The brakes started squeaking at 63,000 miles; I thought maybe the pads were dirty because I drove through a big rainstorm and the squeaking stopped. But at 64,000 miles, the brakes began moaning and shuddering; the pads were shot and I had a jammed caliper that needed replacing. I went to Midas, they did a good job, all fixed up within 4 hours, plus a good warranty, but the cost was almost $600! I think I could have gone to an independent brake shop and gotten away a lot cheaper.
My Camry is getting on in years, now seven years old with 64,000 miles on it; the brakes incident is the only major post-warranty problem I've had; it's still a smooth-riding, quality car overall except for the suspension, I had it worked on (struts support) twice, and it never stopped squeaking; I understand other late 90's Toyotas based on the Camry chassis (Avalons, Sienna minivans) also had the suspension issues; one of Toyota's few weak spots at the time I guess!
Brakes are designed to squeal when they need replacing! The pads must be replaced when squealing starts. Otherwise you will end up with no pad and metal on metal.. and a hefty repair/machining job like the one you had. You would expect to have to replace your pads at the 60k mile mark, or well before. I don't think this was a problem with Camry, but operator error. Better luck next time.
Note: A Comments RSS Feed is available. New comments appear in the Members Area before the main site