2001 Toyota Solara SE 2.2L I-4
Summary:
Reliable but vanilla
Faults:
No major issues with the car, which is why I gave it a reliability mark of 8. Most issues I am having are with interior trim components breaking loose, like the wood grain. I also have considerable squeaks and rattles, most of which are coming from the sunroof area.
From a mechanical standpoint, very reliable. Trim components and interior have let me down.
The car even seems considerably more worn than my 2004 Pathfinder with similar miles. Granted, there is 3 years difference, but the Nissan vehicles that I have owned in the past seem to echo their "newness" for a longer period of time than this tired old Camry that has incredibly low mileage.
General Comments:
I'm working on a massive refinery upgrade, so I am driving in and out of one of the largest construction projects in North America. Because I travel a bit over 100 miles each week to and from home, I wanted a commuter car that was good on gas and reliable, without shelling out a drastic amount of money for a 3rd vehicle.
A family member sold me this Solara (2 door Camry). I own a high performance sports car, so I am biased towards its horsepower, so my impression of the 2.2L I-4 is one of fairly weak, especially considering I've driven hundreds of rental cars. Though I do take into account the fact that modern 4 cylinder engines make similar gas mileage with more horsepower, my rating of 6 on Performance Marks is meant to compare this car with other cars of the early 2000's time period.
I think that at the time Honda made a much better motor compared to this Solara, and would recommend the Accord over the extreme vanilla offerings of Toyota. I personally prefer edgy Nissans to either of the two. Plainly speaking, this car is reliable with a bit of blandness. It's probably best served as a city commuter where the limits of interstate performance are minimum.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 13th November, 2011
25th Aug 2010, 09:07
I had the same canister failure on my 2002 Maxima. Seems it is one of those lame parts that they just won't cover so they can whack you with a huge bill. Nissan ended up recalling the part... after I sold it of course, but at least I never had it fixed. Check into that as Toyota may just add it to the list of recalls.
AC failure at 36K miles would have been covered had the car not been so old. You can't expect warranty coverage 8 years later unless you have a Hyundai. Sounds like kind of a rare problem. Could be that a seal dried up, as the sealant you are using seems to work for a short time. You should have gotten it checked out by a private shop. Maybe it was something fairly inexpensive, as it seems like the compressor still works fine.
22K miles out of a set of tires isn't horrible, depending on what type of tires they are and your driving style. Sporty tires with softer compounds give you excellent handling, but shorter life of the tread.
It doesn't sound like you've had any real major issues here. Try one of the GM vehicles I've had over the past decade. $1,000's in repairs before 100K miles.