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Toyota Camry: Problems & Solutions
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In February, I purchased four new Toyo all-season tires, had them mounted and computer-balanced, and had a 4-wheel alignment done on my car. When I got the car back, it pulled to the left, and there was a distinct "wobble" vibration in the steering wheel, coming out of a turn and also at highway speeds over 60 mph. After several unsuccessful trips back to the tire dealer to have the balance and alignment re-checked, I turned to a local Toyota dealer. They ruled out bad axles as a source of the problems. As an experiment, the Toyota dealer put 4 new tires from a new Camry (with its new rims) on my car, test-drove it, and found the car tracked straight, with no vibration. They said there was either a problem with the tires I bought or with the rims.
I went back to the tire dealer with this info. The tire dealer determined that the tires were fine, but all the rims were bent to some degree. They assured me that replacing all four rims would take care of the problem. I did replace all the rims, and believe it or not, I still get a vibration, and the car still pulls to the left!!
I am completely at my wit's end. I've replaced all four tires, all four rims, had the car aligned and balanced, and the vibration in the steering wheel remains. I've spent more hours in these shops than I care to count. I never had any vibration or alignment problems before I had these new tires put on. Does anyone have any idea what else could be causing these problems?? Thanks for any help.
Then did they move the backs to the front to see if that affect the wobble and shaking?
If the car was okay with the new car wheels on it, the problem is not in the car. Had a friend where (a tire discounter store) put the wrong size on LeSabre to replace a damaged front tire.
Have you checked that all four tires are same size?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Only occurs when engine is warm
Only happen in gear not in Park
Only happens when sitting at a light or stopped for at least 30 seconds or longer.
Go to press the pedal and it won't move then you apply more pressure it jump starts.
If the throttle body was dirty I assume it would stick in park as well? Linkage seems OK. Why only in gear?
Has anyone solved the sticking gas pedal in a Camry V6?
You're fine. When it's 1 quart every 1000 miles, then you should be worried
Does anyone else have a problem with getting zapped when they get out of their car. It only happens on the drivers side. I've tried touching different parts of the car to avoid the VISIBLE electric charge that comes off the door. Different shoes don't help. I actually had the service writer come out and witness this. He said he was quite impressed but had no answer or help to offer.
cling free.
I found the clothes I had on affected how much charge was built up. The static is formed when two nonconductors are rubbed together. Polyester pants and nylon jacket on cloth seats in a Buick gave a good shock when humidity was low in the winter. Hold on to the door handle (if i t's metal) as you move across the seat. The might dissipate the charge as you move.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I've always had that film issue with my 90 Camry. It only happens when the AC gets run a lot. I've already noticed it on the 03. I think it's because the auto climate control almost always puts the AC on to give you "dehumidified air".
Lately I have noticed that it uses about a quarter of oil every 2000 miles. The Toyota service tells me that it is normal, but I have a hard time to accept that. Has anyone had a similar experience??
If it is a 4 sp, this design should have been proven reliability for many years.
Could you be able to reproduce the problem ?
of course, sometimes the interior plastics are still off-gassing, which can also cause this film.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Meanwhile, I see a lot of erosion on the disc brakes. The discs are filled with what looks like rust. But it had been a really bad winter here in Canada, and I know it's normal for disc brakes to get the erosion like this (Because I see that disc brakes from other cars are like this too). Just wondering if it has to do with the vibrations when braking? And my friend told me about disc brake cleaner available on the market. Would it really help in cleaning the disc brakes?
I've also noticed a new phenomenon with my car which I am not sure if it is a problem. Sometimes when I accelerate harder than normal (for example, accelerating when going up a hill), I hear irritating noises from the engine on top of normal engine noises. It's really hard to describe, but it sounds like driving a manual car and accelerating hard in a high gear when the car is slow. I've never noticed the noises when I was using Octane 92 fuel. But I was told by experts in this forum that it was fine to use Octane 87. Any comments would be appreciated regarding this phenomenon.
IN RESPONSE TO PRIOR POSTS...
Windshield Film Issue - I've had that in my old 97 Camry. And I see it in my 03 Camry also. I thought all cars have the film. I just use anti-fog to clean it up and it lasted for over 2 years with my old car. It made it seem like the car was glassless!
Neither the belt not the injectors should cause pinging IMO. More likely a timing issue, grade and brand of gas.
But if it does not ping when hot and under load I am not sure I would be too concerned about it.
I know this thread only exists for people who are having problems, which is a small percentage of all owners, but I'm just curious how reliable you would consider the Solara to be. I also wanted to get an idea of any known problems I should keep any eye out for. I'll be running a CarFax report on any car I consider.
The other cars I'm looking at include the Honda Accord Coupe, the VW Jetta and the Honda Prelude. Thanks.
To bring the car to stop from 30 mil/h, it does not require much effort on the brake pedal but I am not comfortable with the pedal travel distance.
Is it the design issue in new Camry for everyone or just myself ?
Any feedback would be appreciate.
Everything seemed fine until I noticed a dramatic drop in oil (1 qt in 1,000 miles) and began seeing a blue/black cloud of oil in the rearview mirror about once a week. The clould appeared after driving for awhile, stopping for under an hour and starting up and accelerating. No smoke if only a short drive. Everytime I tried to get the car to smoke (ie. idling, accelerating), no luck.
A mechanic I spoke to said it didn't sound like rings or valve seals and recommended I change the PCV valve. I did so 3 days ago and just noticed a big puff of smoke after driving for an hour.
I've been reviewing your message boards about sludge and valve seal problems but have a couple of questions. Is this what I have? Was sludge a problem for '93 4 cyl? Is it most likely a valve seal problem? What about rings?
Thank You
Mark
FWIW, the sludge issue only affects 1997 and later camrys with the 2.2
does your car make "little clouds" right after start-up? Or does it blow a little smoke all the time?
What you have described sounds very random the way you have described it.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
No, there's no smoking when I start it up (valve seals) or when I'm driving along (rings). It's just a massive cloud of blue smoke (although today I wasn't sure it wasn't black and blue) after it has warmed up. It lasts for about 3-5 seconds and then stops. I've also been watching my oil level and the decreases seem to coincide with the smoking (not surprisingly!)
I was hoping that the PCV replacement was the issue, but it now looks like I'll have to have a compression test done and it nothing there, then a replacement of the valve seals.
NHTSA have great database with various complains about each car http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/complain/complaintsearch.cfm.
found same issues with transmission, and ignition
I just wanted to follow up. I haven't found the spray yet but so far hanging on to the interior door handle before touching the door edge helps a fair amount. I still get crackled but it takes it down to where it's not actually painful. I was actually starting to automatically withdraw my hand from all car doors when reaching to close them. So if i get nothing else from this message board you have helped me here. I still think it's the weirdest *(#% thing since (and may I say gratefully so) it's only on the driver's door.
"Cling Free". Women will use it to spray on a sheer dress to keep static from making their dress cling to nylons etc. I used it in the winter on my Ranger seats and it helped a lot. You will have to re apply it as it wears off. Nick
I recently purchased a 2003 Camary XLE V6 and I am also experiencing the surge/lag problem. I am also experiencing loss of power for a second. The loss of power occurs or is more noticeable when you are making any kind of turn. I agree that this is a safety concern.
I took my Camary in on 5/2/03 to the dealership of purchase to have them look at this hesitation (lag/surge) issue.
I joined an experienced technician on a test drive in my vehicle and a similar Camary. The technician acknowledged that there is a hesitation on the vehicle but said that this is normal on all Camary’s. I disagreed with the technician because I test drove a similar Camary (4/15/03) the day after I purchased my car and did not feel any hesitation. I also test drove a Camary with the technician on 5/2/03 and told him that the test car did not have as noticeable hesitation as mine. The Technician went on to explain that the new Toyota's are being manufactured with the gas pedal connected to a sensor (as opposed to directly to the engine) that is connected to a computer chip. The computer relays acceleration and deceleration as required on the vehicle. The technician indicated that there was not much that can be done on this issue. He suggested that I continue to drive the car and have it rechecked at 3000 miles. He also indicated that I would get accustomed to this hesitation and that if any TSB are issued by Toyota I would be notified.
I also strongly feel that this is a safety concern. Consumers need to rely on the vehicle to move when pressure is placed on the gas pedal to avoid accidents. The hesitation on my Camary is an accident waiting to happen.
If you have experienced a similiar problem I would be happy to hear from you.
Carrie12
Anyway, there are two lessons to this story. First, find a shop that is good at diagnostics -- I finally have one. Second, to disconnect the EGR valve to see if this is causing your stalling problem, disconnect the vacuum line running to the side of the valve and plug it (golf tee would work).
Now for my other 'quality' vehicle..97 Camry LE 4 banger.
I am sick and tired of fixing the rear cupholder on this vehicle. I've had it replaced under warranty once and tried to wire it myself other times. It's a disgrace to a Toyota standard and is flimsy and breaks easily. Has anyone else experienced this? I think they beefed it up in 99... Mine is taped shut now and useless. Nice touch for a quality vehicle. My old Dodge Caravan with 175K miles never had a broken cupholder!! I think Toy knows this was a bad design...but shame on me.
ALSO: Seat belts that don't retract. I've had my drivers retractor replaced twice and know of another person who has a 98 Camry that had his replaced because they won't retract. Result is the stupid belt hangs out the door or just get's tangled up when trying to get out of the car.
Has anyone else had this issue. I called Toy 800 and they said 'that's too bad and you're out of warranty' I asked if this was a safety issue and they said 'no'. I said if the belt fails in an accident, will Toy be at fault, they said, 'no'.
Arrogant 'quality' people or what?
Comments are welcome.
PS: Did I say I love my MPV?
For those of you with the eternal blue smoke at startup....I've been there and done that a year ago. Toyota DID stand behind replacing the head and seals, and rings at no cost to me...whoopie!
Is this normal? Should I get Toyota to check it out?
Oh yeah - seatbelts. Toyota's seatbelt retractors always give up the ghost fairly quickly, in my experience. The dealer I use for service replaces them for free.
autonuts: that light means there is a problem somewhere in your emissions system. If you are a DIYer, Autozone will read the code for you for free. If you are not, you can drive it like that for a while, but it will not pass the next emissions check like that. Since you are under warranty, why not have the dealer check it out for you for free?
PS if the gas cap were loose previously and you tightened it, it may take several cyclings of the engine for that light to turn itself off.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
They will now redo most of the fixes to date. The "thunk" is most pronounced when the fuel tank is almost filled, although it does happen at other times as well.
The "thunk" comes from the right rear of the car, but also happens over rough surfaces. The obvious things have been checked and ruled out...loose things in the trunk, tire in the wheel well, loose items in the car, etc.
Any comments?