Toyota Camry Hybrid Accessories & Modifications

terry92270

So far as I know, the change-over can only be accomplished with a change of the electrical feed to the headlights, etc.

alp8

thanks for the tips re ceramic tinting versus metal

greendog

Any special requirements , specs , recommendations etc. for moving to 17 inch rims and tires . I'd like to upgrade my CH's look . Gracias for feedback :shades:

wvgasguy

Any special requirements , specs , recommendations etc. for moving to 17 inch rims and tires . I'd like to upgrade my CH's look

There are links in the threads to a tire/wheel calculator. Tire rack also has one. You need to keep the overall diameter of the combo to the same ( or as close as possible) as the OEM. Going up in diameter should pose no clearance probles with brake hardwear. You should use the same positive offset as the OEM's.

Beware if you buy off the new, I saw some wheels with the 5x100 bolt diameter and they said it fit the camry. may have fit the old ones, but not the new ones. The 5x100 fits my son's Tc or my daughters Corolla. There was a good looking set of wheels last week on eBay but after contacting the seller it seems you had to use a 3mm spacer if you used them on the Camry.

If you buy a combo off of one of the big retailers they will give you what you need.

Don't forget too, you'll need to get something that your TPMS sensors's will fit. Several of the Toyota OEM 17" tire/wheel combos that came off Camry SE's are reasonably priced, but you'll spend $60 to $100 getting the sensors reinstalled and wheels rebalanced. I'd do this at a Toyota garage!. I did my Expedition at a gas station and they broke the sensor stem. Fortunately I had the pieces and convinced the Ford garage that it "just broke" and wasn't abused. If not I would have had to pay for a new sensor ($75 to $100). Ford replaced it under warranty.

heathinsd

Does anyone know if it's possible to change the license plate lights out on the TCH with the ones from the Lexus counterpart? The Lexus GS, I think that's the model equivalent to the Camry, has awesome ultra-white LEDS (maybe?) that look really cool. Thank you!!

terry92270

LED systems typically run in conjunction with a controller, and usually don't just interchange without adaptors, etc. Same for regular headlamps and HID's.

You really want to make your plate easier to read by Cops? :surprise:

snuke

rscotts....Have you received an answer to your question regarding the color match mud guards? I have looked for them for my daughter's 2007 white camry and have not found them. We only have found the black ones, as well.

stinger123

Do a search on Ebay, I have seen them there.

terry92270

My local Toyota dealer has them for order, along with Spoilers, door edge molding, in all colors.....

wvgasguy

Try checking at www.trdparts4u.com

primo2

i bought my blue mudguards from this site...i found them to be the cheapest...due to a handicap...i had the dealer install them...i asked them how much was i saving...she said about 20.00...which i thought was great...it cost more to install than to purchase...but it was worth it...it looks great...i am going to 18" wheels as soon as i can find a buyer for my 16's...here is the web site http://www.trdparts4u.com/MC-CDCE-DA.aspx

fredo48

Has anyone installed rear mud guards without first removing tire, as there are holes that have to be drilled?

Thanks,

Fred

jhsmith

Howdy, Fredo48,

I'm a "new" member -- just signed-up -- although I've been lurking on the forum for a few months.

Concerning installing the rear mud guards. I've seen several people on CamryChat and GreenHybrid say you CAN install the guards w/o removing the rear tires. One person even said that only an incompetent person needs to remove the rear tires. If that's the case, meet the Number 1 in incompetency!

I measured the clearance. I have standard 16" Michelins and there is 2 inch clearance between the tire and the wheel well exterior. My drill head measures 8 inches. Hmmm -- 8 inch into a 2 inch space. HUH?

IF you want to drill at an angle, I guess it's possible. The hole won't be straight, but it's only a thin piece of plactic you're drilling into. My desire would be to also put a small hole into the rubber backing and have the screw grab onto the backing to hold it in place.

So, this weekend I'll be introducing my floor jack, brand new jackstands and 4-arm lug nut spinner to the TCH.

I've already installed the front mud guards. And, wouldn't you know it, the weather has been clear! (Except for a few hours after midnight last night.)

John

terry92270

I added a bit of adhesive to the upper edge and screw holes as well, as I see no reason to ever have them removed......

lvw

It may be possible to defeat the TPMS function in the car. Canadian TCH's don't have it, I'm happy to say, and it seems unlikely they use different hardware for the cars shipped here...

cam2007

Page 56 of my manual states to put chain link type chains for snow. All I can find is the cable type. Has anyone had experience installing snow chains yet on the new Camry Hybrids? Which are the best and safest way to go?

cam2007

I park and have to wait a lot in my car. Does anyone know how to hack the NAV to play DVD movies? Thanks.

cam2007

Anyone have any experience good or bad with roof racks? I am planning a trip and with the Hyrid smalle trunk I will be forced to put on one of those fabric type portable roof racks to go up to the mountains next month to go skiing. Any advise would be appreciated. Thanks

gillesmtl

A looong time ago, an inexpensive roof rack with 5 pairs of cross-country skis flew off my car at 60 mph. Some skis sort of exploded at landing !

For the past 10 years, I have been using a Thule rack and its accessories. Expensive, but long lasting and it stays put. When you replace your car, you need to change the rack's feet, because they are taylor-fit - which is why they stay put. That is another $100 to 200$.

The foot kits for 2007 Camrys have been available since late october.

Someone on this forum mentionned that a bike on the roof had a large impact on fuel economy but, hey, it is only a few times a year.

erniea1

Just an associated question. I purchased and installed racks on our TCH and the vibration and wind noise was unreal! Would a flare in front of them solve this?

Thanks!

georgia411

Hello - Just bought my Camry Hybrid (Mag Gray) over the weekend and am having fun learning about all the features. Now that I have the chance to really look at it, I think it could realy use some body side molding to protect that huge expanse of exposed door from dings and jazz it up. I don't really like the look of the plain molding I saw at the delaership (just another strip of gray). Does anyone have a site/reference of a place where I can buy something else and/or get it installed? Maybe something with a little chrome strip (like the Passats)? Thanks.

regal1945

http://www.trdparts4u.com/MC-CDCE-FIF.aspx good factory parts cheap.

georgia411

Thanks for the site reference for Camry Hybrid parts (like the body side molding). Although I am looking for something different than the plain ones they have, other stuff there is pretty interesting. Thanks for the help!

psnider

We recently bought a TCH with heated leather seats and are very disappointed with the way they work. The seat light comes on and stays on but the heat itself is erratic. The heat stays on about a minute and disappears. The dealership says they are working properly. I want to know from other owners if the seats maintain a steady heat or if they are supposed to cycle on and off. (Sometimes there has been a 30 minute gap before the heat returns) We previously had 3 Jeep Grand Cherokees which maintained a constant temperature.

newcars

I purchased a fully-loaded TCH with Option #3 (including heated seats and navigation system, along with much else) 21 September 2006 and when I use the heated seats, the heat stay on. I don't think your dealer knows what he is talking about.

Either that or my heated seats somehow work differently from yours.

psnider

Thanks for your answer. I don't think the dealership was interested in solving the problem. We will try another dealership and if that doesn't work we have the Toyota rep's phone number. We really need for the heat to stay on for therapeutic reasons.

psnider

What do the little blue cars or fractions of cars on the bars of the consumption screen indicate?

ljk3

On 12/1/06, ordered a TCH with a built in sirius radio. The contract calls for the car to be delivered with the radio installed. The car is to be delivered next week. Today I received a phone call that said one piece, a bracket was back ordered and would not be available until late January to mid-March. Consequently the dealership cannot deliver the car with the built in sirius radio next week. They want me to take the car without the radio and it will be installed alter

Does this make sense, or am I being BS? I am also posting this on the buying experience board.

LJK3

dogzen

I think I read on another site that the seats are supposed to cycle on and off. That is what ours do, they start out hot and then cool down a little. I usually turn them off after a few minutes, so I don't know how long that goes on. The explanation for the little cars is in the regular manual on page 247, has to do with regenerated energy.

newcars

Now that (partially) makes sense and, despite my answer above, may even be happening with my car. It may be that as soon as I start my heated seats they are hottest but then they cool down a little. But I have never experienced them cycling on and off.

Where I live, the Washington, DC area, we have been blessed with a very mild winter so far but there have been a few days that have been exceptionally cold, especially in the early mornings when my wife and I go to work. Plus, we've taken an extended trip or two in cold weather. During those times, I can assure you that the heated seats stayed on for the duration of our drives. I am certain that our heated seats were on for the entire trip and that they did not go off. Trust me, on our trips we would have noticed if they did.

What may be happening -- and I add this so maybe your dealer isn't a liar -- is that the heating element in the seats does cycle on and off (conserving energy?) but in such a way that the driver and passenger still perceive it as a constant heat. The original poster may have a problem in that his seats cycle too much, to the point where he notices a change in temperature. Maybe you could ask the dealership about that.

psnider

Thank you. Our seats aren't kicking back on soon enough. My husband would like them to maintain the heat so he wouldn't be so stiff after sitting in the car. I'm not as bothered because the Camry seats are so comfortable (compared to our Jeep) that I don't need the heat for pain relief. We plan on checking with another dealer's service department after the holidays. Wish us luck!

I had seen the entry about the cars and battery regeneration. I just thought it referred to the larger car at the top of the display. I wondered why we hadn't regenerated more than 50 w! Early on the car fractions looked more like bats than cars anyway.

jeff225

I am not sure what is going on. I just took delivery of a TCH that is satellite ready. I planned on switching my mobile sirius over to the car. Now the dealership is telling me that they are not installing the receiver/ antennas in the hybrids. They are vauge about the reasons other than possibly interference between the smart start key and radio causing a loss of volume when satellite is on. Spoke to Sirius and to Soundgate, a third party supplier suggested by Sirius, neither have heard of any problems.

dyeags

Our heated seats work fine. We have to turn them off since they usually get too warm. Have not had them turn off automatically yet. Sounds like you are have a problem that needs attention by your dealer.

wingman

The whole screen is too bright at night. Is there a way to program it to go to nighttime mode when dark outside and go back to daytime mode when its light?

wingman

Found out how to change NAV screen to night and back to day time mode.

Make sure light switch is not on auto.

Press Disp button.

At top of screen left of Screen off option there will be another option : Day mode. Pressing it repeatly will alternate the display from day to night mode.

Turning light switch to auto and Day Mode option disappears.

erniea1

Is it possible to transfer the Cell's address book information from the cell to the car's phone address book through blue tooth or some other means? That would help immensely instead of one-by-one insertions.

Thanks!

Ernie Adsett

maxi3

Anyone know if Toyota will be making the ventilated seats available in the Camry? I am interested in a new Hybrid Camry, but really want ventilated seats. Living in Texas in the summer time and having a chronic condition that is exacerbated by heat makes ventilated seats a must. I have read somewhere that the ventilated seats are more energy efficient than A/C alone. Is that true and if so, all new autos should have them.

Thanks.

Wanting to stay cool in Texas.

terry92270

A fan, circulating air through the seat, has no appreciable energy savings for the vehicle.

AC consumes about 0.5-1.5 MPG, depending upon the car.

plknj

Found out that the XM/Sirius radio listing on the sticker is nonsense. Dealer said all I had to do was switch the antena to go from XM to Sirius. WRONG... after I bought the car I found out that the XM unit and antenna have to be replaced. The dealer said it would be $695 and that's a deal!!! So, I had my Stiletto wired in for $65. Feel that it was false advertising combined with dealer ignorance. It is a waste of my system and misleading on Toyota part.

rwizard33

http://www.carspace.com/rwizard33/Albums/camry2007robert/">

rwizard33

You can make the Camry Hybrid look great guys.

http://www.carspace.com/rwizard33/Albums/camry2007robert/

jbollt

Looks excellent!!!! Where did you get the fog lights, and did you install them yourself? I have been looking to add foglights on my TCH, and any advice you have would be appreciated.

plknj

Everything I have read says it is one at a time. I am trying to figure out how to disable the no-entry while driving on the GPS!

plknj

It does look great... I am also looking for fog lights and now I am adding wood dash and the chrome trim to the list. Any ideas of where to get it? Thanks..

wvgasguy

Glad I didn't spend the $$$'s to add the front bumper coating many are discussing. Hit a dog in 10degree weather and the bottom of my bumper shattered. Approx $75o to replace (comprehensive, no deductible)

Interestingly my Toyota garage does not have a body shop and nationwide has the local Nissan dealer as a preferred shop. That's OK by me, but my wife took the car in for appraisal and she was ticked that the guy treated her like a "woman". She said our preference would be to have a Japanese bumper put back on it to keep it "original". He argued with her that the car was made in the US because according to him all Camry's are made in Kentucky. Hate to say it but he represents a lot of male America. Always has an opinion, right or wrong, but when talking to a woman you have to assume you know more than her. He assured her they only use "original" equipment replacement parts.

It will be interesting when I get it fixed because I'm going to bring this back up to him if I end up with an American bumper. Perhaps I'll ask him where am I now supposed to tie down my car when I drive it on my yacht

plknj

Went to my local dealer who told me, without looking at my car... that it is not prewired for foglights. They then said that the foglights and all the wiring equipment would be over $500 and installation would be just under that! I told them I would rather attach flashlights!!! Has anyone been told this or have gone to an auto store and had them installed? I live in a very foggy area at certain times of the year and could really use them. Thanks.

shauns

I've been trying to make my new Thule clamp-on roof rack work on my 07 TCH. Problem is, the bracket tongue seems to be too thick to fit in the gap between the door and car. The car frame has little indentations at the right spots for the roof rack, but these don't appear to improve the clearance any. It also seems that the tongue is pushing the door out of alignment - it makes it very difficult to open when they're on, and there's a residual misalignment after I remove them. This after 20 minutes of use.

I've also experimented with Yakima racks, which have thinner tongues, but with the same result.

Previous posters on this forum have apparently had success with Thule racks. I'm wondering if you ran into the same problems and can offer any suggestions.

Toyota makes no recommendations for clamp-on roof racks, doesn't sell any itself, and some local dealers have flat out said "don't use them", noting that clamp-on roof racks will cause door misalignment that, of course, Toyota won't cover under warranty.

Sigh...although my previous ride, a Volvo, sucked in most all other ways, it at least had dedicated roof rack mount points in the rain channels that worked WONDERFULLY. Oh that Toyota and Honda would get a clue and do likewise...

hybridtx

Hi Rwizard,
Thanks for sharing your fantastic looking Camry 07 Hybrid. I really like the RIMS/TIRES. I have a couple questions that would really help me out.

1. I would like to look into getting them for my Camry. Can you please share which RIMs and Tire combinations do you have? Manufacturer/Type/Model for both the RIMS and TIRES.

2. They look like 18" RIMS - how does the ride differ. Is it a lot harder (feel the road) or is the ride still smooth. If you had to do it again, would you have gotten 17"? These are the questions I am trying to figure out before making the leap for RIMS/TIRES.

3. Wooddash.com which color is that you have. My Camry07 Hybrid will have Bisque interior, which I think is what you have but I am not sure.

Thanks for sharing and giving me your feedback.
All the Best, Roy
:shades:

lfm

Can anyone tell me where I can purchase The factory BSM for the TCH. My car is Gray Metallic. I would also like to get the mud guards in the same color too.

Thanks for all comments.

hybridtx

I found this to be a great source for many of the parts I was looking for. I also just ordered a Gray Metallic version as well.

http://www.toyotapartsstore.com (follow the Camry link on the left side)

:shades: