Toyota Camry: Problems & Solutions

pciskowski

I have an '04 Camry LE with 1,400 trouble filled and annoying miles so far. Today it developed a squeak in the drivers window by the top. If I press on the window it stops. My previous car (Mazda Protege5) did this too, but I could back off the window slightly and it would stop. In this car it makes it worse. Does anyone know a fix for this?

By the way, I fixed a weird creak (I thought my dash was haunted) that was coming out of the dash by putting in the aftermarket MP3 player I had in my last car. It was either that or an exorcism. I wasn't going to put it in at first because I didn't want to cause any squeaks or rattles. Guess how that worked out! So anyway, stock radio out, new (old) radio in, no squeaks or creepy creaks, and I have another storage area in the dash as well. I'm going to use it to hold my earplugs for those times when I have the radio off.

One nice thing about the Camry-you can install an aftermarket stereo. With the Accord or Mazda 6 it is more difficult or impossible. With the Accord you put it in the storage area below the dash and keep the stock radio installed too. Weird. With the 6 I think you have to use a welding torch.

allan3

my '02 Camry LE 4cyl tends to stall during braking and just prior to stopping when the AC is on. i'm clever enough to prevent it most of the time (by easing up on the brake), but wife hasn't mastered it yet. has anyone had success getting this fixed? thanks.

bd21

If you were clever you would take it to the dealer, because unless you have over 60,000 miles, it is probably covered under warranty. Why on earth would you drive around in a car that stalls? You are an accident waiting to happen! Take it to the dealer and have it repaired for your wife's and everyone else on the roads sake.

dirk3

The low fuel indicator light has not even flickered on my 2004 camry xle. Have used gas down to refill of 16 gallons, leaving 2.5 gallons in tank. Is the light supposed to work on the xle since there is an information center with fuel range?

gto2

Two weeks ago I bought a Camry 2005 XLE with gray leather seats. The leather feels rough to the touch. Can someone recommend a product that will soften the leather and make it smooth to the touch. Thank you.

shudder

I had a problem with the transmission after 3,500 mi and after the dealer finally replaced the transmission and shoving the car back at us 3 times we contacted Toyota ourselves and they declared it a lemon and are refunding our money!!!!

hallage

I haven't replaced brakes on a car in years. I remember after removing the caliper, and replacing pad, using a screwdriver shaft against the pads to open the caliper as far as possible and placing pads/caliper back on rotor. Is that about it? I read here that you can "deglaze" the rotor w/o machining them. How is this done?
Thanks.

bd21

Your post scares me! I'm a mechanic and from your post, I can tell you have very limited experience working on cars. Why are you trying to save a few bucks by doing something on you car that you don't have the training or tools to accomplish? Any good shop will turn your rotors and replace your pads for under $80.00. Try Sears or Firestone if you don't know where to go.

dirk3

Can someone with a 2004 xle respond to tell me if their low fuel warning light works, just so I'll know if I have a pending repair?
Thanks

rogman

I am having same problem with my 2004 Camry. I drove it with the dealership manager yesterday for almost 1 hour. No failures. This is the 2nd time I test drove with dealership person. They will not fix anything until it fails. It sounds like the replacement trans DID NOT solve the problem. Is this true?

hallage

I think I have something similar. I have a 2002 4cyl XLE. If I am stopped on a hill, pointed uphill and stopped, when I start going, it shifts from nuetral to first gear with a jerk. But only in this high-torque situation.

samsung

Help, Have a new '05 Camry 4 cyl automatic that has the jerky low speed shifting problem. (My old '98 Camry was sooo smooth) The dealer said to try taking off the Overdrive. That didn't help much. Also when I start, after stopping at a light, for example, the car leaps out--hard to control that initial speed. this is so depressing; I saved for this car for years. What should I tell the Dealer to get help?

nodak1

I also have a 2004 Camry SE 4cyl that gets 19 in town and 23 on the highway. I filed a complaint with Toyota. What progress have you made?

slov98

if you can reproduce the problem take the toyota mechanic with you for a drive.
tell them what you told us, keep going to them until it's solved.

bill13241

samsung - Please file an official compliaint with Toyota. If enough of us file complains about the same problem, then maybe Toyota will acknowledge and fix it. This is my first (and last) Toyota!

themoon77

Thanks chavo, I'll let you know if I find out what it is. I forgot to mention that a front end alignment (performed with the CV axle) did not cure the shimmy.

Steve

inmyhead

I thought it was all in my head! I have complained three times to my dealership and they tell me there is nothing wrong with my car. The washerboard analogy is perfect. Where do we go from here?

dzandt

We are having the same problem with our 1993 Camry. I will be doing some internet research on this and I'll let you know if I find a solution for you. Incidentally, we have already had a mechanic look at it and he was not able to diagnose the problem.

rogman

I am having same problem with my 2004 Camry. You need to start writing letters. File a complaint on Toyotas web site. It gets sent to the dealership. The service manager at my dealership called me. I test drove the car with him and it did NOT fail. Technician drove it one time, also with no failures. He is going to talk to Toyota but at this time nothing is going to happen. DO NOT GIVE UP!! I told the dealership that there is a defect in this car and I will not give up. Have been back to dealership 5(five) times for this problem. Somebody posted the same problem with a 2005 Camry. There is a defect somewhere!! Keep trying and posting!!

jerr002

This began as an intermittant problem, now is full time. The only way to get out of Park is to use the shift lock override. I've looked at schematics and find that the brake light switch is a part of this circuitry, brake pedal haas to be depressed to shift. The brake lights don't work either. Sounds obvious doesn't it. However I also read in a site that evaluates used cars that this model has a common wiring problem in the shift lock system. I can adjust the switch and will as soon as I get the car available, but just wanted to know if anyone is familiar with the wiring issue.
Also, how do I open up the console?

mpeterfreund

I have a 1995 Camry with only 55,000 miles. It is serviced by the dealer on a regular basis. After the last service (oil change, radiator flush) I noticed that when the car is cold I get blue smoke for a few seconds on starting. The car drives fine otherwise. I am going back to the dealer next week. Any ideas on the cause? It is hard to imagine a ring job after only 55,000 miles.

themoon77

It sounds like the valve seals are a little worn, but keep in mind that time has an effect on those parts as well. Since the car is almost 10 years old, the seals probably have deteriorated some. My 89 burns a little oil at startup, but not enough to even show on the dipstick after 5,000 miles. I've been seeing the blue smoke at startup for almost 5 years now, but it has not gotten noticeably worse or hampered performance any.

Steve

mpeterfreund

Thanks for the reply!

If it is the seals is it worth fixing? If not now, at what point?

Do you know if this is going to give me trouble passing the NY State emission inspection?

jbkennedy

I have a 97 with the same problem. Every 6,000 miles I add a can of Chevron Techron Fuel system cleaner and the smoke goes away for awhile

mpeterfreund

Thanks for the reply!

If it is the seals is it worth fixing? If not now, at what point?

Do you know if this is going to give me trouble passing the NY State emission inspection?

anonym

I used to have the blue smoke on start up as well. I had a 93 camry. It happened for about a year. I was told that I shouldnt fix it until I started losing a noticeable amount of oil between changes (I usually was only a 1/2 quart short between changes). For some reason the blue smoked stopped and its been two years.

cgwong

no, still doing it.

still looking for a mechanic who might know what it is.

i'll keep you posted.

good luck.

sparky1

I have a 99 Camry as well and I have had both problems you describe. I don't think they are related. I had my tires changed a few months ago and I told the guy fixing my tires about the squeaks and he told me that his mom (who also had a 99 Camry) had the same problem. He told me they took it to Toyota and the mechanic told them that they had two options. One: replace the rubber joints at the top of the struts/shocks ($100-$200) or just take a hammer and tap down the metal cap over the rubber joints (open the hood and you will see them). So I tried the hammer, and it worked. Regarding the Accelerator sticking, mine does not stick in a way that causes the car to run fast. It is sticky in the sense that when I'm at a stoplight and I try to push the accelerator; it won't easily go down, without a bit a pressure. It does not seem to be the cables, but appears to be the rotating wheel that the cables are connected to. I've tried to oil it with WD40, but no luck. It seems to stick more when the engine is hot or in very cold weather. Go figure. At this point I'm just going to take it in to Toyota.

bd21

This is a simple fix. You have a coking build-up in the throttle body. Buy throttle body cleaner and use an old tooth brush to clean the build up. Remove the air intake hose attached to the throttle body and spray the cleaner all inside the throttle body area. Clean both sides of the butterfly valve too. Keep spraying and scrubbing until everything is clean. This will fix the sticking.

lewboy

I heard a loud noise the other night in my garage but I didn't detect anything out of the ordinary.Well,the next morning,my wife took the car to work and noticed a noise from under the vehicle.She than took it to the dealer and they told her that the rear spring had broken and they had never seen this before.Anyone else ever had this problem?The car only has 9000mi. on it.They had to order a new spring that will take approx.5 days and we had to leave it because it was unsafe.

hank2

I got a 4 Cyl in June, and most of my driving is highway at 65 MPH. The first few weeks, I got 25 MPG or less. Now, in September, with about 3000 on the odometer, I've slowly crept up to just under 29 MPG.

My driving hasn't changed, but use of air conditioning has been reduced, a little.

I thought I read a rumor that it takes about 5000 for the fuel injection computer to adapt to your driving style... but I can find anything definitive.

HTH,

- hank2

themoon77

My wipers work only in the high(fast and irritating in light rain) position. Do I need to replace the wiper motor or is the problem in the switch?? Thanks!!

Steve

themoon77

"If it is the seals is it worth fixing? If not now, at what point?"

It basically depends on whether it bothers you enough to get it repaired. As I mentioned, mine has been burning oil at startup for almost 5 years and it hasn't obviously worsened. I don't drive the car hard so I haven't noticed a drop in performance. Checking the oil regularly is a must, for me because I have a light rear seal leak, for you because your engine may be burning more oil than mine. It's a fairly expensive repair--pretty labor intensive, so this may be another factor. I intend on doing a pretty thorough restoration on my Camry in the near future, so I'll get mine fixed at that time. Again, it's not a do-or-die issue, just keep your eye on the oil level and set aside at least $500, maybe twice that, if you really want to fix it.

Steve

alan_s

I contacted Toyota regarding the 5-speed a/t concerns. This was their response:

Thank you for contacting Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.
We apologize for your dissatisfaction with the driving response of the 2004 Camry.

The poor response you described typically surfaces either when the accelerator is depressed fully to the floor or when depressed an aggressive manner. The newer version of the Camry has transitioned from a manual throttle linkage to an electronic throttle control system. The electronic throttle control monitors the everyday driving habits of the operator and then tailors itself to make the most efficient gearshifts. On rare occasions when the operator fully depresses the pedal or depresses the pedal in an aggressive manner, the system may experience a delay in determining how to make the optimal gearshift.

At this time Toyota has no plans to make changes to the shift characteristics of the transmission. To minimize this condition, we recommend trying a firm yet gradual application of the accelerator.

Your feedback is appreciated; it is through communications such as yours that we become aware of our customers' expectations and reactions. It also provides us with valuable insight when planning and developing future products and services to increase our customers' satisfaction.

Your email has been documented at our National Headquarters. If we can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact us.

Toyota Customer Experience

motownusa

That's exactly how I feel although I rarely stomp on the accelerator. If I gradually but firmly step on the gas pedal the acceleration is quick and smooth without any hesitation. More and more cars are now equipped with drive by wire throttle control from Mercedes, BMW, Lexus down to Pontiac Grand Prix. Within a few years just about all cars will have this feature.

kpatel

I bought 2004 camry LE four weeks ago and i have similar problem, i contacted dealer and they suggested me to put pillow on left side rather then taking any action. It's like you never hear anything wrong about camry as a word of mouth and so i bought camry, but i would say i'm not satisfied with purchase.

ian721

There's a TSB out on this, though I'm not sure if it applies to 04's. My 04 has a very slight pull to the left that sometimes disappears altogether. I'm monitoring to see if it gets worse, but since I live in NYC and drive over monster potholes wherever I go it could just be out of alignment.

How many miles do you have?

hltnhdrn

I have a 1995 Camry LE. I was driving the other day and out of nowhere, every warning light came on and the engine stopped running. There were no signs, symptoms or previous warning lights. Until this time, I have had no significant mechanical problems with my car. When I try to start it, it turns over and over but just doesn't catch to start up. It does not make any clicking sounds. Any words of advice??? Thank you!!!

yeller20

In my 1994 Camry LE I4, the brake light on the dash is constantly on. The car has about 125000 miles and I strongly believe that there is adequate brake material left in the rear drum brakes. Whenever the e-brake is engaged the car does not move and locks up the rear wheels just fine. However that annoying red BRAKE light makes me wonder if a brake failure could appear at an unexpected time. My question is what is the best thing to do? Ignore it, change the brake shoes anyway, or pay a visit to Toyota dealer. The warranty is far expired and a good concern is how much could their diagnostic service cost me? And then the actual service to the actual problem too.
Oh yeah, this is our first Toyota and quality is far above average....best car we ever owned.

yeller20

I was driving on the interstate down here in Louisiana and the oil light came on. My first instinct was to pull over and pour in 2 quarts.
It shut the light off...for about 10 minutes. Then also "out of nowhere every warning light came on and the engine stopped running." No signs, symptoms or previous notice of warning lights. That then and there was the only time the car left me stranded. When the car was towed home, I wanted to crank it, and the starter kept enlessly spinning.
The mechanic said the issues was an extremely worn out timing belt whose gear teeth were so missing that it just skipped the timing gears and threw the whole timing off. Had to replace belt, stripped gears(camshaft), oil pump, oil pump gear and lots of seals.
So to sum up, check you timing gear often and replace every 50,000 miles.

hltnhdrn

I dare hate to ask these questions... 1) how much did that cost you to repair? and 2) is this something that can be done at home by someone who knows how? I am tempted to just have it towed to a dealer and get a new car!!! Thank goodness this all happened on the way to my friend's house so it is safe sitting there!!!

murray53

I have an '88 Camry with 139,000 miles on it. I have had the same issues with mufflers as NYC area winters are hard on them if you use the car for short trips to the RR station as I do. As far as the OD problem is concerned the dealer gave you a story. There is a temperature sensor which locks out 4th until the engine is warm to prevent the engine from lugging down too much when it is still cold and to get the engine to warm up faster. Mine usually will shift into 4th about halfway to the RR station since I have the 4 cyl which warms up fairly fast in the winter. I would expect the V6 to take a bit longer.

murray53

I have an 88 Camry and I use a bottle of Chevron Techron injector cleaner (added to an almost empty tank) every 3-4 months. My mechanic recommended this. Since I started using this I have never had any injector problems. I also have to use premium gas since this car would ping on anything else even when new. At 23-25 mpg it doesn't hurt too much even at today's prices. Not bad for a car which has almost 140,000 miles on it and is almost 17 years old (I bought it in 10/87). The car is driven almost every day as my wife and I both use it. I am almost afraid to look for a new car after reading the posts in all the forums about the issues with some of them. I have driven 2 2004 Camrys as rentals and they didn't seem to have the jerky shift problem. I'm pretty easy on the gas pedal most of the time, though. It would be interesting to see what the 2005 owners say as there is now a 5-speed auto trans on all new Camrys.

murray53

This issue is not only common with Toyota but just about all makes (except the high end models). The main issue is cost. The manufacturers buy only what is necessary to drive the car away from the dealer's lot. I have had two Toyotas and the OEM tires on both didn't last long and had uneven wear issues. I replaced them with better quality tires and got much improved ride and handling qualities. I had Pirelli P500's on my Camry and they lasted almost 6 years, which is the outer limit that tires should be used for safety reasons.

alcan

Have you checked the fluid level in the master cylinder reservoir? If it's low, the float switch will close and turn on the brake warning light.

ballon

I got my 05 camry last week. I found 4 rubber plugs in the glove box. It is said these should be inserted into the holes of the center floor side member extension. Can you guys tell me where it is. Thanks!

hank2

Folks -

I've gone to the same repair shop for more than 15 years ... and for simple (eyeball) diagnostics, they usually do for free. For example, I've asked about the brakes a number of times, and they would pop the wheels and look, and tell me to come back in 10K miles. He could have changed them and charged me. So, it doesn't hurt to call up a service manager and ask.

re: 1989 Wiper Motor - Same as above, ask a Toyota service manager. But I'd bet it is like the heater switch... and a fuse is blown. Unfortunately, that is a $34 fuse, if you can find it. Again, my service manager was more than happy to give me suggestions ... with no gurantees, unless he did the work.

HTH,

-hank2

typesix

I have a 4 cyl 89 Camry used to have the pinging problem. I find that Regane(made by Pennzoil)will eliminate the pinging while Techron will not. Regane is added every 3,000 miles to an almost empty tank.

dofranck

I went to the dealer where I got mine last week after I found 2 plugs in glove box. They told me one set (already installed) was for warm climate and the set in the glove box was for cold climate. I didn't check to see the difference or where they were located, but he told me they were under the car between the front and rear doors near the edge. Hope this helps.

mcgirl0730

The manufacturer recommends changing the oil every 5,000 miles. But consumers say change it every 3,000 miles. I don't mind changing it at 3,000 miles or spending extra money. But which one is better, changing every 5,000 miles using full synthetic oil or 3,000 miles using regular oil?