Thinking of getting a Camry

I'm looking into getting a 1997 Toyota Camry LE with a 4-cylinder engine.
It's got 92,000 miles. It comes with a 30-day warranty. I was just curious
what are common problems known to these Camry's? My 1988 Pontiac 6000 has
seen its better days and I want the reliability of a Toyota. Thanks.

Travis King wrote:[color=blue]
> I'm looking into getting a 1997 Toyota Camry LE with a 4-cylinder engine.
> It's got 92,000 miles. It comes with a 30-day warranty. I was just curious
> what are common problems known to these Camry's? My 1988 Pontiac 6000 has
> seen its better days and I want the reliability of a Toyota. Thanks.[/color]

Depending on who/what you believe, I think this is one of the years
that some people claim is part of the mysterious "sludge problem"
reported by some toy owners.

Do the research, see if it worries you.

"Travis King" <Anonymous@none.com> wrote in message
news:SujSf.865670$xm3.14478@attbi_s21...[color=blue]
> I'm looking into getting a 1997 Toyota Camry LE with a 4-cylinder engine.
> It's got 92,000 miles. It comes with a 30-day warranty. I was just
> curious what are common problems known to these Camry's? My 1988 Pontiac
> 6000 has seen its better days and I want the reliability of a Toyota.
> Thanks.
>[/color]
Front end rattle from the strut mount bushings
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)

<timbirr@mailcity.com> wrote in message
news:1142543597.542745.71870@v46g2000cwv.googlegroups.com...[color=blue]
>
> Travis King wrote:[color=green]
>> I'm looking into getting a 1997 Toyota Camry LE with a 4-cylinder engine.
>> It's got 92,000 miles. It comes with a 30-day warranty. I was just
>> curious
>> what are common problems known to these Camry's? My 1988 Pontiac 6000
>> has
>> seen its better days and I want the reliability of a Toyota. Thanks.[/color]
>
> Depending on who/what you believe, I think this is one of the years
> that some people claim is part of the mysterious "sludge problem"
> reported by some toy owners.
>
> Do the research, see if it worries you.
>[/color]
I thought that the oil sludging was known only for the 6-cylinder engines.
(Or at least it was more frequent.) Maybe I'm wrong...
Just so you can laugh at GM, here are the problems that I've got with my
Pontiac 6000 - the 2.5L 4-cyl, well known for issues:
1. Will not start at temperatures below 0 F - it's always done this even
with a new expensive battery. Perhaps the oil thickness is the problem
2. Seat belts wore out
3. Needs struts
4. Oxygen sensor problems (replaced once already)
5. Oil leak
6. Power steering fluid leak
7. Small transmission fluid leak
8. Antifreeze leak when it gets very cold outside
9. Needs new tires
10. Cruise does not work
11. A/C does not work
12. Stalls sometimes when you go to press on the gas - *normally*
restarts - it's always done this since day 1 and we haven't been able to
figure it out yet - it does it more as the temperature goes down but will
still do it in the 90's F
13. Has problems starting when the gas tank gets around 3/4 or lower - my
guess is the fuel pump
14. Catalytic converter sometimes stinks
15. Muffler seems loose as it makes a rattling noise at certain RPMs
16. Water leaks when it rains
17. Passenger side speaker cuts out for no reason - even at low volumes
18. Idles poorly - engine sputters and shakes the whole car (almost like a
timing problem)

About the only thing still good on the car is the body - and most of them
you see have horrible bodies. (covered in rust)

I wanted a Camry because they're known to be reliable (like most Toyotas)
and my grandmother has a 2004 Avalon XLS. They like it a lot, but they
sometimes wished they still had their '99 Lexus ES300. (Mainly because of
its looks.) Both cars rode much nicer than a GM. My grandfather (married
to the grandmother) bought a brand new Malibu and they said it doesn't ride
as nice as the Avalon (or the Lexus). When they do their hour-drive into
the city, they always take the Malibu because they don't want to get the
Avalon dirty and they don't want the doors to get dinged up when they're at
a parking lot.

Travis King wrote:
[color=blue]
> I thought that the oil sludging was known only for the 6-cylinder engines.
> (Or at least it was more frequent.) Maybe I'm wrong...[/color]


I actually have my doubts about the "reality" of the whole sludge
issue, but it pays to be informed. At any rate, it apparently "affects"
some 4's (or not):

[url]http://www.autosafety.org/article.php?scid=&did=566[/url]

Travis King wrote:
[color=blue]
> Just so you can laugh at GM, here are the problems that I've got with my
> Pontiac 6000 - the 2.5L 4-cyl, well known for issues:
> 1. Will not start at temperatures below 0 F - it's always done this even
> with a new expensive battery. Perhaps the oil thickness is the problem
> 2. Seat belts wore out
> 3. Needs struts
> 4. Oxygen sensor problems (replaced once already)
> 5. Oil leak
> 6. Power steering fluid leak
> 7. Small transmission fluid leak
> 8. Antifreeze leak when it gets very cold outside
> 9. Needs new tires
> 10. Cruise does not work
> 11. A/C does not work
> 12. Stalls sometimes when you go to press on the gas - *normally*
> restarts - it's always done this since day 1 and we haven't been able to
> figure it out yet - it does it more as the temperature goes down but will
> still do it in the 90's F
> 13. Has problems starting when the gas tank gets around 3/4 or lower - my
> guess is the fuel pump
> 14. Catalytic converter sometimes stinks
> 15. Muffler seems loose as it makes a rattling noise at certain RPMs
> 16. Water leaks when it rains
> 17. Passenger side speaker cuts out for no reason - even at low volumes
> 18. Idles poorly - engine sputters and shakes the whole car (almost like a
> timing problem)
>[/color]
My father had an '87 Chevy Celebrity (same car) with many of the same
problems. And his had the 2.8L V6 with a problematic 4-speed auto tranny.

[color=blue]
> About the only thing still good on the car is the body - and most of them
> you see have horrible bodies. (covered in rust)[/color]

And my father's Celebrity had significant rust on it, especially around the
trunk lid and wheel wells.

GM "A-body" cars of that era are quickly dropping like flies in my area.
Most of what I see now are later year Cutlass Ciera's and Century's.

"High Tech Misfit" <me@privacy.net> wrote in message
news:2lo59q1qw5os.dlg@hightech.misfit...[color=blue]
> Travis King wrote:
>[color=green]
>> Just so you can laugh at GM, here are the problems that I've got with my
>> Pontiac 6000 - the 2.5L 4-cyl, well known for issues:
>> 1. Will not start at temperatures below 0 F - it's always done this even
>> with a new expensive battery. Perhaps the oil thickness is the problem
>> 2. Seat belts wore out
>> 3. Needs struts
>> 4. Oxygen sensor problems (replaced once already)
>> 5. Oil leak
>> 6. Power steering fluid leak
>> 7. Small transmission fluid leak
>> 8. Antifreeze leak when it gets very cold outside
>> 9. Needs new tires
>> 10. Cruise does not work
>> 11. A/C does not work
>> 12. Stalls sometimes when you go to press on the gas - *normally*
>> restarts - it's always done this since day 1 and we haven't been able to
>> figure it out yet - it does it more as the temperature goes down but will
>> still do it in the 90's F
>> 13. Has problems starting when the gas tank gets around 3/4 or lower -
>> my
>> guess is the fuel pump
>> 14. Catalytic converter sometimes stinks
>> 15. Muffler seems loose as it makes a rattling noise at certain RPMs
>> 16. Water leaks when it rains
>> 17. Passenger side speaker cuts out for no reason - even at low volumes
>> 18. Idles poorly - engine sputters and shakes the whole car (almost like
>> a
>> timing problem)
>>[/color]
> My father had an '87 Chevy Celebrity (same car) with many of the same
> problems. And his had the 2.8L V6 with a problematic 4-speed auto tranny.
>
>[color=green]
>> About the only thing still good on the car is the body - and most of them
>> you see have horrible bodies. (covered in rust)[/color]
>
> And my father's Celebrity had significant rust on it, especially around
> the
> trunk lid and wheel wells.
>
> GM "A-body" cars of that era are quickly dropping like flies in my area.
> Most of what I see now are later year Cutlass Ciera's and Century's.[/color]
My mother used to have a Celebrity with the 2.5 and it also had lots of
problems. It needed a head job twice and the clear coat went bad on it
within just a few years when it was new. The only reason why we have the
same car (the Pontiac) is my brother bought it almost nine years ago. It
only had 60,000 miles then and it already had a starting problem back then.
It took three things to fix it (all of which were expensive) and I know one
of them was the fuel pump. He only bought it for $1800. It then became my
mom's when her Celebrity needed its second head job. She later bought a '94
S-10 Blazer and I got the Pontiac for my first car and it's purpose was just
to get me by. Well, after only two years, I'm sick of it. It was funny,
however, that the Celebrity started in the sub-0's and the 6000 doesn't when
they're the same engines. (I believe the Celeb was a carb instead of a
TBI.)
My Pontiac has eaten many mufflers (like 4 since it's been in the family),
but at least they have a life time warranty so it doesn't cost me anything.
There are four other similar cars at our school. A rust-covered Buick
Century, a newer (probably '91) Cutlass Ciera, an older and rusty Cutlass
Ciera (carb), and another Pontiac 6000 like mine only grey and rust covered.
That 6000's gas lid is completely missing and it also has muffler problems.
I think that 6000 has the 2.8 because it doesn't sound like a lawn mower
like the 2.5 does. All the other cars, however have the 2.5, and they all
have the same lawn mower sound. I see the Buick Century's and the Cutlass
Ciera's the most here in the city. On occasion, I'll see a Celebrity. The
6000 is what I see the least.

My 6000 is burgandy.

It's also funny how when the temp's are in the sub-zeros my 6000 is the only
car that doesn't make it to school. The rest of them make it.

My 6000 has only 124,333 miles on it right now.

I'm skeptical to by a GM again after my 6000, mother's Celebrity she used to
have, and my dad's '96 Blazer (which has had $6000 put into it in repairs in
the only a year and a half that he's owned it - the engine's spun a bearing
at only 116k miles, and a wide assortment of other problems). My mother's
S-10 Blazer has had it's fair share of problems, but it's fairly reliable.
Dad used to have an '88 Caravan that he got over 225,000 miles with before
it died.

On 16 Mar 2006 13:13:17 -0800, [email]timbirr@mailcity.com[/email] wrote:
[color=blue]
>
>Travis King wrote:[color=green]
>> I'm looking into getting a 1997 Toyota Camry LE with a 4-cylinder engine.
>> It's got 92,000 miles. It comes with a 30-day warranty. I was just curious
>> what are common problems known to these Camry's? My 1988 Pontiac 6000 has
>> seen its better days and I want the reliability of a Toyota. Thanks.[/color]
>
>Depending on who/what you believe, I think this is one of the years
>that some people claim is part of the mysterious "sludge problem"
>reported by some toy owners.
>
>Do the research, see if it worries you.[/color]

Any engine will sludge up if you never change the oil - it's just
that a few models tend do it faster than normal. Beware any car that
was leased and they can't produce any maintenance records for long
stretches of time.

Often a leased car is treated like a long term rental - there's no
incentive for the lessee to take care of it at all. The car only goes
in for maintenance work when it quits running, or they run out of
tires or brake pads, and that's not nearly often enough to prevent
formation of sludge in the engine.

To tell for sure you pop off a valve cover and look - if you see
evidence of a substance related to chocolate pudding, you don't want
to buy the car. Costs you a valve cover gasket and a bit of time.

--<< Bruce >>--

--
Bruce L. Bergman, Woodland Hills (Los Angeles) CA - Desktop
Electrician for Westend Electric - CA726700
5737 Kanan Rd. #359, Agoura CA 91301 (818) 889-9545
Spamtrapped address: Remove the python and the invalid, and use a net.

"Bruce L. Bergman" <blPYTHONbergman@earthlink.invalid> wrote in message
news:8qhk12l40ss4a13autvvdikvhq6j6qi4r2@4ax.com...[color=blue]
> On 16 Mar 2006 13:13:17 -0800, [email]timbirr@mailcity.com[/email] wrote:
>[color=green]
>>
>>Travis King wrote:[color=darkred]
>>> I'm looking into getting a 1997 Toyota Camry LE with a 4-cylinder
>>> engine.
>>> It's got 92,000 miles. It comes with a 30-day warranty. I was just
>>> curious
>>> what are common problems known to these Camry's? My 1988 Pontiac 6000
>>> has
>>> seen its better days and I want the reliability of a Toyota. Thanks.[/color]
>>
>>Depending on who/what you believe, I think this is one of the years
>>that some people claim is part of the mysterious "sludge problem"
>>reported by some toy owners.
>>
>>Do the research, see if it worries you.[/color]
>
> Any engine will sludge up if you never change the oil - it's just
> that a few models tend do it faster than normal. Beware any car that
> was leased and they can't produce any maintenance records for long
> stretches of time.
>
> Often a leased car is treated like a long term rental - there's no
> incentive for the lessee to take care of it at all. The car only goes
> in for maintenance work when it quits running, or they run out of
> tires or brake pads, and that's not nearly often enough to prevent
> formation of sludge in the engine.
>
> To tell for sure you pop off a valve cover and look - if you see
> evidence of a substance related to chocolate pudding, you don't want
> to buy the car. Costs you a valve cover gasket and a bit of time.
>
> --<< Bruce >>--
>
> --
> Bruce L. Bergman, Woodland Hills (Los Angeles) CA - Desktop
> Electrician for Westend Electric - CA726700
> 5737 Kanan Rd. #359, Agoura CA 91301 (818) 889-9545
> Spamtrapped address: Remove the python and the invalid, and use a net.[/color]

My Pontiac 6000 blew a valve cover gasket twice, (almost in a row) so we
just finally siliconed the thing.

rokigawa@tristarassociatesDOTcomn (Ray*O) wrote:
[color=blue][color=green]
>>I'm looking into getting a 1997 Toyota
>>Camry LE with a 4-cylinder engine. It's
>>got 92,000 miles. It comes with a
>>30-day warranty. I was just curious
>>what are common problems known to
>>these Camry's?[/color][/color]
[color=blue]
>Front end rattle from the strut mount
>bushings[/color]

My '85 Camry had that. You'd think they would've found a way to cure the
problem by '97....or '99....or '01, as my '99 RAV4 had it...AND my '01
Lexus RX300 also was a strut mount noisemaker in parking lots as well.
I'm 3 for 3 for strut mount bushing noise. (Actually, 4 for 4 as my
Infiniti QX4 does it too!)

"ravelation" <ravelation@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:17575-441ADA74-524@storefull-3334.bay.webtv.net...

rokigawa@tristarassociatesDOTcomn (Ray O) wrote:
[color=blue][color=green]
>>I'm looking into getting a 1997 Toyota
>>Camry LE with a 4-cylinder engine. It's
>>got 92,000 miles. It comes with a
>>30-day warranty. I was just curious
>>what are common problems known to
>>these Camry's?[/color][/color]
[color=blue]
>Front end rattle from the strut mount
>bushings[/color]

My '85 Camry had that. You'd think they would've found a way to cure the
problem by '97....or '99....or '01, as my '99 RAV4 had it...AND my '01
Lexus RX300 also was a strut mount noisemaker in parking lots as well.
I'm 3 for 3 for strut mount bushing noise. (Actually, 4 for 4 as my
Infiniti QX4 does it too!)

Toyota makes very good cars but suspension noises seem to keep coming back
to haunt them.
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)

I would recommend a Corolla for a teenager (I got that from your other
posts) for:

1. Better gas mileage
2. Lower maintenance cost
3. Camry makes the driver look older :) -- even though I have one myself

I don't care about how I will look in a vehicle. That would be left with 1
& 2. What is the insurance cost of the Camry vs. the Corolla because that
is a bigger concern than gas mileage. For my Pontiac 6000, it costs me $51
a month with all the possible discounts.
"Podi" <prettyboy988-google@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1142649383.994722.167450@p10g2000cwp.googlegroups.com...[color=blue]
>I would recommend a Corolla for a teenager (I got that from your other
> posts) for:
>
> 1. Better gas mileage
> 2. Lower maintenance cost
> 3. Camry makes the driver look older :) -- even though I have one myself
>[/color]

Ray O wrote:
[color=blue]
> Toyota makes very good cars but suspension noises seem to keep coming back
> to haunt them.[/color]

Hondas tend to be like that too.

The '97 Corolla only has a few more horsepower than my Pontiac 6000 which
has 98hp, very slow and can't hardly get up an incline at 65mph without
flooring it. 130hp+ should be sufficient to get me up a hill at 65mph. I'd
have to get a '98 or newer to get close to sufficient, but then it would
cost us considerably more for license plates. '97 and older can get us
cheaper license plates in our state. I'm not totally eliminating the
Corolla, but it probably has disadvantages as well as advantages over the
Camry.
"Podi" <prettyboy988-google@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1142649383.994722.167450@p10g2000cwp.googlegroups.com...[color=blue]
>I would recommend a Corolla for a teenager (I got that from your other
> posts) for:
>
> 1. Better gas mileage
> 2. Lower maintenance cost
> 3. Camry makes the driver look older :) -- even though I have one myself
>[/color]