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Toyota Camry 2006 and earlier

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Comments

  • marvin75marvin75 Member Posts: 7
    I have a `01 Solara XLE, I think share some of the same noises as you new Camry owners.

    1. "Thud in the back". Happens for me when I accelerate from stop, but only when my fuel tank is over 3/4 full. Never happens when under 1/2 filled. I thought something was loose in the trunk, too, but checked and nothing was loose. Fuel tank "Baffle"?

    2. "center console rattle" --seems to happen sporadically for me, but is nevertheless annoying.

    I haven't had the time to take the car into the dealer, but soon will.
  • coolguyky7coolguyky7 Member Posts: 932
    There is no Solara XLE, just SE and SLE. In the Camry's case, its CE, LE, and XLE.
  • lxgmblxgmb Member Posts: 41
    I bought a new Toyota Camry 2000 on Nov 99.
    Left-front wheel (or shock) makes metalic
    noise what pass bumps when at 2,700 miles.

    The shocks were replaced when 3,000 miles.
    Then it is better a little bit. The noise kept
    happening, but difficult to find. Then, about 22,000 miles, went to dealer again,
    dealer did something, situation improved
    only a little. Now, about 35,000, today, even worse. The 2nd dealer said they did what they can but the noise is still there. Ask me to bring the document to show them what the 1st dealer did last time. Both dealer told me it was not a safty
    issue. I have only about 15 days to go
    beyound the 36000 miles warrant. what should I do?
    One friend told me that probably the chassis
    had some problem. I know this is a big
    problem and time-consuming, and can't be
    fixed easily.

    Any comments? Is this a safty issue?

    Final question: Is this TOYOTA? Is this CAMRY?
  • canadianclcanadiancl Member Posts: 1,078
    Huh?
  • toyota_0wnztoyota_0wnz Member Posts: 3
    "In the Camry's case, its CE, LE, and XLE."

    Isn't it LE, SE, and XLE? Those that you listed would be for pre-2002 models.
  • sanantonesanantone Member Posts: 4
    Like a few others here, I like my new Camry XLE but have been disappointed by a few rattles. I'm curious to see if others have noticed these or have any suggestions:

    1. Driver's door, either the outside mirror or side curtain airbag area--rattle that is noticeable when going over uneven roads;

    2. Rear window shade in rear package shelf: rattles occasionally when in the down (rolled up) position, doesn't rattle in the up position. I placed some pieces of weatherstripping under the top bar of the shade to prevent any possible rubbing with the mounting shelf, and the rattle is still there. I suspect it has something to do with the roller mechanism or its support.

    It is true that the car is otherwise amazingly quiet, which in a way makes the rattles all the more noticeable! I have not had the middle-dash or trunk noises noted by others.
  • rward99rward99 Member Posts: 185
    We used to live in Ohio, which also has front plates. For our '91 there were two 'dimples' in the top front of the vinyl bumper. I used a small drill to poke through them to the threads below the vinyl. I got a couple of screws from the dealership and voila! License plate installed. When I moved out of Ohio I just filled them back up with some caulk. Not perfect, but close.
  • alpha01alpha01 Member Posts: 4,747
    I'm willing to bet that coolguy is well-aware that the 02 Camry trim levels are LE,SE, and XLE. If you look to the post upon which his comment is based, you will see that vehicle being spoken about is an 01 Solara XLE, which coolguy corrected since it doesnt exist, and then offered the trim levels choices for the 01 Camry.
    ~alpha
  • coolguyky7coolguyky7 Member Posts: 932
    You've got it exact!
  • parumpparump Member Posts: 65
    Thank you for the information. I was somewhat reluctant to make a hole in the vinyl without knowing if screw mounts were beneath the outer cover.
  • ficklefickle Member Posts: 98
    Those of you with the "noisy" cars...Where were your cars manufactured? Japan or US?
  • MULAWYERMULAWYER Member Posts: 24
    when I leased my '99 some sort of college grad program existed (don't remember the details), but the dealer also claimed he didn't know about it (Also Milwaukee area). I know at the time the toyota web site had a brief description . . . I'd check there, and print up what they have and show it to the dealer.
  • jgrill5jgrill5 Member Posts: 1
    Ok, so the 2002's are out, and one Toyota dealership here in town has 2001's on sale. They have about 25 2001 Camry LE's for 14,988. Sound like a fair price? Only special financing they are offering is 0% for 24 months - thats a little more of a payment than I want, so don't know if I will bite that. They are basic LE's - no power seat or keyless. I do want keyless and was wondering what the Toyota keyless option cost and can the dealer still do it on a vehicle like this? Also, anyone know what Toyota is running for 48 month loans? Should I bite and get one at this price?? Thanks
  • mackabeemackabee Member Posts: 4,709
    These are probably more than likely program cars or rentals. I don't know of any dealer in our region that has any 2001 new Camrys. We sold out of them in early September. I'm pretty sure they are program cars. We are selling 2001 programs with the keyless and power seat for $16,990 and 4.9% available to customers with 700 or above beacon scores.

    : )

    Mackabee
  • dadx4dadx4 Member Posts: 11
    Went to a Columbus, Ohio dealer yesterday and had the wife test drive the Camry SE auto 4cyl and she liked it. Offered the dealer $300.00 over invoice and they finally accepted it as I stated it was a fair offer. Well I asked to see the invoice price during this process and they showed me a sheet of all the cars on the lot and prices. I asked to see the actual vehicle invoice sheet of the vehicle I was interested in and the sales manager refused to let me see it. Told the finance guy to tell me he was offended.

    I had a pre-approved loan lined up and no trade in to mess with. Simply and straight forward deal. When I bought vehicles before, every time I have asked to see the actual invoice sheet for the vehicle I was buying, the dealers have shown it to me. I thought this dealer was about $300 to $400 higher than what the SE should have been.

    Told the finance guy that this was business and you never complete a deal without seeing all the paperwork. End story is the wife and I got up and walked out.

    Any thoughts out there? Unreasonable dealer, or unreasonable on my part? They had over 20 various Camrys on the lot, so it was not like there was a shortage here. Just curious what others think about this.
  • coolguyky7coolguyky7 Member Posts: 932
    I have been seeing a lot of Camry SE models on the road in the Cincinnati area. Is this true in other areas? I wonder if this SE is a bigger success than the SE of the third generation Camry.
  • sebring95sebring95 Member Posts: 3,241
    If it was anything like the B.S. I got at EVERY Toyota dealer in Columbus when I was shopping back in April, then you weren't being unreasonable. I've always been shown the invoice on prior deals over at Tanksys in Zanesville without question. I can refer a salesman if you want, I believe he's still there. Haven't bought a car from them in awhile because they weren't able to get the car with the options I wanted (regional thing) and I ended up at a Canton dealer which I wouldn't recommend to my worst enemy. The only thing they might have on the invoice beyond edmunds pricing would be regional advertising and that's usually a few hundred. But if they were right on the money why would they not show you the invoice??
  • maxamillion1maxamillion1 Member Posts: 1,467
    In Spartanburg-Greenville, South Carolina, I see many Camry SE models. They sell like hotcakes around here. But I still see more LE models than anything.
  • ahossaahossa Member Posts: 152
    I don't think a dealer has to show you an invoice. Some may do it out of PR thing but $300 over invoice is a pretty damn good deal for a hot selling car.You don't need to see the invoice for that.In NYC they are just taking a few hundred dollars off MRSP on Camrys.I have been to 3 dealers in the area and none had any Camrys to sell today.I read on Autonews.com that Toyota is surprised that their vehicles are moving off the lot that fast.They can't keep up with demand even with the Lexus 300ES.Last sunday I priced a base model LE and when I called back 3 hours later to give the deposit on the phone the car was sold.
  • dadx4dadx4 Member Posts: 11
    ahossa:

    I thought $300 over invoice was a good deal too. The dealer still would clear around $600 on such a quick, simple and clean sale. But the problem is I think the end cost to me should have been no more than $20,000. They were $500 over this and without seeing the actual invoice sheet, I am in the dark as to what the true cost of the vehicle was to them. Oh well, no hurry here. In the middle of Jan or Feb sales will slow down and I will find a dealer who wants a quick end month sale.
  • raybearraybear Member Posts: 1,795
    Howard, you should have known the invoice price before you walked in the door. The dealer has no obligation to show his actual invoice. In many ways it is both insulting and demeaning to be required to show it, especially depending on how you present such a request.

    Besides, there are dozens of websites that post this information. Start right here at Edmunds.
  • alpha01alpha01 Member Posts: 4,747
    No offense, but thats a pretty poor lease deal on a CE... Our 2000 Camry LE (w/ABS, a necessity IMO) is leased for $311/month on a 36 month lease and Toyota ABSORBED two remaining payments and 200 over miles on our previous lease. Perhaps yours is 15,000 miles/ year, which would then make somewhat more sense for the highish 310/month deal for (I am assuming) 5 years?
    ~alpha
  • sky33sky33 Member Posts: 26
    I am also looking for a set of tires to replace the ones on my V6 camry. I've looked at consumer reports mag and they recommended a number of tires. The problem is most of the tires they recommended are S or T speed rated. I don't really want to go with an S or T rated tire so does anyone know of any H rated tires that are pretty good in the snow? I may consider the BF Goodrich Control TA, the Yokohama Aegis LS or Avid or possibly the Goodyear Regatta. The Regatta may be the better choice because it comes in a T speed rating which is closer to the H rating.
  • 210delray210delray Member Posts: 4,721
    I just recently bought a set of Yokohama Aegis LS tires for my '97 Camry 4-cylinder and have been quite pleased with them so far. However, they make a noticeable humming sound at speeds as low as 30-35 mph on most types of pavement. Not really annoying, but definitely noticeable.
  • mdiver65mdiver65 Member Posts: 31
    OK, I realize this might seem like a trivial problem to a lot of you but I need to find out if anybody else has noticed this.

    I bought the car 2 months ago and as I was driving the car on its first "long drive" through stop-and-go traffic I noticed that my right leg was starting to cramp and hurt and my knees were killing me! I chalked this up to "just being in my head" and tried to ignore it. Didn't work. Now everytime I have to make a drive through traffic (like today from Ft. Lauderdale-Miami-Palm Beach-Ft. Lauderdale) I dread it. Sure enough my leg is killing me now. Is this in my head? I did read where CR says the car lags in thigh support and I guess this explains it. But has anybody else experienced this?

    Damn, this car was too expensive to go through this. I'm in a lease so that makes it worse. I can't survive another 34 months with this! Does anybody have any suggestions? Can I buy something to provide for thigh support?

    Help!!!
  • canadianclcanadiancl Member Posts: 1,078
    Have you tried playing around with the adjustments on the power seat to see if it makes any difference? ie. raise the front part of the seat cushion, perhaps?
  • sebring95sebring95 Member Posts: 3,241
    You will definetely notice a difference in handling by going with a less than "H" rating. I put "S" rated Toyo's on a 97 V6. It's mainly a highway car with well over 100K that I don't drive anymore so I was looking for maximum wear. The steering feels very lose and the handling feels more like the 4cyl Camrys (14" tires). The flip side is you can get 80K out of them, and they typically are better at wet/snow traction. If you're concerned at all about losing handling, keep the "H". In my experience, the best "H' rated tires in the snow/wet I had on any V6 Camry were Sears Roadhandler GT's (not sure if they still make them or who). The absolute worst were Dunlop D60A2's. The Roadhandlers also wore very well, but they weren't tops on the handling chart. It's very hard to find a good all-weather tire that handles great. I also had good luck with the Bridgeston Potenza RE92's that came standard on my 92 and 94 V6 Camrys. The Dunlops (don't remember the type) that came standard on my 97 V6 sucked enough to warrant early replacement.
  • mdiver65mdiver65 Member Posts: 31
    OK, I realize this might seem like a trivial problem to a lot of you but I need to find out if anybody else has noticed this.

    I bought the car 2 months ago and as I was driving the car on its first "long drive" through stop-and-go traffic I noticed that my right leg was starting to cramp and hurt and my knees were killing me! I chalked this up to "just being in my head" and tried to ignore it. Didn't work. Now everytime I have to make a drive through traffic (like today from Ft. Lauderdale-Miami-Palm Beach-Ft. Lauderdale) I dread it. Sure enough my leg is killing me now. Is this in my head? I did read where CR says the car lags in thigh support and I guess this explains it. But has anybody else experienced this?

    Damn, this car was too expensive to go through this. I'm in a lease so that makes it worse. I can't survive another 34 months with this! Does anybody have any suggestions? Can I buy something to provide for thigh support?

    Help!!!
  • ftx42ftx42 Member Posts: 4
    Anyone know how to get service bulletins for Toyota Camry?
  • mdiver65mdiver65 Member Posts: 31
    OK, I realize this might seem like a trivial problem to a lot of you but I need to find out if anybody else has noticed this.

    I bought the car 2 months ago and as I was driving the car on its first "long drive" through stop-and-go traffic I noticed that my right leg was starting to cramp and hurt and my knees were killing me! I chalked this up to "just being in my head" and tried to ignore it. Didn't work. Now everytime I have to make a drive through traffic (like today from Ft. Lauderdale-Miami-Palm Beach-Ft. Lauderdale) I dread it. Sure enough my leg is killing me now. Is this in my head? I did read where CR says the car lags in thigh support and I guess this explains it. But has anybody else experienced this?

    Damn, this car was too expensive to go through this. I'm in a lease so that makes it worse. I can't survive another 34 months with this! Does anybody have any suggestions? Can I buy something to provide for thigh support?

    Help!!!
  • mackabeemackabee Member Posts: 4,709
    Maybe your tires are humming "Oh, what a feeling! Toyota!" 'cause they don't know the words?


    ; )
    Mackabee
  • sky33sky33 Member Posts: 26
    Thanks for the feedback. I have been talking to a couple of tire stores who have recommended a couple of brands. The Yokohama YK420 was recommended as a good all season choice and they also said that it does not matter if I went with an S or T rated snow tire because it would simply provide better traction in the snow. They recommended a snow tire from Medalist (supposedly the same as B. F. Goodrich). At this point I am still looking into other possible brands but I may have to go with two different sets of tires. One for winter and another set for other seasons.
  • sebring95sebring95 Member Posts: 3,241
    It will have better traction, but like I mentioned earlier it will cause the handling to be alot less "sporty". So it could matter if you don't like the loose feel you'll get.
  • armtdmarmtdm Member Posts: 2,057
    I have had great luck with Michelins and the current GoodYear Eagles HP tires. Bridgetones have been garbage on my Camry, two sets and both stunk.

    I have also had great luck with the Yokoham Avid series on another car, Dunlops stunk on that car, really really bad tires.
    Go to Tire Rack and look at the comparisons, good site. I now buy all my tires from them, local places are way overpriced and you cannot compare features etc.
    www.tirerack.com
  • dadx4dadx4 Member Posts: 11
    I had a dealer call me about them getting in some Camrys they bought from another dealer in Canada. Salesman stated that the cars would have 30 or so miles on them, but if sold, those cars would be titled as used. Doing that would result in some savings to me due to them being titled as used. Anyone hear of this before?
  • esqknightesqknight Member Posts: 78
    Dunlops aren't so bad, or at least all of them aren't. Tirerack rates the Dunlop SP 5000s the best performing all-season tire.
  • sagarwalsagarwal Member Posts: 12
    I need some advice regarding price on a 4 cyl XLE. Dealers here in TN area are anywhere from $800 - 1000 over invoice. Some even have $200-300 "documentation fee" on top of that. Some on the board here have gotten deals of $300-400 over invoice. Is $800 over reasonable price for the 4cyl XLE or should I wait until Toyota cranks out more 4cyl XLE's? I do want this car loaded and they are hard to find in the 4 cyl. Thanks for any input.
  • daveqdaveq Member Posts: 20
    I paid about 500 over for my 4 cyl XLE with floor matt 2 months back in NJ (doc fee inclusive).
  • 210delray210delray Member Posts: 4,721
    Great prices, great service.

    Mackabee, I thought the new slogan is "get the feeling." In any event, the tires' humming sound is actually kind of comforting.
  • soberssobers Member Posts: 496
    Le V6 or SE V6 would be much better choine over XLE 4 cyl. You will loose too much value on XLE unless you keep your cars for a longer period of time.
  • cduongcduong Member Posts: 70
    I have a '87 Camry with 160,000 miles, very reliable, not a single problem outside of regular maintenance. I do the following:
    1. Change oil/filter every 3000 miles (regular oil)
    2. Change spark plugs/air filter every 20,000 miles
    3. Change timing belt at 80,000 and 150,000 miles
    4. Change water pump at 150,000 miles (wow)
    5. Change battery every 5-6 years
    6. Flush coolant every 30,000 to 60,000 miles
    7. Change trans fluid every 30,000 to 60,000 miles
    8. Replace CV joints at 140,000 miles
    I would like to keep it until it dies (>250,000 miles, I hope). To the great car mechanics out there, what should I replace to keep it going??? (starter, alternator, fuel filter,etc...). I would rather be proactive than reactive. Thanks.
  • lcioffi1lcioffi1 Member Posts: 1
    I own a 1993 Camry & the car is great, except
    for the seats. There is no back support & they
    are too wide. Any ideas on how to fix this?
  • mackabeemackabee Member Posts: 4,709
    You are correct. The new slogan is "Get the feeling" I was referring to a slogan Toyota used in the mid 80's. There's been quite a few like: "Once you get your hands on a Toyota you'll never let go!" Then there was the one sung to the tune of My Sharona "My Toyota!" etc,. I was in So. California when these came out so I don't know if they were just regional or national. Glad to hear you like your tires. I ran mostly Good year Aquatreds on my wife's Camry but they wore out to soon. Had to take the first set in and get them pro-rated on the Aquatreds II's. Been running Dunlops Sp4000 (two sets now) and like them. On my '88 MR2 I put a set of HP Defenders (made by Michelin) at 80k miles, car has 108k miles now and the tires show no wear whatsover. A friend of mine who works at Tire Merchant's recommended them and I was skeptical at first but they are great on rain and handle quite nicely. Had Good year's on it before and the back tires wore down quicker than the front (car is rear wheel drive) although I haven't seen this wear with the Defenders. I want to get a set of alloys and tires from the Tire rack as that's where I get the tires for our other cars, but the Defenders just keep on going. They are rated to 50k miles but I think they will be going long after that. I guess I'll just have to wait on the alloys.

    p.s.
    The Mr2 has factory alloy wheels 14"s and I want to move it up to a 15" wheel. I like the car just the way it is but my boys want me to have the racer boy look like they do on their Integra and SE-R.

    ; )

    Mackabee
  • alpha01alpha01 Member Posts: 4,747
    I'm curious as to what you meant by "you will lose too much value on XLE unless you keep your cars for a long period of time". How so? The I4 engine, it seems is a better power/fuel economy/maintenance cost compromise... so perhaps any perceived lost value would be "regained" there. (For example, the 4 uses a timing chain, vs. the V6's timing belt)
    ~alpha
  • autonutsautonuts Member Posts: 138
    You responded to my post on this forum a few days ago and wanted me to contact you. I've noticed that my original post about selling my 2000 Camry CE was removed from the forum along with your response to me. You told me to contact you and I've done so twice but haven't heard back from you. Would you please let me know what that was all about, either on this forum or at my e-mail address? Thanks!
  • avalon02whavalon02wh Member Posts: 785
    You may want to try some of the seat cushions found at Kmart or Walmart.

    Those of you looking to buy a Camry in the $25 to $30k price range may also want to consider an Avalon XL. The seats are a bit longer in the thigh area on the Avalon.
  • patpat Member Posts: 10,421
    I did reply to you on 12/20 at the address from which you wrote to me - if you did not receive, it drop me a note at pat@edmunds.com and let's see if you and I can figure out what the heck is going on.

    The email address in your profile is not valid - my email to that address was rejected as "user unknown". You need to update it to a working address. That is why I had posted here asking you to get in touch with me.

    Thanks.

    Pat
    Host
    Sedans Message Board
  • sam_beaversam_beaver Member Posts: 61
    So, the one big negative everyone seems to talk about on the 2002 Camry is the brake feel. Of course I'll get a better sense of this when I do a test drive someday, but just how bad a problem IS this? Presumably it isn't a major safety issue or someone would have said something....?
  • parumpparump Member Posts: 65
    We have a 2002 Camry V6 with ABS. I believe that the V6 features four wheel disk brakes. I read the Consumer's Reports review of the spongy brakes in the four cylinder version.

    I do not consider the V6 Camry's brakes to be spongy. Could the "spongy brakes" be exclusively associated with the four cylinder models?
  • ahossaahossa Member Posts: 152
    Merry Xmas to all and hope you have a very suceesful 2002.
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