My 2010 Camry can't be a lemon...

[jellis757]

Greeting everyone. I've been "ghosting" through the forums for a while now and you guys give some really good advice. Now, I need some guidance.

I have a 2010 Camry SE I4 I bought last August and ever since day one, it's been making an interesting sound. The car makes a weird, high-pitch whine kind of like those old school Ford "Exploders" of the 90's. It sounds like my power steering is going bad, and makes that loud, obnoxious whine sound when I accelerate. It's less noticeable when the engine warms up, but when it's cold or been sitting for a couple of hours, its very loud and unnerving. So I did some research and test drove another 2010 SE 4 cylinder in January only to find no whine.

I've taken it in for this problem twice now and drove around service technicians on both visits where they identified the problem within before we could get out of the parking lot. The first time, they replaced a/the vacuum valve assembly for the brake system, as per TSB and after the dealership poked around on it for 2 days. I just got my car back after my dealership here at school had it for almost 2 weeks and ended up replacing my torque converter that didn't fix the problem . Now, they want to completely replace my transmission sometime this week. I highly doubt the transmission has anything to do with the problem because I can reproduce the sound in park or neutral in addition to driving the car.

I'm not sure what to do next. I'll let them put the new transmission in, but I don't think that will fix the problem. They said if that didn't work, they would have to fly someone in from Toyota to listen to the whine. I'm looking into lemon laws on my end in the event that it doesn't get fixed, but I'm wary of climbing that mountain. I know that you can get a refund or a replacement car after 3 attempts to remedy the issue, but not only did I lease the Camry, I did a one-pay lease. I'm hoping you guys could give me some advice on my next steps. I've already notified corporate to start a claim of sorts and I have all my service write-ups in hard copy and online at Toyota Owners. Thoughts?

[JohnGD]

Sounds like you have everything buttoned down.

Sure, could be the ATF pump or other things in there. The Aisin U-series transmissions they're using IMO are clunkers.

If you have to protect your right given to you by your state's Lemon Law, then so be it. The first consultation is usually free.

Originally Posted by jellis757

Greeting everyone. I've been "ghosting" through the forums for a while now and you guys give some really good advice. Now, I need some guidance.

I have a 2010 Camry SE I4 I bought last August and ever since day one, it's been making an interesting sound. The car makes a weird, high-pitch whine kind of like those old school Ford "Exploders" of the 90's. It sounds like my power steering is going bad, and makes that loud, obnoxious whine sound when I accelerate. It's less noticeable when the engine warms up, but when it's cold or been sitting for a couple of hours, its very loud and unnerving. So I did some research and test drove another 2010 SE 4 cylinder in January only to find no whine.

I've taken it in for this problem twice now and drove around service technicians on both visits where they identified the problem within before we could get out of the parking lot. The first time, they replaced a/the vacuum valve assembly for the brake system, as per TSB and after the dealership poked around on it for 2 days. I just got my car back after my dealership here at school had it for almost 2 weeks and ended up replacing my torque converter that didn't fix the problem . Now, they want to completely replace my transmission sometime this week. I highly doubt the transmission has anything to do with the problem because I can reproduce the sound in park or neutral in addition to driving the car.

I'm not sure what to do next. I'll let them put the new transmission in, but I don't think that will fix the problem. They said if that didn't work, they would have to fly someone in from Toyota to listen to the whine. I'm looking into lemon laws on my end in the event that it doesn't get fixed, but I'm wary of climbing that mountain. I know that you can get a refund or a replacement car after 3 attempts to remedy the issue, but not only did I lease the Camry, I did a one-pay lease. I'm hoping you guys could give me some advice on my next steps. I've already notified corporate to start a claim of sorts and I have all my service write-ups in hard copy and online at Toyota Owners. Thoughts?

[jellis757]

Thanks JohnGD for your reply; I'll ask them about the ATF pump. Yeah I've heard the Aisins are pretty much trash and indecisive when driving around town. I'm headed to the dealer now so they can take a look at the stamp on the transmission. I'll also get a chance to talk to the service tech that has been working on my car. I'll keep you posted.

[JasonA]

This probably isn't what you want to hear, but in my experience with a variety of dealerships, Toyota and otherwise, it sounds like they're bending over backwards to try and fix your car. Frankly, I'd let 'em try whatever they want to try. Even though you can replicate the noise in Park and Neutral, the noise could be in the transmission's front pump, which should turn at engine speed.

Because they keep looking at options for fixing it, I'd let them go at it. It may be inconvenient to get a loaner or another ride temporarily, but it's much better than trying to go the Lemon Law route.

[2010CSE]

I would definitely like to know what you end up with as I have the same whine. Luckily, I have the 5yr/100,000 mile B2B warranty. Only 13K on the clock now.

[JohnGD]

Sure, I think JasonA has a point. If they can fix it this time and the problem doesn't come back then fine.

But like 2010CSE said, if they can't fix it, then OP shouldn't need to be putting up with it 13k miles+ later. After all OP paid for a new, quiet transmission. Not a noisy clunker new from the lot.

[Pujols85]

i had the same issue with my old accord(94), and it was actually the alternator. it worked fine but it made a high pitch noise, my wife said it sounded like a remote control car going down the street. got louder with higher rpm.... if it sounds like you might wanna have them check that out

[MJZ]

Originally Posted by JohnGD

Sure, I think JasonA has a point. If they can fix it this time and the problem doesn't come back then fine.

But like 2010CSE said, if they can't fix it, then OP shouldn't need to be putting up with it 13k miles+ later. After all OP paid for a new, quiet transmission. Not a noisy clunker new from the lot.

Time is money... get a replacement car with some free upgrades or get your Lease refunded to you per the Lemon law policies.

[JohnGD]

If the dealer couldn't figure this out then they really stink.

Originally Posted by Pujols85

i had the same issue with my old accord(94), and it was actually the alternator. it worked fine but it made a high pitch noise, my wife said it sounded like a remote control car going down the street. got louder with higher rpm.... if it sounds like you might wanna have them check that out

[Kyoto]

My 2010 has the same high pitched whining noise. It happens when accelerating, either from a stop or roll. And it doesn't matter if the car is warmed up or not. I took it to the dealer and they replaced the drive belt because apparently it was cracked (hard to believe though, with only 8000 km on it).

However the drive belt replacement did not make any difference, as the excessive noise is still there...I've taken it to several dealerships and they can't seem to figure out the problem. :/

[jellis757]

Hey guys, thanks for all of your insight. Not too much to update just yet. Hopefully this week they'll put in the transmission. I talked to the service tech that's taking care of my car and he told me that Toyota, in their infinite wisdom, told them to put the torque converter in first and then a transmission if the sound was still there. But he told me the sound is coming from the pan towards the front of the engine bay? We'll see what happens with the new trans. Besides, I'll get to ride around in a new Prius for a couple of days .

Also, the service dept told me that Toyota is creating a knowledge base for this situation so that other dealers can access the case and diagnose this problem in other Camrys as a TSB or something. I can't really complain though; they are really bending over backwards to fix this problem.

[JohnGD]

Good to hear. I guess after all the recent recalls Toyota probably wants to try harder to satisfy their customers. I hope the new transmission solves the problem, because if it comes back a year later (like some U660E transmission flares in early V6s) you're stuck with the car.

Originally Posted by jellis757

Hey guys, thanks for all of your insight. Not too much to update just yet. Hopefully this week they'll put in the transmission. I talked to the service tech that's taking care of my car and he told me that Toyota, in their infinite wisdom, told them to put the torque converter in first and then a transmission if the sound was still there. But he told me the sound is coming from the pan towards the front of the engine bay? We'll see what happens with the new trans. Besides, I'll get to ride around in a new Prius for a couple of days .

Also, the service dept told me that Toyota is creating a knowledge base for this situation so that other dealers can access the case and diagnose this problem in other Camrys as a TSB or something. I can't really complain though; they are really bending over backwards to fix this problem.

[Asteroid]

It sounds like they are making a fair effort to fix the problem, can't really ask for much more at the moment.

[jellis757]

Ok guys here's an update. The new transmission seems to have done the trick. I got my car back on Thursday and I've just been driving it around to make sure the sound is gone. It's not gone completely because I can still hear it after the car has been sitting for a while or overnight, but it is considerably less noticeable now than in the past.

This whole experience has me thinking that maybe this "sound" is just something that Camry's make and that there is nothing inherently wrong with the car. Reason being is because the loner I had, a 2010 LE, made the same sound and my brother's friend also bought a 2010 or 2011 SE 4cyl and her's makes the same sound. Not to mention the couple of people here are also experiencing the same thing.

I'm just happy to have my car back. The dealership could have easily feed me lies and not have fixed the problem, but much thanks to the folks at University Toyota. It's worth looking into if you have the same problem; a new Asius couldn't hurt.

[zythr]

Not nothing new, Early 90s Accord 4 cylinder autos did the same thing.