1991 Toyota Camry DX 2.0L EFI DOHC (3s-fe) from North America

Summary:

A very reliable and comfortable car. Great for any family of 4

Faults:

The automatic seatbelt on the driver's side has been making grinding noises ever since we bought the car, but has no stopped working.

The bumpers on the car were deformed and the paint on them was faded from too much exposure under the sun.

Had to change the water pump at around 150,000 miles.

Needed a valve job at around 150,000 as well.

Passenger side rear door only opens from outside. I talked to the mechanic about this and he said that it was probably a 5-dollar part that needed to be replaced, but it would still cost me about 130 dollars to replace it because he would have to work on it.

Whenever the car is started and you open the passenger front door and close it, the central locking system unlocks the doors and then locks them again. I just noticed this recently, but it doesn't realy bother me.

When the driver's door is opened all the way, you cannot operate the rear passenger side electric window. The problem is proably a faulty connection or a bad wire somewhere. It doesn't bother at all since it works fine when the door is closed.

The last time I took it for regular maintanance, I had the mechanic run a full check on the car. He told me he found oil in the spark plug wires and under the distributor. This would only cost about $100 to fix. He also told me that I needed to replace the rear struts on the car. This is about a $400 job.

I was switching to a CD player in the car recently and I blew a fuse. After I replaced the fuse the fuel gauge didn't move from 1/2 full. After I filled up the car with fuel the gauge went up to full and has worked fine ever since.

General Comments:

This is the most reliable car I have ever driven. Even after 180,000 miles the engine runs great and I have not had any major problems with it. The car has never ever died on me, except for when I had the fuel gauge problem I ran out of petrol.

After I had the valve job done at around 150,000 miles, the car could accelerate much faster and had more power at any RPM. It also got better fuel mileage. Right now it gets about 30 miles to the gallon (rougly 7L/100km)

Altough the gear lever on the transmission is very dull looking and has long travel, I have never driven a car that has such a smooth transmission. The gears are very easy to change and I have never missed a gear. Even after so many miles it shows no signs of stopping. The clutch is also excelent and doesn't slip at all.

The fabric on the seats is high quality and hasn't ripped at all on any of the seats.

The car is very roomy and has a HUGE trunk. Even if you have a subwoofer system in the trunk there will still be PLENTY of space for groceries.

The steering wheel doesn't feel very connected to the front wheels, but then the camry isn't a sports car in any way.

The engine is very very good and lasts a long time. Even though mine has 180k miles on it I still think the engine has AT LEAST another 180k miles of life left if maintained properly.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 11th June, 2007

1991 Toyota Camry Base model 1.8 1S I4 from North America

Summary:

Toyota: made in Kentucky. Dodge: made in Mexico

Faults:

It got a small oil leak at 225,000; was repaired for only $100.

General Comments:

Extremely reliable. Toyota is awesome.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 27th April, 2007

1991 Toyota Camry DX 2.0 from North America

Summary:

True Toyota Hallmark: Rugged Reliability

Faults:

Outside of regular service intervals performed since ownership (0-100k):

At 177K fuel leak (inconclusive);

150K the alternator;

130K the radiator, O2 sensor;

60k-100k struts.

General Comments:

Recently, my wife and I donated the vehicle because the cost to replace the fuel tank, fuel pump & sender unit (even though they were intact) & housings, straps, etc. were well beyond our threshold, the value of the car which I estimated to be $1000.

We really hated to get rid of this vehicle, especially me. I paid $250 to Toyota dealer to inspect and basically tell me the cost to repair the gas leak would be $900. As yet, I still don't know what caused fuel to leak vigorously while just idling in park. I did, however, see the tank myself and noticed a 360 degree wet spot where the fuel pump is bolted onto the tank. In hindsight, I should've endured all labor pains myself, repaired and put it up for sale (what we were trying to do just before the fuel leaks). What a bummer...

But, I would purchase another '91 with very low miles in a New York minute. I absolutely enjoyed doing some of the maintenance on this car.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 24th August, 2006