I've got a 2000 Camry LE, 6cyl and every once in a while the stock radio would lose it's presets when I started it up in the morning after sitting overnight. The car would start without any problem. I figured it was just some sort of glitch, but like oil leaks, glitches never go away, they only get worse.
It would happen maybe once every 10 days, then over a period of maybe 6 months more frequently. It became bothersome, so I searched the ToyotaNation forums and came up with some possible solutions. Loose wires and blown fuses seemed to be the most common. I checked all the fuses, and they were OK. I removed the radio and check the connections at the back of the battery, and the continuity of the circuits and they were OK.
Then the radio started losing presets not only overnight but during the day when I was driving around. Go somewhere, turn off the key, come back after 20 minutes, and the pre-sets were gone. Hmmmmm.
One suggestion was to change the battery, but I figured if the car would start, the battery was probably not the cause. Well, I was wrong. One morning I started the car and got that dreaded urrrrr, urrrrr, urrrr, then the car started. It's October, and winter is coming, and you don't need a weak battery. I checked the cells in the battery, and they were full. The connections were good, not loose. I got out my paperwork, and discovered that the battery was 5 years old so I guess it was time to replace it.
I went off to Autozone and got a new one, and the difference was amazing. The starter turned over the motor faster than I ever remember it. Like twice as fast. Well it seemed like twice as fast....
And guess what. The radio quit losing pre-sets, so it
was the battery all along. I'm guessing that the circuitry in the radio probably needs some sort of minimum voltage to maintain the presets. Seems the old battery wouldn't supply it and the radio would lose the presets overnight. As the battery got weaker and weaker, the radio started losing the presets more frequently.
So if your Camry stock radio starts losing presets, and the fuses are not blown, it's probably the Battery. Have it checked, clean the terminals, and if the radio continues to lose pre-sets, the battery probably needs replacing.
Nice touch eh, the radio kinda acts as the "canary in the coal mine" to indicate the battery needs replacing. I wonder if they planned it that way?
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