9th Mar 2007, 23:58

When the hood of a car is never opened, this is the scenario just waiting to happen... reminds me of my Grandma's Buick Roadmaster. Never got maintained and then transmission fluid began burning and then what you expect: a fire...

26th Mar 2007, 11:18

I own (at least for a little while longer) a 1993 Camry with the 2.2L four cylinder. Its been a workhorse. It was my mom's car, she had it for about four years. I've driven it since 1998 (when it had 65,000 miles on it). We've had to do the usual stuff: timing belt, water pump, brakes, etc. The most expensive thing was a repair to the A/C and an oil leak (fixed at the same time) and that cost about $1100. That was at about 200,000 miles.

I'd recommend a Toyota, especially one with a four cylinder. But as you should with all cars, check it out well, have a mechanic look it over. And change your transmission fluid every once in a while... I haven't, and mine hasn't given me trouble, but I keep expecting it to. Its got 217,000 miles right now.

15th Oct 2007, 08:02

I came to this web-site to see if anyone was experiencing the same problem we are experiencing with our 2001 Camry 4cycl which is the rough idle at times and stall out. We have taken it back to the dealer who cannot find the problem which had started around 55,000 miles when the check engine light came on. They get a 301code, but cannot fix it other than changing the plugs. It is a very frustrating problem since it comes and goes and it concerns me that it could fail in a critical situation. I have seen a least three posts here with a similar problem and I wonder why there has not been a recall.

14th Apr 2008, 18:24

I have the same problem with intermittent rough idle and stalling. Apparently this is a common issue with Camry's. When the dealer wanted to replace the ECU unit for $1,400, I researched and found it was covered up until 80,000 miles. Problem is, they didn't diagnose problem until 83,000 miles. I provided documentation to Toyota that I had been having the problem since 53,000 miles, through receipts from both my mechanic and a Toyota dealership. They refused to make good. I do not want to spend that kind of money on a repair they will not guarantee. I will never purchase another Toyota product as they do not stand behind their products.

15th Apr 2008, 17:07

Comment 18:24 makes a good case for not buying Toyota (or any import brand). It is very hard to get them to acknowledge that problems even EXIST, let alone FIX them. A member of my family had PRECISELY the same issue with a GM car that was bought new. He kept his documentation of dealer visits for a noise in the engine that worried him. The service department kept telling him it was normal. The car suffered massive engine failure 10,000 miles out of warranty. When he presented the documentation of previous visits showing that he had voiced his concern while the warranty was still in effect, GM installed a brand new factory engine at no cost, and even provided him with a loaner car during his inconvenience. You won't see a Toyota (or Honda or Nissan) dealer doing that.

16th Apr 2008, 16:24

17:07 Toyota put a brand new engine, free of cost, in every single one of the Tundra's brought in for the camshaft recall that wasn't even their error. GM and Ford have spent the last couple of decades trying and failing to live up to this kind of customer service, as well as Toyota build quality in the first place.

17th Apr 2008, 18:19

16:24 whose error was it the consumers for buying new Tundras?

Sorry multiple engine replacements on this model is absolutely inexcusable. I have had drivetrain issues on late model Hondas; absolutely again inexcusable. It all shows up on Carfax, and I believe it devalues a late model when you sell, if you have a savvy buyer who uses Carfaxes as they should, and I do not blame them.

So what happened to the quality of imports in the 70's 80's and 90's? I based buying again and again on the past good experience and was burned. In comparison not one new domestic vehicle I have ever owned since 1969 has ever required an engine or transmission.

We have had mixed ownership of new imports and domestics at the same time over all these years. After 2000 we saw import quality go downhill. Now we own only domestics. If I see a dramatic improvement, at least I will be open minded, but there better be zero issues and a 100,000 mile min factory warranty on Honda/Toyota.

17th Apr 2008, 23:55

Replacing defective Toyota engines is hardly the same thing as a domestic manufacturer replacing a customer's engine in the very rare case of a problem. Since ALL of Toyotas engines were defective, it wasn't as if they made the engine swaps out of the goodness of their hearts.

18th Apr 2008, 15:05

Toyota installs defective camshafts and it's "not their error"??? Gee, now I'm really scared of imports. If they don't even take responsibility for the defective parts they install in their engines, what next???

26th Aug 2011, 02:03

I have a 97 Camry with 305,000 miles, and it is a excellent car! No major problems ever, but as far as American made cars are junk. They make good trucks, but my experience with cars is not good. I'm all about foreign when it comes to cars..

26th Aug 2011, 12:16

After losing 1.4 billion dollars last quarter, Toyota is trying to lure buyers back with a "new" Camry. I just saw one and you can't really tell it from a 2011, so I have no idea what is "new" about it. It has the same drive train and looks the same. It is still just a boring mid-sized car with a very bad reputation for massive recalls.

I did just read, however, that Toyota has wisely asked Ford to work with them in developing a new series of trucks. Ford has built the world's most reliable cars (Lincoln) since 2008 and helped turn problem-plagued Jaguar and Mazda into world-class, reliable cars. Hopefully this move will help restore some of Toyota's lost appeal to buyers. even Chrysler has been handily outselling Toyota in the U.S. this year, and both GM and VW have surpassed them in world sales.

It will take a lot to recover from 22 million recalls and the 2007 poor reliability fiasco, but if anyone can help them out of the slump, Ford should certainly be the one. I might even consider a Toyota if Ford can help them as much as they helped Mazda and Jaguar. We owned a Japanese-built Mazda before Ford took over their quality control, and it was one of the most poorly built cars we ever owned. After Ford took over, their quality went way, way up.