Beloved 1994 V6 Camry Wagon Turning Off - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

missinglina · 03-08-2011, 04:36 PM

Hi Folks:

My wonderful 1994 V6 Camry Wagon with 186,000 miles has been turning off on me at various times, but not always and not consistently. It's still driveable, but I know there's a component that needs replacement.

When I turn it on, when I go on reverse, it might turn off. When I come to a stop or slow down for light, it might turn off. When I slow down to turn, at a U-turn for example, it might turn off. When I put it in N, I can turn it right back on and then put it back on D to keep driving. I will leave it all in the hands of a local shop but thought I would invest in a couple of components myself first to see if I can make it go away.

Recently, I was told by the shop by the way, that the car was idling high when it got turned on cold. Then after warming up, the RPMS were coming down to normal levels. They said they hesitated to replace the idle control module because of the cost involved but that I would need to keep an eye on that and on that turning off issue which may be related.

Someone has suggested that I may need to replace the EGR modulator.

Based on the age of the car, and how it's acting, what part do you think I can pop in there and have either likelihood of success, or at least not hurt the car, and hopefully even help the car before I place it in the hands of the shop and possibly end up with a bill that might be higher than what I could get for the car.

This car has been wonderful.

swagger_wagon468 · 03-08-2011, 05:49 PM

to TN! I love my wagon so much. I have roughly $6k in her total. Lol. She has 373k miles now and on her second engine.

Anyways, im tuned in for this because I want to see your problem get resolved and not sell it!

I hope it goes well for you. Also, my wagon idles at like 2k rpm when turned on cold. So im tuned in to see what the solution for that is.

Good luck. And again, welcome to TN.

-Jonathan

missinglina · 03-09-2011, 10:17 AM

Wow! Now that's what I call a loyal car! I don't think I'll sell it. I'll be glad to have it fixed professionally, and I don't think it'll be such a punishing price. But I do think with all the knowledge out there and with the availability of used parts, that I just might stumble upon the solution myself that will keep the car running as great as it always has for another year.

This car is a total champ. I just couldn't sell it after all it's given me. I would rather spend the several hundreds of dollars at the shop if I just knew the issue would go away.

Something else that it does, and I think it's related because it all started happening at around the same time:

It sort of feels like it jerks a little on the highway when I'm at a certain speed, but even on the street at low speeds I can detect it. It's sort of like a sputter. Jerk is probably too strong a word. Airflow stuff. I'm really wanting to fix the cigarette lighter on it, too. Maybe someone knows the secret. I'll post it elsewhere.

Thanks for the welcome.

swagger_wagon468 · 03-09-2011, 12:01 PM

I have an.extra cig lighter as i bought an extra when I fixed mine. Ill sell it to u for cheap if interested.

missinglina · 03-09-2011, 12:02 PM

Thanks very much. If it's ok, I will quote your message and put it in a new thread so as to avoid confusion. Here goes...

Frodo65 · 03-09-2011, 07:22 PM

This begs for systematic diagnosis. If the car is OBD2 (some were starting in 94 - not sure if yours is the older OBD1), a scanner with recording function will let you record what the computer is seeing. The issue could be EGR, Idle air control, or an electrical fault like a bad ignition switch. Following the diagnostic tree is needed to figure out what it REALLY is.

Safari Wagon · 03-09-2011, 10:10 PM

By the way you describe your car, it sounds like you have had it for a while.
When was the last tune up done? Plugs, wires, distributor cap and rotor?
Does it turn off both cold and warmed up?

missinglina · 09-22-2011, 10:31 AM

Sorry to have missed your post. Yes I've definitely had those components changed in the not too distant past. It turns off both cold and warmed up. It's gotten much much worse and now I'm going to put in a used IAC valve myself. Maybe look into cleaning EGR component. If it doesn't do it, I'll take it back to shop and hopefully they can find it. In the past I think they couldn't even replicate it b/c it was so rare. Now, anyone can replicate it I am pretty darn certain. They did indicate in the past that my IAC MAY need to be replaced. Thanks a lot. Love the pictures of your wagon. Wow. Can you really haul that boat and trailer? Sweet.

missinglina · 09-22-2011, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frodo65

This begs for systematic diagnosis. If the car is OBD2 (some were starting in 94 - not sure if yours is the older OBD1), a scanner with recording function will let you record what the computer is seeing. The issue could be EGR, Idle air control, or an electrical fault like a bad ignition switch. Following the diagnostic tree is needed to figure out what it REALLY is.

Thanks Frodo, sorry to have missed your message from long ago. Yes, I've had it fully diagnosed in the past for this issue. They weren't able to really pin it down. They found a crack in the mass airflow meter hose that was being pushed on by the engine (bad motor mount) so they replaced the hose and the mount. That helped the turning off problem at that time. But this turning off problem I'm pretty certain is not caused by the same thing and in fact was already present in the car b/c the hose got that leak. That issue was totally predictable: Whenever I put the car into gear, b/c the engine would rise, the hose would be disturbed and the car would turn off. That's not what's happening with this issue although it def. does turn off at times when I go from park into reverse (but not always).

After I put in an IAC valve, if it behaves the same way, I'll invest maybe $50 into addressing the EGR stuff myself via used parts. If no luck, I'll submit to what the shop wants to charge me, but i figure I MIGHT luck out and save myself hundreds of dollars. Wish me luck. I'm no mechanic but I've done a few things myself here and there.

missinglina · 09-30-2011, 04:45 PM

I installed the IAC valce. After driving it a few days, the car is definitely fixed. It drives like a new car now (well for a 1994) The jerking is gone, the turning off is gone. It has a slight idling issue and a slight hesitation when I press the gas from a stopped position but it's not very noticeable. new spark plugs might help there or maybe i need to adjust the idling rpms. But for sure, the major problems are gone and driving it is enjoyable again. My camry wagon is back.

So for anyone trying to match these symtpoms:

rough idling
turning off
jerking

For me, it appears it was definitely a bad IAC.

Thanks everyone.

BamZipPow · 10-01-2011, 12:09 AM

Do you know if they cleaned the throttle body, too? Hopefully so since they were in there.

I think with the cracked intake hose...that crack allowed extra dirt to clog the IAC vane.

Did they happen to give you the old part? Kinda curious on how bad it looks...

missinglina · 10-04-2011, 09:40 AM

The throttle body had been cleaned not to long ago at a shop so it looked decent. That's an excellent theory about the cracked intake hose, hadn't occurred to me. I did the repair job with my brother, so I have the old part. I can't say it looked too bad. We even kept it plugged in and put the key in the ignition. The little mechanical part (that acts as a damper I believe) still moves properly when you put the key to accessories. But then there's the electircal component, that gray part, the solenoid? That may have been what had gone bad, but not sure. Clearly, that little mechanical part responding to current does not prove that the IAC is still good. Hey, you're in League City. Greetings from H-Town.