Is this 07 XLE worth buying?? - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

Nyrican · 07-22-2011, 07:46 AM

Hello to all and thanks in advance for your input. Yesterday I test drove an 07 XLE with a V6, the car is in excellent condition and I was really impressed with it's appearance. I am an avid mechanic and have had had countless vehicles but this would be my first Toyota. I understand that all makes an models have certain quirks and usually just a little research and some wrenching can correct these issues. Here's my issue, I test drove the car and absolutely was impressed by the feel and power of the car, it was very tight and responsive and everything seemed like the car is a true gem but...... Once I got on the highway I immediately noticed a steering wheel vibration. Now on any other car I'd immediately think it was any easy wheel balance, tie rod ends, warped rotors, or at worst new tires or CV joints. None of these would be deal breakers to me as the deal would be WAY under blue book value but upon a little research online it seems these cars really have an underlying problem with this and it seems that many people just live with it. I cannot see myself just dealing with it so I'm kinda considering not buying it now. I'd like to get some really honest responses from you guys. I really like the car but I have to make a sound decision and would really appreciate your input...
Just to give a but more detail it's an 07 XLE V6 with 40k and belongs to the original owner a very old guy who has every receipt for every service at the dealer he purchased it from. I've worked him down to 15,500 which seems like a hell of a deal ( if the shakes dont steer me away )

profuse007 · 07-22-2011, 07:58 AM

vibration at what speed?

I don't think everyone on here will agree with you. Those things you're describing is minor problems.

If you're an avid mechanic, good or not, you should be able to make this decision with ease!

Cheers!

workerant · 07-22-2011, 07:59 AM

'07 V6 is not worth the trouble.

Nyrican · 07-22-2011, 08:06 AM

Not trying to stir up the community, I am asking because after a quick search online I came across quite a few horror stories from new Camry owners even some brand new that could never get the issue resolved. I figured I could get the most honest input from this forum. Thanks for the replies so far

Nyrican · 07-22-2011, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by profuse007

vibration at what speed?

I don't think everyone on here will agree with you. Those things you're describing is minor problems.

If you're an avid mechanic, good or not, you should be able to make this decision with ease!

Cheers!

The speed was about 50-60. I know they are minor fixes, the problem I'm worried about would be fixing them all and still having the vibration.

gdanaher · 07-22-2011, 08:56 AM

I have an 07 LE with 41k. I replaced the front rotors with average after market rotors and solved the warpage issue. Never have had any shaking. It is going to be purely a physics issue with a tire, wheel, or rotor out of balance, and the rotor can be eliminated if you don't have massive issues in stopping. Sounds like a deal for an XLE.

Nyrican · 07-22-2011, 09:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gdanaher

I have an 07 LE with 41k. I replaced the front rotors with average after market rotors and solved the warpage issue. Never have had any shaking. It is going to be purely a physics issue with a tire, wheel, or rotor out of balance, and the rotor can be eliminated if you don't have massive issues in stopping. Sounds like a deal for an XLE.

Great input man thanks, this is pretty much what I was thinking and I guess I just got too worried over the Google results. If this isn't a widespread issue I'll be buying that car today

BlueXLE · 08-03-2011, 01:47 PM

I bought a 2007 camry XLE with 80000 miles on it a year ago it too had the vibration issue. I replaced all the rotors and pads with cross drilled slotted rotors from ebay and the 50 mph wobble steering vibrations disapeared. the lady who had the car was a high way driver so she was always in stop and go rush hour traffic. cv joints are fine just be careful if you start getting misfire codes at 90k like me i had to rip my whole motor apart to change 3 coil packs lol but still took me under an hour. dealers are such rip offs tried charging me 600 8( my car is a dream now i love it!

DOHCammer · 08-03-2011, 08:07 PM

I would not advise anyone to buy an 07 V6 unless you have some sort of powertrain warranty coverage. There were some very definite transmission problems with the then new 6 speed trans. If you need to buy a reman and have it installed your looking at least $4k. Thats not chump change in anyone's book. Look for a 3-4 shift flare first thing in the morning. There is a trans reflash available that gets rid of most shift issues but as in my case the damage was already done. I made sure I bought a Toyota Certified so it was a non-issue for me. I like my SE otherwise but wouldn't buy another.

***Musicmansell*** · 08-03-2011, 10:50 PM

I own an 07 se v6 and so far here are the things I have discovered both personally and from other owners and my mechanic friends:

-DOHcammer is correct in that there are unusual transmission flare problems in the early makes of this camry model with the V6 engine. I got mine because the previous owner had already replaced the tranny at the dealer while under warranty.

-make sure they have had the oil line TSB done to the car!!! I can not stress this one enough. If they have not, it is practically guaranteed to go out on you. The problem is a metal clamp holding down a rubberhose with hot oil going through it on the out side of the engine. When it finally pops, you get oil all over your engine bay and absolutely no warning lights until the engine is bone dry. Happened to me personally.

-Check all the tension arms for your belts as these evidentally can become loose around the 40-50k mark. Mine did.

-Take it out and when you accelerate, if you hear a rattle that seens to be coming from the dash or behind the radio area, then they never got the TSB done for dash rattle. This is minor, but can be really really annoying.

-You might hear a popping in the roof when going over driveways or uneven surfaces. Again, this is a TSB for I believe a bad support joint or something like that. Again, very minor, but annoying.

-The obvious TSB of the floor mats, which was the reason for a lot of recalls.

-Being a mechanic you would probably know better than me, but the V^ engine is pretty loud and kind of has a tapping, rattle, almost slight knocking sound towards the top front of it. I have been told by numerous Toyota Techs, mechanics, and via online searches, that this is normal.

So far those are the negatives that I have experienced or personally know for a fact exist. I am surprised to hear it shook on the freeway, because when I test drove mine, is was the fact it felt so smooth on the freeway that really sold me. Most of the things I have mentioned are minor and can be fixed with preventative work before they become serious issues. All in all, I love my car. It is powerful, looks great, drives well, and as long as I maintain it, it should last for years. I hope this doesn't deter you from getting it, just wanted you to go in with a heads up of known issues so you can check. Hope it helps.

Tobeit · 08-04-2011, 11:00 PM

08, XLE, V6 here w/o any issues - tranny is fine, no excessive knocking, cracking, or whatever - just normal wear on a 3+ year old car.

Wheel vibration come and go ...everytime I get new tires its a hit and miss how well the balancing went. No problem. Brakes, rotors etc are all fine.

***Musicmansell*** · 08-05-2011, 12:23 AM

Hey Tobeit,

Glad to hear your camry is all good. Just curious, did you have those TSB's I mentioned done during your routine factory maintenance's? Just curious considering things like the oil line TSB have been actually bumped up to full recall work. Just make sure the dealer checks yours if you haven't yet. After 3 years I imagine you are around 30,000 miles or so and that is when a lot of these issues start to come in to play. Just a heads up, and I am curious.

Tobeit · 08-05-2011, 07:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Musicmansell

Hey Tobeit,

Glad to hear your camry is all good. Just curious, did you have those TSB's I mentioned done during your routine factory maintenance's? Just curious considering things like the oil line TSB have been actually bumped up to full recall work. Just make sure the dealer checks yours if you haven't yet. After 3 years I imagine you are around 30,000 miles or so and that is when a lot of these issues start to come in to play. Just a heads up, and I am curious.

Yeah, was done. But the TSB only calls for a replacement with a newer version of similar design and not the all metal version. (I dont remember all the details, I think the all metal came from Avalon's, long time ago their was a long discussion about that). I am at 36k now.