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2007 Hybrid Camry issue that the dealership can't seem to diagnose.....can you help??
2007 Toyota Camry hybrid 4 cyl Front Wheel Drive Automatic 87,000 miles
Over the past 4 years I have had 3 dealerships look into the following issues with no success. Originally at roughly 12,000 miles I noticed a slight knocking sound and engine shutter/car wobble when the car was initially started and the engine was cold. The shutter and knocking only lasted 5 seconds or so and only occurred when the engine first switched from electric mode to gas mode as indicated on the dash indicators. This problem was VERY seldom, I would say less than 4 times that year. I took it into the dealership each time this occurred but they were unable to reproduce the problem but did document it for me.
Gradually as the car has aged and the mileage increased so has the frequency and severity of the issue. The problem has become so severe that now it is shuttering and knocking at 80% of the start ups regardless if the engine is hot or cold (severity is worse however, when engine is cold) and it even does it sometime when idling at a red light or in traffic now. To make matters worse I had the routine 90,000 mile maintenance (i have done all manufacture suggested maintenance to date) done 8 weeks ago and immediately following that I noticed the car failing to drop back into hybrid mode when idling. Sometimes it won't drop into hybrid at all during a drive and others times it seems to be fine. This culminated with me bringing the car in 6 weeks ago and leaving it at the dealership for two weeks to diagnose and fix the issue. I was able to duplicate the issue while in the car with their highest ranking tech and I was able to find a TSB report describing a similar issue on non-hybrid 6 cyl Camrys. After having the car for several days and looking into the report they called and said they believed that there was something going wrong with the trans-axle........etc. So they replaced the entire transmission at no charge to me, even though I am out of warranty and do not have an extended warranty. Then upon starting the engine at the dealership to drive it home the same old shutter/knocking happened again.....although this time must less severe. So the service writer suggested that the new transmission need to be "broken in" and to give it some time and that it may get better. So here I am 6 weeks later and the problem is still the same and to make matters worse yesterday my A/C started blowing HOT air after sitting in traffic on the interstate stopped in traffic for over an hour and a half with my infant in the car. I had to pull over and call someone to help. Then upon restarting the car the A/C was cold again. I have never had any A/C issues in the past as a matter of fact the car has always been too cold!
Please, i hope that someone can help me come up with some answers.
First, let me say I am not a mechanic and have no aptitude for it, but I can make some guesses which could be right or completely off the wall...
That said, here is my guess.
- I wonder if the pickup for the electric pre-lube is being blocked by a piece of junk, or the electric pump is not working intermittently? The reason I'm throwing this out there is that if the engine is not lubricated, it will sound horrible for a few seconds until the regular oiling gets the oil to the top of the engine. I park my TCH in a garage, and when I walk out with the key fob, I can hear a noise from under the hood, and that is the electric oil pump getting oil to the top of the engine.
What oil are you using? On my '08, after the dealer installed 10W30 (!) on the initial change, I noticed rougher engine re-starts After the next oil change with 0W20, it smoothed right out.
You know Yogini, I have a 2007 TCH as well, bought it brand new in August of 2006 and since then, mine has done this exact shuttering about 3 times total. It happened just as you described and when I was leaving for work, first thing in the morning after the car has been sitting all night and starting up cold.
After starting the car up, 15 seconds go by 100% on battery then the ICE would kick in and it would shutter pretty violently for 5 seconds then smooth itself out. I just assumed it was a timing issue of the components that interface the ICE to the electric motor side of the equation... or maybe a computer issue.
Mine hasn't shuttered in about 6 months so I haven't considered taking it in for a diagnostic. I have 51,000 miles on it now but if the problem becomes more frequent, I'll definately be taking it in for the dealership to take a look.
It happened to me today. I just got back from vacation 10 days, and moved the TCH out of the driveway to the street. only ran for 20 seconds. 2 hours later when I went to go to the store, I started the car and had the extreme shaking after the ice turned on. Lasted about 5 seconds also. I have been also experiencing a type of shudder when coming to a stop. It almost feels like a clutch shudder. I wonder if it could be the cvt oil needing to be changed. I will take it to the dealer for service on wed. I have 30k on her now. It might be a good idea to change the cvt oil anyway.
Does this problem happen on both the Japan and US-built TCH? I ask because we had an '07 Japan-built TCH with 42k miles which did not exhibit this issue.
__________________ '10 TCH,Magnetic Grey Metallic, Moonroof, Heated Leather and NAV '92 LE I4, 165k original miles, Silver Taupe Metallic, Moonroof, ABS
Does this problem happen on both the Japan and US-built TCH? I ask because we had an '07 Japan-built TCH with 42k miles which did not exhibit this issue.
Pipemajor,
My 2007 TCH was built on the Japan line and as I mentioned in a previous post above, it has shuttered on me only a few times but none the less it has done it. It's very concerning when it does do it since it's so violent.
I have a 2009 with a little over 10,000 miles on it. I complained because when the gas engine turns off/ disconnects at stops the whole engine bay and car shudders. It did not do this when brand new. Dealership ran a diagnostics and trouble code scan and found nothing. Anyone else notice this when you are stopped at a light or someplace and the gas engine cuts out if shakes as it shuts down?
__________________ The Bitterness of Poor Quality,Lingers Long After the Cheapness of Price is Forgotten!
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2007 Hybrid Camry issue that the dealership can't seem to diagnose.....can you help??
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