Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!

Toyota Camry: Problems & Solutions

1323335373899

Comments

  • andrelaplumeandrelaplume Member Posts: 934
    does the $1300 seam high for a seal job?
  • lok888lok888 Member Posts: 1,788
    at the dealer usually independently operate. They probably get the parts fast and easy. But I think she has her car fixed in her dealer.
  • stephanief2stephanief2 Member Posts: 18
    Sad thing is, the body shop I took it to is the dealerships. The dealership's body shop is having this much trouble. Unbelievable...isn't it! The body shop has even gone to the extent of calling the Toyota mechanics training center in NJ for help. A dealership in MD said it took them 6 months to get this right on a 2003 Camry!! Both the dealership and I have already called Toyota service about the problem as well.
  • lok888lok888 Member Posts: 1,788
    is probably the place to look for good and bad companies and to file a complaint.
  • ishinoishino Member Posts: 4
    Quick question, my new '03 Camry I just happened to notice that on full blast a/c running with the recycled air flow on and by switching it to the flow through air, air output from the vents is cut in half. Plus I get a real low whine coming from the vents.

    For those that have an '03 Camry, does yours do this also? Or do I need to take my in and have dealership look at?

    Thanks.
  • slov98slov98 Member Posts: 112
    I think that is normal....more air blows when you're on recycled, I don't know the technical reasons for it, just from my experience
  • andrelaplumeandrelaplume Member Posts: 934
    I agree, I get more air flow w/recycled air. I believe in this mode little outside air is brought into the car...you are recyling already cooled air...I think this is reccomended for a quicker cool down. The downside (supposedly) is the air in the car may get stale. I also notice a musty odor sometimes when I switch between modes. When running the heat I think it is suppose to stay in the 'fresh air' position at all times. Take a look in your manual....
  • azspyder1azspyder1 Member Posts: 10
    Traded a 97 XLE for a new 2003 a couple weeks ago. On constant slope highway the transmission 'hunts'excessively. On same grade the '97 (75000 miles) would shift once (allmost inperceptible) whereas the '03 shifts 5 times with a jerk and engine roar. When received car rode very noisy until I checked tire pressure which was 42 to 43 psi an all tires including spare.The door panel specs advises "29 psi" and 'dont exceed 40 psi'.
    Question: Are all 03 v6 trannies as above??
               Should Toyota replace the tires as abused and unsafe??
  • slov98slov98 Member Posts: 112
    my tires were also inflated to the max psi, took me a few days to notice it, why does toyota do this?

    do you have a manual? i have the automatic, no problems with it.
  • capriracercapriracer Member Posts: 907
    The reason the tire inflation pressure is so high on new vehicles is that the factory sets them high to prevent flatspotting during shipping and storage and the dealer didn't set them where they should be before he delivered the vehicle.

    Camry V6's have been tire eaters for as long as I can remember. Some of this is due to the high speed rating, but some of this must be due to the large amount of torque, because the 4 cyl. doesn't seem to be nearly as bad.

    Hope this helps.
  • lok888lok888 Member Posts: 1,788
    That's probably not just for Toyota. And it is true that sometime the car manufacturers inflated tires for oversea shipment and storage. Some dealers didn't bother to check the tire pressure when deliver cars to their customers.
  • azspyder1azspyder1 Member Posts: 10
    Thanks for comments. Glad to hear the tranny is supposed to be smooth--will joust with the dealer. NOt all tires are poor on the V6. Replaced originals at 30K on the fabulous '97 with Michelins, and at 47K (77K total) miles at trade in they still looked like new. Now I find the Home Link is erratic (got to punch it 1 to 10 times to get it to activate door-if I use regular remote it goes on 1st punch))on the garage door. Is this common?
  • dillon3499dillon3499 Member Posts: 11
    I am enjoying my 2003 LE but the wipers make a flopping noise at the end of each cycle. Has anyone else noticed this. Can this be adjusted or should I expect the Dealer to tell me this is how it is supposed to sound? I found a complaint about the Lexus SC430 wiper drive mechanism being noisy - might be the same as I'm hearing. Has anyone else noticed this?
  • buzzhdbuzzhd Member Posts: 39
    Yes, I had same problem yesterday during the rainy day. I don't know if it's the motor or the wipers causing this kind of problem and I don't know if dealer can fix it. Toyota should do a recall on that.
  • curlyripcurlyrip Member Posts: 11
    Ok,

    any manual transmission owners out there? I have 2003 SE with the 5 speed. Great car, but at about 700 miles the clutch started making a rattle sound just at the point of clutch engagement and disengagement. Been to dealer three times with a local toyota field rep testing driving the car and they all say the same thing. Don't worry about it, its not that loud. Anyone else having this problem with the new Camry? I am now dealing with toyota corporate and will have an independent mechanic check it out. clutch is basically terrible.
  • dchoppdchopp Member Posts: 256
    We have those tires on our 03 SE and I like them.
    The tires are not touring but all-season m/s. I had touring tires on my Grand-AM and it was like riding on the rims. When I bought it I requested an all season radial and not the touring tires that was suppose to come with it. Of the eight SE's on the lot only 3 had the touring tires on them. I am geting good wear, I rotate tires every 6000 miles and hace experienced no hydroplaning probably because I slow down when the water builds up. Generally you don't get the maximum miles out of bridgestone as I have found out in the past. Let us know how you like the Mich.
  • gymswimgymswim Member Posts: 7
    Now that I scrapped the Bridgestone tires that came on the car and replaced them with Michelin XA4's, my Camry handles SO MUCH BETTER and RIDES EVEN SMOOTHER. The rainy season hasn't arrived yet in CA so I can't tell you if the hydroplaining problem has lessened yet. Will let you know.
  • gymswimgymswim Member Posts: 7
    At 11,000 miles I complained to the dealer about continual wheel shimmy when I applied any brake pedal pressure. He told me there is a technical service bulletin concerning this and he installed new rotors and pads. The problem has resolved.
  • webguysterwebguyster Member Posts: 434
    Mine were 'cut" premature"! The rotors are bad!
  • cooldad24cooldad24 Member Posts: 163
    The tire pressure issue should blame the dealer. They didn't do their job to check the car before delivery. I learn that from the first new car I bought back in 92. I will check exterior by visiual and try all the switches and button before leavre the dealer lot. It make the adjust easy right there than come back in the following week. As to Bridgestone tires, I never like them due to the poor durability and performance. My '94 camry came with F680 and worn out less than 2 years. In the 2nd year, I had tire skid start from stop in the rainy day. I tried Dunlop, Yokohama and Michillene, any one of those performed and last much better than the bridgestone. Alignment is very important to get the max from the tires in addition to rotation. It's also the most neglectible service by most owners since it isn't mentioned in the Own mainteinence book. I do rotatation and then alignment every 6 months. Some chain garages and car service centers have lifetime Alignment package cost about three visits. It will cover as long as you own the vehicle.
  • 99camrylev699camrylev6 Member Posts: 2
    I have a 99 Camry Le v6 with 36,000 mi. This is my problem It was jump started for a dead battery and ever since it has been stalling,sometimes a week goes by or just a few days in between. We have taken it to the dealer and independent shops and they all say there is nothing wrong. You can be going 30 mph or stopped at a light and the engine will stall without warning. I have replaced the fuel pump,EFI relay,and filters to no avail.Sometimes when it stalls and you try to re-start it will crank but won't fire then with the key in the on position you get a faint ticking soung from the tank. The reason why I replaced the fuel pump was a real loud tapping sound from the tank. I even have driven with an OBDII scan tool to check as soon as it happens with the same results as the shops nothing. Please help me I am giving myself an ulcer driving this car,not knowing where or when it will stall. Thank you for any help you can give me.
  • zed421vzed421v Member Posts: 28
    I have had three master mechanics look at my car, and all three tell me that I have a bad right rear strut. I am getting a bouncing sensation when I go over bumps. I've taken my car to two Toyota dealers. They tell me no problem found, all Camry SE's are like this. Does anyone else have this problem with their Camry SE V4? Also has anyone tried taking their Toyota to a dealer other than the one they purchased their car from and experienced problems from the dealer not wanting to work on their car?
  • webguysterwebguyster Member Posts: 434
    OBD is fried and so is the CPU! I bet your lights don't go on by themselves either!
  • webguysterwebguyster Member Posts: 434
    Inline 4, no??? The Toyota dealer wont find a problem until 3-4 visits, so they can bill Toyota! They have bad struts period.
  • bronzemaxellbronzemaxell Member Posts: 55
    i used to drive my 94 camry, and when the left rear struct went bad, and everytime when i was turning/curving right on high way with a little bump, the rear end bounced and like drifting and floating, but making left curving turns has no problem. that feeling was funny, because the rear end bounced up and down as it drifted.

    now i drive the 4cyl 03 SE and once in a while i feel the vehicle drifting too when it hit couple bumps on curved high way. i am not sure if it is the stiffer suspension or speed sense steering or the tire. but now i have upgraded the 94 V6 camry with the eibach springs, lowering by 1" and stiffer ride than the SE, so i know stiffer suspension grabs the road real well. and i have another 93 4cyl camry, and i feel the vehicle was drifting even on straight road hitting around 70mph, it used to have 14" tire 195/70/14,after i replaced with 15" wheel and bridgestone potenza 950 RE 205/65/15, the problem went away, so my guess is, stock tire sucks, i will wait until SE tires worn out to replace them, but those are just my experience.
  • 99camrylev699camrylev6 Member Posts: 2
    Thank's for replying. The lights go on fine by themselves. Is the cpu the same as thepower control module? And were would the OBD be located isn't it part of the brain or is it a whole diferen't part? Thank's for the help!! You don't know how much i appreciate it.
  • goosesmothergoosesmother Member Posts: 1
    Hello,

    I have a 1997 Toyota Camry V4 with 78K miles. Three times in two weeks the car has stalled as soon as it turns over or spits and sputers and dies as soon as I put it into drive. This last time I stepped on the brake and gunned it before it stalled (it worked but not good, I know). I plan to have it checked out BUT would like to get an idea of what the problem may be (EGR valve?) before I take it in for service.

    Last November I had the Toyota suggested 60K maintenance along with a major valve/seal job. Big bucks so I'm not sure what this problem could be.

    Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
  • paul29paul29 Member Posts: 178
    Check for codes first .
  • junepugjunepug Member Posts: 161
    I have a few small scratches on the black pillars on both the 2003 Highlander and the 2002 Camry. Found out today that the dealers do not carry touch up paint for this purpose.
    Can anyone direct me to the proper paint to use?
  • cooldad24cooldad24 Member Posts: 163
    The air flow does go lower when in "Open Air or Fresh" mode. The air intake, for most of the car, is taking from the gap between front cover and the windshield. You can see there is plastic grill blocks leaves or other larger items. So the air flow depends how smooth and volume it can pass thru the gap. In the "recycle" mode, the airflow is depends the fans in fixed volume since it absorb the air in the cabin.
  • motownusamotownusa Member Posts: 836
    I have a 03 Camry LE V6 4 speed automatic. My problem with this car is that when the engine is cold the transmission won't shift to 3rd gear before the tach reaches 3000 rpm. After driving for about half a mile when the engine warms up it shifts normally. Also sometimes (doesn't happen all the time) there is a noticable bump when the car goes from 2nd to 3rd gear. I always thought Camry's transmission is very smooth. Should I be concerned?
  • nkwazi2nkwazi2 Member Posts: 17
    I have a 1997 Camry LE 4 cyl with 89K miles.
    Every time, whenwe start the car after it has been sitting inthe garage overnight, lot of smoke (blue and white) comes out of the exhaust.

    It happens only the first time I start the car after its been sitting overnight.

    Is this oil gel problem that Toyota is aware about.
    I contacted Toyota and the nearest dealer.
    They charge $140 for inspection. If it is a oil gel problem, then I need to furbish details of oil change for the last 1 year. Then they will consider reimbursement. Otherwise, I have to take care of all the repair costs.

    Any of you guys experienced this problem?

    My 97 Camry gives me more problem than my 93 Honda civic which has 163K miles on it.

    Not really happy about Toyota.
  • junepugjunepug Member Posts: 161
    I have a few small scratches on the black pillars on both the 2003 Highlander and the 2002 Camry. Found out today that the dealers do not carry touch up paint for this purpose.
    Can anyone direct me to the proper paint to use?
  • canoe2canoe2 Member Posts: 128
    It's perfectly normal your transmission not shifting to 4th gear when it is cold. I have 89 Corolla 4 sp auto, the same problem as you described, it's still running fine at 240K.
  • nirav2nirav2 Member Posts: 3
    I have an odd ticking or snapping noise coming from the rear. It sounds as if there is a metal piece sitting loose and constantly vibrating. Funny part is that the noise does not come or it is very little when two or more people are in the car. Did some more research and found that if I shake the car when it is parked I can hear the same noise. I am thinking that noise is coming from the rear shock. Today I got hold of the rear shock springs on the right and started to shake them and I could hear the same noise. Went on the other side and did the same thing and the noise is there.
    I normally don't turn on the music when driving on city roads and I hear that noise constantly following me on speeds less than forty.
    I am going to take it to the dealer to find out what can be done. Previously when I took it to the dealer they kept the car for two days and than gave it back to me telling they did some kind of sound proofing.
    Anybody having similar problems with their Camry? I have had this noise from day one. Needless to say it is very very annoying.
  • andrelaplumeandrelaplume Member Posts: 934
    Check and post in the rattles forum!
  • andrelaplumeandrelaplume Member Posts: 934
    Sludge I do not know...we have a 96 RAV which Toyota replaced the head on and then later the entire short engine block....all under warranty. The latter was done almost 3 years but only 24K miles ago. We now have the smoke as well. It has been diagnosed as needing new valve seals by Toyota...$1200. Needless to say I have contacted Toyota looking for some good will. We are out of warranty but with all the problems we had and the fact that there is only 72K miles on the car I am hopefull they will oblidge. SOund more and more like TOyotas have a seal problem.
  • slov98slov98 Member Posts: 112
    I think I have/had something similiar to your noise, sounds like metallic tapping sound, if someone seats in the back for a while that makes it go away..but not when someone sits in the front...my theory was turning the radio way up caused this..the bass thumping..so I try to keep the basses down a bit now, it's been a few weeks since I had this but I know it will show up eventually again. I don't want to take it to the dealer since I was not impressed with their oil change + the noise was back after I got the car back.
  • kend001kend001 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 97 Camry V6, I bought it used 4 months ago from private sale. The problem that I'm having is most of the time when I start the engine, smoke coming out from the exhaust, sometime it doesn't smoke at all or idle for a couple of minutes then it smokes again! I've been trying to use all kind of stop smoke agents they couldn't help, some people suggest that it might have been the valve seal, or piston ring...
    Is it a common problem for Camry V6? (just like the 91 - 94 Tercel). Your help is appreciated.
  • dchoppdchopp Member Posts: 256
    THATS FUNNY MY 03 DOESN'T DO THAT.
  • dchoppdchopp Member Posts: 256
    My 03 SE does not do that. All dealer service depts. are different. Take it to another Dealer.
  • nirav2nirav2 Member Posts: 3
    Related to #268, Ok we may have nailed it down. My diagnosis was correct. The noise was indeed from the rear suspension. It looks like on both the sides Toyota left something loose. The service Advisor Jim (Very Helpful and nice guy) told me they had to insert some packing and tighten up some things. Did not catch the exact terms, but if somebody needs the exact details let me know. I will find out and post it soon. This problem on my car was on the both rear suspension, however on the left side the noise is lighter. The dealership fixed it on the right and the left is scheduled to be fixed on Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2003.
    I really enjoyed driving my Camry with no noises finally, I felt I just bought a new car :-)
  • newsman625newsman625 Member Posts: 2
    I purchased a used 2000 Camry a year ago at 58k miles. A few days after I got the car my wife felt a problem with its accelerator pedal. The pedal sticks and much pressure is needed to get depress it. This usually happens after decelerating for stops and after coasting down from highway speeds. Dealer claimed it's normal!Does anybody experience this problem? Have any ideas what's going on? How to get it resolved?
  • alcanalcan Member Posts: 2,550
    Remove the air intake ducting, hold the throttle plate open, and use an air intake cleaner aerosol and an old toothbrush to clean out the throttle body. Gummy deposits build up there and stick the throttle plate. Will probably idle smoother afterwards, too.
  • ross24ross24 Member Posts: 5
    I'm thinking about getting a 2004 Camry XLE, 4 cyl., but I've seen a number of posts about brake rotor problems and rattles. How many of you had these problems, and did Toyota take care of them for you?

    Would you buy another Camry after your experience with your current Camry?

    Have you had any other problems with your Camry?

    I'd appreciate any comments.
  • buzzhdbuzzhd Member Posts: 39
    I don't know about rotor problems on my new 2003 LE V6 (currently mileage is 915). But rattles, yeah, annoying you can hear them around you, left, front and right. You can read my posts in Rattles thread. I don't think I would buy another Camry... :-(
  • andrelaplumeandrelaplume Member Posts: 934
    Read thru the rattles forum. Though Toyota issued a press release in 2002 (after Consumer Reports and others were knocking them) they stated dealers could address the issues and design changes in 2003s would correct them. I called Toyota. They could not cite one design change that would eliminate a rattle in a 2003 model. The dealer's luck with correcting rattles is hit or miss. Each time one is corrected another appears.

    Would I still buy....now that the new Accord is out I'd check their boards and do a comparison....so long as the mechanical quality is still there in the Camry I'd likely purchase it again. The problem is that if they are cutting corners on their plastics and assembly how do we know they have not done the same in the mechanical arena. Time will tell...
  • realjo28realjo28 Member Posts: 2
    Symptoms: when I start the car, RPM goes > 1500 but then come back and engine stalls or die's.

    I had this problem at 35k mile, car was under extra care warranty so dealer replaced the Idle air control Valve, problem Fixed. At 58K same problem same dealer, same fix. Now at 83K same problem now since I am fed up with this problem (even out of warranty now) I searched internet, talked to couple of people & talked to Toyota had a ticket number but No use.

    Service representative said this valve get clogged due to the gas may be because of MTBE. Solution is to replace this valve, in my case it’s every 20K to 24K miles which is almost every 13 months. I am not willing to spend $350 to fix it every year. But I even don’t have any other choice. Except to sell this car and hate Toyota for not fixing this problem. And never again buy another Toyota. (Funny thing is Toyota know this is a problem but are not coming up with a permanent fix)

    Any body had similar problem?
  • gymswimgymswim Member Posts: 7
    On the 2002 Camry XLE V6 Does anyone know where the outside air temperature sensor is located? How does the design and location of the sensor make allowances for measuring outside air termperature if the car has been stationary and sitting in the sun? I'm amazed how accurate it seems to be!
  • bronzemaxellbronzemaxell Member Posts: 55
    it is located on the driver side, underneath the bumper, hidden between the grills, about the same level as the driverside fog light. i guess if you bend down looking at your driver side fog light, then move your eyes 3 inch to the left and look inside the grill, you will see it.
This discussion has been closed.