13th Nov 2012, 08:16
ORIGINAL REVIEWER HERE.
I don't think the pedal is because of drive-by-wire, because I have had technicians drive it and they say it feels funny. It only happens intermittently.
In my original post, I had not measured the highway gas mileage. The verdict is in - at 55 MPH, I see 26 MPG in the winter. Not what I had hoped for. I drive like a Grandma, and for a supposedly fuel-efficient car, the Camry sorely, sorely disappoints.
Mileage is roughly 69,926.
3rd Dec 2012, 09:58
Your only getting 26 MPG is very suspicious. I don't buy the "I drive like a grandma." I easily get a constant 30-31 MPG, and sometimes upwards of 36 MPG. If you consistently drive in the city, then of course that number would drop.
On February 8, 2011, the NHTSA, in collaboration with NASA, released its findings into the investigation on the Toyota drive-by-wire throttle system. After a 10 month search, NASA and NHTSA scientists found no electronic defect in Toyota vehicles. (28) DRIVER ERROR or pedal misapplication was found responsible for most of the incidents.
1st Feb 2013, 19:17
I am the original poster. The Camry is now up to 74,000 miles.
Since my last post, the passenger's right air vent became funny. When you set the heat (or A/C) to the floor only, the vent still blows air (none of the other vents do this; I just have my passengers close the vent. More of an annoyance than a problem).
Fuel mileage remains unchanged.
The brakes are making continuous grinding noises, and I will have them checked at my next service appointment.
7th Jun 2013, 22:11
ORIGINAL AUTHOR HERE.
The Camry is up to 80,220 miles. The check engine light came on, so I took the car to Toyota. They replaced the O2 sensor. Everything else remains unchanged.
20th Jul 2013, 21:56
I recently was a passenger in a late model Camry for a (thankfully) short trip. A very, very scary car to ride in when you're used to G.M.s.
21st Jul 2013, 18:37
Yes, so "scary" that according to this site, 73% of Camry owners would buy another Toyota & only 17% wouldn't.
Before you start questioning my math, I'm sure that other 10% are undecided or "don't know" as they say here.
22nd Jul 2013, 05:57
We had no problem clearly identifying being part of the 17 percent. What happens a lot is someone has had good luck for a decade in the 90s. They think the newest one after 2000 is a fluke and buy again. We thought we simply had bad luck or a lemon after a decade. So you give it one more try. Some people give it 2! That's what prior reliability mindsets can do... so you give it another chance. I suspect the issues are higher than any 17 percent. It's the repeat buyer mindset at play. We felt like fools.
22nd Jul 2013, 12:02
None of my friends have good luck with any Toyota. I don't understand the appeal of these boring and ugly vehicles.
22nd Jul 2013, 23:50
According to this site, only 30% of 2010 Camry owners would buy another. The other 70% probably felt the same way I did.
But I would feel much worse if I paid 30,000 for one of these rolling piles of garbage.
25th Jul 2013, 15:22
I stand corrected, that is a pathetic satisfaction rate, as is the 2010 as another comment pointed out.
All of the Camrys I've ever rented were earlier models - early to mid 2000s, & we never had any issues with any of them. We found them a bit boring, a bit appliance-like. But every one was comfortable and appeared well built. We never confused them with fun to drive sporty cars though. ;)
26th Jul 2013, 23:37
My first Toyota was a mid 1970's model that was boring, but very well built and easy to drive. My time spent in a newer Camry, was like not the same manufacturer. Squeaks and rattles galore, a trans that shifts constantly for no reason, and a throttle that has to think about it before reacting.
Comparison between 1970's and late model reviews confirms the accuracy of this informative and entertaining site.
Keep up the good work Car Survey.
16th Feb 2014, 00:45
I'm the original poster back with an update. The Camry is now at 94,400 miles.
I just replaced all four tires. Some miscellaneous lights have burned out. One quirk with the Camry is that when you set the heat to floor only, it still blows out the panel. My Ford doesn't do this.
Gas mileage this winter is the same as last - only 26 on the highway. I'm not a happy camper about this.
The pedals are still touchy, but they seem to have improved, in that you really can't feather either anymore. You have to slam the gas to get going and sometimes it goes, sometimes it doesn't.
In my personal opinion, the styling is also now very dated, but it's also a Toyota.
I'll say that the Camry has been reliable, but I'm still not convinced I would buy it again if it croaked tomorrow, or if I would buy it looking back on what I know now.
2nd Jul 2014, 03:54
I am the original poster. The Camry now has about 102500 on the clock. Some of the plastic pieces have begun to fade (the piece that forms the inside door belt line is a different color on top than on the bottom) and some plastic pieces have broken. The Camry has more squeaks than anyone cares to count, and based on the ride, it's probably due for new struts/springs soon. Fuel economy is still about 18 MPG city, 27 highway. It has held up well on the whole, but the little things keep a good car from being a great car.
2nd Jul 2014, 20:39
We test drove a brand new Toyota in 2003. It had interior trim pieces falling off, brakes that jerked violently to the left, and was so sluggish even with the V-6 that merging onto a freeway was terrifying. We instead bought a GM vehicle that has now gone over 130,000 miles with a total of $77 in repairs. I've never understood what people see in Toyota.
12th Oct 2014, 16:09
ORIGINAL REVIEWER HERE.
Well, it looks like my time updating this review is over. I was on the highway and a trailer scraped the side of the Camry; the trailer's fender scratched the right fenders, back bumper, and both doors. The Camry was only worth about $7600 (per KBB) and we were quoted $5000 to fix the damage.
The Camry ended up at just over 109000 miles, but I decided to trade. I got an awesome deal on trade-in and the price of the car I traded it on.
I now have a 2011 Ford Fusion with 15000 miles.
24th Oct 2012, 23:02
"Unpredictable gas pedal."
Drive-By-Wire is the cause. Most manufacturers vehicles have this feature now. Here's an article on the subject:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drive_by_wire