2003 Toyota Camry xle from North America - Comments

Poor shifting in low gears.

The car has a problem with shifting from 1st to 2nd. It will lurch and jerk forward before shifting.

I have had in it 3 times for repairs & each time the problem comes back within two weeks.

I have been told that Toyota has had numerous complaints/problems with this issue and that most of the time it has been repaired to the customer's sasisfaction.

I need to know if other folks are having this same problem and what has Toyota done about it? I have just contacted them and started the dispute resolution process.

Yes. We have this problem during moderate acceleration.

At about 20 mph it just gets stuc for about a second? What should I do?

The problem is the computer calibration for the shift adaptives.

There already is one updated calibration available so make sure your car has it.

Let Toyota know so they can come up with another as the first one only helps a bit.

The reason it is OK for awhile after the dealer looks at it is because they are restting the shift adaptives,and it relearns your driving patterns after awhile.

THIS APPLIES TO THE 5 SPEED AUTOMATIC ONLY.

Sorry, I have not been back to the site in a bit. As to the first comment - You can try the recalibration, but it may not work.

As to the second post - I do know about the recalibration etc. Mine has been recalibrated twice by the dealer, but the problem persists. My belief is that Toyota is covering up a big problem. I have been sadly disapointed by the dealership and have now requested a buy back. This process is also proving to be quite frustrating, with Toyota stalling and delaying at every turn.

Personally - I have purchased 3 new Toyota's in the past two years for the same reason other folks buy them - service and reliability. My experience with my camry has been an eye opener.

Guys, I have 2004 Camry and my car has exactly same problem.

IT hesitates from 1st to 2nd gear and in turn loses acceleration. I think this problem is specific to 5A.

I am very disappointed by Toyota Camry. Toyota doesn't want to acknowledge it and dealership says everything is fine with the car.

I wouldn't buy any Toyota product in future.

Interesting. Toyota knows there is a problem and they are just biding there time hoping to aviod a recall & the bad press that would come with it. What did the dealer say to you? did he offer to recalibrate it? and did they give you the line they gave me " this is normal shifting for your car"

what a joke.

A follow up to my experience with Toyota and the shifting problem. I took to dealer to Arbitration in December. The gentlemen came out as did a Toyota rep and we test drove the car. The transmission "did it's thing" everyone lurched forward in their seats and I thought I had a good case. When the decision came back all he said was that I proved it was an annoyance, but that I failed to prove that it damaged my ability to resell the car.

So how many people out there would buy a car that had a shifting problem that made you lurch forward in your seat?

If there are any takers I have a Camry I would love to sell you.

Guess I won't be buying a Camry. Maybe the new Pontiac G6.

Purchased a used 2003 Camry LE V6 auto (5 speed) in June of 2004. After a short trip the next weekend realized the car had serious shifting problems. Tried to return the car to the local dealer where purchased. Dealer refused saying that was what warranty service was for. What a joke. After two trips for warranty repair from the local dealer and a letter to Toyota, took the car to a dealer in another city in May of this year. After a short test drive by the tech, he checked the fluid level in the transmission and discovered it was overfilled. I was told he had to drain nearly 0.9 quarts from the transmission to get it back to proper level. I drove the car home from the dealer and immediately could feel a difference: No more hesitation when pulling from a dead stop, shift point from 1-2 and 2-3 feel more normal and consistent, passing gear now feels normal with acceleration (what a relief). Only symptom that still seems apparent is at slow speed when trying to begin to accelerate, it feels like the transmission is not in any gear, but then shifts into gear.

It is possible the tech may have reprogrammed the computer in some way and did not say so, but it has been three weeks and the transmission is still operating more like a normal transmission. One more thing, see if you can find a procedure in your Owners Manual for checking transmission fluid level.

Still one more thing, about the cost warranty inspections, the dealer in the other city charged me nothing for the 30,000 mile warranty inspection, but the cost of a new air cleaner (~$18.00). Some dealers will try to say you must purchase their warranty inspection package at a very high cost, so beware.

I had exactly the same problem, lurched into 5th gear when going 25 mph (and I mean hard). After several unsuccessful trips to the dealer, I finally sold this car and bought a Hyundai Azera (2007 Limited and I love it). I was a very loyal Camry owner since 1994 but will NEVER buy another Toyota product of any kind.

Commenter 15:46, congrats on the Hyundai. I'm a died-in-the-wool domestic owner after disastrous experiences with imports, but Hyundai seems to be making a real effort to build high quality cars. I looked at and drove the new Sonata and was very impressed.

As for Toyota, just looking at the Camry reviews would be enough to turn me off, and my experience with Honda was so bad we'll never buy another one of those either.

I just bought a 2003 Toyota Camry XLE a week ago. It is doing all the things everyone else describes as far as the shifting/transmission, getting stuck at lower speeds and then lurching forward. Brought it back to the dealer 3 days later and then again today and they are basically telling me that it's my imagination, that there's nothing wrong with the car.

I brought it to my regular mechanic, and he confirmed my fears. It also has steering problems and possible engine problems. I am so freaked out over this! They get away with it because there are no recalls to be looked up, so only by really searching the internet did I now find all the complaints about this car. I am trying to convince them to let me trade it in for another, different car, but I'm afraid the car they may give me in exchange may be worse! I had a 1997 Camry XLE with 105,000 miles on it that I traded in and wish I still had!!! This car is NOTHING like my old Camry. I will never buy one again.