2007 Toyota Camry Problems and Repairs

frodo6 · July 2006

So from what I gather, replacing the transmission will not fix the problem? Has anyone with a replaced transmission seen the problem go away? I'd rather not gut my car if the problem won't go away. I just hope my problem doesn't become erratic...

(that is, if it is a "problem")

chikoo · July 2006

Here's the issue: Towards the bottom of the brake pedal travel there is a very noticable "clunk" feel. It typically happens just before coming to a stop. It's very annoying as it happens every time you come to a stop.

I suspect that this might be your transmission shifting hard to 1st gear. That is unless you have isolated/localized this "clunk" to the brake pedal or the wheels(rotors/brakepads/calipers fitment).

chikoo · July 2006

In 2002, FORD and GM embarked on a joint venture with AISIN to design and manufacture a 6-speed automatic transmission. The first production use of this transmission to my knowledge has been the 2006 Mazda6s 3.0L where it has been performing flawlessly. I only wish I could say the same about the 5-speed in the years 2003-2005.

coming to the point, is this the same 6-speed transmission that is used in the 2007 Camry or is it an independant design by Toyota?

gillesmtl · July 2006

We bought a Hyudai Elantra for my wife in September of 1997. It was a 1997 model, built in May 1997. The transmission has always had an RPM flare between 2 and 3 for the first 5-10 minutes of driving.

On Hyundai's US web site, a TSB was issued, stating the exact date when the flawed Electronic Transmission Controller firmware was corrected on the assembly line : Some day in June 1997, 3 months before we bought the car !

The bug is that the ETC forgets the proper timing for smooth shifts each time the car is stopped.

For cars manufactured before June 1997, a revised ETC was available as a fix, but for US clients only.

9 years later, our dealer and Hyundai Canada still refuse to acknowledge that there ever was a problem. They pretend that US and Canadian versions are completely different !

I heard the same song (US <> Canada) from my Toyota dealer last week, as an excuse for not re-programming some parameters from the BE-13 list.

Best hopes from a hybrid owner (no flares on that one).

faldoc · July 2006

I posted this elsewhere about my Camry:

Short take: my 07 Camry V6 had the snap ring problem, and 6 weeks after they changed out the transmission, it started to have problems again, with the check engine light on. I took it back Friday, and got a loaner.

Today I got word from my case manager, who is very nice and has been all along (Danika: even her name sounds nice!) at Toyota Motor Sales in California that they have talked to the dealership and the car needs another transmission.

I have asked for another car/or buyback. She has agreed. They will get in contact with me in 2 business days to get the process started.

I am thinking to use the money to buy a Camry Hybrid. No more V6 for now. They are probably fine by now but after my experience with the V6, well, you can understand the reluctance...

07camryse · July 2006

Thats just how my 2nd transmission started spiking,,,500-800 mile later and I now get 1-2 k rpm spikes.. And I get them at least 3 times a day on my 30 mile round trip commute to work.

So in other words, expect it to get worse.

On a side note,,, it still happens more when cold.

2nd note: I also had a 02 3.5 SE max that had a cold temp spiking problem,, it was ONLY when air temps and engine was cold, in fact air temps had to be at least 65 or less. And even then only sometimes..

This Camry spiking is not the same,, it happens many times every day, air temps 98+ degree days,, but does happen more when the engine is cold.

w9cw · July 2006

The 6-speed AISIN automatic was also used in the 2005 Ford Five Hundred, along with the CVT transmission. I seriously looked at a 2005 Five Hundred, and I could get the car with either transmission.

blindmantoo · July 2006

I saw a post on the Lexus ES-350 board where someone mentioned that their car appears to not know whether to upshift or downshift when reaching 10 - 20 mph while slowing down. I've noticed the tranny on my V6SE appearing to upshift while slowing to a stop (w/ brakes on) on many ocassions. I find myself manually downshifting often to prevent it. Anyone else notice this?

user777 · July 2006

are you sure it's going to a higher gear at that point or neutral? what was it doing before you got to that 10-20MPH range? was it engine braking by downshifting?

in one of the hesitation forums that was closed by the hosts there was a suggestion that someone with a problem vehicle get an OBD-II reader capable of recording toyota specific parameters in real time onto a laptop as you drive.

if i thought my vehicle shifted oddly, i would sample the system and put the information in graphical form (using EXCEL perhaps) infront of a manufacturer rep of sufficient knowlege in the design, implementation, or strategy of the transmission control to get it explained to my satisfaction.

if i couldn't get a rep to do this, i'd find someone else who could.

this is the unit i had recommend people consider in the other forums (relatively inexpensive and powerful):
http://www.obd-2.com/

specifically because of the toyota vehicle specific datum it can capture to a laptop which would help someone clearly increase their understanding of what the vehicle was doing:
http://www.obd-2.com/toypida.htm

i have no personal interest in this product, except it looked to be one capable of capturing extended information which others costing much more could not.

then personally i watched two fellow engineers at work use this particular product to read the codes behind a check engine light on a ford van which was comming up for inspection. after determining it was a faulty 02 sensor, the engineer replaced it, cleared the light and it hasn't been on since, saving quite a bit of money in the process.

i'm thinking of getting one just to learn more about my car's operation and troubleshoot a problem if one comes up.

eagle2a · July 2006

This site has been most helpful to me as I have tried to get back into automobile purchases after 14 years.

So let me see if I can help some of you folks. I don't know if this information will be helpful are not, but possibly it may.

I purchased a 2006 Hyundai Sonata I4 automatic transmission this mo. It is running fine. However Hyundai provides an on line service manual. In looking it over last night I ran into this important information. I am not suggesting this is the problem with the Camry transmissions you folks are talking about, but I thought it might be something you could look into. I hope this is some help to you all!!

I will copy the bulletin for you to see. I am sorry it lost the formatting in copying to this web site

Page 1 of 4
Technical Service
Bulletin
Subject
Group
Number
Date
Model
TRANSAXLE
06-40-005
MARCH, 2006
ALL
AUTOMATIC TRANSAXLE CONTROL MODULE -
RESET AND RELEARN ADAPTIVE VALUES
This bulletin supersedes TSB 05-40-004 to include additional models.
DESCRIPTION:
The PCM or TCM contains logic to adjust solenoid duty and line pressure as needed to
compensate for normal clutch wear over the life of the transaxle. This bulletin provides
the procedures necessary to reset (erase) and relearn the adaptive values in the
PCM/TCM.

After the following repairs have been completed, the PCM/TCM adaptive values must
be reset in order to provide optimum shift quality:
 Replace automatic transaxle
 Reprogram or swap PCM/TCM from another vehicle
Adaptive values must be reset using procedure #1 or #2 according to model and model
year (MY) as shown below.

I. RESET PCM/TCM ADAPTIVE VALUES
MODEL ENGINE
1.
DISCONNECT NEGATIVE
BATTERY CABLE FOR 10
SECONDS
2.
USE HI-SCAN OR GDS,
TURN IGNITION KEY OFF
FOR 10 SECONDS
ACCENT 1.6L 1996~2005 MY 2006 MY~
ELANTRA 2.0L ~12/01/2002 12/01/2002~
TIBURON
2.0L 1997~2004 MY 2005 MY~
2.7L 1997~2004 MY 2005 MY~
SANTA FE
2.4L 2001~04 MY 2005 MY~
2.7L 2001~04 MY 2005 MY~
3.5L 2003~04 MY 2005 MY~
XG300 3.0L 2001 MY N/A
XG350 3.5L 2002~04 MY 2005 MY~
TUCSON
2.7L N/A 2005 MY~
2.0L N/A 2005 MY~
Page 2 of 4
HI-SCAN PROCEDURE:
1. Turn the Ignition key to the ON position (do not start engine) and move the shift
lever to P.
2. Attach the Hi-Scan Pro to the data link
connector (DLC):
 Select vehicle
 Select AUTOMATIC TRANSAXLE
menu.
 Select RESETTING ADAPTIVE
VALUES, press ENTER
 Press ENTER, then REST (F1)
 Turn Ignition key OFF for 10
seconds.
1999~2005
Sonata
2.4L 1999~2004 MY 2005 MY~
2.7L 1999~2004 MY 2005 MY~
2006~
SONATA
2.4L N/A 2006 MY~
3.3L N/A 2006 MY~
AZERA 3.8L N/A 2006 MY~
ENTOURAGE 3.8L N/A 2006 MY~
MODEL ENGINE
1.
DISCONNECT NEGATIVE
BATTERY CABLE FOR 10
SECONDS
2.
USE HI-SCAN OR GDS,
TURN IGNITION KEY OFF
FOR 10 SECONDS
Page 3 of 4
Technical Service
Bulletin
Group
Number
II. RELEARN ADAPTIVE VALUES:
NOTE: After the adaptive values have been reset (erased), an adaptive learning
procedure must be completed as shown below.
3. Attach a Hi-Scan Pro or GDS and
select Engine menu, Current Data
menu and throttle position sensor in
volts (THROTTLE POS. SENSOR,
ACCEL. POS. S, or ACCEL PEDAL
1 VOLT, depending on model).
4. Drive the vehicle until the ATF
temperature is within the temperature
range shown on Page 3.
5. Request an assistant to monitor the Hi-
Scan while accelerating the vehicle at
small throttle openings (approximately 25-
30% throttle). Hold the accelerator pedal
steady at a throttle position sensor value
of 1.45~1.75v during several 1-2-3-4
upshifts. Repeat until normal gear
transitions occur.
6. Repeat this procedure for 4-3, 3-2 and 2-1
downshifts.
TPS Specification: 1.45~1.75v
TRANSAXLE
06-40-005
Page 4 of 4
NOTE: Adaptive learning does not occur below the ATF temperature range
shown below:
WARRANTY INFORMATION:
Applicable warranty coverage applies
ATF TEMPERATURE: 122~194°F
(50~90°C)
50~122°F
(10~50°C)
MODEL ENGINE PRODUCTION DATE
ACCENT 1.6L 1996~2005 MY 2006 MY~
ELANTRA 2.0L ~11/21/2001 11/21/2001~
TIBURON
2.0L 1997~2001 MY 2003 MY~
2.7L 1997~2001 MY 2003 MY~
SANTA FE
2.4L 2001~02 MY 2003 MY~
2.7L ~01/17/2002 01/17/2002~
3.5L N/A 2003 MY~
XG300 3.0L 2001 MY N/A
XG350 3.5L N/A 2002 MY~
TUCSON
2.7L N/A 2005 MY~
2.0L N/A 2005 MY~
1999~2005
SONATA
2.4L ~11/30/2001 11/30/2001~
2.7L ~11/30/2001 11/30/2001~
2006~
SONATA
2.4L N/A 2006 MY~
3.3L N/A 2006 MY~
AZERA 3.8L N/A 2006 MY~
ENTOURAGE 3.8L N/A 2006 MY~

frodo6 · July 2006

I have noticed this as well, but I don't believe it's isolated to just that gear change. It looks like my tach needle seems to float up ever so slightly then down. I believe this is normal operation though, and involves the ECT.

blindmantoo · July 2006

While I agree it may be normal operation, it just feels weird when it happens. I'm used to two other vehicles, my recently traded in Maxima SE (5sp manual tranny) - obviously no issues like this, and my '05 Odyssey, which never has this sensation (it does have Honda's "grade logic" which I do like).

concertkey · July 2006

In what month was your car built?

bj02176 · July 2006

It's in the 2006 Fusion and performs flawlessly for the most part, especially fine on this 4th of July.

I got to admit I wanted a 6 cyl Camry, very hard to find at the time.

So I was on my way to Ira to buy the 4 cyl, stopped in at the Ford place and got a good trade in (Escape) and an okay deal on the Fusion.

While it's no Camry it sure is reliable. Nothing to run to the dealer to fix, made in Mexico, can you believe it.

Still like the Camry though but by the time I'm ready to trade again the 2008 Honda Accord will be out.

If you are test driving the Fusion and the engine surges a lot on acceleration it will disappear for the most part. Hesitation when pulling across an intersection is very good at the 5000 mile mark.

mfletou1 · July 2006

No offense at all, but the Fusion simple hasn't been out there long enough to really know whether or not it is reliable.

My problem GM cars were all very reliable...until they weren't. It took at least 2 years, and really closer to three. After that, an avalanche of problems that there were not any sign of.

I'm not at all saying that is going to happen to the Fusion, but the point is that its a bit premature to tout reliability of that particular car, except for very short term.

210delray · July 2006

My problem GM cars were all very reliable...until they weren't.

Great quote -- true for me as well with my 1990 Mercury Sable. Mostly fine until 4 years and about 65K miles (and the loan was paid off)! Then, one problem after another....

ray_h1 · July 2006

Funny how American drivers accepted that as par for the course up through the early fifties until a funny looking little German sedan demonstrated that did not have to be the case. The Japanese took it to another level. Detroit finally got their act together in the mid-sixties, but appear to be backsliding again, apparently believing catchy advertising campaigns trump the need for long-term reliability to impress the public. With leasing having become the norm to get behind the wheel of a new car, maybe they're right. We're all in deep doo-doo if the Japanese have signed on to that philosophy... [sigh]

spiff72 · July 2006

Not to get too far off topic here, but I think the current GM campaign for the "72 Hour Sale" is sad. Offering 0% financing for 72 months basically means you will take a VERY long time to get "right-side up" on your vehicle unless you have a huge down payment. Since most GM cars won't hold their value very well, it will make it that much harder to keep from being upside down.

imidazol97 · July 2006

>until a funny looking little German sedan demonstrated that did not have to be the case

I assume you mean the VW beetle. You must have known different owners back in the 60 of beetles than I knew. They were fix and maintain weekly if not more. They had no heater that worked in midwest wintertime. My college roommate had to stop and adjust his valves on the way to and from college when he drove home. Now which German sedan did you mean?

pat · July 2006

We're getting pretty far afield here - let's stick to issues with the 07 Camry. Thanks!

07camryse · July 2006

Agreed..

I have a question,,

Has anyone with the 6A experienced the spiking problem and actually had it fixed?

master1 · July 2006

I don't think anyone has had it fixed. Wasn't that said before? I don't remember anyone saying they fixed it.

07camryse · July 2006

Was hopping maybe someone who was just reading and had not posted yet might have a story to share..

I have been keeping up with a couple of forums and have not yet seen anyone have the spiking problem fixed.. I tried to have mine looked at for the spiking problem,,, and the local dealership would not even look at it.. Said to take it back to the place I bought the car. (had the new tranny put in by the dealership I bought it)

faldoc · July 2006

What did TMS in California say about replacing the car?

corton · July 2006

If you've been following this thread you know that my 2007 Camry XLE V6 was one of the ones that was afflicted with the automatic transmission shifting anomaly that caused the engine RPM to spike markedly during shifting. Several visits to the dealer and replacement of a transmission valve body and then a new transmission did not correct the problem.

I asked Toyota Corporate repeatedly to treat me the same as they did the other customers who had "snap ring" transmission problems with their 2007 Camrys. Toyota refused and treated me rather poorly in the process.

I had all my paperwork ready to submit to arbitration, and had a lemon law attorney ready to go if arbitration somehow failed.

I had waited until a few days ago to approach the management at my local Toyota dealership about this problem. This was the dealership where I purchased my Camry. Today I got a call from the dealership GM. He said, "even though Toyota is not doing right by you, we will". He gave me 100% of what I paid for my Camry in trade for another Toyota, Camry or otherwise - my choice. Since I just don't have any confidence in the V6 Camrys right now, I ended up selecting a Highlander Hybrid base model.

So there are still some folks in the automotive business that understand what customer service is all about! Yes, I was a repeat customer, but they sure went above and beyond what I ever expected from them.

I would like to extend my thanks to the folks at Lithia Toyota for stepping up and doing the right thing.

In my mind Toyota Corporate still gets a big black mark for their poor customer service, but the folks at Lithia Toyota are true professionals in every sense of the word and have earned my repeat business.

I only wish that the others affected by this RPM spiking problem were lucky enough to have done business with a dealership that really cares about their customers.

faldoc · July 2006

Great to hear that your problems have been addressed by your dealer. I am probably getting a hybrid too, maybe a Camry...

user777 · July 2006

that is really good news. congrats to you. i can't help wonder if toyota corporate isn't really assisting the dealership in the process though. i cannot imagine the dealership is loosing money on the deal.

but from your perspective, i guess it would be immaterial.

friendly_jacek · July 2006

I don't have a camry but own 2 toyotas (corolla and RAV4) and read this tread with great interest.
I have to admit that the RPM flare sounds like ECU/TCU firmware issue with improper timing of the shifts. Not unlike the Hunday issues 2 posters posted previously. The story of replacing tranny valve body, tranny, of even taking the car back for something that should by fixed by reflashing firmware/software is mind bogling. This just shows how the famous Toyota quality system does not work anymore. What a shame!

blindmantoo · July 2006

I had the same thoughts - Toyota is very likely taking back the vehicles from the dealer - but avoiding the appearance of another major issue w/ the drivetrain to the press - and avoiding setting a precedent on how this issue is being handled. No matter how these issues are resolved, all of us new Camry owners can breathe a bit of a sigh of relief that the affected owners are getting resolution (and hopefully peace-of-mind). By the way, there are several tranny related posts on the Lexus thread from unhappy ES350 owners.

smskaizen · July 2006

I noticed this, not sure whether this is a problem, checking with you guys.

I bought 07 camry 3 weeks before. Everything is fine except when I backup the vechile without applying any acceleration pedal car moves little fast. It gives acceleration itself. Is this normal? It happens only when car is parked for serveral hours(every morning I experience this).

I nevery experienced this with my old car, Nissan Altima or in anyother car.

Should I contact my dealer?

Please share your thoughts.

supergoop · July 2006

Did you give your car some time to warm up? On a cold start, my '07 XLE V6 idles at around 1,500 RPM. After about a minute, it idles down to about 1,000 RPM, before finally settling down to 750 RPM.

Your RPM was probably idling too high when you shifted into reverse. Give it about 30 sec to a minute to idle down before shifting into gear. It is also better for the engine because it allows the oil pump to circulate the oil in the engine.

mesquite57 · July 2006

There have been four members of "Inside line, Camry Woes" forum who have had their V6 transmissions replaced and they all have the transmission RPM spiking problem (or other more severe problems) even AFTER transmission replacement. This indicates to me that Toyota is still manufacturing defective transmissions on the V6 Camry and still does not know what the problem is (or worse, is not aware that there is a problem).

Here are the forum names and postings so you can verify for yourself:

corton in post 614
faldoc in post 603
romans9 in post 413 & 645
donr57 in post 543

I still have no resolution to my problem (RPM spikes/flares)

Congratulations to corton on getting his problem resolved without litigation. I'm not so sure my dealer is as ethical as his but I haven't given up yet.

alan_s · July 2006

After I dumped my 05 Avalon largely because of it's transmission problems, I had briefly considered a new Camry XLE V6 or the Lexus ES350 as a replacement. I told myself that Toyota wouldn't make the same mistake again as they did with the Avalon, and release two new models with problematic transmissions. In the end I decided not to take the risk with Toyota and Lexus because my confidence had been severely shaken. I am so glad that I didn't buy another Toyota product and have to face these issues over again.
I sincerely hope that all these people who are experiencing these problems eventually have them resolved, but sadly it appears that in Toyota's quest to be #1, their bullet-proof reliability and reputation is being sacrificed.
You would think that at least they would want the defective cars back ASAP so they could thoroughly diagnose them and remedy the problem.
If the transmissions are as dependent on multiple sensors and sources of input as TMSUSA has suggested, then the problem has to be diagnosed by examining defective cars in their entirety and methodically troubleshooting all the sensors and systems in order to isolate the problem.
I say: Toyota take the cars back, study them and fix them. Over 30,000 a month are being manufactured, possibly with the same problem. Don't force customers to be dragged through this mess! Do the right thing for the customer and for yourselves.
It still stuns me that Toyota can release new transmissions and designs for production without thorough testing. What happened to all those alleged millions of miles of testing in the Australian Outback - or was that just a commercial?

mesquite57 · July 2006

alan_s (post 708)

I say: Toyota take the cars back, study them and fix them. Over 30,000 a month are being manufactured

You are dead on right with that comment. A conscientious car manufacturer would want to know what was going on and get it fixed.

If Toyota doesn't make good on my Camry V6 XLE with its transmission problem, they'll be making a lot less than 30,000 per month due to bad publicity. I'm so angry at their response (and my dealer's) that I'm ready to write to every car magazine and Consumer reports to let them know my experience and direct them to these forums.

Then they can give up on the Camry and Avalon and spend their time on their 100,000 Prius backlog (which is probably what they're doing instead of diagnosing the Camry problems).

jimpctech · July 2006

I got my new Camry XLE V6 on 6/28 and it was made in Kentucky in 6/2006. I now have about 350 miles on it.

The only problem I have seen is the dangerous high rev RPM almost to the red zone, with no response in speed gain. My wife and I were on the freeway, stuck behind slow traffic traveling at about 42 MPH, when an opportunity came up to speed up and move to the fast lane. Much to our shock and dismay, the engine was revving up, but our speed was NOT increasing. I had to pull back into the slow lane. This is a surefire way to get someone killed.

I never before drove a car that did not speed up when the accelerator pedal was pushed down. I wish I had my old 1997 Camry XLE V6 back. I am now afraid of what might happen if I do need fast acceleration to pass, etc. and this Camry does not respond to my needs. This so called "Hesitation" problem can be a killer.

It was like this "Artificial Intelligence" was thinking "He is going 42 MPG, so do I want to let him go faster even though the accelerator pedal has been pushed down so that the engine is RPM revving to the red line?"

From what I have read in this forum, Toyota has no idea to fix how the accelerator pedal, engine speed, and transmission shifting problems that seem to occur around the 40-50 MPG range. Thus, at this point, I do not think that Toyota repair could fix it; as they only seem to make things worse when they worked on the cars of others who are on this forum.

Like someone else stated, how does "Artificial Intelligence" know what is going on in the real world situations?"

How can this so called "Artificial Intelligence" learn a driver, when, as in our case on a trip, we change drivers every 1 to 1.5 hours? Also how does "Artificial Intelligence" learning handle valet parking, Toyota repair people taking test drives, etc.?

jaxs1 · July 2006

Is valet parking and mechanic's test drives really going to be enough mileage or high enough percentage your total driving to even matter?

jimpctech · July 2006

OK, what about switching drivers all the time and what about rental cars?

user777 · July 2006

apologies for going a bit off-road here, but personally i would caution the use of smart "artificial intellengence" in the context of transmission controls.

i wager my Canon A-1 SLR camera vintage 70's had as much or more adaptive control software and automation capability as a modern day transmission control unit.

is my camera smart just because it has programmable speed and aperature control priority settings?

is someone's video camera smart because it has been programmed to detect frame to frame jitter and perform image stabilization to offset the effects of say your blood pumping through the veins in your hand as you hold a very small mass up high?

people may conclude that because a device has been integrated with a computer, it is somehow "smart", possibly as "smart" as the persons doing the software programming. computerised system are not smart or artifically intellegent merely because they follow a programmatic course of sensing and interpreting input data and effecting some change in system output.

looks good on manufacturer ad copy though.

no computer can infer your intent when getting on the gas to change lanes for example, or making a left hand turn across on comming traffic after slowing or comming to a complete stop.

sure, car makers have added additional sensors and programming to interface with the ABS system to implement traction and vehicle stability control... but are those functions smart? are they artificially intellegent?

the point is, there are some limited-functions you may wish to provide adaptive control (learning up of parameters from numerous control input / response cycles) like shift logic perhaps. there are some functions which are not adaptive per se, but have a finite, bounded, well described characteristic or model of a problem space, and make an assessment that the vehicle and occupants are in harms way based on a comparison of vehicle sensor data and that model in a *very* deterministic / repeatible manner (like stability control).

smart or "i"- intellegent? as an engineer, i don't think i would associate these terms in the context of these control functions. as i said, those sales people responsible for ad copy... they can call it what they want, but i know where the real smarts are.

for yucks and giggles, imagine if stability control was also "adaptive" and over-time "learned" or tuned up a bunch of parameters because a driver liked to take the vehicle to the point of impending loss of control and imagine this kept opening up the window or boundary of the problem space to accomodate more driver proficiency.

now then, imagine it was programmed to be smart (but actually stupid in this case) to infer perhaps by the use of a different keyfob and/or seat weight sensor that another / different driver was behind the wheel, and reigned back in the acceptable safe control envelope.

and wonder if some morning you swapped keychains with your significant other or son / daughter and you were of approximately the same weight...

i doubt we will see this sort of "intellegence" in computerized vehicle automation anytime soon. imagine debugging a problem with that complex system; i can't imagine verifying and certifying its safety. imagine the legal / liability hurdles...

real-world, some manufacturers have difficulty putting the "smarts" in their cars to implement a battery saver feature and turn off interior cabin lights that have been left on with the engine off.

oh how comforting it is to understand how truely stupid our vehicles are.

personally, i hope they stay that way too no matter what that ad copy claims.

mesquite57 · July 2006

user777,

I'm also an electrical engineer. I agree with you that we don't know how much "intelligence" is in the ECT unit. However, it is an Electronically Controlled Transmission with Intelligence. So there is some software in the control unit doing SOMETHING. We just don't know what it is. I'm sure if you ask Toyota what, specifically, the "intelligent" software does you will be told that it is proprietary which it should be. They simply generalize and say "it adapts to your driving habits".

But they need to correct either the mechanics in the transmission (3rd to 4th RPM spikes and engine racing seem to be indicative of that) or they need to fix their software.

We also don't have any way of knowing the extent of these problems (what percentage of 2007 V6 Camrys are affected).

If it were software I would expect everyone to be having the same problems. It is also complicated by the unfortunate situation where many people may not even be aware of the problem thinking that "it is normal".

mrlevis · July 2006

mine is the same way. I have to manually downshift the transmission to get it move out of it's own way.

Toyota will not help you. I am driving a :lemon: :lemon: :lemon:

user777 · July 2006

mesquite57, we are on the same wavelength.

it's even possible toyota doesn't know the extent of the "intellegence" as the firmware may be supplied by a vendor to toyota specification, and the visibiliy to that software may be restricted to a few individuals. it also spans potentially a few subsystems.

such is life with higher levels of complex systems integration.

knowing there is an issue and even locating it, it may take them a good deal of time and effort to develop and roll out a fix for it, and then the fix, like that for the hesitation issue may only mitigate, not resolve the issue.

i suspect, they'd have to do some serious regression testing if they even touch the sequencing because of the number of vehicles already out there. it has to be well behaved.

they've probably got some significant review scheduled with the programming team.

but, my inclination, like the hesitation issue affecting a sampling of the Lexus ES line, the Sienna, the Camry, the Avalon and ? Lexus/ToyotaDBW models (population size unknown), while there's plenty of room for a ECU/TCM firmware issue contributing to the root cause for the RPM spike, it may be ultimately based in a Hardware / part issue.

as i alluded to, they may try to mitigate this with a firmware / software update.

i suspect, but don't know this for certain, is that this is a tact they tried with the hesitation issue (apparently non-linearity / compliance / slop on the low-end of accel based on driver foot forces at an angle during application of the pedal).

in that case, it is apparent, a new flash (firmware load) did not appreciably help the situation. getting people to change how their foot rested on the pedal seems to bring the best results reported thus far.

a smart engineer in my domain once pronounced: you don't throw software at essentially a hardware problem. you fix the hardware.

exception might be a mars rover or other deep-space exploration vehicle designed specifically with that flexibility since you can't recall the craft back to mother earth once sent on it's journey to another world.

nancy17 · July 2006

Just purchased a 2007 Toyota Camry, literally 2 weeks ago, and noticed that my carpeting was soaking wet -- dealer told me there was a cobweb in the air conditioning line. Carpet still soaked - keeping an eye on the problem. Anyone heard of this problem???

kiawah · July 2006

Get it back to the dealer with another opportunity to fix it, before the carpet is stained/ruined.

thetxstang · July 2006

For the life of me, I can't understand how a cobweb "in the air conditioning line" could result in your car's carpet becoming soaking wet.

You didn't state whether or not the dealer removed the offending cobweb or what their solution to the problem was. I'm curious. Thanks.

mesquite57 · July 2006

For the life of me, I can't understand how a cobweb "in the air conditioning line" could result in your car's carpet becoming soaking wet.

You didn't state whether or not the dealer removed the offending cobweb or what their solution to the problem was. I'm curious. Thanks.

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Sounds like someone is "spinning a web" of BS to me

And if that IS true (cobwebs in the A/C line causing wet carpet), what's preventing the rest of us from having the same problem. Sounds like a poor design if that is really what happened.

kbondar · July 2006

Stop for a minute!!
If you have any knowledge of how A/C systems work you might not be so quick to point blame at the automaker.
Any A/C system has evaporation and condensing units which work to (a)cool the interior of the car (evaporation), (b) exhaust the interior heat outside the car (condensation).
Refrigerant, when cooled (evaporation) will cause moisture to condense on the car's interior heat exchanger--lots of moisture if ambient temp and humidity in your area are high.
Normally this condensed moisture is released thru a drain to the exterior of the car. That's why when you look under a stopped but air conditioned car you will see water dripping on the pavement.
If for some reason that drain becomes plugged (spider web??), condensed moisture can overflow into the car's interior.
It's not BS, and there's no design flaw, friend.
"Shoot first and ask questions later"---wrong!!

user777 · July 2006

agreed. an ac compressor / evaporator system is a closed system, so the faux pas is to say there is a cobweb in the a/c line.

i believe in this context, it would be much more accurate to indicate there is blockage of the evaporator pan drain line.

yes to the original poster, there is a tray that sits below the evaporator which will take condensate from those coils to the outside of the firewall and discharge it to the ground. foreign matter (leaf debris entering in the outside vent, or an insect like a spider could clog this drain line). sw.r.t. the latter, it's more than likely it was a crimped or a disconnected line from the pan.

the spider story is plausible... but probable? i think unlikely, but you never know.

jjthenovice · July 2006

My service manager's tech told me that the new 6 speed auto transmission actually has it's own computer. It sits atop the transmission and is "allegedly" programed to the specific car that it's in. These spiking problems, IMHO are a result of bad programming somewhere.

mesquite57 · July 2006

Concur,

I had a real problem with the wording of the issue "a/c line had cobweb in it". I can understand blockage of the condenser drain line.

mesquite57 · July 2006

jjthenovice,

Or it could be a defective Electronic Controlled Transmission computer hardware or firmware or the transmission itself. Mine has been re-programmed and the transaxle compensation code (which is supposed to match the transmission to the engine) was also re-programmed to no avail. I'm still having the transmission slippage problem between 3rd and 4th gears.

2007 Toyota Camry Problems and Repairs

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