2007 Toyota Camry

neno8403

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I don't know how blue you want them but this is the "Aqua Blue" that should be standard on all SE's. Mine are clearly blue and can't be mistaken for white. Its a very nice blue IMO.

neno8403

The car you are describing already exists...its called the Lexus ES350. Toyota IS NOT going to add all of those features. If you want them either step up to the Avalon or even furthur up to the Lexus ES350 or be content with the Camry. They might add a very tiny fraction of the features you described but no way are they adding that huge list of yours.

johnnj

I have an SE with 4cyl and my guages are white. I do like the idea of having blue.

LMK.

Thanks

John

njerald

Right on!!

This a Ford or Chevy equivalent, not a Lincoln or Cadillac.

I would have never made it in Customer Service listening to the would be Designers/Engineers, whiners, complainers, etc., about what the vehicle should look like, drive like, model lineup, included options, or available option/packages. They think the vehicle was designed just for them: their height, weight, reach, hearing, and capabilities.

tuffy

NO, the car I am describing does not exist as the Lexus ES 350 is only available with a V-6, no 4 cylinder. I hardly think adding the availability for the smart key system to the XLE 4 cylinder, a better more comfortable designed armrest, and a memory system to the XLEs would tax Toyota engineers beyond their capability. Toyota has already loaded up the XLE with wonderful features that help to distinguish it from other models. Avalon owners buy that car for the bigger size, not availability of additional features. Most Lexus buyers wouldn't be caught dead in a Toyota and could care less what features are similar, they want a Lexus no matter what. Therefore, to add a few more luxury features to the XLE would not put it in direct competition with the Avalan or Lexus ES350.

One more item should be standard across all Camry with the next refresh, knee airbags for the driver (already on the XLE) and for the passenger!

Have a good day and keep enjoying what I consider the best vehicle built for the money, the 2007 Camry!

tuffy

Comparing a Toyota to a Ford or Chevy is ludicrous. Toyota is so far ahead of those two that they should never be mentioned in the same breath! Toyota is also much better than Lincoln or Cadillac!

210delray

Shhhh, don't tell that to lemko or imidazol, both ardent GM fans!

krae13937

I didn't have time to take any pics last night. I will do it tonight. Yours do look blue. In one article I was reading, a test driver also called the SE gauges black and white and said that in certain driving conditions and lighting, he much preferred the SE gauges to the others. If I am parked in my parking garage at work which is totally dark, the gauges do have a blue-ish tint when compared to the white mileage area. The blue color of the ac/radio knobs is more 'blue' to me. I guess that mine are really blue. I guess I just expected it to be more blue. Thanks for your help.

alpha01

I've noticed that, at the brightest setting at night, the SE's gauges are bright enough to appear more white. Personally, I think the brightest setting is a bit TOO bright for night, so I moved the dimmer down just one notch. The guages are still bright and clear, and to me, they appear a little less white because the brightness isn't so intense. Try this and see how you do.

Also, there's quite a bit of talk about the armrest positioning and comfort, but what many of you may not be aware of is that IIHS crash tests (Side Impact) have shown that armrest and and interior door structures have the potential to inflict injury, even in vehicles equipped with side airbags. My educated guess is that the armest in the new Camry was designed with this concept in mind... minimization of intrusion and potential injury. For reasons of crash protection, the armrest may be placed or at an angle which some feel isn't very comfortable. I'm willing to make the trade off, but then, I usually drive with both hands on the wheel.

~alpha

moeharri

I LOVE the armrests--I'm only 5'5" and sit with the seat most of the way back. I put my hand through the armrest and the handle helps keep my arm in place. I've never had an armrest I've liked more! (this is my 07 LE and I also have an 05 XLE that I'm comparing to).

neno8403

Yea, i've never really found the armrest on my 07 Camry intrustive either.

kdhspyder

It's not a matter of taxing the designers, the differentiation is intentional, IMO. It's an inducement to step up to the V6 XLE if these features are critical to a buyer's decision.

lmacmil

Let's face it, you've got to design a car for the middle 80-90% of the population. If you try to design for the 5-10% of the outliers, you will make compromises that will reduce the comfort for the vast majority of buyers. As some famous person once said, "you can't please all the people all the time."

poorcruzer

Enough with the armrest, give it a rest. What next? Ash tray or lug nuts. :P

bassetbob

Hi Gang, I just bought a 07 Magnetic Grey LE I4 w/moonroof(my 5th camry). I settled for an LE because I didn't want to wait 6-8 weeks for a SE. The LE is fine except for the standard wheels and wheel covers (16's). I have a chance to get a set of new 17 inch with 215/55 tires which were taken off an 07 SE, they should fit,Right??? I figured I'd check around first before I committed to them, I'd sure appreciate any feedback. Thanks In advance.

moemoe

To start the car with remote start, You press the "lock" button on the remote two times and then within two seconds press and hold the "lock" button again for 3 seconds. The car will start and the flashers will blink for a few mins. At this time with the engine running, the doors are still locked (so noone can steal the car while you are making coffee inside your house...he he..) When you are ready to drive your car, you push the "unlock" button on your remote or open the door with your key manually, the door will unlock and the engine WILL turn off. Then you just start the car the normal way....Hope that helps.
PS if you start the car with the remote starter, it will run for 10 mins and turn off if you don't open the door before that. Toyota says that is for security and to save gas.

gefilte

buying a new car is like getting married.with one (or 2) major differences.when you ask the most beautiful woman you know to marry you and she declines, you, like most others will have to choose from a lesser pool.which is why, for the life of me i cannot understand why anyone would want to buy a 2007 camry. its like asking laura bush to marry you when you could get angelina jolie.a woman can say 'no', a car cant.dont marry a camry, you all deserve better! :shades:

gene22

Obviously you were trying to make a point here, but I sure can not figure it out.

What is wrong with buying a 2007 Camry?

What should you buy?

nifty56

Check with the service department at your dealer but I think the bigger wheels might effect your speedo and mileage count. I have a conversion tire chart somewhere that will show how much difference that tire and rim size changes will effect your speedo etc. I will post when I find it.

pat

Let's don't divert this discussion in that direction the way you did the other one, okay? We're talking about cars, not what women we would or would not marry.

bassetbob

Thanks for your reply, I figured it wouldn't be as easy as swapping the 16 inch plain janes to the 17 inch alloys. But I will check with the service reps just in case it is that easy. Thanx again.

nynewcar

I am a very inexperienced buyer, so I hope this doesn't sound too stupid.

Local dealer has a Camry LE in inventory with cloth seats, but we want leather. He said they could give it to us with "factory-installed" leather.

I don't understand how this works. Does the dealer do the modification to a car that's already in inventory? Is that called "factory installed?" What does that mean to me as a buyer, or maybe it has no significance?

Something about the idea made me uncomfortable. For example, if we were talking about a modification of that stature on a new computer, I'm sure it would void the warranty. But as I say, I have no experience buying cars, so maybe there is no reason for concern. I would be so grateful if someone could explain whether a dealer changing the seating material to leather is the norm for new cars.

jaxs1

It is not factory installed on an LE. There are local shops that can install leather over the seats, but you are increasing the risk of problems with the side airbags.
You are better off getting an XLE with real factory-installed leather or living without leather on the LE.

spiff72

This sounds like "dealer-installed" leather, not factory installed.

nynewcar

It sounded to me as if he would say anything to give us the car already in his inventory, because he was also discouraging us from asking for a car that would have to be ordered, said it would take at least two months.

The point about the side airbags is exactly the kind of thing I wanted to hear. And, even though I don't have the numbers in front of me right now, I think he was basically trying to sell me an LE for the price of an XLE. Not nice.

I'd rather wait two months and get the XLE, and I have a feeling it won't be from that dealership, either.

njerald

You need to read the Camry forum "Prices Paid and Buying Experience" from the beginning.

nynewcar

Hmmm. I'm actually working my way through that discussion but I started around Message 3500, from March 06, because that's just about where they start discussing the '07 models. Even from that point, it runs about 70 pages. Would earlier posts about previous year's models still be relevant too?

I am noticing that a lot of people got LE models with leather. But as far as I understand - and this was corroborated here earlier - the LE doesn't offer that as an option. So are all these folks getting the leather installed by the dealer?

njerald

You're doing fine.

Education and learning. I read 3 different websites with their forums for a few months before I bought my '7 XLE.

The reading is worth it.

210delray

I totally agree with the others. You don't want the dealer messing around with the seats, especially when side airbags are installed.

Most likely the dealer won't do it directly anyway, but farm it out to who knows where.

Before you spring for leather on the XLE, you may want to try the cloth seats standard on the 4-cylinder (XLE only), which are made of a special fabric that soothes the skin. The fabric contains an extract from silk worms, and this same extract is used in high-end cosmetics in Japan. This is the real deal, not hype.

kdhspyder

I've done it on about 50 vehicles from Camryy's to Sequoia's - including my own Highlander. It's nothing and it looks great. There is a kit for everhy vehicle. The installation is usually not done by the dealer but a professional installer elsewhere. It's often a good way to save money if all you want is the leather.

jaxs1

Yes, I have seen some that look nice and you can order leather of a higher quality than what Toyota puts in their cars if you want to pay the cost, but you are still increasing the risk of air bag problems.
They make kits that have cut outs for the airbags, but it's not the same as having it factory installed with Toyota fully responsible for the leather not interfering with the side airbags.

ray_h1

Toyota neither slaughters cattle, tans hides, cuts panels from patterns, nor stitches seat covers together itself. They farm seatcovers out to one or more suppliers. (One of these companies, "Eagle-Ottawa", who also has a line of aftermarket seatcovers, has a list of awards from the automakers it coincidentally supplies.) If Toyota suppliers can orient laser weakened points into the leather covers to align with the ballistics of a rapidly expanding seat-mounted side air bag, there's no reason to automatically presume that a third party seatcover manufacturer can't duplicate that operation in product they supply, too. Do a search for leather seatcovers and you'll find more than a dozen companies in the U.S. who supply seatcovers with breakaway areas that allow seat-mounted airbags to properly deploy. These companies don't operate in a vacuum - their lawyers have assuredly made them painfully aware of the liability issues they'd face if their products don't perform properly in an emergency. A properly crafted seatcover that behaves as it should in an emergency obviously takes care, planning, and proper execution, but it isn't rocket science. But for those who want leather but question whether an aftermarket supplier is fully up to providing a safe alternative to factory seat covers, just have the dealer order the genuine factory seatcover set from their Toyota regional wharehouse for installation in their new cars. They're cataloged in the dealerships' parts departments and can be specified for the XLE or the SE according to design and color preference. Typically they'd be ordered and installed per damage from use, abuse, or collision, but there's certainly no law against an individual ordering up a set himself and installing or having them installed by a professional upholsterer.

nifty56

I think you will find the 17" will give a harsher ride compared to the 16". The profile of the 17" tire will be smaller than the 16" tire. If it was me I would just buy a 16" after market alloy etc. rims and swap the tires to the new rims. I have a Mazda3 :lemon: with 17" wheels and the ride is very harsh, you can feel all the little bumps etc.
PLus 17" tires when needing replacement will cost a lot more than 16" tires. As long as the over all diameter of the 16" is the same as the 17" than it could be a straight swap. But double check. The dealer or a good tire dealer should be able to tell you.
Good luck and let us know how you make out.

bassetbob

Yes, I do agree about the ride quality difference between the two sizes. I also have those tire pressure sensors on each of my 16" and I'm afraid of screwing with the computer if I do swap them out for the 17" alloys. These cars are getting too high tech, you can't seem to do anything without getting the dealer involved. They say the cars are alot safer, but they don't take into consideration the aggravation and the stress that is involved that gives you high blood pressure and heart attacks when these cars malfunction. Just my two cents (or $75 an hour)Have A Great Day

gscheidt

johngf1:

I paid 21,400 ($16,200 cash, 5200 trade-in) for an LE without all the extras you received. Looks like a good deal for you. I guess I got a "average" deal. Car is great so far, have had it about 3 months now. Had a RS3200 Plus system installed just lately, but doesn't seem to work as advertised, will be taking it back soon to find out whats going on. Glass sensor not working, and "passive" system arming not operable.

neno8403

Please dont listen to this nifty56 person. Unless he actually has an 07 Camry and can attest to this with valid and personal experiences then he is basing this on pure assumption. I have an 07 Camry SE and I can honestly say that my ride is much better than the 02 Camry LE it replaces. The ride is very smooth and I was surprised. I though that the ride wide would be very harsh but it isn't. The only time you really notice the unique "SE suspension" is when you are riding over bad pavement (i.e. roads filled with potholes) and you can REALLY feel the road. Other than that, the SE ride is very nice and I have spoken to other SE owners on other websites who have said the same. If you are so worried go test drive an SE to get some idea of what it might feel like.

blindmantoo

I agree. When I drove my V6 SE home from the dealer on Thursday I became a bit concerned about the ride quality. After the car sat for several hours I checked the tire pressure and found that it was set at 40lb for each tire (probably the factory spec to prevent flat spots). After adjusting down to 35lb (recommended is 32lb), I'm very happy w/ the ride quality & handling.

As a side note - I have the 17" Bridgestones on mine (very quiet but not known for their performance in my past experience). My preference was to get the dealer to switch them out for the Michelins from another SE - I even offered to pay them $150 - they refused.

blindmantoo

Picked it up on Thursday. NAV, Charcoal Leather, Stability, Moonroof, XM...

alpha01

Gorgeous! Congrats! How do you like the SE V6 6A so far?

~alpha

blindmantoo

Tranny and everything else are flawless so far. It's going to be my wife's car - after I test everything and figure out the NAV - so I'm making every errand an extended joyride. Surprised at the ride so far - very comfortable, yet great on curvy roads. Traded in a 2000 Maxima 5sp for it. First impressions - not as sporty feeling, but seems quicker, quieter, better handling yet feels much "bigger" while driving it. NAV doesn't seem as user friendly as the one in my 05 Odyssey. XM sounds pretty good - but not quite as good as I hoped for (I'm spoiled - five xm radios on my account before this one). I like the ability to limit the tranny to any range and then just tapping back to the right to get back into drive. Haven't really "goosed" it yet, but thought I heard a growl from the exhaust when accelerating around a bend in the road. Like the fact that the wheel audio controls can be used for presets or the seek function. More to come after I get some real world miles on it.

jaxs1

I did not presume that all aftermaket seatcovers are always unsafe.
I said installing them increases the risk of a problem (vs not messing with the seats at all) and you will not have Toyota to blame or seek damages from if there is a problem since you chose to alter the car seats from their factory built state. That is certainly true. It would only take a few injuries/deaths after thousands of installations for the installers to just shut their doors, run and file bankruptcy.
The extra risk is small since you probably will not be in a side impact collision to find out whether the leather installation will cause a problem with airbag deployment, but it is still a needless risk just because you want to have leather seats in an LE.

blackexv6

Looks great. How is the road noise & ride quality compared to your Odyssey? I am considering an '07 LE or SE in the fall.

blindmantoo

"Looks great. How is the road noise & ride quality compared to your Odyssey? I am considering an '07 LE or SE in the fall."

Is it safe to assume you own an Oddy"? Mine is a '05 EXL w/ RES & NAV. Probably not a fair comparison between the two. Based on my test drives, I'd say the Oddy probably handles about like a LE/XLE, while the SE is vastly superior. Road noise is partially a result of the tires. The Oddy has noisy Michelins (but I do prefer Michelins as a brand over all others) & a bit of highway road probably caused by the overall design. I think it should have had more noise insulation in its design. So far, the SE seems much quieter - but it has crappy Bridgestones on it, known for being quiet, but not known for performance. I'm surprised at the handling so far - we'll see how they perform in about 10k miles.

Overall, hard to compare the two vehicles. The Oddy is awesome (especially after getting the rear motor mounts replaced) in every respect. The NAV blows away the Camry NAV so far. The Camry will hopefully be sporty enough so that my wife won't miss her 5sp Maxima SE.

ray_h1

"...I said installing them increases the risk of a problem (vs not messing with the seats at all) and you will not have Toyota to blame or seek damages from if there is a problem since you chose to alter the car seats from their factory built state..."

Thank you for responding. You present an interesting proposition - that only Toyota line workers are properly qualified to install seat covers that will behave properly with the supplementary restraint system(s) in the event of accident or collision. What about a hypothetical situation in which a new Toyota automobile or truck owner discovers cosmetic or other seatcover defect that requires replacement of the seatcover? By your logic, would the only recourse be to return the seat to a Toyota assembly point for installation of the replacememnt seatcover because the dealer can't be trusted to perform a satisfactory installation under warranty? I'm no lawyer, but it seems to this legal neophyte that dealership service personnel who undergo factory training periodically in the proper repair techniques for Toyota vehicles are acting as Toyota subcontractors and Toyota is still fully liable for their work if genuine Toyota parts are used in repair or modifications. I'm unsure about Toyota's policy, but Honda and Hyundai cover dealership installed factory parts installed prior to new car delivery on new vehicles for the duration of the basic warranty. Someone would have to cite case law before I'd believe those manufacturers wouldn't still be liable for punitive damages in the event dealership installed accessories or factory authorized modifications failed and resulted in vehicle damage and/or personal injury.

larryt22

Anybody else happen to see the ratings that were released today? This is for the 2006 model, but I find this quite disturbing. The Camry ranks 14th in its class? Significantly below average??? I am not sure who Strategic Vision is, but as the guy in the Hemi commercial says "This can't be good".

http://www.strategicvision.com/auto_segmentwinners.php?year=2006&award=TQA&seg=2- 5

jaxs1

They replace transmissions for shifting problems on new cars, so it wouldn't be unusual for them to simply replace the entire seat of there was a defect rather than replace the seat covers.
Leather flat out is not offered as an official Toyota accessory. Individual dealers farm it out on the side.
Do you even know that the XLE leather seats are 100% identical to an LE seat other than the fabric allowing them to simply remove the LE cloth and replace it with XLE leather?
So, even if they could replace a stained or torn leather seat cover on an XLE rather than just swap out the seats with replacements, there is no gaurantee the leather covers would be interchangeable with the LE seats.

ray_h1

"...there is no gaurantee the leather covers would be interchangeable with the LE seats."

I'll admit I'm operating under the assumption that the frame, springing, and padding are the same since compliance with DOT safety issues would require submission and testing for two, perhaps three sets of seating assemblies since a buyer might prefer the pattern of the SE leather. But if you have actual evidence to the contrary, I look forward to your presenting it on this forum. Or shall we just declare a draw and move on, now?

(Actually, that's exactly what I'm gonna do. )

bassetbob

I'd like to install the fog light option to my 07 LE. Do you think Toyota has that upgrade kit available yet? I know what's involved from the intallation of the switch, the wiring and the lights itself,or maybe it's prewired already, no that would be too easy. Or maybe it's a dealer install option, If anyone knows I'd appreciate a reply. Regards to All and To All A Good Night.

lmacmil

I don't know who Strategic Vision is either but I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. If the Camry sinks in JD Power and Consumer Reports then I'd be concerned that the quality was slipping. I haven't had any problems on my 2005 after 14 months.

petl

Couldn't agree with you more. I would like to add that the dip would have to be a re-occuring one, not just a blimp.