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Toyota Camry: Problems & Solutions

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Comments

  • paul29paul29 Member Posts: 178
    The Celica was owned by another family member , the others mine. All shop manuals were purchased from Toyota direct except 4 Runner (dealer) . All were reasonably priced IMO except for the 02 Camry.
  • rangerwillierangerwillie Member Posts: 59
    I thought ECM was main central computer and ECU just controlled ignition? Are they actually the same thing?

    Oh well. I am generally lost when it comes to most sensors and sending units anyway. Coolant temp. sensor (ECT?) and oil pressure I am ok with. Start talking MAP, MAF, O2, etc. and it's all greek.

    I know far less about the computer in my car than the one on my desk :)
  • rangerwillierangerwillie Member Posts: 59
    Do you remember about how much they were?

    I'd love to know, so I could find out how much they're trying to overcharge me at the local Toyota dealer when I ask :)

    They wanted $1070 (or some such) to do all 4 struts on my car. The most anyone else in town wanted was $700. I ended up doing the fronts myself. Both struts cost me $95 (incl. tax). The spring compressor tool I borrowed free from autozone- took about 2 hrs (w/ friend). Alignment afterwards was $50. Haven't done the backs yet (the ride feels so good now I can't make myself do it). They don't look any harder to do, though you do have to remove the rear speaker shelf.
  • andrelaplumeandrelaplume Member Posts: 934
    I too have that dash rattle...sounds like something in back of the radio. At my first oil change in a few weeks I am having them pull it and see what's up. I also have rattles at ears height in the door area on both passenger and drivers side.....very sad for such a supposedly high quality car.
  • paul29paul29 Member Posts: 178
    The manuals vary in price as there can be up to five manuals per platform. You can order direct from Toyota at 1-800-622-2033 in Ca . It is better if you decide which ones you need before calling ie. engine , chassis , electrical , diagnostic , transmission etc ( "normally" you would only need the first two or three for most DIY repairs ). I warn you that they are more expensive than Haynes or Chilton but are much more comprehensive and specific and you have to have more than just a passing interest in your vehicle to justify the cost . Good luck
  • rangerwillierangerwillie Member Posts: 59
    Thanks very much. I would definitely like to have something more in depth than Chiltons. But don't feel the cost would be justified for my Camry, since I probably won't keep it for more than another year or two. Next new car, I will look into this.
  • alexhhoalexhho Member Posts: 5
    I have a 00 V6 Solara, and don't want to mess around with stock items. I'm just wondering if by adding a front strut brace or a rear sway bar or both would increase the car's handling significantly? And does it matter what brands of bars? Any recommendations and where to get the parts? Thank you for your time.

    Alex
    alexhho@yahoo.com
  • 2002camry2002camry Member Posts: 20
    I have the exact same rattle somewhere in my dash. When you find out please post the results. Good news about the wind noise I frequently hear at ear level near the shoulder belt adjustment. It turns out my window isn't shutting properly and is ajar ever so slightly. The window, and electric regulator needs to be replaced according to the dealership. Now that I have the seat rattle taken care of, and the wind noise solved, I just have the dash rattle left.
  • etcbetcb Member Posts: 42
    Does anyone know when Toyota made changes to the V6 to stop the sludge problem. I just purchaced a 2002 Camry made Aril 02 with a 1MF-FE engine. All I've read says the problem engines were 1MF V6 made before July 2001. Am I out of the woods?
  • armtdmarmtdm Member Posts: 2,057
    toyota revised the PCV system I believe or in that area but many people do not feel that this is the problem. The problem appears to be that these engines just beat up the oil and Toyota (for marketing/competition reasons) refuses to change its owners manual to reflect that shorter oil changes are necessary, like 3000 severe and 5000 normal.They just will not change the manual and people that go the 7500 miles as noted in the current manual are the ones most likely to incur problems with sludge.
  • 8u6hfd8u6hfd Member Posts: 1,391
    Have you tried taking your car to the auto repair garage that is on Fort Bragg?

    A friend of mine who is stationed at Bragg tells me car dealership around Ft Bragg will rip people off badly.

    Now I'm back in Jersey from my trip to Ft Bragg
  • 8u6hfd8u6hfd Member Posts: 1,391
    michaelm10: It's fine. It's standard manufacturer statement regarding aftermarket rims. From the factory, whether you get a Camry or some other Toyota with steelie or alloys, all they do is swap rims. It's just there for legal reasons.

    A full size steel rim is still better than a donut, where with donuts you get a speed limitation and how many miles you can drive with it on, lowers the car approximately 1", adversedly affects handling, etc.

    hfgrant47: I'd start looking into the distributor components: ignition module (coil) and the pickup assembly, basically the electronic components of the distributor
  • rangerwillierangerwillie Member Posts: 59
    My Camry blew a head gasket last week. My mechanic figured it was gasket failure and not an overheating issue since such a large leak was present. He estimated it would be about $1100 after machining and everything. Does this sound reasonable?

    If it is that much I'm not sure I will fix it. It is a '90 with 94,400 miles on it. Relatively low miles, so I'm mad this happened. But it is getting old, and I'm not sure it is worth the money- just makes me angry to lose a head gasket under 100,000. Any guesses how much it would sell for used? Trade in?
  • 8u6hfd8u6hfd Member Posts: 1,391
    Look into the cost of a rebuilt engine...it may be slightly more than going in, and doing all this machining work.

    Trade-in...or selling, with a blown head gasket, you won't get much out of it.

    Use the Edmunds TMV function to figure out the value of your car.
  • ralpiralpi Member Posts: 26
    2002camry: thanks for the info on your rattle. I would like to investigate this solution on my car, as well. Do you know exactly what the dealer did to the passenger seat? Possibly it is something I can fix on my own. Thanks!
  • dannyraydannyray Member Posts: 2
    I have recently seen a notice from Toyota about a oil jelling problem. Can anyone tell me what this is? I have bought a 1999 Camry 4cylinder back in July, and would like to know if this is the same problem I had with the sludge and foaming I had in my 90 Camry. I thought at the time it was a pvc problem or a leaking head gasket. But I changed the brand of oil I used and continued a changed every 3000 miles and didn't have much problems after that. The car is still on the road with about 200,000 miles on it. If this is a new problem, has anyone been seeing it.
  • juzefjuzef Member Posts: 37
    Hello all,

    Some of you may know me. Over the past two years or so, I've posted my Toyota experience on this site. It's been a while so here's another update.

    First let me say, I love my Camry but as of now, it is not without flaws. I have a 2000 Camry V6 XLE with moonroof and leather. Currently I have 116,000 miles on the car which is alot, but they are mostly highway miles. I've had regular maintaince and oil changes.

    Here's the current status of my car.

    Problems:
    1.) Car shakes when applying brakes on Highway while traveling high speeds (70-80mph). I'm a gentle driver, especially with brakes. For example, I had my brakes changed @100K miles and there were still plenty of thinkness left on the pads. The car was shaking in a similar manner before the brake change but went away after I had the rotars cut and new pads. Recently, after about 3months after the brake change, the car is starting to shake again while braking on HW. I rotated and balance the wheels, with no help. Don't know what to do at this point. I'm afraid this is gonna cost alot of $$$ to fix. I'm inclined to live with the shaking, but it gets me nervous.

    2.) Check Engine Light & Traction Control Light
    - These lights came on at the same time roughly
    a few weeks after the car started to shake. I took the car to a Toyota Dealership. They wanted $70 JUST TO PUT IT ON THE COMPUTER! And they wouldn't apply this to the cost of fixing whatever is causing such a problem. So I took the car to AutoZone..and they put it on the computer for FREE!..turns out the ERG sensor or something related to emissions. Which reminds me of why Bob Ciasulli's Dealership for Service SUCKS..I'll explain further down.

    3.) My 'in-dash-6-CD/Cassette player' Doesn't accept CD's. Infact, this occured about a year ago. Doesn't that SUCK??..believe it or not, this in-dash 6-CD unit costs nearly $1000 to be replayced and the Dealership refused to look at it at the time since I just exceeded the warantee. Well, I'm living without it for now but unhappy about it.

    That's about it. What I'm really worried about is the shaking while driving..if anyone knows about this..please respond.

    Now, let me describe the nightmareish experience I had at Bob Ciasulli's Toyota Dealership on Rt 46 around 1-2 months ago. I hope the whole WORLD including Bob-Ciasulli sees this! A few months ago, I was pulled over for a flash road inspection. Turns out I was late for inspection. Anway to my surprise, I failed the emission's test. I couldn't believe that my 2000 Camry would fail emissions. Hesitantly, I took it to Bob Ciasulli. I hesitated since I had a chilling experience two years earlier with their sales department. I won't go there here. I thought, that their service department would be different. BOY WAS I WRONG!!!

    The service guy was called Danny I believe, a FAST speaking and very impolite gentleman. I'm mentioning his first name only, but this guy was something else..totally disrespecting me as I will now explain. I took the car to him and told him, I failed inspection and that I need to be inspected. He told me he could not inspect my car but he handles failed inspections all the time and was sure he could get my car to pass inspection. He ASKED me if I had the inspection paper work he had to fill out. Turns out I forgot that at home. I told him, after he fixed my car, I'd go home and get the paperwork and bring it back for him to fill out. After putting it on the computer, he suggested some service including changing the spark plugs and wires as well as some sort of cleaning service all of which would cost around $500. Fine..the cost wasn't the problem even though I felt it was too high..I just wanted to get my car to pass inspection and get on my way. So I went home, got the paper work and returned to the dealership and asked Danny to fill out my paper work. He told refused saying No No..I didn't have to fill that out..just use my Receipt which had all the information for the Moter Vehicles EVEN when the paperwork said that the STATE of NJ mandated that the person who did the repairs MUST fill it out. He refused to fill out the paper work and told me to use the reciept..I was irritated but fine..I went to the department of moter vehicles and waited in the small line..since it was still early. When it was my turn, they asked for the paper work and I showed them the reciept. They told me I MUST have the dealer fill out the paper work and refused to check my car. I was bent at this point. I drove back to the dealership and told Danny to FILL out the paper work politely. He resisted but finally agreed to fill it out with a nasty attitude proclaiming the Moter Vehicles and not HIM was giving me a hard time. He quickly SCRIBLED ALL over the document in such a way, my 3 year old God Son could have done a neater job! Fine, he filled it out OK..I left and went back to the dealership..and the line as 3 times as large as last time..taking about 45-1hour for me to get to the inspectors. They looked at the document and they guy said 'What is this??' They couldn't read it! They told me it was incorrectly filled out and unreadable and that the guy who filled it out is 'busting my balls', pardon the language. Anyway..Now I was really upset. The inspector, knowing this was now my 2nd Time at the inspection line, further did some checking and said that that Toyota Dealership is not even Authorized to do any work on my car to fix the emissions problems. At these facts I was furious. He said it would be better for me to do the work myself! They turned me away..and I returned very upset to the Dealership and demanded to speak to his manager. Danny boy sends for a manager. The Manager who came didn't care the least for what just happened to me. Infact, he agreed totally with Danny boy that the Motor Vehicles were just busting MY balls! I told the manager that Toyota is not even authorized to do inspection fixes in the state of NJ. I asked him WHY did Danny boy NOT fill out the paper work at first, and then very sloppilly, when He himself told me he had to fill them out before I even started the work. I wondered whether or not Danny boy or even the management knew that they weren't authorized to do work on inspection failures.

    In the end, I filled out the document as if I did the work myself. I went back to the inspection station where I promply waited 2 hours before being inspected. Guess what the kicker here is..the guy who did the inspection said that my car NEVER really failed emissions in the first place and that the police erroneously made their
    quick inspection of my emissions 'under no load', and the test should have been done WITH a load.
    Infact, my emissions numbers were EXACTLY the same NOW after spending around $500 as they were during the time the erroneous test was made a week earlier!

    Anyway..that was my experience. The bottom line is..the current
  • 8u6hfd8u6hfd Member Posts: 1,391
    The rotors are warped

    I've always had the same exact problem on my old 88 V6. I eventually lived with it.

    and your story....which is why I work on my car myself.
  • juzefjuzef Member Posts: 37
    Hello all,

    Some of you may know me. Over the past two years or so, I've posted my Toyota experience on this site. It's been a while so here's another update.

    First let me say, I love my Camry but as of now, it is not without flaws. I have a 2000 Camry V6 XLE with moonroof and leather. Currently I have 116,000 miles on the car which is alot, but they are mostly highway miles. I've had regular maintaince and oil changes.

    Here's the current status of my car.

    Problems:
    1.) Car shakes when applying brakes on Highway while traveling high speeds (70-80mph). I'm a gentle driver, especially with brakes. For example, I had my brakes changed @100K miles and there were still plenty of thinkness left on the pads. The car was shaking in a similar manner before the brake change but went away after I had the rotars cut and new pads. Recently, after about 3months after the brake change, the car is starting to shake again while braking on HW. I rotated and balance the wheels, with no help. Don't know what to do at this point. I'm afraid this is gonna cost alot of $$$ to fix. I'm inclined to live with the shaking, but it gets me nervous.

    2.) Check Engine Light & Traction Control Light
    - These lights came on at the same time roughly
    a few weeks after the car started to shake. I took the car to a Toyota Dealership. They wanted $70 JUST TO PUT IT ON THE COMPUTER! And they wouldn't apply this to the cost of fixing whatever is causing such a problem. So I took the car to AutoZone..and they put it on the computer for FREE!..turns out the ERG sensor or something related to emissions. Which reminds me of why Bob Ciasulli's Dealership for Service SUCKS..I'll explain further down.

    3.) My 'in-dash-6-CD/Cassette player' Doesn't accept CD's. Infact, this occured about a year ago. Doesn't that SUCK??..believe it or not, this in-dash 6-CD unit costs nearly $1000 to be replayced and the Dealership refused to look at it at the time since I just exceeded the warantee. Well, I'm living without it for now but unhappy about it.

    That's about it. What I'm really worried about is the shaking while driving..if anyone knows about this..please respond.

    Now, let me describe the nightmareish experience I had at Bob Ciasulli's Toyota Dealership on Rt 46 around 1-2 months ago. I hope the whole WORLD including Bob-Ciasulli sees this! A few months ago, I was pulled over for a flash road inspection. Turns out I was late for inspection. Anway to my surprise, I failed the emission's test. I couldn't believe that my 2000 Camry would fail emissions. Hesitantly, I took it to Bob Ciasulli. I hesitated since I had a chilling experience two years earlier with their sales department. I won't go there here. I thought, that their service department would be different. BOY WAS I WRONG!!!

    The service guy was called Danny I believe, a FAST speaking and very impolite gentleman. I'm mentioning his first name only, but this guy was something else..totally disrespecting me as I will now explain. I took the car to him and told him, I failed inspection and that I need to be inspected. He told me he could not inspect my car but he handles failed inspections all the time and was sure he could get my car to pass inspection. He ASKED me if I had the inspection paper work he had to fill out. Turns out I forgot that at home. I told him, after he fixed my car, I'd go home and get the paperwork and bring it back for him to fill out. After putting it on the computer, he suggested some service including changing the spark plugs and wires as well as some sort of cleaning service all of which would cost around $500. Fine..the cost wasn't the problem even though I felt it was too high..I just wanted to get my car to pass inspection and get on my way. So I went home, got the paper work and returned to the dealership and asked Danny to fill out my paper work. He told refused saying No No..I didn't have to fill that out..just use my Receipt which had all the information for the Moter Vehicles EVEN when the paperwork said that the STATE of NJ mandated that the person who did the repairs MUST fill it out. He refused to fill out the paper work and told me to use the reciept..I was irritated but fine..I went to the department of moter vehicles and waited in the small line..since it was still early. When it was my turn, they asked for the paper work and I showed them the reciept. They told me I MUST have the dealer fill out the paper work and refused to check my car. I was bent at this point. I drove back to the dealership and told Danny to FILL out the paper work politely. He resisted but finally agreed to fill it out with a nasty attitude proclaiming the Moter Vehicles and not HIM was giving me a hard time. He quickly SCRIBLED ALL over the document in such a way, my 3 year old God Son could have done a neater job! Fine, he filled it out OK..I left and went back to the dealership..and the line as 3 times as large as last time..taking about 45-1hour for me to get to the inspectors. They looked at the document and they guy said 'What is this??' They couldn't read it! They told me it was incorrectly filled out and unreadable and that the guy who filled it out is 'busting my balls', pardon the language. Anyway..Now I was really upset. The inspector, knowing this was now my 2nd Time at the inspection line, further did some checking and said that that Toyota Dealership is not even Authorized to do any work on my car to fix the emissions problems. At these facts I was furious. He said it would be better for me to do the work myself! They turned me away..and I returned very upset to the Dealership and demanded to speak to his manager. Danny boy sends for a manager. The Manager who came didn't care the least for what just happened to me. Infact, he agreed totally with Danny boy that the Motor Vehicles were just busting MY balls! I told the manager that Toyota is not even authorized to do inspection fixes in the state of NJ. I asked him WHY did Danny boy NOT fill out the paper work at first, and then very sloppilly, when He himself told me he had to fill them out before I even started the work. I wondered whether or not Danny boy or even the management knew that they weren't authorized to do work on inspection failures.

    In the end, I filled out the document as if I did the work myself. I went back to the inspection station where I promply waited 2 hours before being inspected. Guess what the kicker here is..the guy who did the inspection said that my car NEVER really failed emissions in the first place and that the police erroneously made their
    quick inspection of my emissions 'under no load', and the test should have been done WITH a load.
    Infact, my emissions numbers were EXACTLY the same NOW after spending around $500 as they were during the time the erroneous test was made a week earlier!

    Anyway..that was my experience. The bottom line is..the current service at Bob Ciasulli's Toyota Dealership on Rt 46E in N
  • juzefjuzef Member Posts: 37
    Sorry, my last post was so long I didn't get the above message through. Read my last point and find out why I don't trust the service at Bob Ciasulli on Rt 46E in NJ.

    Hopefully, this will warn others.

    good luck.
  • malachy72malachy72 Member Posts: 325
    you can post your reviews/experiences at:

    www.mechanicyak.com
  • loren5loren5 Member Posts: 1
    We just got a 95 Camry XLE. The trunk light is not working. A new bulb didn't fix it, and all of the fuses are fine. We cannot find any mention of the trunk light in the manual, nor can we find any switch to turn it on and off. Someone mentioned needing to have the headlights on in order for the trunk light to function, but that doesn't work either. Can anyone help? Thank you.
  • joeblack1sjoeblack1s Member Posts: 5
    Hi Alpha01 and Armtdm,

    Alpha01, I fought it up to the regional rep who denied it. I don't have the expectation that Toyotas last forever as cars are cars, but I do have the expectation that good service and customer satisfaction are two things that can be made to last forever. So that ended my business relationship with Toyota. That's behind me now.

    Armtdm I have replaced the spark plugs with the specified denso double tips platinums and I still have the idle revving problem. I've used two bottles of fuel injection cleaner to no avail. With the transmission in drive and stepping on the brakes, the RPM drops slowly from 1000 (where it's fine) to 600 (where it starts revving to 800 and back). What is the RPM on your cars when you're stopped at a traffic light?

    When I let go of the gas on the highway going 60MPH, I notice slightly more engine drag than before as the RPM drops quickly by about 400 before slowly dropping with speed. I never paid much attention to this before, but in my Honda, when I let go of the gas pedal on the highway, the RPMs slowly diminish with speed and never drops quickly.

    Is there some computer setting that my mechanic should have adjusted after machining the head? Could these two problems be related?

    I am really hating to take this back to the two Toyota dealerships in Fogelsville/Allentown as they are really bad. Granted not as bad as juzef's NJ dealership though.

    Any suggestions you may have would be extremely helpful and appreciated.

    Thanks.
  • joeblack1sjoeblack1s Member Posts: 5
    Since I don't see a mechanism for threads on this board, I thought a manual thread would be helpful:

    939 - original post
    940 - armtdm's post
    954 - alpha01's post
  • jms02jms02 Member Posts: 1
    Metallic creaking or popping noises from the area of the two front struts. Dealer removed, cleaned & reinstalled both struts, but action failed to correct problem. Tightening tower brace between struts also failed to correct problem. Occurs whnever body flex is high, such as slow tight turns in a culdesac, or crossing over a speed hump, or sudden acceleration, or uphill starts from a stop. Sounds like same problem as #73.
  • armtdmarmtdm Member Posts: 2,057
    Mine idles (after warm up) at 750 in gear at a stop and if A/C kick in it will drop to 600-650.
  • yliangyliang Member Posts: 9
    I owned 1991 camry. In '98 because of lawsuit of
    overcharging ad fees. Toyota sent me a check of
    $150 for class action suit.

    Coupon due to expire in Dec 31 this year. I am
    trying to sell, there is a 800 number listed
    to call for info. But the number is out of commission.

    wrote to Toyota no reply yet.
  • Karen_SKaren_S Member Posts: 5,092
    You might get a better response posting your question on the Smart Shopper board.
  • andrelaplumeandrelaplume Member Posts: 934
    It is coming from a little piece of hard rubber/plastic that runs on the inside of the top of the door area that the window closes into. The rattle/crackle occurs with the window up or down or when you push on this little piece with your fingers. Some have said to spray silicon in this area but I do not see how this would help unless the silicon got up underneath this piece. I probably did not do a great job describingg the part but if you look in the area on the inside of the car and follow along the portion where the window goes when fully closed you will see it. It is the same way on the passenger side which explains why I get the same noise there.
    Is there a fix? IS there a bulletin? If I could get rid of these (and the one behind my radio) my car would be almost perfect!!!
  • andrelaplumeandrelaplume Member Posts: 934
    It is coming from a little piece of hard rubber/plastic that runs on the inside of the top of the door area that the window closes into. The rattle/crackle occurs with the window up or down or when you push on this little piece with your fingers. Some have said to spray silicon in this area but I do not see how this would help unless the silicon got up underneath this piece. I probably did not do a great job describingg the part but if you look in the area on the inside of the car and follow along the portion where the window goes when fully closed you will see it. It is the same way on the passenger side which explains why I get the same noise there.
    Is there a fix? IS there a bulletin? If I could get rid of these (and the one behind my radio) my car would be almost perfect!!!
  • jack600jack600 Member Posts: 11
    99 Camry(4Cly) only 48K miles on. When start in the morning or not runing for 3-6 hours when start engine,the rear pipe have a heavy smoke (white and little black color?) . After about 10 seconds, everything is fine. Runs good. Some mechnics said Sensor (control oil and air ratio) is wrong , others said Value Stem Seals is bad.

    Does any one know this?
    Appreciated to send email to jack600@hotmail.com

    BTW, is the car under warranty still?
  • yliangyliang Member Posts: 9
    like to know where is the Smart Shopper board ?
  • jack600jack600 Member Posts: 11
    99 Camry(4Cly) only 48K miles on. When start in the morning or not runing for 3-6 hours when start engine,the rear pipe have a heavy smoke (white and little black color?) . After about 10 seconds, everything is fine. Runs good. Some mechnics said Sensor (control oil and air ratio) is wrong , others said Value Stem Seals is bad.

    Does any one know this?
    Appreciated to send email to jack600@hotmail.com

    BTW, is the car under warranty still?
  • jbkennedyjbkennedy Member Posts: 70
    jack600
    Take you Camry to your dealer now! I had the same problem on my '97 Camry - 4cyl, at about the same mileage as yours. Your valve stem seals are cracked and this is covered under the 5yr/60K powertrain warranty.
  • reb331reb331 Member Posts: 6
    I just purchased a used 98 Camry XLE (94,000 kms.)We like the car but notice a slight squeek when we go over bumps or uneven pavement. Any ideas as to the cause?

    Also this car doesn't have alloy wheels or a cd player as listed in the standard eqpt. in Edmonds.com . Did some 98 Camry XLE's come this way? Any thoughts?

    reb331
  • 8u6hfd8u6hfd Member Posts: 1,391
    bluish smoke means oil burining.

    What you're most likely seeing is condensation. Water vapor is a byproduct of combustion. In a cold exhaust system, water vapor condenses forming the white-black smoke. When the exhaust system heats up, the water vapor no longer condenses.
  • Karen_SKaren_S Member Posts: 5,092
    At the top of the page, to your left, is a drop down window, "Select message board". Choose "Smart Shopper" from the list and there you go! :-)
  • jack600jack600 Member Posts: 11
    jbkennedy Thanks, I will go to dealer.
    The only annoy thing is dealer request me to present oil change invoice. Damn it. who keep those stuff.
  • cedarparkcedarpark Member Posts: 26
    I was/am very serious about buying a 2002 model Camry since the interest rates are good on them currently.

    Loved the XLE with leather and no sunroof. 4 cylinder, to save on gas mileage, and overall cost.

    However, these repeated issues are starting to scare me:

    1. Paint job...apparently the 2002 model paint jobs are pretty bad in terms of chipping. Enough so where I've noticed numerous "never again" posts.

    2. Clunking in transmission

    3. Brake noises.

    I scour the Honda problems boards too, but at this point I've not noticed paint amongst the issues. I really like the Camry better, but are the 2002 models that problem-prone? Anyone with a 2002 with significant miles where the paint is OK?
  • 2002camry2002camry Member Posts: 20
    I have a 2002XLE V6 with over 20,000km. I drive over 80 miles a day on the freeway. I can't say that I have a paint problem. My brakes also feel fine. And, the transmission is exceptionally smooth. I do however find that I have a number of minor rattles and crackles over bumps.
    When I was looking for a new car a few months ago I had a choice between the new Accord or a new Camry. I found the interior and exterior more attractive on the Camry. (But, I guess that's all subjective). I have a family of 5 and the Camry's interior was more spacious. The ride was more smooth and quiet. But most importantly, since I really value the quality and safety of my ride I chose the Camry. The Camry comes equipped with a number of safety features not found on an Accord. Good luck on your hunt.
  • yliangyliang Member Posts: 9
    Finally contacted the Toyota consumer assistance
    center, what they told me about the coupon (due
    to expire end of 2002), here is the background
    of the coupon, when I bought the camry in 91.
    The dealer in Midwest area cheated coustomers
    $150 for adverstiment fees.
    And they reimbursed customer after law suits.
    The way it was set up was either get $50 repair
    discount (after spending $120) and $100 towards
    purchasing new Toyota or $ 150 towards new vehicle.

    As I was about to buy a new Toyota next year.
    Just asked for a year extension to no avail.
    All I knowd company treats customers this
    way will not last for long.
  • jack600jack600 Member Posts: 11
    99 Camry(4Cly) only 48K miles on. When start in the morning or not runing for 3-6 hours when start engine,the rear pipe have a heavy smoke (white and little black color?) . After about 10 seconds, everything is fine. Runs good. Post on

    Late on talked to many mechanics, most of them said it is most probaly the valve stem seals bad or Oil Gel. Posted #990 already, on jbkennedy 's suggestion, went to local Toyota dealer in Smithtown ,NY.
    The Dealer said it is not a valve stem seal demage, and refuse to repair under warranty.

    Instead they said the Engine is carbonized?

    Any one know this?
  • 8u6hfd8u6hfd Member Posts: 1,391
    Nothing is wrong.

    Blue Smoke means oil is burning (the valve stems dried up most like cause)

    Black smoke is riching extremely rich

    White with some black, and then goes away means the exhaust pipes are still cold. Water vapor is a by-product of combustion. In the exhaust gases, is it goes through cold exhaust pipes, some of the water vapor condenses. Which is why you see white smoke, and water dripping from the tail pipe.
  • jack600jack600 Member Posts: 11
    Tan Nguyen

    Thanks, but it is not normal. In the morning the smoke strong like caught fire.

    Recently I found in Day times also smoke, but not so heavy
  • icstarsicstars Member Posts: 18
    They said your engine is carbonized? Did you ask them to, uh, un-carbonize it?!

    Here are a few ideas. Basically, as previously posted, black smoke is the result of incomplete fuel burning. (Rant: it's bad enough that gasoline engines waste much of energy they create; they shouldn't waste resources further by gratuitously not burning gas completely.)

    In some areas, particularly in California, vehicles emitting any visible smoke on the road can be fined.

    According to the Bay Area Air Quality Management web site, black smoke might indicate...Engine too cold, clogged air filter, carburetor, choke, fuel injection or emission system malfunction, ignition timing off, blocked manifold

    White smoke--I don't mean merely steam--may be cause because the engine's too cold, a faulty injection system, incorrect timing or engine overheating.

    Well, my point is that there are several ways to get various "colorful" gases out of your car. Personally, I don't buy that a car should emit smoke, even when starting up, under normal circumstances. Unless you live in arctic regions, in September your car is certainly not going to be simply "too cold."

    I would take my car to one or two non-dealer repair shops for diagnoses, just like you did. Even if it cost me a few dollars, I'd ask for written evaluations. If these results weren't enough to convince a dealer to fix your car (assuming your warranty is still in effect and you have necessary service receipts to prove you've taken care of your car as prescribed in your owner's manual), then remember there are a lot of rungs on this ladder. Climb the next one to get to the service manager, find out who his boss is, and so on. Hopefully you can get this resolved nicely, but if you're sure there is something wrong with your car and you're not getting proper service, tell the service manager (or whoever you've made it to, just make sure it's a person, not a machine or letter) that you are really concerned and, gee, while you don't want to, you might consider going to the Better Business Bureau for assistance, perhaps even filing a complaint....I certainly expect you should be able to get your car fixed. (The BBB is just an example of one way to show them you're a serious, informed consumer; I also have lawyer friends who would start throwing around terms like "breach of contract" if the service you need is part of your service warrantee contract. This is absolutely last-resort, because you have to follow through or drop it after this....escalate slowly and politely, and in the future, take your business to the next-nearest service department after this is finally resolved.)

    By the way, none of the Camrys I've test driven in the past two weeks has emitted any black smoke, and I doubt yours did when you bought it; ergo, something has changed, and you rightly want it changed back.

    Good luck!
  • icstarsicstars Member Posts: 18
    Shaking and braking, and after a brake job? Hmmm...

    Here's a list of possible causes, from www.carcrisis.com....

    "These symptoms may be caused by loose suspension, steering or brake components. In most cases, the problem isn't a loose part, but a brake rotor or two with excessive lateral runout. Occasionally, the problem is an out of round brake drum. All this really means is that the brake pads or shoes are unevenly applied. The result is that the steering wheel and/or brake pedal tend to bite back.

    "Excessive runout can be caused by overheating the brakes or by a number of small mechanical deviations added together. The problem is usually corrected by machining the rotors or drums, preferably with an on-car brake lathe. Your technician will also want to make sure that any contributing factors, such as misadjusted brakes or bent parts, are corrected at the same time. Now go, and drive safely."

    You, jusef, might want to get an independent analysis before taking your car back to the dealer or private mechanic that did your brake job. Since the problem was temporarily fixed, it may be that they didn't do a good job--perhaps on your rotors, and it's starting to show. The problem is you can't keep machining rotors forever! I suggest finding out exactly what the problem is, then insisting the people who did the original "fix" really fix it--even if you now require new rotor(s). ....tell 'em, you break (brake) it, you buy it... (ha ha ha...it must be late....)
  • gobluebikegobluebike Member Posts: 2
    My folks purchased a NEW 2002 TOYOTA CAMRY in early August, from AUTONATION DESERT TOYOTA, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

    The AIR BAG light was lit at the time of purchase. The salesman said it was not a problem and would be fixed when the leather seat covers were installed.

    The car spent over 5 weeks in the dealership for the repair. During this time period, there were many broken repair completion and delivery promises.

    The incident has been reported to the Nevada Division of Consumer Affairs.

    The car was returned to my folks last Thursday, 12 September, 2002. But, the interior and the exterior has sustained damage during the repair.

    The Dealer has ordered replacement parts that will be installed someday. They say they will detail the car like new.

    It is NEW. This car has only 130 miles on it.

    It is amazing that a company like TOYOTA, known for great durability and quality control, should tolerate such poor treatment of it's customers by AUTONATION DESERT TOYOTA.

    Yes, we have the paper work to back up claim of poor customer treatment.

    I think this car will eventually go to lemon arbitration.

    Thank you, Karl
  • petuniaspetunias Member Posts: 1
    Does anyone know anything about Camrys having a sludge problem in the V6 model?
  • drejdrej Member Posts: 119
    Please, any suggestions that would help me trace this electrical Gremlin would be appreciated. We keep tripping the 15Amp PMI fuse in the engine bay, 4cyl. (this knocks out the system & prevents plugs from getting a spark) Initially we thought it was an Ignitor or module.
    We went to a 20 & then 25 amp fuse and it still pops. Can someone suggest a trace or culprit on this electrical short or where to look? ? ?
    (some things tried...changed out the Distributor, plugs.. for nothing "at least found a salvage yard with 6 of these cars")When we put in a new fuse the car runs for only about a few minutes!
  • jack600jack600 Member Posts: 11
    Camry seemed have many problems after 1997. But if they treat customer very serious, you may accept small problem. The question is they often breach their word of Engine and transmission warranty.

    And conclude the engine trouble to customer maintenance!!!

    Toyota Engine Warrenty worthless
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