Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
A reporter would like to talk to you; please reach out to [email protected] by 7/25 for more details.
Meet your fellow owners in our Owners Clubs
Toyota Camry: Problems & Solutions
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
Does any one know this?
Appreciated to send email to [email protected]
BTW, is the car under warranty still?
Does any one know this?
Appreciated to send email to [email protected]
BTW, is the car under warranty still?
Take you Camry to your dealer now! I had the same problem on my '97 Camry - 4cyl, at about the same mileage as yours. Your valve stem seals are cracked and this is covered under the 5yr/60K powertrain warranty.
Also this car doesn't have alloy wheels or a cd player as listed in the standard eqpt. in Edmonds.com . Did some 98 Camry XLE's come this way? Any thoughts?
reb331
What you're most likely seeing is condensation. Water vapor is a byproduct of combustion. In a cold exhaust system, water vapor condenses forming the white-black smoke. When the exhaust system heats up, the water vapor no longer condenses.
The only annoy thing is dealer request me to present oil change invoice. Damn it. who keep those stuff.
Loved the XLE with leather and no sunroof. 4 cylinder, to save on gas mileage, and overall cost.
However, these repeated issues are starting to scare me:
1. Paint job...apparently the 2002 model paint jobs are pretty bad in terms of chipping. Enough so where I've noticed numerous "never again" posts.
2. Clunking in transmission
3. Brake noises.
I scour the Honda problems boards too, but at this point I've not noticed paint amongst the issues. I really like the Camry better, but are the 2002 models that problem-prone? Anyone with a 2002 with significant miles where the paint is OK?
When I was looking for a new car a few months ago I had a choice between the new Accord or a new Camry. I found the interior and exterior more attractive on the Camry. (But, I guess that's all subjective). I have a family of 5 and the Camry's interior was more spacious. The ride was more smooth and quiet. But most importantly, since I really value the quality and safety of my ride I chose the Camry. The Camry comes equipped with a number of safety features not found on an Accord. Good luck on your hunt.
center, what they told me about the coupon (due
to expire end of 2002), here is the background
of the coupon, when I bought the camry in 91.
The dealer in Midwest area cheated coustomers
$150 for adverstiment fees.
And they reimbursed customer after law suits.
The way it was set up was either get $50 repair
discount (after spending $120) and $100 towards
purchasing new Toyota or $ 150 towards new vehicle.
As I was about to buy a new Toyota next year.
Just asked for a year extension to no avail.
All I knowd company treats customers this
way will not last for long.
Late on talked to many mechanics, most of them said it is most probaly the valve stem seals bad or Oil Gel. Posted #990 already, on jbkennedy 's suggestion, went to local Toyota dealer in Smithtown ,NY.
The Dealer said it is not a valve stem seal demage, and refuse to repair under warranty.
Instead they said the Engine is carbonized?
Any one know this?
Blue Smoke means oil is burning (the valve stems dried up most like cause)
Black smoke is riching extremely rich
White with some black, and then goes away means the exhaust pipes are still cold. Water vapor is a by-product of combustion. In the exhaust gases, is it goes through cold exhaust pipes, some of the water vapor condenses. Which is why you see white smoke, and water dripping from the tail pipe.
Thanks, but it is not normal. In the morning the smoke strong like caught fire.
Recently I found in Day times also smoke, but not so heavy
Here are a few ideas. Basically, as previously posted, black smoke is the result of incomplete fuel burning. (Rant: it's bad enough that gasoline engines waste much of energy they create; they shouldn't waste resources further by gratuitously not burning gas completely.)
In some areas, particularly in California, vehicles emitting any visible smoke on the road can be fined.
According to the Bay Area Air Quality Management web site, black smoke might indicate...Engine too cold, clogged air filter, carburetor, choke, fuel injection or emission system malfunction, ignition timing off, blocked manifold
White smoke--I don't mean merely steam--may be cause because the engine's too cold, a faulty injection system, incorrect timing or engine overheating.
Well, my point is that there are several ways to get various "colorful" gases out of your car. Personally, I don't buy that a car should emit smoke, even when starting up, under normal circumstances. Unless you live in arctic regions, in September your car is certainly not going to be simply "too cold."
I would take my car to one or two non-dealer repair shops for diagnoses, just like you did. Even if it cost me a few dollars, I'd ask for written evaluations. If these results weren't enough to convince a dealer to fix your car (assuming your warranty is still in effect and you have necessary service receipts to prove you've taken care of your car as prescribed in your owner's manual), then remember there are a lot of rungs on this ladder. Climb the next one to get to the service manager, find out who his boss is, and so on. Hopefully you can get this resolved nicely, but if you're sure there is something wrong with your car and you're not getting proper service, tell the service manager (or whoever you've made it to, just make sure it's a person, not a machine or letter) that you are really concerned and, gee, while you don't want to, you might consider going to the Better Business Bureau for assistance, perhaps even filing a complaint....I certainly expect you should be able to get your car fixed. (The BBB is just an example of one way to show them you're a serious, informed consumer; I also have lawyer friends who would start throwing around terms like "breach of contract" if the service you need is part of your service warrantee contract. This is absolutely last-resort, because you have to follow through or drop it after this....escalate slowly and politely, and in the future, take your business to the next-nearest service department after this is finally resolved.)
By the way, none of the Camrys I've test driven in the past two weeks has emitted any black smoke, and I doubt yours did when you bought it; ergo, something has changed, and you rightly want it changed back.
Good luck!
Here's a list of possible causes, from www.carcrisis.com....
"These symptoms may be caused by loose suspension, steering or brake components. In most cases, the problem isn't a loose part, but a brake rotor or two with excessive lateral runout. Occasionally, the problem is an out of round brake drum. All this really means is that the brake pads or shoes are unevenly applied. The result is that the steering wheel and/or brake pedal tend to bite back.
"Excessive runout can be caused by overheating the brakes or by a number of small mechanical deviations added together. The problem is usually corrected by machining the rotors or drums, preferably with an on-car brake lathe. Your technician will also want to make sure that any contributing factors, such as misadjusted brakes or bent parts, are corrected at the same time. Now go, and drive safely."
You, jusef, might want to get an independent analysis before taking your car back to the dealer or private mechanic that did your brake job. Since the problem was temporarily fixed, it may be that they didn't do a good job--perhaps on your rotors, and it's starting to show. The problem is you can't keep machining rotors forever! I suggest finding out exactly what the problem is, then insisting the people who did the original "fix" really fix it--even if you now require new rotor(s). ....tell 'em, you break (brake) it, you buy it... (ha ha ha...it must be late....)
The AIR BAG light was lit at the time of purchase. The salesman said it was not a problem and would be fixed when the leather seat covers were installed.
The car spent over 5 weeks in the dealership for the repair. During this time period, there were many broken repair completion and delivery promises.
The incident has been reported to the Nevada Division of Consumer Affairs.
The car was returned to my folks last Thursday, 12 September, 2002. But, the interior and the exterior has sustained damage during the repair.
The Dealer has ordered replacement parts that will be installed someday. They say they will detail the car like new.
It is NEW. This car has only 130 miles on it.
It is amazing that a company like TOYOTA, known for great durability and quality control, should tolerate such poor treatment of it's customers by AUTONATION DESERT TOYOTA.
Yes, we have the paper work to back up claim of poor customer treatment.
I think this car will eventually go to lemon arbitration.
Thank you, Karl
We went to a 20 & then 25 amp fuse and it still pops. Can someone suggest a trace or culprit on this electrical short or where to look? ? ?
(some things tried...changed out the Distributor, plugs.. for nothing "at least found a salvage yard with 6 of these cars")When we put in a new fuse the car runs for only about a few minutes!
And conclude the engine trouble to customer maintenance!!!
Toyota Engine Warrenty worthless
This is a toyota engine design error or manufacturing error and toyota of america heatquarters should aware of this problem.
I called toyota to complain about this engine problem and they claimed they had not heard of the engine problem from toyota owners yet. Since my car is over 90K mile, toyota won't even cover my repair cost.
My mechanic told me there are 6 out of 10 camrys will have this engine problem when 50-90K miles.
I am very disappointed with toyota products especially camrys.
:-(
Do you have any idea what is the cause?
How did the mechenics saying?
It looks like the Valve Stem Seals damage, if it is a small leak, the Toyota will not admit it even if it is under warrenty. They would tell you it is carbonized valve cause by customer bad maintenance. So you need to find someone else to open engine to clean...
So you will never get reimbursted even under warranty as long as it does leak too much like tap broken...
Someone suggested to use Auto-RX to clean,but I do not believe it?
Any idea???
My mechanic told me there are no possible way to clean them. The engine needs to replace valve stem seals both intake and exhaust sides eventhough exhaust side requires to do work some cases.
Right now, my car is in the shop for a couple of days. Hopefully, my mechanic would say you just need to replace valve stem seals.
Maybe you are feeling better than me. My car is still under warranty, but local Toyota dealor refuse to admit their engine fault, and repair for me.
Thanks,
Any help would would be appreciated.
Happy motoring Bob
I have a '99 Camry LE 4 cylinder and note that the check engine light is on again. I had the problem early on and the dealer replaced a sensor in the exhaust manifold at about 24,000 miles. Light is on at about 58,000 miles. Any ideas, and is it covered by the emissions warranty? The dealer was not overly cooperative in the first place so I'd like some info before I try again.
Thanks.