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Toyota Camry: Problems & Solutions
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I had the same thought about replacing the clutch first. Here is the wording from the service writer, "...traced wiring and found the A/C relay would lose its ground at the ECM. Also, we ran power to the cpomressor and found compressor clutch slips when engaged." Does that sound like an ECM problem, or does it sound like the ECM is doing what it should do?
Ed
The camry is running ill again. It has 189,000 miles. The other day while driving home from school it died about 3 times. Then it started again and hasnt done it in almost two weeks. My mechanic said no engine codes were thrown and he let it idle for 15 minutes and it never and hasn't happened again. Now today I was driving it was about 98 degrees outside here in atlanta and I look down and my engine temp is almost in red. I turned the a/c off and I watched the car go back to normal almost immediately. Then later I tried the air again and it didnt heat up. I got home and the coolant reservoir was bone dry. I filled it up and about an hour later it was dry again. Still no engine overheating. Whats the deal? Anyone got any ideas? I am thinking maybe a thermostat was stuck closed or maybe the water pump. Lemme know ya'll... and as always HAPPY MOTORING!!!!! :sick:
My wife and I are six-time Toyota owners. Five of the six Toyotas that we have purchased were Camrys, and all but one was brand new. All but one were purchased from the same dealership since 1986. Until now, we have not encountered a single problem with any of them. We recently purchased a gorgeous metallic red 2007 Camry SE (4 cylinder) with a 5-speed automatic, and the hesitation problems we are experiencing have been an extreme nuisance from day one. I believe that this problem is unique to the 2007 Camry, and that the problem may pose a considerable safety hazard. The car, put quite simply, cannot get out of its own way. I only had mine for a week when I realized that the hesitation problems could become dangerous. I took it back to the dealership before I had owned it a week, and the service department said they had not yet heard of any such problems, as the car is an entirely new model in its first year. That seemed reasonable enough, as we were one of the first to buy a 2007 CAMRY SE in our locality. My sales associate and I agreed that the car's computer system may still have been "learning" my driving habits, and that it would resolve the problem over time. But nothing changed over the next two weeks. I recently took it back to my dealership with around 1500 miles on it, after a couple of very frustrating and nerve wracking weeks.
Both my sales associate and the service manager offered to take a ride with me to witness and to assess the problem. I let the service manager do the driving on the first test run, and right away, he noticed both the "two-second lag" in performance shifting from first through third gear. Even though the car is running, it feels as though it just doesn't want to go. He also agreed that this lack of performance was both unacceptable and quite unusual. The car hits second gear, and then...nothing! It doesn't stall, but it falls flat on its face for about two full seconds before it gets up and goes. This is not a car that I would even think of calling a call a "Sports Edition" in its current state. After our little incident with the test ride, my sales associate, the service manager and I decided it would be wise to test drive another brand new Camry with the same engine and transmission for a "second opinion". Guess what??? Same exact problems and worse! We took it up my sister's steep paved driveway (as I did with my own the week before), and as before, the brand new test car could not get up the hill. But this time, it slowed to a crawl going up the drive, (with the pedal depressed to the floor) and then nearly stalled, rolling backwards! The brakes had to be thrown on to keep us from slipping right back down the driveway.
My wife and I believe that our 2007 Camry SE is a potentially dangerous vehicle. By potentially dangerous, I do not mean that the car is dangerous at all times, but that the EXTREME hesitation may present a hazard in traffic where snap decisions are unavoidable, and more aggressive acceleration is needed. If you drove this car just once, you would never dare to pull into traffic in a hurry. The car just dies when you try to accelerate. If you round a hard corner slowly enough for the car shift back into first gear, there will be nearly two seconds of "huh?" before it shifts up to second. If you have someone following close behind you, which you more than likely will, it is quite possible that you will get rear-ended. Rightly so, because no driver would ever anticipate your car slowing down after rounding a corner, or anticipate anything as ridiculous as a vehicle that slows down before it decides to pass a vehicle.
My service manager's hands are tied; there is not yet a fix for this problem. I have to wait until a fix becomes available. For all we know, there may not be one for the life of the car. We were, up until now, a big Toyota Camry family. That all may change real soon, depending on whether or not Toyota recognizes the danger and finds a fix. I called the toll-free number at Toyota and they were very polite and acted quickly to get me a case number. But there is no fix available as of the writing of this post, nor has Toyota acknowledged that this is in fact a problem at all.
THERE IS A PROBLEM HERE, A VERY SERIOUS PROBLEM. DON'T LET ANYONE TELL YOU DIFFERENT.
I cannot believe that we may actually have to drive this car in its current state until "X" amount of similar complaints are filed by Camry owners. And even then, will Toyota find a quick fix, a computer re-map, or issue a recall? Will someone get broad-sided in an intersection before we see a fix?
I cannot imagine what winter is going to be like in this car...we live in New Hampshire, where life is a hill, and the winters are brutal to say the least. I'm guessing the hesitation will more than likely cause severe traction problems and possibly loss of control. I'm not talking about a a noisy door panel, a loose body side molding, or a dashboard rattle. This is a serious and dangerous flaw that has been overlooked by Toyota, and I for one, refuse to become a statistic just to get Toyota to find, or NOT find a fix for this horrific problem. This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard of; a car that can't even make it up a driveway without slowing to a stop and rolling backwards. It is intolerable, and I aim to take the steps necessary to change it before it either drives us out of our minds or gets SOMEONE KILLED.
LET ME END BY SAYING THAT OUR TOYOTA DEALERSHIP HAS BEEN COURTEOUS, HELPFUL, AND RESPONSIVE TO OUR COMPLAINTS THUS FAR. UNFORTUNATELY, THIS PROBLEM APPEARS TO BE OUT OF THEIR HANDS UNTIL A FIX IS FOUND, OR A PROBLEM RECOGNIZED BY TOYOTA.
BEFORE A FIX CAN BE FOUND, PEOPLE NEED TO MAKE THEIR PROBLEMS KNOWN.
WE ARE DISAPPOINTED IN THE PERFORMANCE OF THIS NEW VEHICLE, AND APPREHENSIVE EVERY TIME WE GET BEHIND THE WHEEL. IT REALLY FEELS AWFUL GETTING INTO AN ATTRACTIVE, SPORTY CAR LIKE THIS, KNOWING THAT IT JUST DOESN'T PERFORM. IF YOU ARE HAVING SIMILAR PROBLEMS WITH YOUR 2007 CAMRY, GET TO YOUR DEALER AND CALL TOYOTA NOW, PLEASE!!!!
Sam
ask them to replace your throttle body actuator and position sensor, and also (probably first) your accelerator pedal assembly (mechanicals and sensor).
perhaps you should contact the NHTSA and file a report with them. on the other hand, you seem to suggest the dealership is working the problem aggressively to address your concerns.
Thank you for the comments on your car again probally kept me from going out there and getting upside down
I went to some store. They said may be there is something wrong with the window regulator which costs 250 dollars to fix it. My toyota is just 55K. I thought mine will last longer than that. Does anyone have this kind of problem also?
By the way,I usually close the door with window a little bit opened, will that make this happen? :confuse:
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/
I noticed absolutely no driveability problems or hesitation either during the warm-up period from a cold start, or when it was up to full operating temperature. This is was on two-lane roads, interstates, and city driving.
The only problem I did notice - big time - was a problem with the cruise control while driving through hilly terrain in PA. The cruise control was useless. With the cruise control on and cruising with the tach reading around 1,800RPM and negotiating a slight incline on the interstate, the transmission dropped down two gears, and the tach immediately peaked at 5,000RPM.
I have a 4-cylinder with a 4-speed automatic that functions fine through hilly terrain, so Toyota does have a real problem with the cruise control in the 4-cylinder Camry. However, my personal car does not use drive-by-wire technology, rather a mechanical connection from the accelerator to the throttle assembly. Again, I did not experience any hesitation problems, or flat spots, during acceleration at all during the entire 1,500 mile trip. Given the number of complaints of this nature, I wonder why I didn't have the problem on the rental?
Check ntsb complaints on 2004 highlanders. Lots of hesitation issues filed with the feds. Who knows what happens then....
I've complained to Toyota to no avail about hesitation issue on Highlander 5 speed. Same kind of issue you describe with Camry. The delay drives me nuts.
Good luck!
I have been told that as of now they do not know how to fix it. I was told last week that "they" are working on a program (software?) that will re-program the car but this program has to be approved by the government first before it can be used.
I want my money back as it seems that this is going to take forever. I am leaving the car in the shop for now and seeing what happens (how long they will let me drive a rental). Now I know though that this problem is being called in by others (there is another post here as well with the same problem).
I live in NC.... Maybe we need to call and let them know that we know now there are others with the same problem?
I had a 1999 300 M with absolutely no problems ever, car totalled in a head on, had to buy a car fast. Chose this Camry because of the good reputation of Toyota and the reasonable price....over a Sonata Hyundai. Now have been told that the Hyundai bought 10-14 Camry's and took them apart and rebuilt them and fashioned Sonata after this (really have been told this)...Maybe I should have bought the Hyundai.
I do not think we should just wait for them. I think we need to be very loud in our frustration. It is not all the 4-cylinders apparently so if we do not make noises it may take forever..... Your thoughts?
If you check my posts on the "2007 Camry Woes" forum, you will see that I have been dealing with this issue since March of this year and posting since May. Very briefly, my dealer, Copeland of Brockton, MA, requested a Toyota Field Technical Service Engineer to diagnose the problem, which is essentially like yours, and he duplicated the issue and then described it as "normal characteristics" of the vehicle on the service report. The Customer Experience Center (what a name - it is an experience for sure - all bad) just blew me off based on that description.
You need to confirm that the tech is a Toyota FTS Engineer, not just a District Service Manager, and have your car diagnosed with a scan-tool. The tech needs to be looking for and recording the air-fuel ratio when the condition occurs, which will be when you apply increased throttle. If they only ride in or drive the car, they are not doing a detailed analysis of the problem, which means they are just trying to cajole you into accepting the problem. You should be driving, as you know what causes the problem and can tell the tech using the scan tool when he should start recording the pertinent data.
I sincerely hope you will report back to us on the procedure and results. The people who are having this problem need to be kept informed. The 2007 Camry 4-cyl 5AT vehicles afflicted with this problem are UNSAFE, and sooner or later someone is going to be involved in an accident because of this failure to accelerate (hesitation) issue.
I just posted to "Jimmy57" and found your post when I returned to the forum.
It is very interesting that you stated I have been told that as of now they do not know how to fix it. I was told last week that "they" are working on a program (software?) that will re-program the car but this program has to be approved by the government first before it can be used.
To me, this confirms that the lean condition on throttle application is a major part of the issue, since a (EPA?) re-certification means the engine emissions will change with the application of the fix, which must use a richer mixture when calling for acceleration.
Thanks for your post, and please keep us informed of any updates you might be given.
My dealer, Copeland of Brockton. MA, has been as helpful as they can be, but Toyota is not being up front with this issue at all - but more and more owners are starting to come forward complaining about it. Although not as "in-your-face" as the 6AT C-clip problem, this issue is going to "sting" Toyota. The word is spreading about it and more people are doing some serious thinking about buying a new Camry.
All of us with the hesitation issue should post our dealers name and what is/has been done for us. I'd be willing to compile the list and post it on a regular basis as it grows.
Several reports of the problem on the new RAV4 indicate it may have now propagated to the I4. Is the RAV4 I4 mated to the 5-speed?
I can't say you should've bought a Sonata. And, not to rub salt in an open wound, I'll relate my experience. After my '96 Accord was totaled (Sound familiar? ), I did buy a Hyundai Sonata V6. 3 2/3 years later the only warranty issue to date was discovering a defective cabin dome light fixture switch shortly after delivery. I'm no expert, but I doubt Hyundai intentionally patterned any of the Sonata's key mechanicals specifically after those of the Camry. I don't doubt Hyundai engineers took a Camry or two apart to observe and study Toyota's design considerations (Accords and Altimas, too, for that matter), since that's SOP for nearly all automakers. In other words, why "re-invent the wheel" from scratch when others have already gone down that road? And, if it ain't patented, it's fair game.) However, by observing how others have handled a particular issue, they then have the opportunity to make it better or cheaper (or even both if they're really clever).
The engine gets really bad gas mileage when I use gas with lower than 91 octane. (20 mpg with 87 octane but about 29 mpg with 91 octane) Is this something wrong with the car or is this just how the car was built.
The mechanism that enables the release of the fuel tank panel - Is it easy to replace and where can I find the replacement cheap?
Other than that, I have loved this car since day 1 (bought it new). I had the problem starting but not maintaining the rpm to keep the engine running for a while and no one know how to fix it until I found the mechanic that I use now. He only charges me $150 for the idle control unit and it has only been changed once. It will probably be time soon. It seems to go out every 60K miles. Once I fix the seals issue, I would like to know how long people have had before needing additional repairs other than regular maintenance. I am just wondering whether it would be better to just keep the car once I fix it rather than buying the new TCH, great as it may be. Please help. :confuse:
'17 Chevy Volt Premiere
That will "baffle" the dash outlets airflow, "forcing" more of the cooled system airflow out of the rear high level air ducting.
I have often considered adding booster fans inside the rear ducting to increase the rear airflow. Luckily we don't often have rear seat passengers plus do not have a lot of HOT weather here near Seattle.
There are vent outlets under the front seats only, and I haven't yet checked to see if cooled air comes out of them.
Are you comparing apples to apples: multiple fillups in the same kind of driving conditions? One way to check would be to take a long trip using regular going one way and premium coming back. Of course, this will only work if the traffic conditions are similar both ways and you're not going uphill one way and downhill back!
Update: I contacted several mechanics today and they seem to think that it is the head gasket that needs to be replaced. If this is true, they quoted about $1200-$1300 to fix. This would be worth fixing, but does that sound right to the mechanically abled on this page.