My new Camry....does this sound right?

[patcatpat]

Just picked up a new 2005 Camry LE.....4 cyl, auto.....last night.

Does this sound right to you??? While driving home on the freeway with the cruise control set at 70, AC on, the tranny downshifted while pulling up a VERY slight grade.

Is this normal highway driving behavior while on cruise??

Other than that....this is a VERY sweet car!!!!

THanks for your thoughts!

[skewe]

i think ur car is just breaking in..
try not to push ur car to 4000RPM

how slight is the grade?
i think it is usual

[88 LE]

Its normal.

The car is trying to maintain 70 mph. So it does whatever it needs to do to maintain that speed.

Its normal for the tranny to downshift when going up a hill with the cruise control on.

[patcatpat]

I'm sure your thoughts are correct......the cruise is trying to hold the mph. My original thought was the torque level could maintain the speed over the grade....but the rpm's are very low at that speed in OD....peak torque comes on later. Downshifting is the only option.

[Tommy]

thats the 4banger for ya....try driving it thorugh the mountians...good god.

[RningOnFumes]

or turn off the cruise control when not on a flat grade like the manual tells you.?

[kenny1773]

I have got a 2005 SE I-4 with the 5spd auto trans and I can tell you that mine tended to downshift A LOT when it had less than 2000 miles on it. Now that I am up over 7000 miles it seems to pull slight grades with A/C and a load without a problem in 5th gear.

I think it just needs to break in a bit. IMO the best way to break it in is to do a lot of stop light to stop light type driving where you are winding through the gears often and fluctuating the RPMs as much as possible. Don't red line it or anything (I also think the 4000 rpm limit is a little low), but work it out. Worst thing you can do is put the cruise control on a brand new engine and run it at one speed for any length of time

[Super Kaioken]

yeah you're supposed to turn overdrive off when going up steep hills i think it says. x_x'

[arvintyper]

Originally Posted by kenny1773

I have got a 2005 SE I-4 with the 5spd auto trans and I can tell you that mine tended to downshift A LOT when it had less than 2000 miles on it. Now that I am up over 7000 miles it seems to pull slight grades with A/C and a load without a problem in 5th gear.

I think it just needs to break in a bit. IMO the best way to break it in is to do a lot of stop light to stop light type driving where you are winding through the gears often and fluctuating the RPMs as much as possible. Don't red line it or anything (I also think the 4000 rpm limit is a little low), but work it out. Worst thing you can do is put the cruise control on a brand new engine and run it at one speed for any length of time

Yeah, I remember that in the owner's handbook, it says avoid to crusing at a constant speed for extend time of period during break-in. So stop using your cruise!!!

[xpeed]

Yes, that's quite normal. Basically the cruise control computer will maintain the same speed no matter what. Going downhill or uphill, it will do whatever it can to maintain that speed. Also, since your car is new, try to avoid driving the car at a steady speed. Meaning, don't drive it at the same speed for a long time. It's not good for your new engine while breaking in. If you think I'm BSing, check your car manual. It even states that you shouldn't drive it at a steady speed, and avoid going over 4500 rpm as well. Doing these will raise your mpg slightly and that will be your mpg after you break in the car.

[t^3]

Originally Posted by arvintyper

Yeah, I remember that in the owner's handbook, it says avoid to crusing at a constant speed for extend time of period during break-in. So stop using your cruise!!!

The owner's manual also says not to exceed 55 mph for the 1st 1000 miles!