Pinging (( detonation))

[kevintomb]

My 03 camry 4 cylinder automatic 42,000 miles, seems to ping a good bit under most driving conditions. Everything seems okay with the engine such as oil level, spark plugs, air filter. Does anyone else with this car have the same problem? Its not horrible knocking or anything, but a mild annoying ping when accelerating or going uphill mainly. If the car wasnt so quiet, I would barely notice it for the most part. I use 87 octane gas and the dealer said to try 89 even though its not usually needed. Im beginning to think quite a few camrys ping like this, as ive been in 2 others that have had this mild ping also, any recomendations on how to rid my car of it, other than the 89 octane gas??

[V(Sportivo)6]

Stick to the higher octane. The lowest octane we have is 91....but ocasionally it gets 98.
Usually pinging comes from either bad fuel, air/fuel mixture is not correct, or not high enough octane. Rubbbish in = Rubbish out . Its probably a good idea to stick reputable petrol stations too.... I'm not sure whether greater proportions of entanol can do this as well?

[Cyorke]

try a higher octane fuel first. It will probably take a couple of tanks to really notice a difference. My Sienna does the same thing if I run anything lower than mid-grade. even then it sometimes pings.

[BlackCamSe]

they have a recall for 2002-2004 Camry's with the 2AZ-FE i4 engine. It describes a mild clicking or pinging at idle and light acceleration. It is air clicking in the intake manifold.

[tarbasd]

Originally Posted by V(Sportivo)6

Stick to the higher octane. The lowest octane we have is 91....but ocasionally it gets 98.
Usually pinging comes from either bad fuel, air/fuel mixture is not correct, or not high enough octane. Rubbbish in = Rubbish out . Its probably a good idea to stick reputable petrol stations too.... I'm not sure whether greater proportions of entanol can do this as well?

FYI australian and american ocatne ratings are on a different scale. 87 in USA=91 in Australia. See e. g.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane_rating