Faults:

Nothing yet.

General Comments:

Had this car from new, and have travelled around the North Island 4 times since due to my work travels, and have found this car comfortable, runs very smoothly and suits the long distance travelling.

Runs at 9.1 litres per 100km on petrol.

However, it slightly lacks power, but this could be that it's an Automatic. Maybe the V6 manual would have better power if looking for this.

Large boot space.

Faults:

Most important, I cannot get the dealer to balance the tires-wheels to eliminate flutter. This has been a problem with two different sets of tires, more recently with high-end Turanza LS-H tires.

Dealer says it is the tires. I believe the data now show it is the wheels or something mechanical.

Spoke with Toyota corporate, and the woman suggested that I might have to go back to the Goodyear Integrity tires to get good balance. You can decide whether you believe THAT is good advice.

Separately, the service manager at the dealer acknowledged that some of the parts are cheaper and have to be replaced. Notably cheap is the plastic flap on the console storage compartment. Before you buy, flip it up and down a number of times to form you own opinion.

My hypothesis is that Toyota might feel it cannot afford the expense of higher quality, with Hyundai breathing down its neck.

PS

This car does not seem to have the acceleration of an identical 2002 that I had.

Faults:

Well, at high speeds on the highway, the front end shakes and vibrates like it's off-balance or something. I've taken it back to the unhelpful dealer 5 times in this one year to have it looked at, and each time they say they've fixed it, but it starts doing it again. Also, there is something loose in the front end that makes a horrible knocking, rattling noise that I've never been able to find. Dealer is useless, they just tell me that

I'm imagining things, and that nothing could go wrong with Toyota's "flawless" cars. Well, I think Toyota is getting so swelled up with pride that they're starting to slip up. I wish they would actually look into my concerns.

The car is bulky and difficult to maneuver. The rear windshield is just placed way too high up, making it hard to tell if I'm going to back up into something or not.

Engine runs a little rough, sometimes making little pinging noises like a diesel engine.

Other than these things, the car is reliable and good quality.

General Comments:

I expected a great, reliable car when I purchased my camry. Toyota has an excellent history of quality, and my friends have all said they're excellent. So I decided to get one. But I didn't think that it would be this aggravating. It's a good car, but the workmanship and value is a little dissapointing. It's still better than my old Ford Aerostar, but at least my Aerostar didn't make all these mysterious noises. I think I may have gotten a dud, because these cars are usually very good.