Comments: 1-15, 16-30, 31-45, 46-60, 61-70
The lower control arms were replaced sometime in the first 69,570 miles.
I bought this 2001 Toyota Camry used in December 2008 with 69,570 miles. My Taurus had to get a valve cleaning priced at $3000, and at eight years old and 140,000 miles, it wasn't worth fixing it anymore. So, I needed something cheap (as in less than $10,000 max), an automatic transmission, and in four doors.
I test drove this car like no tomorrow. First, I drove it in the city with only my son.
Next, my son got in the back seat (directly behind me). He asked if the seat was adjusted to my liking. I then proceeded to move it forward one inch. He said the back seat was great, but then said he noticed that one of the pop-out cupholders was missing (broken).
Then, we drove the car home (on the highway) to get the rest of my family (four people and a small dog). The Camry was silky smooth on the highway.
By the time we got home, it was nightfall. The headlights were nice and bright. The family liked the car.
Major notes per the family:
The front seats are definitely a step up from those of the Taurus. My son noted that they were not flat and had good lumbar. The rear, he said, was also fine. He did not like the rear headrest, and tried adjusting it. There were no notches on the headrest, and it slid out after only about an inch of adjustment. He took it off, but ultimately decided he would put it on, and in the lowest position. The interior has also worn well. This may be because it was just detailed to be put on the market, but I thought the seats were pristine for a seven-year-old car. The cloth showed no wrinkles, no cigarette holes, and they were still sculpted.
There were no squeaks or rattles.
The interior needs more sound insulation. Both road and wind noise were harsh. The wind noise was bad in my Taurus, but it was a little better than the Camry. The road noise is FAR worse in the Camry.
The trunk is smaller than the Taurus. The trunk of a 2007-2008 Taurus is 17 cubic feet, and on the Camry is 14. (The largest trunk of any sedan sold in North America is tied for two vehicles: the 2008 Taurus and twins and the Crown Victoria and twins at 21 cubic feet.) The difference is immediately noticeable. The rear seats on my example do collapse. However, they yield minimal pass through space.
The Camry accelerated well, but not as well as my Taurus. It was better than the 2007 Focus I rented, but, again, not as good as the Taurus.
The brakes were better than my Taurus. Plain and simple. I cannot explain it.
The Camry was tippy in turns. In my head, I could not take a turn with a maximum speed limit of thirty five miles per hour at thirty five miles per hour. The fastest I could go was twenty miles per hour. The tail slid entirely too easily. When I was doing the traditional three-point turn, I could tell that the car was fishtailing.
I did not feel too many of the bumps on the road. I felt the biggest bumps, but the little ones were absorbed well. In my Taurus, every single bump of every single size was felt.
The power door locks work on their own schedule. I have to hit ‘Unlock’ on the key fob three times to unlock all the doors. (If I recall correctly, once is only the driver door, twice is both front doors, and three times is all doors).
The gas tank release and the trunk release is on the floor in the driver foot well. I like this better than in the Taurus. On my Taurus, there was a finger hole to open the tank. Anyone could put soap in it or steal gas. However, I noticed that the gas tank lid does not lose properly. It latches but it can still be pushed.
The hood release is appropriately located: out of the way of everything else. It is well-hidden. The hood latch sticks but is okay.
Based on first impressions, the Camry will be a fine family car.
In regard to the gas lid not closing properly because it can still be pushed after its latched; every single vehicle I've owned was that way (at least all the ones with an in-cab lever). If the lid latches flush with the surrounding body and can't be pulled open, it is functioning correctly. Hope that helps.
ORIGINAL REVIEWER HERE.
Hi. Thanks for your help. I may get it looked at. As of right now, it is not a huge problem because the car is running. It is just more of an annoyance than an issue. This is also my first car with an inside gas tank release.
I drove the car one hundred miles today and I still really liked it. Another thing I noticed was that on the door locks, the back two have a red indicator on them, the front passenger has an orange indicator, and the one on the driver door is lime green. Is anyone else's Camry like that? Thanks.
ORIGINAL REVIEWER HERE.
Just an update. I've had my Camry for twelve days now. Let's just say- I think my 2001 Taurus blow the Camry away. The interior is fully functional, it is just dated.
Allow me to explain. On the Taurus, the needles on the instrument cluster were red against green numbers. That was easy to read. On the Camry, the needles are the exact same green as the numbers on the cluster. That is pretty irritating.
Another thing that makes me wonder is the length of the middle center console. In the Taurus, the console was long enough to put my arm on it and my hand on the shifter, which was very comfortable. In the Camry, it is one or the other, take your pick.
If you have any questions, please ask.
Lots of luck. I had lunch with a good friend today who told me they had gone through TWO engines in TWO years in their Camry due to Toyota's sludging problem.
As for power, the post-2006 Camrys are almost as fast a a V-6 Fusion. The pre-2006 Camry's couldn't outrun a kid on a tricycle. Any domestic 4-cylinder vehicle will eat a pre-2006 V-6 Camry alive easily.
ORIGINAL REVIEWER HERE.
Hi. Thanks for telling me that. I am glad that I am in this car, but I still miss my Taurus. But, the Camry has half the miles on it than my Taurus did (I just hit 70,000 and the Taurus had 138,978).
Do you think your friend would know if the four-cylinder model is a "V" or and "I" shape? I am curious.
I would buy a Toyota again (based on what I have experienced so far), but I would lean toward another Ford before Toyota.
The four cylinder is an "I", the V-6 is a "V" My friend had the V-6.
ORIGINAL REVIEWER HERE.
Thanks for getting back to me (and so soon)! I really appreciate it!
ORIGINAL REVIEWER HERE.
My Camry had 71950 miles on it as of yesterday. I got into my car after work, and it started fine.
BUT.
After a few minutes of street driving, the check engine light came on. I took it to the dealer where I bought it from (the Ford dealer that serviced my Taurus), and they couldn't use their computer to figure it out (I thought these codes were universal. I thought wrongly).
I drove it to the local Toyota dealership and they put in their computer. Apparently, there is something wrong with the evaporation system (!?). I have no idea what this is. I just bought the car five weeks ago and it had its inspection.
One thing that I forgot to mention was that upon pickup of the car when I first bought it, some clip in the driver door broke causing me to not be able to open it with the key. I ordered the clip and the Ford techs (I had the Taurus serviced at a Ford dealer. I bought the Toyota at the Ford dealer) put it on, and it broke. What if my remote goes out and its $250 (as quoted at Ford) to get it fixed? How am I to get into my car!?
My son's opinion of this car is steadily declining. He thinks it is underpowered, bland, and undependable (since we have had two problems in five weeks; and five problems with our Taurus in eight years). He said that other than the front cupholders and the back seat headrests, he wished we had had our Taurus's valves fixed.
ORIGINAL REVIEWER HERE.
The Toyota technician said that the Check Engine Light was on due to either the catalytic converter or the oxygen sensor. Since the car was still under the 3,000 mile warranty, I had them replace both as a precaution.
If I had paid the entirety for both repairs, the oxygen sensor would have been in the $400 range and the catalytic converter would have been over $1500, not to mention the $125 diagnostic. Yes. I escaped paying TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS today. TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS. In my Taurus, these components were still going a strong at 139,000 miles.
I realize that buying any used car is a gamble, and I do realize the fact that every item on the car will need maintenance at one point in time or another. But I think that an oxygen sensor and a catalytic converter at 72,1XX miles is dismal. That is NOT regular maintenance. Combined with the broken door clip (I do not remember the price but between parts and labor it was probably over $200), I have already had three problems with the car in forty-one days of ownership. To reiterate, in eight years on my Taurus, I only had 5 problems.
One other side note: the brakes feel extremely light for the size of the car. Braking is a little better than my Taurus, but it does need work.
The Taurus definitely blew this Camry out of the water!
Braking in this car always worries me. I don't know why, but I feel like it isn't going to stop in time, and I'm just going to keep sliding. Have had a couple of instances of short braking that left me really concerned. I try to be extra careful of it, since it's my Mom's car, but I am not impressed.
ORIGINAL REVIEWER HERE:
To comment 30th Jan 2009, 15:53, I agree. The brakes just seem really 'loose', like loose on a bicycle. I have also had a couple of close calls, and going down a hill in this car is highly nerve-racking because I don't know if the Camry will stop at the bottom. When I inquired about the brakes, the Toyota technician gave me the all-famous statement, "It's normal."
ORIGINAL REVIEWER HERE.
I will be hitting 74,000 miles tomorrow. I have had no further problems with the Camry since the day the catalytic converter and oxygen sensor were replaced.
One thing that I would like to mention is that the "timing" on the door remote is off. On the key fob, I will hit "Unlock", and I will pull on the driver door handle less than thirty seconds later (it is supposed to relock after thirty seconds), but it will still be locked. Strange.
ORIGINAL REVIEWER HERE.
I hit 75,000 miles a few days ago. I think the current reading is 75,2XX.
No further problems to report.
ORIGINAL REVIEWER HERE.
I am at 77,000 miles on my Camry.
I realize Toyota is Japanese, but I do not think this car was tested in America. The engine is really loud on the highway (4 cylinder). It is also somewhat slow. I realize it won't be as fast as my 200HP Taurus, but it is slow to the point where my sons says "if it were alive, it wouldn't get out of its own way if it were on fire." I do not know how the six cylinder is, but seeing a six cylinder Camry in America is rare.
My son refers to the car as the "clown car" because he says the seats are too small (five feet, six inches; 190 pounds). He has the seat belt in the highest position and says it still digs into his shoulder.
The LE trim level seems adequate (about the same as my Taurus SES) as the "mainstream" Camry.
The Camry really needs double sunvisors. After a point, it becomes a safety issue. If you are heading into a western sunset or eastern sunrise, you have to keep switching the visor back and forth from the front to the side.
From a maintenance standpoint, I had to replace a few bulbs. A stone broke the low-beam front-right headlight bulb. The bulb was a standard size and very easy to fix. Also, both license plate light bulbs burnt out. I have not looked at those yet.
Finally, directly under the license plate, there is a spot of rust. It is about one inch vertically by one-half centimeter wide. It is noticeable and I also have to fix that. This is just regular maintenance.
ORIGINAL REVIEWER HERE.
I have been complaining about the brakes since January 2008. The brakes have been worked on at the dealer three times already since I bought the car on December 13, 2008.
Even when "fixed", they are HORRENDOUS. They now squeal - when wet, dry, from a slow stop, or emergency stop. I quit listing the conditions after those.
I have already hit 77K and will be taking the Camry in for its 78K service later this week. I suspect the brakes just need to be cleaned.
One last thing - the plastic toward the right of the front passenger foot well has come loose and looks as if it will fall off soon.