Toyota Camry: Problems & Solutions

210delray · March 2005

Sound deadener. Even my old 1980 Volvo 240 had the same thing.

mr_05camryle · March 2005

Hi, there, I bought my new Camry LE 4-cyl last month. Already run about 600 miles. I found the fuel economy is really poor. Basically I drive half local half free-way, get only 20 mpg or even worse. Does anyone have real 24/34 as they marked on the window sticker? This's my first "new car experience". Thanks in advance for your reply!

rmscs1 · March 2005

Oh No! They put old Volvo parts in my new car...

Just Kidding! Thanks for your help.

alcan · March 2005

Mileage usually improves by around 5,000 miles, after everything's seated in.

210delray · March 2005

On my 2004 4-cylinder auto, rated at 23/32 mpg, I get about the city mileage, but 35-38 mpg on long trips running with the cruise control at 65 mph.

mr_05camryle · March 2005

Really? Hope so. I'll watch on...
Thank you!

>Re: Question about 05 Camry fuel economy [mr_05camryle] by alcan Canada Mar 08, 2005 (7:14 am)
>Mileage usually improves by around 5,000 miles, after everything's seated in.

210delray · March 2005

Yes, it should improve somewhat over time, but how and where you drive is far more important. Look at the wide range in my mileage numbers as an example.

coastdriver · March 2005

My new Camry seems to be excessively noisy. However, there does appear to be some kind of "patches" behind the trunk liner. (Just curious, what made you tear apart the trunk?)

Most of the cabin noise is generated by my 17", low-profile Bridestone Potenza tires. I can't wait for them to wear out, so I can buy a good set of Michilen tires... but I may not even keep the car that long.

By the way, I tried the "battery disconect plan" in a feeble attempt to reset the electronic control module and eliminate that annoying hesitation flaw.

No luck. Also ran a couple tanks of Premium fuel through the car. No difference.

My V6 SE still hesitates, jerks, pauses, and goes into limbo while trying to decide which gear to go into.

I knew I should have bought that new Tacoma truck!

mrcool · March 2005

I want to also add to my last comments regarding the 1998 Camery Starter Mator Problem
This starter can possibly have a Catastrophic Failure, The 1998 V-6 Camery that my wife drives had such a failure a week ago. Before I could get the New Contacts in the Solenoid -
The Starter Motor decided to short-out, and both battery cables began to melt down, it was a real mess.
Luckily I was able to get away with only about $85.00 in parts, and I was able to do the work myself.
- New Rebuilt Starter $65.95 + Tax (Lifetime Warranty)
- New Battery Cables - $16.00 - @ Pep Boys

mrcool

porandla · March 2005

I just bought a 91 camry DX..Is there any place where I can get a user manual for free..

what is overdrive ratio in my car..when to use it..

pannu · March 2005

Hi all,

This morning when i tried to start my car..it just kept doing trrrrrr..trrrrr..trrrrr.. and nothing.. it just keep doing that when i turn the key into ignition. It was fine till yesterday. Anyone know what is going on..Is it the starter or the battery or something else.
it is 2001 SLE V6 Solara..I didnt have a single problem wiht the car till now..
Any help would be great.
Thanks in advance..
A

typesix · March 2005

Overdrive is when engine shaft turns slower than output shaft from transmission to wheels. It will save gas in both city and highway driving,just leave the button in on position and let transmission shift for itself.If you have a light foot, overdrive will kick in as low as 25 mph on flat ground.

commish1 · March 2005

So I make my complaint with Toyota about my hesitation problem. The guy on the phone sounds puzzled about the problem but later admits to the problem. He tells me that my compliant was taken. I then get a call from my dealership in ref. to my call. They set me up an appointment with the service mgr. (We both know this is a waste of time but a necessary evil). I go in that day and take him for a test drive. I drive and he acknowledges that there is a problem. He then asks to drive the car and acknowledges it again. On the way back to the shop he tells me again that it is the "drive by wire technology" and that Toyota needs to come up with a fix. As we are getting out of the car I ask him if he can give me a receipt to show I was there on that day. He says no I will send you a copy of the letter that I am going to send Toyota. Well 3 weeks goes by and oddly enough no letter. I call him and he says "oh you didn't get the letter, I will send you another copy". Well I of course knew he never sent or wrote the letter but was going to be happy just to get it. I didn't call him out on it, just a mental note. A few days later my envelope arrives. I breath a sigh of relief and open it. He sends me a copy of the receipt that he said I didn't need because there was going to be a letter. This tells me that he definetly didn't write the letter. I'm sure he'll deny it but if you weren't writing a letter you would have just given me a receipt then and there like they do for all customers. Then I read the receipt and he has the nerve to say that he hooked it up to the machine and there was no problem. He also wrote that we could not replicate the problem. Now I'm pissed and he won't return my calls. I owned a Dodge all of my life and went to Toyota because of their reputation. Boy was I duped!

hank2 · March 2005

I have a 2004 SE 4CYL with just over 10K miles. I commute 30 miles each way at 65 MPH (cruise control). My initial mileage was ~26 MPG. After 5000 miles, I started getting 28 MPG. And that is where I sit.

I tried higher tire pressure, higher octane, keeping the tac below 3000, "driving with an egg on the accelerator," but I haven't been able to achieve more than 28 MPG.

Suggestions?

Thanx,

-hank2

motownusa · March 2005

Actually 28 mpg isn't too bad. Your car still has relatively low mileage. It will gradually improve over the next 5 to 10K miles. I was only averaging 24 mpg with my 2003 V6 Le. Now the car has about 20K miles and I am getting better than 29 mpg on the highway. The EPA figures a lot of times is far off from real world figures. I was reading a recent article where the AAA criticized the way EPA gets its mpg figures for different cars. What they do is basically put the drive wheels on a trade mill and run the car at 48 mph with no AC or heat indoors. You are driving at 65 mph and I assume you do use the AC when it gets hot. AC is a big factor in reducing mpg so the 34 mpg is a bit unrealistic for most people in the real world. My mpg generally varies between 25 to 30 depending on driving situation.

niki1 · March 2005

Connish,
You realy need to take a look at the lemon law in your state. When you take your new vehicle into the dealership for a nonconformance issue, you must demand something in writing. That being said, go back to the dealership {ASAP} and tell your salesperson, or better yet the owner of the dealership, that you want an RO (repair order) on everything that the mechanic told you on the day of your test drive with him. Make sure there is something on the OR that states that the mechanic felt or noticed your problem, even though they did not attempt to repair the vehicle. You will need this down the road if they don't repair your vehicle. KEEP ALL YOUR OF REPAIR ORDERS!!
NIKI

martens · March 2005

I have a '97 Camry and in Dec. 2002 was told that my brake rotors were "below spec" and had to be replaced. Reluctantly ($$)I did that.That was about at 93,000 miles. Jan. of 2005, 20,000 miles later, a different garage tells me the same story:"below spec" on the rotors, they have to be replaced. Did it again, but was I taken for a ride? Is this the new catch phrase for a big pay day for repair places?

hank2 · March 2005

I appreciate the advice. I'll wait another 10K and check it again. I was getting 33 MPG in my 1989 4 CYL Camry... and I was hoping for a little mechanical magic to go along with the extra power :-)

Thanx,
-hank2

steve-o2 · March 2005

Glad the hitch worked for you.

Steve-o

typesix · March 2005

33 mpg for 4 cyl 89 Camry for highway is low. I get 40 mpg at 60-65 mph, 36 with AC on at same speeds, for same car listed.

pltvu · March 2005

Anyone has this option? how does it work? Will it raise the pedals? My wife is short so this option would help alot. Thanks for any info

210delray · March 2005

I don't have the power adjustable pedals, but I know how they work. They are power-operated, and the gas and brake pedals move together, forward and rearward (not up or down). In the rearmost position (closest to the driver seat), they allow short drivers to reach the pedals without being too close to the steering wheel and airbag.

The adjustable pedals are not available with the manual transmission.

dieselboy2005 · March 2005

Hi I just purchased my camry, and noticed while at a stop at a drive through i slight clicking noise when idle. Just wondering if this is normal for this car at first? Maybe a dumb question but I have not the slightest knowledge of anything mechanical with this car.
Any feedback would be appreciated

mannyr · March 2005

I've been having problem with the driver side power window of my 2001 Toyota Camry. The other 3 power windows work fine. The driver side power window will stop working for a while after you roll the window up or down. You have to drive the car a few miles before you can get it to work again. It also works fine in the morning when you start the car. But once you roll the driver side window up or down, then it will stop working and you have to wait. It is very annoying.

loucapri · March 2005

I started my car yesterday afternoon (hot day) and after it started, it wouldn't hope idle and died.

I re-started and same problem, I need to put my left foot on the brake while pressing gas on my right foot to keep it running. after about 1 minute, problem went away.

This is the 1st time I need to use the brake and gas to keep it running. I notice the start and die problem above a month ago but usually the 2nd time I start the car, the engine will run fine (not yesterday)

any help?

vippper83 · March 2005

I called toyota corporate regarding the lag issue, the answer I got was, its "under investigation". I gotta say tho, I have about 1k on mine and have noticed the lag prob has gotten much better, only happens when im going reaal slow (10mph) and the car is downshifting, then I step on it. I have also been using 91 oct. which has improved the performance and mpg. They said the cpu doesn't set till aroun 5k, does anyone have 5k on thier car and still has a significant lag? Im still complaining, and hoping for a fix, but the car is driving MUCH better.

toyotafanatic · March 2005

I have a 1993 Toyota Camry 4 cylinder with the exact same issue. I replaced the starter and it continued. I wasn't ever able to duplicate the problem at the dealer so it was never really fixed.

Over the years however, there is one thing I can always do to start the car whenever it gives the problem.

I put the car in neutral and start the ignition and that normally does the trick for me.

nicecar1 · March 2005

Hi,

I got my camry about 1 month ago. I found a couple
of problems with the car. Overall, my feeling is that the car is not carefully built, and has visual
defects. Those defects are not something I expect
from Toyota.

1) my trunk, the two side is not aligned properly.
The left side gap along the taillight is much wider than the right side.

2) I feel the transmission jerk problem. when you first on the gas pedal, the car move forward unexpectedly.

3) What is the transmission hesitation problem?
won't shift gears as it supposed to be? I have not
experience this kind of problem and just interesting to know.

1violinist · March 2005

Hesitation problem is when you step on the gas and nothing happens for 1-2 seconds, then the transmission engages and the car moves. It's due to the computerized drive-by-wire gas throttle control. Check out this forum for in-depth information:

sde, "Engine Hesitation (All makes/models)" #457, 15 Mar 2005 5:26 pm

loucapri · March 2005

FYI

NOT all Camry are built in the US. I was told by the dealer that if your VIN starts with J, your car is from Japan. Also you can look at the information sticker from the door, it will tell you if it is made in Japan or US.

The dealer I go to (they are pretty good) also told me that most of the problem people seeing in their Camry are those build in here and he said I was lucky because Toyota usually will ship just the 1st load from Japan while waiting the US factory to build the rest.

lmacmil · March 2005

Assuming you didn't have the replacement rotors turned, it would be very unusual for them to have worn below the min thickness in just 20K miles. Generally rotors can be turned once but often not twice.

junepug · March 2005

Hmm, both my wifes Camry and her sisters Avalon were built in Kentucky and both cars have not developed any problems. The 2002 Camry has 25,000 miles and the 2001 Avalon has about 50,000. Both trouble free.

hallage · March 2005

I know this is the Camry thread, but there's no similar Tercel thread. My son just bought a '94 Tercel DX 4-door. First question is: Is there any way to tell if the timing belt has been replaced? It has 114,000mi. Second question: Is this the type of engine that, if the timing belt breaks, the engine is toast?

Thanks.

nicecar1 · March 2005

I just got a 2005 camry le about a month ago, it
does sound much louder than my co-worker's 96 model.
The sale person told me that current camry model
engine noise is much more than old model, and
4 cyl is much worse than 6 cyl.

nicecar1 · March 2005

so far, my camry is ok. probably I am not the guy
who want too fast acceleration. However, I do feel
my 2002 sienna have slow acceleration and I tried
to step on the gas pedal floor a number of times
and nothing happens for a while, then a jerk,
and car moves forward. but usually if you don't
want too much acceleration, just normal driving,
that seems ok. Is there any TSB or some kind
of fix for this?

I already have enough trouble for my sienna.

loucapri · March 2005

I replaced my Timing belt on my 97' camry and the dealer put a sticker on the timing belt cover.
I don't think you can tell if your Tercel's timing belt has been replaced or not unless you can dig up the record. One thing you might want to do is to exam the screws from the cover to see if there any sign, mark that indicated it had been opened.

How's the engine running so far? If everything seems find, and you are in a budget, you might just leave it as is. If you have a few hundreds to burn, @ 114K miles, I think it's about time to get that belt replaced.

Don't know anything about the 94 engine but I know if the timing belt breaks in a 97 model, the engine should still be ok

loucapri · March 2005

I think there are many people saying they have that kind of delay while accelerating. I have a 97 Camry and 01 Highlander (both 4 cyl.) Yes, I can tell the Highlander is a bit late when comes to pressing the gas and accelerate but it's not a big problem as far as I am concern.

I guess people tried to see if their cars might have the same problem so everyone are paying too much attention about this so to the point everyone is NOT very happy about the delay.

As you mentioned, normal driving seems ok and after reading this forum, I don't think Toyota is planning to do anything about it.

I think people mention it's because of the drive-by-wire issue from Toyota.

BTW, just wonder what trouble you have in your sienna since I am actually thinking about getting a used sienna.

doryb · March 2005

I have the exact car and yesterday it is jumpy and kicking back shifting in lower gears. Help did you find a solution? I have only 89,000 miles on mine.

investor27 · March 2005

My 25,000 miles Solara's belts started making noises last month. There are no tears or rips on the belts, and I have tried belt dressing, which works temporarily to get rid of the noise. I took it to a local Toyota dealership in Orlando, off of Colonial Dr, and after paying some $475 for some non-sense stuff they found, the belts were still not fixed.

Can someone please point me to the right site, forum, link or even just comment here on how I can tighten the main engine belt myself? Thank you.

sbrinme · March 2005

I have a 2004 Sienna with the 3.3l motor. It has 29k miles and I've had the same problem with the lag you describe since it was new. The dealer claimed it was due to the different driving styles of me and my wife, apparently the motor is so smart it can learn driving styles. I'm looking for a new car and am seriously considering the Camry SE V6 but the lag issue concerns me.

cam2003 · March 2005

You would notice right away the transmission jerky /hesitation if you switch back and forth of driving Camry and other car. Also the brake paddle has long travel than normal.

nicecar1 · March 2005

So far the only jerky thing I notice is that during
the first two weeks, when you first press the gas pedal, and jerk. Otherwise, it seemed ok. The acceleration looks much better than my sienna.

The usual thing about my 2002 sienna:
1) rear brake problem (squeak, drum replaced).
2) slide door problem. (cable got adjusted,
still sticks. dealer suggest me to clean
the rubber. I don't know if that will solve
the problem).
3) transmission leak from start, not that fast,
after they diagnosed it, it stopped. nothing
documented indicate they do something about
the probelm, transmission fluid get dirty?

other concerns:
1) engine has whining noise, quite bother me.
2) not a big issue, but I feel that my steering
wheel is not centered properly. alignment seemed
ok.

nicecar1 · March 2005

Just share some of my experience.
I got my car about a month ago, currently
some where 550 miles on it. The first tank
of gas has about 26mpg because I have some
highway and some local. Also I am not
sure what kind of gas the dealer puts in.

After that, I put some shell 87 in, according
to my current estimate, it is somewhere about
23mpg. Most of my driving is local (30-55mph).
The only thing I did is that when I drive car
home, I checked the tire pressure. The tire pressure is about 40psi. I deflated the tire
to 29psi (see manual). Since then, I believe
the gas mileage come down.

I need to continue to watch. I think a lot of things matters, like weather (cold weather), speed, tire pressure,
air conditioning (comsuming gas a lot).

normal weather, 20 is not a reasonable number accordng to your drive pattern.

nicecar1 · March 2005

I read somewhere. I am not an expert. You just need
to put the key in, turn it on to acc (where you can turn on the radio) but don't start the car. Wait for
10 seconds. Then start the car. The trick works on
my corolla. Not sure what exactly is the problem.
just get fuel system enough time, I guess.

loucapri · March 2005

what kind of belt noise your Solara is making? Is it like a high pitch noise like the belt is slipping? Does the noise get worse when you turn your wheels while in 'park'?

I remembered last time when I have my timing belt done (105k), the dealer told me I should replace my belts and he only charged me $17.00 for all the drive belts, no additional labor since I have the timing belt done at the same time.

cam2003 · March 2005

"other concerns:
1) engine has whining noise, quite bother me.
2) not a big issue, but I feel that my steering
wheel is not centered properly. alignment seemed
ok. "

The whining noise you mentioned about it could be slipping of the belt (try spray can of belt dresser). Also, check the tension of the main belt, since the manual was very specific about it.

The your steering wheel is not centered, it is very easy to correct it. There is a TSB about to correct steering wheel not-centered.

nicecar1 · March 2005

I just brought the car in today to the dealer.
for the two problems I mentioned and you referred,
they confirmed the problem and looks like doing
nothing about it.

The second problem, they said I need to cover
the alignment cost. I think my alignment is ok.
Otherwise, the tire worn out much earlier than today. My tires looks reasonable.

Do you have to do alignment in order to
correct the steering wheel center problem?

jmooth · March 2005

Hello,

When I'm driving my '02 Camry LE V6, a sound like driving over a washboard comes from the front end. It's louder on the newer rubber-based pavements. Another symptom is that when I brake, especially from higher speeds, the steering wheel will go back and forth wildly for a few seconds. Not enough to cause me to lose control, but definitely disconcerting.

Any ideas on what is happening?

Thanks,
Jerry

investor27 · March 2005

Thanks for the reply. I had tried the belt dressing before I posted here. I know that my main belt is slipping, because the high pitch noise goes away instantly when I spray a few small drops of the dressing on it. The noise will quickly come back, though, about 5 minutes later. Is there a way I can tighten the belt myself? It's the top, uppermost belt fo the three. I checked the manual, but it didn't state which bolt or bolts to tighten with. Thanks.

cam2003 · March 2005

"Do you have to do alignment in order to
correct the steering wheel center problem?"

If the car run straight without holding steering wheel, you do not require to do 4 wheel alignment. TSB ST003-01 has info how to correct off center steering wheel for all 2002 Toyota cars.

Toyota Camry: Problems & Solutions

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Toyota Camry: Problems &amp; Solutions

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Toyota Camry: Problems & Solutions