25th Aug 2001, 04:56
It is possible the belt was damaged ever since it was new - it is rare, but it does happen.
28th Aug 2001, 10:37
My family have had GM products since 1972..
We have owned a 1972 Chevy Biscayne, 1979 Chevy Bel Air and Pontiac Parisienne, 1995 Pontiac Grand-Am and now a 1998 GM Envoy, and we have never been disappointed by GM, never. Now I own a GM Sierra 1994 and I don't have any problems with it. My sister owns a Tercel 1990 and a Corolla 1988, and has always had problems with it, and they don't do such heavy mileage.
So, Japanese cars are not the worst, but not the best...
9th Sep 2001, 05:04
Very true. How can someone say that ALL American cars are junk and ALL Jap cars are flawless? It seems like that someone has been BRAINWASHED by Japanese publicity a bit too much, as this statement or similar statement is just plain stupid and not based on large-scale facts. All I have to say about these people is "poor them".
26th Sep 2001, 12:36
The writer apparently was unaware that the power train warranty is 5 years/50,000 miles. The broken belt should have been covered under that warranty. As other respondents have commented, a timing belt break on a Toyota will not damage the engine; it will merely stop running. The recommended change interval for a timing belt on a 1999 Camry is 90,000 miles.
30th Jan 2002, 21:44
I just bought a 1999 Toyota Camry LE with 39,000 miles and a few extras like daytime running lights and ABS. I paid $11,500 from a dealer on the automile in Norwood Massachusetts. I have so looked forward to owning a Camry. My wife has driven a 1996 Tercel for over 100,000 trouble free miles with the 1.5 liter 12 valve OHC engine tagged to an automatic transmission outfitted with A/C and not much else. Regular maintenance seems to be the key. Many of my co-workers have driven their Camrys for many years and miles without regret. I sincerely hope my experience parallels theirs.
RFD, North Attleboro, MA.
16th Jul 2002, 16:43
I'm just in the process of retiring my 4th 250,000 mile plus 4 cylinder camry. Yes, timing belts have left me stranded a couple of times, but that was due to my taking them well past the recommended replacement interval. Very few problems otherwise. I've now purchased a '98 with a V6 -is this also a non-interference fit engine (meaning the valves don't get cratered when timing belt goes)? I have 72K miles on this one.
14th Apr 2003, 06:23
I DO NOT OWN A LEMON!!
GM may not be the best, but they are reliable machines. I own a Chevy Citation and have had no serious problems with the car, engine, or transmission. Just normal maintenance.
23rd Apr 2003, 10:32
I am having to replace the struts on my 99 Camry for the second time, and I have just over 30,000 miles on the car. The struts are definitely an issue.
26th May 2003, 19:11
I have a 1999 Camry Le the engine light has just come on, the vehicle has 62,000 miles on it. The problem I am having is that I am apprehensive to take it to a Toyota dealer because I feel that I am just giving them a blank check. I was wondering if the lights automatically came on at anything over 62,000 miles? I had a jeep cherokee that did that, and I was charged 75.00 just for them to shut it off! Should the belt need replacing could I get off cheaper if I took it to Firestone. Thanks for any suggestions. Kim.
30th May 2003, 16:48
In regard to the comment above, I have 90k miles on my 98 Camry CE 4cyl and the "check engine" light never has come on.
I was actually just reading through the posts pondering if I should go on a trip @ 90k without a new Timing belt.
3rd Jun 2003, 16:38
I took my 1999 Camry to the dealer. The light came on because I did not put the gas cap on right!!!
9th Jun 2003, 10:24
The Camry as well as several other models with the same engine has had some experience with engine sludge problems. One of the indicators of the problem is the MIL illuminating. Other signs are significant oil consumption or oil loss and smoke in the exhaust on start up. Granted, the MIL does not mean that you have sludge, but it can be indicative of a serious problem so you really should get to the dealer or SOMEWHERE and get it checked out. The good news is, if it is sludge, Toyota has an 8 year unlimited mile warranty/policy to cover the problem, so you are still covered for the repair costs as well as incidental cost. By the way, notice of this warranty extension was supposedly sent to 3.3 million owners of these vehicles so you should have gotten something about this in the mail last year. Good luck. Get that light checked.
28th Jul 2003, 11:46
You don't have to have a serious problem for a check engine light to come on. A bad EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) valve caused the light to illuminate on my 99 Camry. Although a fairly expensive repair, I was lucky my Wynn's warranty covered all, but the $50 deductible.
20th Jun 2004, 14:43
I agree with most of the Toyota owners on this site. Toyota has a 3 year 36,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty on their vehicles, and also which other car companies are catching onto now is a 5 year 50,000 mile power-train warranty, which covers the engine, transmission, drive-axles. This would cover the engine replacement if "the timing belt broke the engine" but that is not likely. The car would not run without the belt broke, but would not break the engine.
12th Oct 2004, 10:41
I own a 99 Camry with <83k miles on it. I have really been happy with the performance of this vehicle. I have chatter upon acceleration and I am wondering whether this might have something to do with the timing chain. I have been told that it is time for the replacement by the dealer, but I am holding out to get to 90K. Other than this problem and a squeaky R/F strut I really love this thing. Any ideas about the chatter? how about the squeaky strut?
21st Jan 2005, 18:53
I have a 1999 Camry also.. and it now has 66,200 miles on it. I have maintained in since I bought it used (14500 miles). I have it 4 years. They also told me at 60k to get the timing belt replaced, but I've held off.. I will get it fix soon tho. I also have struts/shocks problems.. the car doesn't seem to have the solid feel anymore, it kind of bends with the turns now. Toyota wanted 1550.00 total to fix the struts, mounts and shocks on it. Where can I get it cheaper?
22nd Jun 2001, 14:50
Complete B.S. The reason the timing belt should be replaced at 60,000 is simple: It will probably last 90,000 miles or more, but you don't want to take the chance of it breaking. So a belt breaking at 40k is ridiculous. Will this "kill" the engine? Of course--it won't run without a timing belt. Will it DAMAGE the engine? Absolutely not.
Whatever. Maybe the real problem here is that this guy doesn't realize the American-built Camry is superior to his Mexican-built GM.