3rd & 4th Generation (1992–1996 & 1997–2001)Toyota Camry Discussion for years: 1992-1996 & 1997-2001
Topics of discussion range from fuel economy, safety, modifications, performance all involving America's favorite family car, the Toyota Camry.
I have a Toyota Camry 1999 LE model (california) with about 125K miles. It has this problem of engine turning OFF when car is either at a very low speed or car is idling on a traffic red light. The problem is ongoing for more than one-two years. It happens few days of the week and maybe 10% times (lets say I stop at ten red lights, it will turn OFF one time). Sometimes it happens rarely for a few days and sometimes it happens more often. Mostly the engine turns back ON immediately when I put it on NEUTRAL/PARKING and try again, but sometimes it gives trouble turning ON for maybe 20-30 seconds before turning ON. Also sometimes when it gives trouble starting it hangs around at very low rpm for few seconds before turning OFF completely or turning ON fine. There is no specific starting problem in the morning. There is no check engine light. I recently got SMOG passed without any issues. My mechanic says he doesn't know what else could be wrong? EGR or fuel pump? Also sometimes it feels like misfire or jerk when I'm driving at 40-50 mph (it's rare).
I've tried the following (on different people/mechanic suggestion) but with no help:-
* Replaced the idle air controller valve
* Replaced the A/F sensor
* Replaced the spark plug wires (spark plugs were replaced 2 years back too)
* Replaced the main computer (EMU) which I used bought from EBay.
* Tried Fuel system cleaners few times.
* I do regular 30K services and basic oil changes every 4-5K miles. The timing belt and water pump were replaces around 90K.
Please help, with this problem the car is very unsafe and I'm not ready to part ways with the car yet.
I have a Toyota Camry 1999 LE model (california) with about 125K miles. It has this problem of engine turning OFF when car is either at a very low speed or car is idling on a traffic red light. The problem is ongoing for more than one-two years. It happens few days of the week and maybe 10% times (lets say I stop at ten red lights, it will turn OFF one time). Sometimes it happens rarely for a few days and sometimes it happens more often. Mostly the engine turns back ON immediately when I put it on NEUTRAL/PARKING and try again, but sometimes it gives trouble turning ON for maybe 20-30 seconds before turning ON. Also sometimes when it gives trouble starting it hangs around at very low rpm for few seconds before turning OFF completely or turning ON fine. There is no specific starting problem in the morning. There is no check engine light. I recently got SMOG passed without any issues. My mechanic says he doesn't know what else could be wrong? EGR or fuel pump? Also sometimes it feels like misfire or jerk when I'm driving at 40-50 mph (it's rare).
I've tried the following (on different people/mechanic suggestion) but with no help:-
* Replaced the idle air controller valve
* Replaced the A/F sensor
* Replaced the spark plug wires (spark plugs were replaced 2 years back too)
* Replaced the main computer (EMU) which I used bought from EBay.
* Tried Fuel system cleaners few times.
* I do regular 30K services and basic oil changes every 4-5K miles. The timing belt and water pump were replaces around 90K.
Please help, with this problem the car is very unsafe and I'm not ready to part ways with the car yet.
You did not mention if you have checked the fuel injector(s)
I haven't checked fuel injectors. One time my mechanic kept the car for a day to diagnose but he couldn't figure out anything (I don't know what all he checked). He said, maybe the EMU is bad. That's when I bought used EMU from ebay and replaced it myself.
Replaced the idle air controller valve
* Replaced the A/F sensor
* Replaced the spark plug wires (spark plugs were replaced 2 years back too)
* Replaced the main computer (EMU) which I used bought from EBay.
* Tried Fuel system cleaners few times.
* I do regular 30K services and basic oil changes every 4-5K miles. The timing belt and water pump were replaces around 90K.
EGR is a definite possibility. They get carboned up badly sometimes...for a quick check, disconnect the hoses and unplug the power from it i.e. kill the egr valve temporarily, then see if that makes any difference in how the engine runs. If it doesn't, your EGR valve might need replacing.
If that's not it, i think it's safe to say it's a fuel problem (as opposed to electrical). I doubt it is the fuel pump since they basically act like a light switch - on or off. Same thing with the injectors - when they act up, they act up ALL THE TIME not intermittently.
i'm mostly familiar with the 2001 and later 1FMZE v6 - having worked on 3 of them for several people including my own 2002, i thin k your 1999 is a little different (but not all that different).
1. Is it possible your engine is sludged? You may have heard about the sludging recall that Toyota did that included your model year, i think. If the engine is badly sludged, this can truly mess up an engines performance. If you owned the car since new and changed the oil every 3000 miles, sludge is probably not the issue. If you got the car later, the maintenance history is probably unknown, so checking for sludging might be a good start.
2. Does your engine have a cold start injector? If it does, its possible it may be spraying fuel at the wrong time (on when it should be off). It's not hard to check: with engine cold, disconnect the electric connector to the injector, get a volt ohmeter, set for "20 V DC" or whatever is closest, and have someone crank the engine while you check for voltage to the cold start injector connector. Since you havent said anything about a problem with cold starts, you'll probably get a voltage reading. Now reconnect, start the engine and let it warm up. Disconnect that same connector and measure for voltage now. There shouldn't be any. If there is, your cold start injector is spraying fuel when it shouldn't and make the mixture too rich all the time.
3. Does your engine have an accelerator cable that goes straight to the throttle valve, or is there a throttle motor in between? I.e. when you press the gas pedal, it does not act directly on the throttle - it sends a signal to the throttle motor (or whatever the nomenclature is) and tells it what you want the engine to do. Have that checked.
4. Ever cleaned the throttle body? I'm guessing you did, since it sounds like you have tried almost everything else. If you haven't, try cleaning it.
5. if after all this the problem is still there - i think i'd find the real toyota guru mechanic in your area and have him look at it. Since you've already done a lot of his diagnosing for him, hopefully he'd figure out what's wrong.
Last edited by AlmightyCamry777; 02-02-2012 at 01:57 PM.
EGR is a definite possibility. They get carboned up badly sometimes...for a quick check, disconnect the hoses and unplug the power from it i.e. kill the egr valve temporarily, then see if that makes any difference in how the engine runs. If it doesn't, your EGR valve might need replacing.
If that's not it, i think it's safe to say it's a fuel problem (as opposed to electrical). I doubt it is the fuel pump since they basically act like a light switch - on or off. Same thing with the injectors - when they act up, they act up ALL THE TIME not intermittently.
i'm mostly familiar with the 2001 and later 1FMZE v6 - having worked on 3 of them for several people including my own 2002, i thin k your 1999 is a little different (but not all that different).
1. Is it possible your engine is sludged? You may have heard about the sludging recall that Toyota did that included your model year, i think. If the engine is badly sludged, this can truly mess up an engines performance. If you owned the car since new and changed the oil every 3000 miles, sludge is probably not the issue. If you got the car later, the maintenance history is probably unknown, so checking for sludging might be a good start.
2. Does your engine have a cold start injector? If it does, its possible it may be spraying fuel at the wrong time (on when it should be off). It's not hard to check: with engine cold, disconnect the electric connector to the injector, get a volt ohmeter, set for "20 V DC" or whatever is closest, and have someone crank the engine while you check for voltage to the cold start injector connector. Since you havent said anything about a problem with cold starts, you'll probably get a voltage reading. Now reconnect, start the engine and let it warm up. Disconnect that same connector and measure for voltage now. There shouldn't be any. If there is, your cold start injector is spraying fuel when it shouldn't and make the mixture too rich all the time.
3. Does your engine have an accelerator cable that goes straight to the throttle valve, or is there a throttle motor in between? I.e. when you press the gas pedal, it does not act directly on the throttle - it sends a signal to the throttle motor (or whatever the nomenclature is) and tells it what you want the engine to do. Have that checked.
4. Ever cleaned the throttle body? I'm guessing you did, since it sounds like you have tried almost everything else. If you haven't, try cleaning it.
5. if after all this the problem is still there - i think i'd find the real toyota guru mechanic in your area and have him look at it. Since you've already done a lot of his diagnosing for him, hopefully he'd figure out what's wrong.
Thanks, I'll try to follow up on all points above. Basically I have tried with pulling out all EGR hoses from the modulator and valve, but it makes no difference. I've to find the place where to unplug the power to EGR valve?
There is no real cold start problem. Problem is irrespective of morning/evening or first time Vs after driving few miles/hours.
Also, the problem happens at Parking position too without any touch to the accelerator pedal.
Yes I've tried cleaning throttle body and I've got Idle Air Control Valve replaced too.
Thanks, I'll try to follow up on all points above. Basically I have tried with pulling out all EGR hoses from the modulator and valve, but it makes no difference. I've to find the place where to unplug the power to EGR valve?
There is no real cold start problem. Problem is irrespective of morning/evening or first time Vs after driving few miles/hours.
Also, the problem happens at Parking position too without any touch to the accelerator pedal.
Yes I've tried cleaning throttle body and I've got Idle Air Control Valve replaced too.
If you disconnected the EGR and it made no difference in performance, it is possible the thing is broken, the diapraghm is broken or it is full of carbon. Plenty of times the EGR will quit functiioning and never throw a code. It might be worth a try to soak it overnight in seafoam and try to remove some of the carbon.
Since the problem happens at low RPM's the problem is very likely something that is regulating the fuel or the air, in other words, it involves a component in the engine idle system. You know some of what isn't causing the problem, but i'm sure you'd rather go straight to it rather then changing parts to find out.
To add to the list, and some other things i'd check again,
-Engine heavily sludged up
-timing belt has skipped one or more teeth due to broken teeth on the belt, worn and binding timing belt idler pulleys, worn water pump bearing putting too much tension (not likely since you'd probably hear it), or worn timing belt tensioner putting too little.
-Alternator not putting out enough juice under load. Due to loose or slipping belt, or bad alternator. It can also make an engine run bad and you might never even suspect the alternator as the culprit, (i have seen it happen, more then once), Because many times the alternator can be bad, or marginal, and the "alternator" light on the dash never even blinks. Don't ask me why this would happen but it does.
For a cursory check: if you have a volt ohmeter, put the probes on the battery with engine idling, and all lights, radio, a/c and other loads switched on. Set the VOM for "20 VDC" or whatever is closest, and check the alternator at the battery. A bare minimum of 13.8 volts is acceptable, 14 to 14.9 is best, any lower then 13.8 it's possible the alternator is making it run bad.
Last edited by AlmightyCamry777; 02-03-2012 at 01:57 PM.
Coolant temperature sensor. Had the same problem after driving for awhile and car just bogs and i just quickly gas it to get it up and going befor it dies. Took it to my freinds shop and diagnose it and temp. was reading 20 clicuis when engine is reading 98 clicius. Changed the Coolant temp. sensor and thermostate. Just heads up i had the egr cleaned out with seafoam just six months before this happened.
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