25th Dec 2008, 08:48
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.
26th Dec 2008, 21:17
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.
31st Dec 2008, 15:23
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.
2nd Jan 2009, 10:35
ORIGINAL REVIEWER HERE.
Thanks for getting back to me (and so soon)! I really appreciate it!
19th Jan 2009, 12:55
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.
23rd Jan 2009, 14:58
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!
30th Jan 2009, 15:53
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.
1st Feb 2009, 12:04
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."
26th Feb 2009, 18:46
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.
15th Mar 2009, 18:30
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.
9th Apr 2009, 21:24
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.
14th Dec 2008, 16:12
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.