Are Toyota's recent quality problems just a glitch?

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  • louisweilouiswei Member Posts: 3,715
    That Camry owner complained about the cruise is an idiot. I am sorry about the name calling but there is just no other terms to put it.

    I've drove Hondas, Fords and many other brands with cruise activated. THEY ALL SHIFTED BY ITSELF. What other way would you make the car keeping a certain speed if it is going uphill other than downshift?

    He/she should read the manual first before complaining on a public board to send out false information.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    If I had lousy service from DARCARS 355 Toyota (which I did, by the way), I would go elsewhere for any future visits, which I plan to do, if needed.

    I'd also rate them accordingly in the surveys, which I did. Hopefully Toyota can make use of this feedback in the long run.

    My van is problem-free, fortunately.

    If I was not happy with the way cruise worked in certain conditions I'd avoid using it in those conditions.

    Hesitation - there's a well documented mod for the V6 models. Simple, too.

    That leaves the 6 speed transmission as the only serious/outstanding issue mentioned so far, to be honest. My van has the 5 speed, so it is not affected.

    I would do what I mentioned earlier - I would red flag this issue and follow updates closely. I'm sure once Toyota's regional techs get involved they'll come up with a solution (likely a TSB).

    Then I would search for a better Toyota dealer near me, fortunately there are about 7.3 billion Toyota dealers in the DC region, 3 within a stones' throw of my house.
  • larsblarsb Member Posts: 8,204
    First of all:

    Something is maybe suspicious about that poster, Gary.

    He posted once in June 2006 and never posted another time until his latest "complaint."

    Secondly:

    Do you REALLY NOT UNDERSTAND that you can't take a few owner complaints and using that anecdotal data, dismiss the whole car?

    What about the dozens of thousands of owners like me who LOVE their 2007 Camry? Are those opinions to be given less credence than the opinions of a few complainers?

    If there were "major problems" with the 2007 Camry, would there not be a correspondingly "major long list of recalls?"

    I will never understand your hatred of Toyota, and lucky for all the tens of millions of happy Toyota customers worldwide, it's not based on fact but merely on opinion.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    That is what a Troll does, drop in once in a long while and leave a bomb like that.

    Have any long-term Edmunds regulars been affected? That would certainly carry more merit.

    I'm not saying there aren't issues with some of the 6 speeds, I'm sure there are. It just may not be as widespread and some people think.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    The reports I'm hearing through the grapevine is that owners are continuing to complain about 07 Camry transmission issues and many think Toyota's response is unsatisfactory. (2007 Toyota Camry Problems and Repairs)

    Often a good dealer can mitigate car problems and can even make a lemon owner happy, but the manufacturer has only so many strings to pull to convince their dealers to go that extra mile.
  • user777user777 Member Posts: 3,341
    That Camry owner complained about the cruise is an idiot. I am sorry about the name calling but there is just no other terms to put it.

    no, i believe the person is a vehicle owner like you and i with expectations that using cruise shouldn't be an experience with un-necessary, or better stated, excessive shifting. MAYBE the vehicle's current gearing, torque convertor design and engine HP are fundamentally incompatible in this regard.

    this person is not the only person to complain about shifting issues and specifically cruise control.

    yes, i own an I4 and V6 Honda and they will shift on a sloping grade, but neither excessively.

    THEY ALL SHIFTED BY ITSELF. What other way would you make the car keeping a certain speed if it is going uphill other than downshift?

    excuse me, but there are going to be some readers of your post that are going to see that you are stating the obvious, and you're probably missing the poster's point.

    but no one is going to call you an idiot (unless they just want to prove me wrong for the sake of doing so).

    try to think WHY a person would complain about a behavior... it's most likely because their new vehicle does something or doesn't do something all their other vehicles, maybe even a previous gen toyota camry didn't or did do respectively. :)
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    Something is maybe suspicious about that poster, Gary.

    Fair enough. How about the others that have had the hesitation problem? If you noticed in the in the review I posted from one of the millions of happy 2007 Camry owners. His take was, the hesitation did not bother him. Kind of like all the squeaks, thumps and rattles do not bother you. That does not make it less of a problem to those it does bother. The Cruise shifting, does sound questionable. I don't like cruise in mountainous regions for that reason.

    Hate is kind of a strong word to use toward a mere automaker. If they built something I liked I would buy it. Same goes for Honda. I just try to keep a balance with all the GM bashers that believe so strongly that the Japanese are superior vehicle builders. All cars have problems. It is good to see that Toyota is being tested like never before.
  • larsblarsb Member Posts: 8,204
    Gary says, "Kind of like all the squeaks, thumps and rattles do not bother you."

    I think maybe you have the wrong idea about my car.

    I don't have any noticeable squeaks, bumps or rattles.

    It's not that I'm ignoring them.

    It's that they don't exist.


    But if they DID exist, I would not be marching into the dealer demanding a replacement car.

    To my knowledge, there are no $27,000 cars which are completely "bump, squeak, and rattle-free" 100% of the time.

    Condemning an automobile manufacturer because they did not invent a bank-vault silent car for under $30K is kind of silly.

    The 2007 Camry "hesitation problem" has apparently generated at least one TSB that is supposed to resolve the hesitation issue: TSB #EG056-56. That is the only TSB reported at NHTSA.GOV for the 2007 Camry transmission hesistation issue.

    There are 84 owner complaints at NTHSA for the tranny issues. Most are the hesitation thing. It appears to really be an issue for some owners.

    But let's frame it relatively to the number of cars sold now: That's 84 complaints out of 324,000+ cars sold. So for every 3,857 cars sold, one of them has a problem.

    Seems like a pretty small issue. I'm sure the people who are having it happen to THEM don't think it's a small issue, but relative to number of cars sold, it really is.

    PS Maybe I'm spoiled, because there are only 9 complaints about the 2007 TCH. I musta chose the right car !!! LOL
  • 210delray210delray Member Posts: 4,721
    My reaction about the excessive shifting on upgrades is that people are expecting too much. Conversely, they fret that the car overspeeds on downgrades.

    Maybe they're coming from a 4-speed or even a 3-speed automatic (the Neon used the latter through the 90s as I recall). So if you have a 5-speed auto coupled to a relatively low horsepower 4-cylinder (say 160 these days), the car will downshift to 4th or even 3rd on steeper Interstate grades in the Appalachians, close to where I live. The New River Gorge on I-64 in West Virginia is an example, featuring as I recall, at least a 6% grade over 5 miles.

    The way I handle this is simple: I use cruise on the flatter stretches, but on steeper upgrades, I always hit the "cancel" button and use my right foot to modulate the road speed. Generally I can keep the car from downshifting to 3rd. When the road flattens out again, I accelerate using my foot, and then hit "resume." For long downgrades, OTOH, I downshift manually to 4th, and keep the cruise on. Works pretty well for me.
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    PS Maybe I'm spoiled, because there are only 9 complaints about the 2007 TCH. I musta chose the right car !!! LOL

    I think you did. The only complaints I have read are the noise issues. Which as you have pointed out has a lot to do with how quiet the car is in stealth mode.

    I do think you are defending the wrong side on the hesitation issue. Even people that have given it a "10" noticed the hesitation and just live with it. Many people have no idea what a good car car is. If they got rid of an Echo and jumped into a new Camry they would be thrilled. If you decided to downsize from an LS430 to a 2007 Camry you would probably be upset with the QC.
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,014
    Condemning an automobile manufacturer because they did not invent a bank-vault silent car for under $30K is kind of silly.

    Well you could buy a VW Passat or a Buick to get that kind of silent bank-vault experience. ;)

    So what is the latest "GLITCH" going on with Toyota, these days ????? I'm out of the loop !!!! I will assume they haven't addressed the Sludge & Tranny issues yet ?

    -Rocky
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    The sludgers are all recycled into 6 speed transmissions that are not ready for prime time.. :shades: The 2007 Camry lurches, hesitates and generally does not show a sophistication that Toyota Camry owners are accustomed to having. Other than that it is ugly.
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,014
    So why don't ya tell us how you really feel. :P

    Well those issues are a direct result of "OPERATOR ERROR" :blush:

    -Rocky
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    Just keepin' the GM bashers on their toes over here. I think they got the bugs outta the Tundra so it isn't much fun except the $7000 in rebates, incentives and low interest to sell them.
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,014
    Yeah, it just proves to the world that everything toyota, touches doesn't neccessary turn to gold.-grin :P

    -Rocky
  • mackabeemackabee Member Posts: 4,709
    What is really strange is that the cruise control in the current Camry has not changed an iota from the previous two or three generations so why is it that there is a "problem" with this generation Camry? I think it's the old adage when someone is on top be an athlete, a team, or a company, there is always someone trying to knock it down. Get over it people! The cruise control works as it's supposed to work.
    Mackabee
  • mackabeemackabee Member Posts: 4,709
    Where in the USA are they offering $7000 rebates? I'd like to know so I can buy me one of them Tundras!
    :P
  • mcdawggmcdawgg Member Posts: 1,722
    "I think it's the old adage when someone is on top be an athlete, a team, or a company, there is always someone trying to knock it down"

    Very true. It's a shame, there are so many other things in life to focus on.

    My cruise is fine, although I do have a '07 CE manual transmission, which was assembled in Kentucky with 75% North American part content. I fail to see the problem with the cruise on the automatics, and I did drive one.

    By the way, I have 0 complaints about mine, and I am very picky about my cars.
  • anythngbutgmanythngbutgm Member Posts: 4,277
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    The programming of the the automatic transmission in the XR is atrocious, and borderline dangerous. I've almost been rear-ended on 3 separate occasions, and, in another instance broadsided, on uphill climbs b/c of the transmission's stubborn refusal to downshift when the accelerator pedal is depressed. It appears to me that the transmission is almost always running 2 gears too high in most driving conditions and the accelerator's and transmission's response to input is between .25 and .5 second too slow.

    In manual mode, this is not an issue, and I find the transmission responds quickly and smoothly to the paddles and accelerator.


    And steering problems...

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    Just want to keep the Toyota haters on their toes ;)
  • 210delray210delray Member Posts: 4,721
    From a Buick Enclave review:

    The Enclave’s six-speed automatic transmission is a step ahead of standard GM fare, but the gearbox serves-up early upshifts and late downshifts, with a heavy side of throttle lag. You can take matters into your own hands with shift lever-mounted buttons, but chances are you won’t.

    So can wwest be right -- that this is a widespread issue, under the "right" conditions and depending on the driver's expectations?

    Oh and Rocky, welcome back!
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    84 complaints out of 324,000+ cars sold

    Good point. That's really not bad at all.

    Where in the USA are they offering $7000 rebates? I'd like to know so I can buy me one of them Tundras!

    Same here, tell me where I can get a $7000 rebate and I'm in, and I don't even like trucks! :D

    Hesitation - I think this is mostly a matter of expectations. Toyota made a trade-off here, for more quiet operation they created a two-stage intake. At low rpm, under less than half throttle, only one path is open. This way there is less noise.

    Above a certain rpm, or when the throttle is open more than halfway (i.e. you floor it), the 2nd intake path opens for max power (and more noise).

    Toyota felt that the average Camry buyer wanted isolation and quiet, so this is the trade-off.

    To be fair, this is something that occurs all the time, including on the test drive the buyer took, presumably. It's not like Toyota tunes it for max power and then flicks a switch to make it more quiet when you drive off the lot.

    This link details the intake, and how you can rig it to remain open (both paths) all the time. Just be prepared for more noise.

    http://www.angelfire.com/ky3/gabby/intake_mod.htm

    Here is a good photo:

    image

    Note that this applies to both the 3MZ and 2GR engines.

    So why the hesitation? You floor it, a vacuum has to be established, that opens the 2nd intake path. Until that happens it's not making full power.

    Pretty simple explanation. The lesson here is TAKE A GOOD TEST DRIVE, because anyone with half a brain can feel how the engine works during that test.
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    Same here, tell me where I can get a $7000 rebate and I'm in, and I don't even like trucks!

    MSRP on loaded Crew Max $48,540. Sale price without rebate in San Diego $46,145. Discounted $2395. Normal interest 7.25%. Toyota offering 0.0% four years. Interest savings $5241. You add those two and you get a grand total savings of $7636. Very simple. Toyota is discounting the Tundra by OVER $7000 to unload them.....

    You did ask! :) Send me a pic of you in your new Tundra...
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    PS
    If you don't want the 0.0% interest they will knock off another $2500.
  • louisweilouiswei Member Posts: 3,715
    If I buy the Tundra outright with cash then I am not getting that $5,241 right? Also, if I want to finance through more than 4 years I also don't get that $5,241 correct?

    You can't assume 0% financing is the same as cash rebates. Also, dealer discount doesn't count either. We are talking about "manufacture rebate" here. Last I checked, those on the Tundra is about $3,000.

    Let's compare apples to apples here and stick with the facts. All these spins is getting really old...
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Absent a major new recall, let's put this one on the shelf for a little while and see if some moss grows on it or not.
This discussion has been closed.