Were some Camry's built in Japan? If so, how can you tell?

[ciscoboy]

Were some Camry's built in Japan? If so, how can you tell?

[robob2]

The VIN starts with a J

[yeuemhoai]

1. VIN starts with "J"
2. Front bumper has a square cover for hooking the car up onboard.
3. Rubber coating under engine to prevent sea air/water during transportation.
4. Having less rattling noise (J/K)

[wireless]

Originally Posted by ciscoboy

Were some Camry's built in Japan? If so, how can you tell?

Use the search function, select this forum, titles only and enter the keywords "Made Japan"

Then review the threads that appear in result:
http://toyotanation.com/forum/search...earchid=678306

[CharmCityES]

location of production is printed inside the door jamb on the drivers side

[Mike Gerber]

"2. Front bumper has a square cover for hooking the car up onboard."

I always wondered why I noticed that on some Camrys and not on others. Thanks.

Mike

[Barracuda]

I read somewhere that from the April 2007 they were not planning to bring Camry’s from Japan and all sold in the US was US made.

I did an extended deal of the research since I wanted one build in Japan( and I got one). It took me 2.5 month of waiting but I totally like my Platinum Japanese Immigrant .

[woodman411]

I'm not sure if you care or if this was brought up before - there is a difference between made in Japan and assembled in Japan. I believe both gen 5 and 6 Camrys assembled in Japan have about 25% of the parts, primarily the engine and transmission, made in Japan, the rest of the car parts made in the US, shipped to Japan, and assembled there.

The only exception to this that I have found (there could be more?) is the Japanese-made gen 6 Camry Hybrid, where the entire car is 100% sourced in Japan. This is a true "made in Japan".

* WW

[touringcamry]

Made in Japan doesn't say much. My car is MIJ and has several problems that I need the dealer to address under warranty.

1. My glove box does not close
2. The panel next to my right calf when in the driver seat is slowly changing from gray to white
3. Rattling in the B-pillar
4. A-pillar covers repeatedly coming off

[thoots]

Originally Posted by woodman411

I'm not sure if you care or if this was brought up before - there is a difference between made in Japan and assembled in Japan. I believe both gen 5 and 6 Camrys assembled in Japan have about 25% of the parts, primarily the engine and transmission, made in Japan, the rest of the car parts made in the US, shipped to Japan, and assembled there.

I think you're misguided there. You're probably taking the "entire line" numbers and thinking that it applies to each car individually, which it doesn't. Here's the sticker:



At the top, it says "For vehicles in this carline," US/Canada parts are 75% and Japan parts are 25%. But it sure doesn't mean that every single car is built that way. It would be relatively ridiculous to send parts from the US if those same parts are readily available in Japan, which I expect they would be for Japan-built cars.

Below that, it shows where the actual car was built, and the origin of the engine and the transmission. That is indeed information regarding the specific car.

I expect that the 75% / 25% probably has a whole lot more to do with the distribution of Japan-built to US-built Camrys sold in the US, with the Japan-builts having a whole lot closer to 100% Japan parts, and the US-builts having a whole lot closer to 100% US parts. Sure, there's probably a certain amount of parts going either way, but I sure expect the bulk of the parts come from "closer to home" rather than "across the ocean" for either factory location.

[woodman411]

thoots,
You're right, I was referring to that picture you posted, and I missed "car line" versus "for this vehicle" wording. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

* WW