Faults:

Been through several alternators.

Valve cover gasket always cracks.

General Comments:

Great car. However this car is very uncomfortable to sit in, especially for long periods of time.

Faults:

In the 2 years I had this car, nothing failed so to speak, but everything rattled in this car! Everything! The dash, the doors, and the back had a squeak they could never find.

In the winter, when it got very cold as they do in Northern Ohio, the transmission never shifted right. It was like it was stuck in 2nd gear.

The CD player, made this odd clicking sound when certain CDs were played.

General Comments:

To this day, I could still kick myself for buying this car. I sold a GMC Sonoma that ran perfectly fine. I had researched and put a lot of time into making the choice to replace my Sonoma. It came down to the Camry or a Mitsubishi Galant; I should have bought the Galant. I should have listened to myself, not others.

This was one Sour Lemon, I thought I was getting a great car. I lost out on this one. Rattles, squeaks, and other odd quirks made it a disappointment. Every time I see one of these cars now, I cringe. A total waste of money; after 2 years I gave up and traded the car in. I took a loss on it, but I just wanted to wash my hands of the whole thing.

Many years after the fact, I don't know if I would consider another Camry, but it could very well have been I got a bad one.

Faults:

Many of the faults mentioned were not so serious and were just because of mere wear and tear.

Circa 2006 or 2007 - The power mirror adjustment controls did not work anymore. Although they could still fold.

November 2008 - The right rear window did not want to go up. Took it to the dealer and it was fixed within 30 minutes.

Early 2009 - The lock of the rear right stopped functioning. Fixed by Toyota in an hour.

August 2011 - We couldn't unlock the glove compartment of the car. All we could do after taking it to the dealer is to use the glove box without locking it.

October 2011 - The suspension acted up. Our mechanic took care of the problem.

June 2013 - Fan belt was making a funny noise. The aircon compressor was also affected. Had to stay with Toyota for a week.

August 2013 - Engine mount had to be replaced.

June 2015 - Noticed suspension problems from September of 2014. You could hear squeaking sounds underneath while driving even on the smoothest roads. Did not really bother us so much and we only had it fixed by a mechanic in June of 2015.

September 2016 - Transmission got stuck on D while in heavy traffic. I pulled to the side of the road, turned off the car, and waited for the tow truck to take it to the mechanic. Apparently the only problem was that the shifting cable snapped.

Other than the problems stated above, the car only goes to the Toyota dealer every 5000 km for its Preventive Maintenance Check-up.

General Comments:

This car was only partially ours for the first 6 years of its life. We would only use it from to time when we were forced to or we just felt like it. Most of the time, my grandmother and auntie used it. When my grandmother passed away in November of 2008, we got to use the car more often, particularly during weekends. When my auntie passed away in 2010, we had no choice but to take the car. However, I have driven this car since I started in early 2009 when I was 16 already. It became my official car when we got a new Camry in 2013. The car had low mileage although it ran a lot from 2009 to mid 2013. For much of December 2014 and December 2015, this car was mostly only in the garage. During those times, the car only ran for the first few days to go to school for final exams and enrollment. This was in contrast to most cars usually overused for the Christmas holidays.

Actually, this car was meant to be chauffeur driven. I wish ours had a 2.4 engine instead. My uncle also had one before (although 2 years older than ours). Our Camry’s pickup was not so good. You struggle when you overtake slow moving vehicles, enter a flyover and Skyway or cruise along expressways. This car only runs fine in a city like Metro Manila where traffic is always bad. My dad said driving the car was like whipping a horse. We had a 1999 Mitsubishi Galant before our newer Camry with the same engine, but it did not struggle and was very fast.

Of all the cars we had, this is one of the most comfortable one we have ever had. The leather seats were comfortable and the legroom for everyone was wide and spacious. The air-conditioning was also very good. It cools the interior well.

In June of 2012, we transferred the original radio to our Galant before disposing of it. From the Galant, we put in the aftermarket Pioneer radio with USB to connect my iTouch/iPhone/iPad.

I really enjoyed this car. Of all the cars we had, this was the most reliable even when it was old already. Before when our cars reached at least 7-10 years old, problems would start to emerge. This car also had its set of problems when it was old, but they were mainly because of wear and tear. Prior to having the 2013 Camry, it was joy bringing it to an exclusive place like a 5 star hotel and special occasions like weddings and debuts. The farthest points of this car were only Subic in 2012 and Lucban, Quezon in 2006. Our relatives and family friends loved this car. When friends, classmates, and girls rode in this car, they loved it too!

The service at the dealership at the Toyota dealership is very good. We lost the warranty booklet, but they had a computerised record of past services and the parts that need replacement (though we only do the necessary ones at our mechanic).

We finally sold this car last October 29 of this year. The car had already lasted with us for 12 years and 8 months, 3 Presidents of the Philippines, 2 Presidents of the United States, 3 Presidents of South Korea, and 4 Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom. Time has already passed and it’s time to move on. There is no forever! The car is now is in good hands with the new owner. We're gonna replace it with a brand new Fortuner next year. I still miss this car!