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Comments
(had to blow off that steam!)
BTW it is a well documented fact --the quality of the Canadian Toyota plant is far above that of its American counterpart.
Heck, my '90 Taurus I had for 10 years and 98K before I sold it. It never had one rattle in all that time. Toyota zealots may find it hard to believe, but it is my true experience.
Get a loaded Taurus SES or SEL new with 24 valve Duratec V-6 for around $17-$19K, save a lot of money and wave your rattletrap Toyota goodby.
"BTW it is a well documented fact --the quality of the Canadian Toyota plant is far above that of its American counterpart."
The above quotes imply that some type of quality measurements are available for Toyota's Japanese, Canadian, and American plants. I would be very interested in knowing these numbers.
rubicon: JD Power has given awards for build quality to the plant in Cambridge Ontario, as well as several other plants in North America, including a runner-up award to NUMMI in Fremont, CA, which builds corollas, and Tacomas, as well as the Pontiac Vibe.
Toyota must rate the Cambridge plant highest among factories in foreign countries (foreign to japan that is!) since they have chosen it to build the first lexus ever to be built outside Japan. (the RX330 - production just began last week)
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
The Cambridge plant--next to home plants rate higher in quality, productivity, more manageable work force etc. than the other non home plants.
Fact is all manufacturers have had and will have some issues cropping up from time to time, for example Toyota's sludge problems, Honda's transmission problems, etc.
I am not trying to tell anyone that any particular manufacturer walks on water, just to point out there are many alternatives to Camry, Taurus being one, that have been strongly improving in reliability as well as build quality, and they can be purchased new for many thousands less, comparably equipped. And, based on my admittedly small sample of two Tauri purchased ten years apart, rattle free, with zero transmission and engine problems.
My taurus rattles like crazy whenever it hit a bump, sometimes I think the radio could drop. It is a design issue, because it seats 6 and there is no support under the panel. The taurus idles very loud compared to Camry which is hard to hear anything until it is moving. The taurus had a blown gasket on its first owner, if it happens to me anytime, I will trash it and buy another car. All in all, camry is better. It is better designed, it has better power even with I4 instead of 3.8 V6 and higher MPG. If it does not rattle, it could be perfect for 18,500 with LE trim. It does has almost everything I desired except heated mirror and ABS.
One thing is certain, Ford is not nearly as bad as loyal Toyota/Honda owners make it and Toyota is not quite as 'perfect' as the same loyal Toyota owners tend to protray their cars. My guess is that the Toyota owners have a bit more pride in there cars (?) and are just more defensive.
Time will tell...
Call me the one of last of the "old fashioned" holdouts, but I will stick with Taurus and likely whatever it's Ford successors are until I personally experience significant reliability issues. As long as there are good (and less expensive) cars that have their origins in fully US owned companies, designed by US engineers, built by US workers and containing over 90% US built components as Taurus is, I prefer keeping as much of the dollars I spend supporting the US economy.
Ok, I am getting off my soapbox. In your shoes, I would keep after your dealership and Toyota to get your rattles fixed under warranty. While rattles may be considered minor, I find them to be very annoying, as they are a constant, incessant, irritating reminder of a flaw and if not fixed, you get a reminder of the problem nearly every minute you are driving.
Also, nothing wrong about complaining about Toyota build quality. In my own post I stated that I thought Toyota build quality had declined and cited 3 examples on my own Toyota.
I sense that you're looking to make the case that Ford reliability is now equal or better than Toyota reliability. Again, going back to the CR 2002 car issue, in 14 categories of vehicles (small cars, family cars, large cars, etc.) Toyota is number one in 7 of 14 categories (Infiniti is second with 3). Ford is number one in 0 of 14 categories. Still looks like day and night to me.
Basically, Toyotas have ranged from average reliability to much better than average reliability. Fords range from much worse than average reliability to average reliability. In other words, the least reliable Toyotas are equal to the most reliable Fords.
I am done posting on this board, back to Camry rattles issues only. Andrelaplume, good luck. I hope you get the rattles resolved.
I did not mean to offend any Ford buyers. I truely wish they would get their act together on all there cars...ironically my experience was Ford was making strikes in just the area the Camry is failing...body integrity and plastics, etc....they really need to get mechanical side in order though. Again I am not picking on the Taurus, considered by most to be close to an average performer. Note however it's replacement is not out yet and new releases have not been favorable lately.
I have a 95 Camry and a 01 Solara. In terms of 1995 dollars both cars cost the same. However, the Solara has thousands of dollars of features that my Camry doesn't (leather seats, alloy wheels, auto climate control, power drivers seat, CD player, JBL sound system, auto dimming mirror). Because both cars cost the same, but the Solara has many more features, I contend that Toyotas have gotten cheaper. However, I also think the build quality is not as good in the Solara - a few pieces of misaligned interior trim and a rattle or two.
There is no doubt in my mind that the vast majority of Toyota buyers would be willing to live with a little less build quality to gain lots of features. I know this and Toyota, Honda, and Mercedes Benz know this. As I said before, I wonder how many Toyota buyers could even detect misaligned trim. The nice thing about Toyota Motor Corp is that if you want the great build quality AND the extra features and are willing to pay more, they offer it in Lexus.
I have a 2002 SE 4 Cyl that I have had since Dec 31, 2001. It has 24,000 miles and it developed a similiar rattle in the right front strut at the 20,000 mile mark. I was on my way out of town for a long road trip, and by the time I got back to town, I noticed that the front strut on the left side was starting to make the same noise. So, I made an appointment and my dealer looked at it the next morning. It turns out that there is now a TSB for this problem. It is a 2003 TSB and they referenced it on my work order. (sorry I don't have that at the moment) Anyway, the problem is that the strut tower bolts need to be re-torqued. I am glad to report that it works. If you have this issue, see your dealer, they should be aware of it by now. I'll post the TSB number tomorrow.
Hope this helps.
Jayme
I was told to see if it is a vaccuum hose or possibly a sensor. I am going to check tomorrow.
Could be you have a bad sensor or hose causing a rough idle? But then it would idle rough all the time most likely.
Does it ever feel like it is going to stall sitting with drive gear engaged waiting at a light?
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
My tach is right around 750 rpm, manufacturers recommended idle speed. Although sometimes it drops below and the vibrations are rough.
If it still idles roughly when you put it in neutral, there are many possibilities, from needing a really thorough tune-up to dirty fuel injectors, dirty throttle body, bad wires, bad vacuum hose somewhere...and on and on...
If it idles roughly all the time, a mechanic will be able to diagnose a vacuum leak easily, whereas you will not. If it has been a long time, you could do a complete tune-up and see if it improves. Or, if it is not actually stalling, you could just leave it for now until it gets worse. But in that case, watch your fuel mileage - depending on what is causing it, you may see a substantial drop.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
'02 SE had a rattle that seemed to be behind the glovebox. My dealer was able to fix it by retorquing the strut bolts. The TSB number is SU001-03. If anyone knows of TSB fixes for any other rattle issues please post them. I am having an intermittent rattle on the driver's side where the seatbelt mounts to the side pillar.
Thanks in advance for any help.
Jayme
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
I did learn something interesting: not all known issues result in TSBs. Toyota maintains a support hotline that techs can call into for help with specific issues, including hard-to-find rattles.
To anyone in the Boise area, I would highly recommend Peterson Toyota; as they went above and beyond my expectations by losing money on a warranty repair for somebody who hadn't even bought the car from them. I'll certainly know where to go when it's time for another car.
Now all I can hear is the rattling in the door pillars, I also went for a ride in the car and the Toyota Rep said it was from the seat belt adjustment. The qoute was "Any moving,adjusting part is bound to make some noise." Funny, my old 98 camry and current 98 tacoma never made that noise.
Anyway, has anyone had success in getting the noise in the pillars repaired. I just need to know what it is to let my local dealer know or else they will just give me the run around, AGAIN.
The dealers don't design or build cars, but they do get paid to do warranty work--so I'd say keep taking it back... and be polite. On the other hand it's such a nuisance to drop the car off, be late for work, have to bum a ride later, etc., that I avoid it like the plague myself.
I'm going to take apart the B pillars this weekend, and I'll report anything I find...
This dash rattle...whenever it's below about 35 degrees my door pillar rattle goes away and my dash emits this annoying rattle. It seems to be centered back from the steering wheel perhaps up by the window. It almost sounds like two pieces of plastic that 'stick' together then release. I thought it might be loose trim where the defroster air comes out but I can not grab the right spot to make the noise go away so I guess it is somewhere in the dash... Was this what yours rattle sounded like? Did yours occur only in the frigid weather? I know many folks think us nitpicking but believe me I had a high tolerance for rattles (I owned a Ford) but these dash noise and the door pillar rattles are simply emabarasing!
My dash rattle was fairly high pitched, like hard plastic or metal. (As I mentioned, it turned out to be metal on metal from a bad spot weld). Also, it was there all the time, just changed pitch a little with the temperature.
I was hesitant to let others take it apart, because the first time I took it to the shop they broke a piece of plastic and stripped a screw which I discovered when I installed my new stereo. Finally, after not being able to fix it myself, I was less concerned. Looking back, I think taking it to a dealer should be the first course of action. Tell them that you want a slow day when they'll have time to really look at it.
I could give you advice about how to look for it, but in the end it's very difficult to find unless you have a way to vibrate the car. The dealers have a device they use while driving--a bunch of selectable microphones with earphones. They change the switch to differnt pickups while driving to help zero in on the noise.
I guess you could remove the left vent and the radio trim ring and drive around for a couple of days and see if you can hear any better where it's coming from. (I think I did things like this for weeks at a time--my girlfriend was quite amused to see me driving my new $23K car around like that...)
I just purchased a beige Camry LE4 at the end of February, and have less than 400 miles on the odo. I am loving this car!! I will say, however, that I have been hearing almost on a daily basis what appears to sound like plastic "snapping." It's seems to be coming from the passenger side door area, and is very intermittent. In fact, I've only heard it during my morning commute to work. Indianapolis has experienced a fairly wide range of temps lately, so I don't know if that has anything to do with it. I don't recall hearing anything the other day when it hit the low 60s...
We have a 2000 Solara built in Canada. More rattles than a nursery ward. No joking! Dealer never has been able to fix them. The JBL sound system cannot even overcome them. Even at full volume.
So country of origin will not necessarily get you a trouble-free car. I'm sure Canada produces many fine Solaras and other cars.
Good cars from Canada? After giving us Peter Jennings, Pamela Anderson, Alanis Morrissette and Celine Dion, I think they owe us something of decent quality. (I guarantee you that some uptight Canadians will take that seriously and get all defensive! We actually like Canada. At least it's not France...)
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
After hours of service at two different dealers,
the rattles remain: on dash close to windshield
and in both front doors. The noise from the doors
seems to be emanating from "loose" windows.
Am I condemned to this for the life of the car?
Any suggestions?
In message 145 from 02camryseowner he said he was going to take his pillars apart to find the noise but has never commented back. Hopefully he will soon.
I am going to take my car to the dealer some time this week. Will they do anything, I doubt it, but I will bug them until I see the district Rep, again. It is sad that the district Rep and I are on a first name basis. I never thought this would happen in a Toyota. TO bad honda dealers are idiots or I would have traded mine in on a CRV a long time ago.
anyways, when do you guys hear the rattles? over minor bumps or on very rough pavement? I know for some of you they developed later on, hopefully they fixed the problem on the '03 camrys. When you get your cars serviced can you bring your car to any toyota dealer or do you have to bring it to the one you bought it at?