Toyota Camry: Problems & Solutions

richards38

You are not alone--my '04 Accord is another great car with limited rear visibility. One way to help eliminate blind spots is to set your side mirrors as described here:

http://www.smartrisk.ca/ContentDirector.aspx?tp=742&dd=11

Give it a try--seems to work....Richard

lok888

My wife doesn't have this problem due to the power driver's seat on her SE. She had the silimar problem on her last car, Accord without power seat. She added a seat cushion to make it up. However, the rear spoiler on my SE seems a bit obstruct when looking back. I think the height (back) is perfect to provide more trunk space and storage for spare tire. And you also see the aerodynamic design (side view) from the hood to the trunk.

fal18

I have my 98 camry serviced at the dealer at all times. Last December an engine light came on the dash and the dealer advised that i needed to have the O2 sensor replaced and something to do with induction cleaned( i dont have a clue what these are) it cost me in the $400 range....i have now driven about 3,500 miles more and since i have been smelling carbon monoxide when i start the car each day i took it in again yesterday....now they tell me i need new valve seals and it has something to do with the intake and exhaust seals....this will cost $911.68...i swear either i dont have luck with this car or they are coming up with fictitious problem names and prices that will keep Toyota corp. afloat forever....are these legit things? and the pricing seems outrageous, is this legit also? I am fairly new to the internet and just in case i cant find my way back to this web site a second time, any input will be truly appreciated at FAL18@aol.com thank you so much in advance..

fal18

Sorry, i forgot, but the car only has 53,000 miles now.... FAL18@aol.com

tedinaz

Sorry I dont know the details. After the Toy engineer alerted me that the new program was available, I called the dealer. His story "O yeah it came in yesterday" So off to the dealer, and a couple hours later we get the car back. However there was no improvement. But I have read on this list that after several fruiless attemps, one owner found a Toy dealer who fixed it (Los Angeles area). Our local dealer is mainly GM stuff-they seem very indifferent on Toys. I keep thinking how our 97 V6 XLE gave us 60 to 70 K miles with never a hiccup. (and never in a shop). TedinAZ

tedinaz

You bet its a problem. I think they did it to make the car more ugly. I have to back down a slopping narrow driveway. Its scary since the gas meter is an obstruction on the passenger side. TedinAZ

janbaldy

Just as an fyi...I re-set my mirrors according to the instructions at the smart risk website. I ended up with a blind spot bigger than ever. A car got into my blind spot & stayed for quite a while. I am glad I was experimenting & didn't trust the new settings & change lanes. I reset my mirrors back to the way they were...so that as soon as a car leaves my rear view mirror I pick it up on the side. I will send them an email letting them know my results. I followed the instructions & rechecked them several times. I had forwarded their website instructions to my daughter & quickly told her to ignore it.

7937

I've also had no luck in setting mirrors to those settings. I felt completely disorientated and quickly set them back to what I was used to.

lbi

releated to 1839,1859,and 273
i am having the same rear suspension noise on my 2004 SE.
need to know what was the fix?..."the service advisor Jim told me they had to insert somethig and tighten it up"
WHAT DID THEY DO...i am going nuts with the "Thunking" also on Avalon..see message # 443.!
Don't they do ANY quality control and road testing to allow this to go ON and ON ..how many years do they need to fix it..or is their need a "expert suspension design engineer o????

carl93

My 93 LE w/ 100,000 miles driver-side window stopped working this weekend.

Motor still hums/spins but probably not long enough to raise/lower the window fully.

I took off the inside panel and found that the cable to lift the window has come loose. I untracked the lower cable so at least I could manually close the window all the way.

Is it possible to reattach the loose cable (I can't see the back w/o removing the entire regulator assembly) OR do I just need to order a new regulator.

Thanks

Carl

lbi

hi
what did "JIM" actually do to eliminate the rear suspension noise???
i have the same problum!!on my 2004 SE
lbi@ispwest.com

lbi

At what speed does the power steering assist go to "0" power assist.????
on my 2004 camry -SE

lbi

i do not get 32 mpg on the garden state parkway--at a
95 mile trip @ a steady speed of 65 mph
the actual MPG = approx. 24 mpg..
which is poor mpg for a 4 cylinder.
my 99 buick lesabre got a honest 28 mpg on the same tripwith the 2ND greatest push rod --3.8 6 cyl in America (except the chev small block)..

I believe it is caused by the computer chip telling the engine to "engine brake" and insert drag upon deceleration !!!
When I get off the asccelerator the engine brakes like dynamic braking..no car i ever had engine brakes like this one..
help..all you computer programers and experts on tuning...!!

lbi

Does any on know if the tread pattern on the Bridgstone-Potenza RE92-P215/60R16-94V is a "Directional tread pattern and would it be the cause of my camry's drift (left and right all the time ).. ALL or is my actual FE allignment correct below to stop this drift?? My 99 Buick LeSabre Michelin "rain tires" never drifted)
MY Camry FE is alligned like so..
Camber= left front= -0.7d (Spec -1.5d)
        right " = -0.9d (Spec -1.5d)
Caster= Left front = 2.7d (Spec 2.0d )
         right " = 2.2d (Spec 2.2d )
Toe =left " =-0.04d (Spec-0.10d)
         right " =-0.04d (Spec-0.10d)
cross camber 0.2d (Spec -0.8d)
cross caster 0.4d (Spec -0.8d)
total toe -0.08d (Spec -0.20d)
OK..??? how do these look ???
suggestions please or what is your opinion.???

Karen_S

Posting your email address is not a good idea on a public message board as the spybots that troll through will pick it up and you will most likely begin receiving spam email. As only Town Hall members can access other member profiles, you can make your email address public and then reference members to check your profile for your address. If you wish, you can delete your post and re-post without the address.

bronzemaxell

same thing has happened to my 94 le, the wire snapped.
took me whole afternoon, took apart everything, and drilled another hole for the wire on the regulator arm, and worked fine again.
it was fixable, but frustrated, easier to buy a new one and put it on instead.

ezshift5

...the '00 SE-V6 Camry Solara replaced an '89 Supra Turbo. Big shoes to fill.

However, the 3-liter six with that rare thing called a clutch is really OK

Most of the time I get 25-27 City and 30-33 HWY MPG......and gas prices (well, you all know.....)

Keep up the good work Toyota; I'm looking at a Scion coupe so the Solara won't get lonely......ez

alcan

A vehicle will pull toward the side with the most positive or least negative camber. Yours has almost 1/4 degree camber lead to the right.

A vehicle will pull toward the side with the least positive or most negative caster. Yours has 1/2 degree caster lead to the right.

Get it aligned to spec.

henryl

alcan I also need some help. Hopefully you could assit me. Please check my posting named NO CHILL

andrelaplume

I got 26mpg with my 2002 4 cylinder automatic with the air on. It was a 260 mile trip. The first 72 miles ranged from 25 - 45 mph. 65mph for the remainder. I was a bit disapointed.

jons01

The original equipment tires that came with my 2001 LE (Dunlop sport)are ready to be replaced and I would appreciate any recommendations. I am looking in the $100 each range and something very good on wet roads and decent in snow. If anyone has had either good or bad experiences with certain brands or models, please let me know.

Thanks

honestbroker

If I remember my chemistry class and firefighting training, carbon monoxide is an odorless gas. You must be smelling something else, determining what that is may help in choosing the next course of action.
It sounds like the first service included cleaning the intake plenum. An O2 sensor typically costs about $20. So that means that the dealer charged you $380 to install it and probably squirt some solvent into the intake plenum followed by a rag on a wire to clean things out. That seems pretty steep to me. I'm new to the Camry club, but I had an Isuzu pick-up that gave me the O2 sensor light at 75K miles. The dealer charged me $75 to reset. I could find no other way to reset it. There was nothing wrong with the sensor, the dealer stated that the light was tied to mileage and that the light would go off again at 150K miles. Perhaps this is a Camry circumstance too.
I'm not convinced that intake plenum cleaning is so important. Shops, especially dealers', seem to push this procedure with a degree of regularity. Next time, I'd just say, "No."
Your present problem, get yourself a second opinion from either another Toyota dealer or an independent Toyota specialist.
Good luck, these things can be a pain.

honestbroker

Hi,

I don't have an answer, but the same problem. Once you get info on how to remove a door panel (front, I hope), would you mind responding to this with the solution? I'd be much obliged.
The biggest part of my problem is how to remove the door handle and bezel assembly.
Of course, if I find out the trick, I'll be sure to pass it on.
Good luck.

ac556

I also have the exact same problem with my new 2004 Camry LE. I've had it about two months (2,600 miles) and have noticed that it sometimes seems to slip or as you say stutter going from 1st to 2nd gear. The problem is intermittent but seems to occur more frequently when starting on a hill or just after getting off of the interstate. It is very subtle but noticeable if you are paying attention. I'm afraid it's doing damage to the transmission that will show up in 50K to 75K miles.

Please let us know how the Value Body replacement works out.

jdeib

You should contact Crutchfield. They are sellers of car and home electronic equipment through the mail. They mostly sell to "do it yourselfers" so they came out with detailed instructions for most cars on how to remove the panels correctly. A few years back, I got the instructions from them for my '92 Camry when I replaced a window regulator. It was very easy, once I knew the "trick". They sell the instructions for a couple of dollars I believe.

carilliterate

Hello, I have a 2004 Camry LE, automatic, 6mos old with 6600 miles. I noticed for a while that the brake pedal seems to give a lot when I step down on it. The brakes do work, but I was wondering if this is just normal for the car or should it be looked at. This is only the second car I've driven and have only been driving for two years so don't have much experience to comapare with. It recently had the 5000 mile maintainance. Is that something they check? Thanks for any input.

hank2

I like to check out TireRack for tire opinions which seem to be like Camry opinions on this group.

Then you can go to Discount Tire to purchase the brand for a small installation markup.

[www.tirerack.com]
- hank2

peter pan

Tail lights failure may be caused by the "bad Light Warning module" which is an eletronic muodle inside a yellow plastic box, the size of half a pack of cigarette, mounted in the trunk, left hand side, right next to the power antenna motor.

This box, if defectivem will usually disable the tail lights. It costs about $180 from Toyota dealers.

peter pan

The rear brake lights in my 89 CAMRY LE 4 CYl (250K miles)sometimes work, sometimes don't.

I went through all the wiring in the trunk but found nothing wrong. Anybody knows what would caue the brake lights to work sometimes and not at others?

Until someone gives me a good and cheap (!) solution, please stay well behind all Camries as sudden braking without brake lights can really mesh up your front ends!

paul29

The brake lights are activated by a switch near the brake pedal pivot point . This may be out of adjustment and giving intermittant contact.

peter pan

OK. I checked out the wire bundle around the "Bad light warning module" and the power antenna at the left rear trunk. I got the brake lights to go on. It must be some loose or fractured wires in that bundle.

I wrapped the bundle up tight with some tape to secure the wires. The brake lights now activate the way they should, and the yellow "bad light warning" on the dash board went off, at least for now!

Thanks for the help from a fellow Camry rider in Canada about the brake switch. For non-Camry riders you are welcomed to follow my old trusty Camry very closely to check on my brake lights anytime!

openhacker

My father bought a camry in the winter.

The car sometimes balks at accelerating.
It sporadic -- I saw it a few times when I was
with him recently...
Coming out of a gas station, nothing was happening...then all of a sudden the engine
starts to race near redline and the transmission
drops down (probably two gears). Also saw this
in traffic...

Toyota keeps saying bizarre things (it has to "learn" you, "turn off traction control", "this is the way the car works").

I've seen on Usenet a number of people have the
same problem (myself and several others consider
this a safety hazard).

He's very disgusted with this car, and is probably going to go to arbitration. I heard
about a TSB (I think 00803? about the transmission
reprogramming) and his dealer said it doesn't apply to his problem...

I'd like to know if others have seen this problem...

gautamarora

openhacker =>

I have same problem in 2004 LE V6. Dealer says everthing is Okay. My Honda Civic had better acceleration.

I urge, all posters with this problem. Please take your cars to Toyota Dealers and pressurize them solve it.

Does anyone know how to bring this problem to the notice of Toyota ?

cam2003

Please note that 2002 and up models have electric throttle.
I believe if you floor the gas pedal, it would take more than 1 sec for the throttle to response (due to overshoot in closed loop control). If you apply the pedal gently, then loop should response faster (in 200 -500 ms).

gautamarora

I think what you are saying is right.

Car drop 2 gears after Ist one on 3000 rmp and then rpm remains between 2000 and 2500 and car doesn't gain speed, however, if peddle is gently pressed then I could feel changing of gears and rpm stayed on or over 3K, however, this doesn't seems to solve the problem.

We are doing what is supposed to be done by the automatic transmission, hearing the engine sound and then
correcting depression on the paddle in a loop back.

vivekb

I was shocked when my 2001 Camry failed an emission test today, reason being O2 sensor 'not ready', evaporator 'not ready' and catalyst 'not ready'. I went to the Toyota dealer who said this should not happen but is also not uncommon and said it will cost $200. My 3 yr warranty expried 2004 March. Since I never had to do an emission check , I have no idea if the above problems existed even before today (during my warranty). Could anyone please throw some light on this typical problem, its severity and how common it is to occur in 3.5 yrs? Thanks for your attention and time.

peter pan

The brake light is still intermittent. The brake light works when I pull on the wire bundle hooked up to the connector of "bad light warning module." I went through the wire harness inside the trunk a few times, not finding any obvious defects. I inspected the electronic module and found a bad solder joint. I fixed the solder joint, and the brake light problem is 100% fixed. This step is recommended only to trained electronic tech as untrained people can quickly ruin this electronic module.

This is a typical problem that sometimes causes avionics or weapon systems intermittent and unreliable. Intermittent or completely open electronic connections can be caused by long term exposure to temperature cycling, vibration, humidity etc...

This small brake light intermittent problem actually drove me crazy to the point where I was ready to throw the car away! It's not worth keeping an old car and taking the chance of being rear ended because of intermittent brake lights! This '89 Camry is still running strong after 250K miles of high-speed cruising (don't tell LAPD!) and 3 fender-bender accidents, with no other problems! It is a very reliable and handy utility car with fold down rear seats, which lets you haul objects longer than 8', basically anything that can be inserted through the fold down seats into the cockpit!

The way it goes, I think I may get 1 million miles out of this old Camry before I give it to my grandsons to bang around in!

I am glad I found and fixed this brake light problem permanently. It is safe to say that many other electronic problems with any car (Mercedez, BMW, Audi, Huyndai, Kia ... are said to be the worst) are most likely caused by intermittent or faulty connections in electronic modules or wiring harnesses.

I now have a good appreciation for and great synmpathy for people who have been complaining about electronic problems with their cars. My solution was quick and simple, which confirms Toyota's quality and reliability superior to many other upscale and very expensive brands!

peter pan

On cold start, the car is supposed to rev up to cold idle at 2000 RPM for a few minutes, before settling down to hot idle at 800-900 RPM.

After 200K miles without any elaborate tune up or fuel injector service, my 93 Camry no longer revs up on cold start. It stays at the low hot idle speed and more often than not, stalls out. The dealer says the cold start sensor, which is buried under the manifold, must be replaced. Parts and labor cost about $600!

Knowing the fuel injectors have never been serviced, I suspected the cold stall problem may be caused by dirty fuel injectors which do not inject enough gas into cylinders. I filled the tank with Shell's new 91 premium gas (with the alleged 5 detergents) and a bottle of fuel injector cleaner. The cold start problem was immediately fixed half way through the tank! The car now revs up to 2000 RPM every morning and no longer stalls out. The car also accelerates better as the injectors now squirt far more fuel into the cylinders when needed!

This is a simple solution that saves me $600 from the dumb dealer and other potential problems as they may break a few other things (oops !!!! these always break on all Camries...) as they remove the manifold to replace the cold start sensor!

You don't have to take the fuel injector apart to clean it. In fact there are some serious risks of damaging or contaminating the injectors by taking them apart! A Mercedez' engineer told me this trick of cleaning fuel injectors with premium gas and cleaning additives. You could save yourselves some serious fuel injector service money by using cleaner additives every 30K miles!

martman1

Just bought new 2004 LE-I would like to get something on front and rear bumpers to protect from dents and dings. I have highlander with both front and rear low profile brush guards. Do I have to go customize to get this protection, or auto parts store(moulding strips front and rear? Any help would be appreciated(with names of stores or web sites( The new 2004 LE just has remote for lock and unlock with one press(open drivers side-2 presses all door. I want to change to 1 press all doors open like my highlander Limited with alarm system.Dealership said not possible-any feed on this? Thanks for any help

------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------

cornellpinoy

Did you replace or disconnect your battery recently? It sounds like your On Board Diagnostic computer was recently reset which is why you had so many "not ready" codes. It doesn't mean you those components are inoperative, it just means that until a certain number of drive cycles have been done, the computer won't read those sensors. How much time do you have before you need to re-inspect the car? I wouldn't pay the dealer $200. Most likely you need to find out what drive cycles you need to do for the computer to be ready again. They are usually published by the manufacturer and in some shop guides. Usually, a few days of everyday driving after the computer has been reset will do.

cam2003

Are you using 87 octane or higher ? I also noticed higher octane would help on acceleration. Also, inflate the tire pressure 2-3 psi higher than recommended number (i.e 29psi to 32 psi).

gautamarora

I have been using premium ever since I bought the car, however, yesterday for the first time I went for the middle one, I think its 89 octane, I did feel little better. I am going to check the pressure.

I am going to have 5000 miles service tomorrow on 12000 miles :
   Oil change
   Brakes adjustment
   BG install kit(I don't know what this is)

I hope I see some improvement.

jons01

Lately, the "check engine" light has been staying on in my 2001 Camry and I have an appointment to have it looked at this friday. A friend told me it might be the O2 sensor which may require an expensive repair.

I bought a Camry in hopes that it would last a long time before needing work, but it looks like the reliability legend is not always true.

Since the warranty has expired, shouldn't this be covered under the emmissions warranty?

Any thoughts or suggestions?

typesix

Many emission control parts are required by Federal law to be covered 5yrs/50,000 miles. Check owner's manual.

vivekb

Thank you very for your observation and feedback. In fact, this is exactly what the Toyota dealer told me this morning (can you believe a Toyota dealer actually let me off without charging a $ and with an advice to drive the car regularly for some 100 miles before I take it back for an emission test?)

mca2

Well I have a 2002 Camry SE V6. Of all 7 Toyota we have own this is the worse by far. I drive a lot of highway miles and have now 68K miles. I started to notice a humming noise around 64K(could not be heard with the radio on). I replaced the tires and thought it was a bad tire. Unfortunately, I just found out it is a bad rear bearing. If you have had over 2.5K in maintenance this year at this dealer and have bought 3 cars in the past 2 years from them, should I expect them to work with me on this issue? I am not expecting them to fix it for free but should I expect more then the Service rep saying "It's 8K over warranty" over and over?

bronzemaxell

my 03 4cyl manual transmission also experience a weir behavior with the gas pedal, i normally do not warm up the car, and when the engine is cold, i shift into 1st gear, if i gave a little gas, the sudenly accelerate and pulls back then accelerate and pulls back again, it feels like one floor the gas then let go and floor it again, extremely ignoring, but i know my foot didn't move, didn't apply more or less pressure on the gas pedal, and this only happen while the engine has not warm up. i think this might be one of the undesireable side effect from the electronic throttle body control. once the engine has warmed up, it doesn't do it anymore.

peter pan

The Camry ( and presumably all toyotas) door panels are held in place by 2 snap in anchors molded into the plastic bezel behind the door lever! There are no screws holding the bezel to the door panel!

These 2 anchoring tabs are on the upper and lower edges of the bezel, around the vertical center line. The bezel can be taken out by inserting a small screw driver into the horizontal edges between the bezel and the panel and bend the anchoring tabs AWAY from the door panel (or into the bezel's side). That will release the bezel.

Good luck.

peter pan

When faced with the complaints, Toyota suggests a quick and easy fix for this problem: buy yourself a brand new, fully-loaded Lexus GS430 with 17" Yokohama ZR tires!!!

That would immediately fix your itch for acceleration!

peter pan

I bought a set of Michelin's MXV Energy tires from Costco (~$350) for my 89 Camry. They were very smooth, quiet and responsive, guanrateed for 80K miles but lasted over 85K.

The tires wore evenly with rotation about every 20K miles, occasional pressure check and front-end aligments. They had no problems or flats during their entire lives!

When the treads were worn down to less than 1/8 inch, the car did not corner well. I had to slow down and carefully oversteer to keep the car to stay in tight turns like freeway ramps etc...That was when I had to buy another set of Michelins!

Of all the tires that I bought, Dunlop was the quietest but softest,lasting only 30K miles. Yokohama lasted 60K miles but produces the highest road noise with its stiff side walls. Goodyear's Metric series would wear unevenly and cup severely. This was a known problem for Goodyear, so the dealer offered to rotate the tires for free every 5000 miles to prevent uneven wear. I just threw away the tires after 20K miles since they were not worth the bad, noisy ride and the hassles!