1997 Toyota Camry CE from North America - Comments

Many things.

My muffler had to be replace because of rust and since the car sits so low it was scraping against the pavment at 50,000 KM.

"Engine Check Light" appears and never goes away. started around 40,000 KM, Taken to the dealership, still can't fix the problem.

Paint Peeling badly around the Bumper and Trunk.

Seats have deteriotated with small rips and tears.

Left Passenger Window had to be replaced at around 69,000 KM, It fell off the track.

Lightbulbs for the brake lights had to be replaced several times, they wear out very fast.

The Cassette Player had to be replaced due to a tape getting stuck in there.

A 1997 Model year problem I'm told.

I do like the large trunk and it seats adults comfortably.

Gas mileage is good.

Don't like the low seating position.

Easy to manuver around.

4 cylinder engine is underpowered.

Seats can be uncomfortable on long trips.

There is a federal judgment against Toyota, for defects pertaining to the check engine light, brought about by certain faulty designs in the evaporative emissions system.

A copy of the judgement is contained at:

http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/cases/civil/caa/toyotacdfs.pdf.

If your problem is related to evaporative emissions, by order of the judgment, your warranty on such components has been extended to 14 years or 150,000 miles. The problem is very widespread.

I have a friend with an affected vehicle, on which I diagnosed the problem. We tried to get relief from Toyota, and they arrogantly denied everything, until I showed them the judgement. They got cooperative really fast (knew all about it all along); there are stiff penalties for non compliance.

If your check engine light is on, your computer will generate codes. OBDII codes ('96 and later) are generic, with the same nomenclature for all vehicles. The code descriptions are listed all over the internet. If yours have anything to do with evaporative emissions, you are all set.

This is serious stuff, which Toyota has fouled up. There are states where your car will fail inspection on the spot, if your check engine light is on, and/or any codes come up on a scan. I have known people who could not keep their late model Toyotas on the road because of this, while Toyota denied being able to do anything about it.

Disconnect battery for a minute or so.. check engine light might go off after reconnected.. had the same problem and it worked for me.. on a 99 though..can't hurt to try!

Hi, I'm the guy who wrote this review. Well I did disconnect the battery and it didn't work, The car is still drivable, cause we have no emmissions testing in the province. It just really bugs me when I am driving long distances. I always think the car is going to stall or something. I got it checked out and it was quoted as the "O2" sensor... They gave me the whole run around and the astromical price to fix it. There must be an easier way to fix it. The car now has a little over 100,000 KM's on it, no other "warning" lights have came on so that is good.

Here is another update on my toyota.

It is now Feb 2007, due to the hard winter, the paint is peeling and chipping at a faster rate, it is now starting on the hood of the car and the side passenger doors.

Another major problem I think is due to an electrical malfunction is when you are driving at fast speeds on the highway or doing a right turn the "Door Ajar" light will come on and the automatic lock, will lock and unlock repeatidly. and the overhead light will stay on. It is really annoying when driving with a passenger and driving at night. I am really compimplating giving up this car and getting a new one.

120,000 KM on it now.

Our 1997 Toyota Camry has paint peeling off the bumper. We are the original owners, the car has only 84,000 miles on it, we have no snow where we live (and don't travel to or in snow), and we don't run into things. Any one else experience the same? I'm trying to find out if there is any remedy I can expect from Toyota?

I just replaced my 1997 Camry Ce w/a 2009 Corolla. The Camry was amazing, has 165k on it, never let me down, excellent body and motor integrity. Probably should have driven it a few more years, but I was afraid of things starting to go. I mean, it is 12 yrs old, right?Anyway, I loved this car, and if my new Corolla is half the car my old Camry was, Ill be happy.Plus, the Camry got 40 mpg!!!