1990 Toyota Camry Reviews - Page 2 of 10

At 30000 miles, started the car and it sounded like a diesel. The valve seats were machined wrong at factory. Toyota replaced the head after first dealer accused me of mistreating the car.

I liked the basic car. But didn't like the first dealers attitude of "it's a Toyota, therefore you did something to it". I felt vindicated when it was found to be a manufacturing defect. I wonder how many other people receive that treatment when they bring theirs in for trouble.

I drove a Ford Tempo 250,000 miles, and never had any serious problems with it, and it used no oil and always got 35mpg.

Ever since I have owned this Camry, the only major problem I had was a water pump failure due to age. 350$ NAPA water pump was replaced by a shop.

Other minor problems/wrong things that I have noticed is the right rear door does not open from the inside, and the windows also doesn't work on it.

Also the gauge for the temp. of the car does not work, possibly due to age. It has not been working since the car has been purchased at 199000 miles.

Speakers in the front went out, but replaced with some time put into it.

Recently I have replaced the lower front bushings due to a lot of leeway in the suspension while driving.

This is everything that has went wrong since I purchased this car.

Let me first state that I know enough about cars to maintain e.g oil changes/changing tires/fluid checks/air checks/etc.

Interior: The interior in this car is made to last just like the engine. There are no tears/scratches/etc. anywhere.

Exterior: This car came with a clear coat paint job, and is now showing its age on the top and on the hood. Looks may be not pleasing to the eye, but like your teachers say in elementary school, "don't judge a book by its cover."

Comfort: This car is made to travel (have the DX wagon) long distances with comfort. I have a 6ft friend who went on a 3 hour trip in the front seat who thought the ride was very comfortable and spacious. Though the only con I could think about opposed to comfort is the highway noise.

Performance: To me the engine sounds like it's still in top notch. The engine has much more than enough to get on to the highway at 70 mph. The auto transmission is very smooth. I have to say the performance on this car is amazing considering its age (almost 18 years). The only con I can think of is the slow acceleration under 30 mph.

Reliability: I believe that this car was designed for comfort and reliability because I would give those marks the highest, with reliability first. I also believe that this car's appearance wasn't even being considered except for the purpose of performance.

Slow-dripping engine oil leak into distributor, when the engine is hot, from where the distributor housing and the engine share a common wall. So, I don't lose oil while I'm driving, but I have to put a drip pan under the front of the car while it's parked, or I'll get an oil-leak spot on my garage floor. My mechanic says that this is a common problem that he has observed in other 1990-93 Camry models. He "fixed" it by drilling a hole in the side of the distributor housing so that the oil could leak out and drip under the car, and not disturb the electrical distribution. I have to add a quart of oil every 6 weeks. My mechanic said that I could get a used distributor housing from used-car-parts yards, but then, those might be liable to develop that oil-leaking hole, too.

The only other problem has been that during heavy rains, there's a leak into the trunk. I fixed that with a tube of rubber gasket sealer.

I am the original owner. I bought the car in late 1990 to carry my wife and newborn son in his child car seat. My son is now 17, 6'2", and fills the back seat. It is still my primary car.