2008 Toyota Camry LE 2.4 liter 4 cylinder from North America

Summary:

Not reliable, but no really major engine or transmission problems yet at 59000 miles

Faults:

This is a review after 59000 miles.

Steering rack - complete replacement at 59000 miles.

Excessive oil consumption - this is a well known problem with 2AZ-FE engines.

Occasional hesitation when starting.

Sun visors fell down.

Accelerator problems; recalled and fixed.

Car key broke in half after 47,500 miles. The car key is plastic

at the top, making it very easy to break off the metal key shaft.

Steering noises. Hopefully this should go away with the new

steering rack.

General Comments:

The steering rack should not have failed so early.

This car feels safe to drive after the accelerator recall was finished.

The engine has consumed oil since the problem was discovered at only about 13,000 miles. The car uses about 1 quart every 1,500 to 2,000 (possibly 2,300) miles.

At this rate of oil consumption, I change the oil at the dealer every 3000 miles - because the oil consumption increases.

There are very large pillars on either side of the windshield; these could easily obstruct the view of a pedestrian.

The car key contains the fob, and only the lower part of the car key is metal. This is a very fragile design. With normal usage, the plastic part of the car key broke off, releasing the metal part after only 47,000 miles.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 14th May, 2017

2008 Toyota Camry 2.4L 4 cylinder from North America

Summary:

A costly car to own and riddled with problems

Faults:

The transmission hesitated.

The air conditioning always had a mildew smell.

The sun visors broke.

The master cylinder for the brakes was replaced.

The steering u-joint was replaced.

The tires wear too fast.

The idle surged up & down.

General Comments:

The transmission hesitation was corrected when the dealership reprogrammed the computer. The problem was it had to be done on 3 occasions during a 60,000 mile period.

The mildew smell from the air conditioning could never be resolved. Even after changing the cabin air filter.

Both sun visors clips broke. The dealership installed them, but I had to pay for the new clips. Other than that, the seats wore down fast and most of the plastic materials started to rattle.

The brake pedal went to the floor. At the time the car was still warranted, so again the dealership installed a new master cylinder, but again I had to pay parts cost, why?

After the warranty was done, my regular service shop replaced the steering u-joint due to a loud clunk coming from the column.

No lie, the tires wore out every 20,000 miles. After changing the 4 struts, the last set of tires I put on were in great shape at their 20,000 mile mark before my trade in.

In the last 2 months we had this car, the idle would surge up & down in drive at a stop from time to time. I never bothered to have that checked.

I bought this Camry used in early 2009 with under 12,000 miles, and traded it in this past winter for an SUV from a different car company.

I won't be purchasing another Toyota again. I feel this car was poorly built and the transmission problem seems to be very common.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 15th August, 2015

16th Aug 2015, 21:05

Sounds like you got a lemon. I must admit Toyota built a few clunkers between 07-09 with the 2.4 engine in them. But the Toyota Camry is a great bang for your buck car... especially a used one... 02-06 were good years, also 10-11 were also good. But finding a clean 1 owner car won't be easy People know what they have and drive them to death. Also you have bad owners driving them as well as good owners driving them, so comb the Internet on how to buy a clean one.

But in all fairness, most cars start having issues after about 7-10 years of ownership, so be prepared to start restoring the vehicle little by little if you buy a used older model. eBay has everything to need to get started.

17th Aug 2015, 00:54

For the A/C smell, try this. Remove any interior cabin air filters and put back the air filter's cover. Place the switch on A/C, then turn the fan at max speed. Open the car doors to vent. Go outside near the bottom of the windshield and locate the air inlet by the vacuum sound it does, then spray in this air inlet some Clorox. Spray enough so it does get on the A/C evaporator that's inside the dash. Wipe with some water the plastic area where you spray so it doesn't fade because of the Clorox. You may repeat if the smell doesn't go away. Don't forget to put back the air filters a few days later.

10th Nov 2015, 23:47

Original poster here.

Thank you for the advice, but I got rid of this piece of crap 6 months ago and never looked back.