reset the code. Call if it comes on again." Unfortunately, this isn't covered under warranty b/c I'm over 36K miles (and I'm not sure why if it's transmission-related).

I'm not confident this is a wiring issue and - call me paranoid - but I'll bet this will cost $800 and I'll have been taken for a ride. Does this sound vague and fishy to anyone else?

I'm making sure I put this on my credit card so I can dispute it if necessary and refuse to pay it if the light goes back on. I smell arbitration in my future.

squinty25

silversolara - just curious what dealership in Jersey you've had your experience with (if you don't mind telling).

webguyster

Not sure if any of it sounds to fishy. Electiral problems can be difficult to correct, if it is an electrical problem. If you have ever looked at the blue prints, in hopes of correcting a problem with a car, forget it. When my Piezo Chirper stopped chirping, I looked up the schmatics(?) on Alldata. It was a joke. i even brought them to the dealer to see, as they were not aware of the multiple locations of things that may make noise!?! With all my Solara issues, I only had one warnign light come on, a picture of a car with sparks coming out of the rear!?! Looked like a warning light that the car may be on fire!?! Burned out bulb, it was!

You may want to call your credit card company, as they have various policies towards retailers, and I believe anyone that uses them, usually gets a good will credit, as opposed to the credit card company not paying the merchant.

silversolara

Classic Toyota in Turnersville. I used to take the car to Family Toyota in Runnemede due to its being closer, but I noted that on weekends the two mechanics get backed up, and on one occasion had to remind them to change out my antifreeze after watching them for an hour. Once, Classic's head mechanic gave me a free oil change after noting I had waited too long for a routine maintenance.

I bought the car from Classic because an acquaitance worked there and was able to swing a sweet deal for me ($500.00 over the lowest Internet price for my model).

squinty25

Thanks, silversolara! Unfortunately, I live nowhere near that location, but my boyfriend is not too far from there. I asked because I am anticipating that I may have to go to another dealer.

Webguyster - so what you're saying is, the credit card company will eat the cost because of the merchant's screw-up?? I think you're correct, but that may only apply to purchases they deem uncollectable. I'll find out anyway.

An FYI to everyone else: There's a website, www.solaraguy.com, which had a good discussion thread going on about this topic of check engine lights. (It WAS useful until now, where it's reached the point that two idiots have decided to poke fun at those who own the older model Solara because it has a different grill and taillights than the new one. Hardly a difference. How inane to even bring it up.) But if anyone is interested, you might get something from there.

suvshopper4

I've had good experiences with Toyota of Turnersville (formerly Classic Toyota), owned by Roger Penske's United Auto Group.
And I've heard many good things about Toyota of Runnemede (formerly Family Toyota).

Regards,
-not formerly ss4

rubicon52

The auto climate control in my Solara turns on the air conditioning no matter what the outside temperature. Following the advice of a posting on Edmunds (don't remember if it was this forum or not), I turned off the air conditioning by depressing the AC button. The auto climate control still maintains the cabin temperature automatically, but I don't have any cold drafts blowing on my legs. Both my wife and I agree it makes the cabin more comfortable in the winter. Just wanted to pass this along.

squinty25

Get a load of this...I ask the dealership to tell me the diagnostic code retrieved when my car was brought in for service (since it was nowhere stated on my invoices). He "doesn't know" because it was a warranty repair and therefore the code would not be indicated on the invoice. Who out there believes this or has experienced this?? I didn't even argue the point and just ended the conversation. I never knew an advisor to be so vague and uninformed. It's annoying.

webguyster

EECH! Good service. My dealer always has their copy, with all my prior service stuff and my copy, which is somewhat a reciept, although it says it is not. It only tells the work performed. I only see their copy when I get my keys, and go wait in line to pay. Might be on that. Toyota has a long standing reputation for bad customer service, and good cars! LOL!!! ;^)

pjksr

squinty, If you're game, Autozone will look at your car if your c/e light is on...

I had my light come on when I didn't fully reconnect a wiring harness after changing my air filter...but then again the engine wouldn't run. It's annoying, but probably not serious if your vehicle runs OK. Hang in there.

squinty25

Webguyster - same with my dealership. What's worse, the last "repair" they did had NO invoice. I even waited a minute, expecting him to give me one, but he just smiled and said "If I don't see you, have a nice Thanksgiving." Sure enough, however, I did have to see him (lol). Still, I've heard from others when their repairs were done, the code was mentioned on the invoice. And even if there isn't, that's no excuse for him not to know what it is.

pjksr - Yes, that's exactly what I was thinking today. My vehicle does run fine and I'm sure it's nothing serious. But it's disturbing that a dealership who obviously specializes in Toyota and its parts, cannot solve a simple issue after 6 visits. I feel like I'm being taken advantage of, especially since I will have to pay for the upcoming visit.

So if anyone here had the CEL problem repaired without a code written on the invoice, tell me and I'll shutup.

webguyster

I have had many "warranty" issues corrected with no invoice. The Lord only knows what they billed Totota for!?! Did not think about it, until everything else kept breaking! They should have been able to tell you the cause of the problem.

squinty25

I had asked him that day what the problem ended up being. He just said "Oh, it was just something technical", as if it was outside his realm of intelligence. And he seemed so confident the problem was fixed. That's when I started thinking to myself, 'Maybe they just removed a dead bug from under the hood.'

"Can't wait" for the cat-and-mouse game I'll have to play when it goes in on Monday.

squinty25

I went to Auto Zone today (in an undesirable area, no less) to get a code from them concerning my check engine light. The girl comes out and tells me they can't because it's raining! Mind you, it was a slight drizzle. I guess I just can't win.

squinty25

Never mind - went to another Auto Zone in the area. They were very nice and told me the "shocking" news: It came up with a code of P0773 for the E-shift solenoid!! Something the dealer had already replaced under warranty supposedly! And now they want to charge me for something else not covered! Gotta watch these dealerships. Like I said, they see a woman and they think they can play these games. Well, they'll be proven wrong on Monday.

webguyster

Get an American car, and live with it. I liked the tackey, white-trash Monte Carlo! It's almost like a BMW, without comforte'! It is fats, cheap, ugly, and roomy. zHandles great, and the Solara is going to be discontinued, unless Cliffy can refute my claim! We bought loser cars! 70's American money pits!

toyotaken

The solara is NOT going to be discontinued. It IS going to be redesigned for the '04 model year, however.

cliffy1

All a code tell you is where a sensor detects something out of the ordinary. It does NOT tell anybody what the problem is. If the "E-shift solenoid" showed a code and all the dealership did was replace the solenoid, they are idiots and you need to find a new dealership for service. Something caused it to fail. It may have nothing to do with the solenoid itself.

Webguyster, I respect and completely understand your angst with Toyota you but I really wish you would find another hobby. So much of what you post is really reactionary and feeds the "tempest in a teapot" syndrome that happens on so many bulletin boards. If your perceptions were true and most Solaras were lemons, we would be hearing about it in more places than just this forum.

The reality in the service lane is that the Solara is no more or less prone to problems than anything else and that means far less prone to problems than most other cars on the road. You had problems with your car and your dealership, as have others who post here. Remember though that satisfied customers generally don't go to the Internet to post problems because they just haven't had any.

Toyotaken is correct about the Solara re-design for 2004. It isn't going away.

webguyster

Geeez...loosen up Cliffy!

"Webguyster, I respect and completely understand your angst with Toyota you but I really wish you would find another hobby. So much of what you post is really reactionary and feeds the "tempest in a teapot" syndrome that happens on so many bulletin boards. If your perceptions were true and most Solaras were lemons, we would be hearing about it in more places than just this forum. "

Why don't you wish for something like world peace!

rbleland

..of your continual complaining about your Solara. Lot's of us wish you would find another hobby!!!

webguyster

Should I get a hobby like yours??? And that is??? Since when is this a hobby? It's not something I would include in a bio, such as " I enjoy biking, sailing, sking, and quiet times at home! Also like posting on Edmunds!?!" Try laying down, dude!

squinty25

I stated my case in the dealership. Without stuttering, the advisor knew that was the code that came up when they worked on it and explained why. (Amazing that he couldn't tell me this when I asked him last week on the phone.) Anyway, what he explained was basically what you said, cliffy...apparently there's a wiring connecting with the solenoid that may be causing the problem. Naturally, it's not covered under warranty, which I really question. If the trans and solenoid are covered, why wouldn't the wiring?

silversolara

Squinty - Good luck with this. Did U ever try posting this prob onto the Camryman.Org site?

And if anyone wonders why WebG bought his car, here's the reason, as per his own words:

"#1783 of 2337 Lemons abound... by webguyster United States of America Apr 29, 2002 (02:24 pm)

silversolara, I did not do too much shopping for the car. I went to Acura, I could not get a saleman to come to the lot, and drove to Toyota a few blocks away. The Solara looked kinda' like an Acura, IMO, swoopy lines, sporty, conservative, Camry reliability!?! I can not say what I honestly paid, as I traded in my 1997 Dodge Avenger, and they fudged the numbers. On paper, $22,000 ish, but I got the dealer trade in special on the Avenger, and the speech on saving sales tax, not selling it myself, yatta, yatta, etc. I just got back from fixing the chirper, it came unplugged, and a wheel alignment, and found that the SAI is out of spec, and cannot be adjusted. That's probably the cause of the endless alignments. They can't fix it!?! Oh well."

I'm tired of WebG's continual crowing over anyone else's probs w/their Solaras, and his constant down-putting. Squinty's problem seems to be a light that can't go off - not a blown head gasket (Dodge/Chrysler), exploding tires/rollovers (Ford, and anyone who makes a 15 passenger van). Fact is that WebG bought his car out of spite to get back at an Acura dealership, and it's costing him.

This is getting infantile, and I wish WebG would at least restrict his remarks to his own problems.

Going on 46K in my 2000 SE V-6, and loving my car.