Problem is likely not the alternator. It had just started up just fine and you didn't mention any slow cranking. All electrical stuff was still working. You made no mention of the alternator idiot light coming on. It would not turn over when attempting to jump start. Information missing here is--did the lights dim out when you attempted unsuccessfully to restart the car? The engine needs a certain voltage and amp draw to continue to operate so if the alternator wasn't working the engine would be working off the battery, the idiot light would be glowing, and it would take awhile for the battery to drop to that magical voltage where the fuel pump won't work any more and then the thing would shut down for the lack of fuel. If you are attempting to jump start and nothing at all happens--not a grunt, the lights don't dim, then my guess is that the problem is in the ignition switch or the wiring related to it.

 

new to me... let us know what the dealer says

 

Yea no initial startup problems at best buy about 10 min before it happened. No warning lights came on before it happened. The lights that came on after it happened were the normal ones that always come on when the key is in the "on" position but the engine is off. When trying to restart it though, now that I think about it, all the lights did dim when trying to make the engine turnover. It grunted once or twice when attempting a jump but after giving it more time to charge successive attempts did nothing but make the lights dim.

It's been at the dealer since last night and I've yet to receive a call from them but I will update when I know more.

 

Yea no initial startup problems at best buy about 10 min before it happened. No warning lights came on before it happened. The lights that came on after it happened were the normal ones that always come on when the key is in the "on" position but the engine is off. When trying to restart it though, now that I think about it, all the lights did dim when trying to make the engine turnover. It grunted once or twice when attempting a jump but after giving it more time to charge successive attempts did nothing but make the lights dim.

It's been at the dealer since last night and I've yet to receive a call from them but I will update when I know more.

^^ sounds like one of the cells in your battery failed. borrow a known good battery and try it out. i bet thats all it needs.

 

if all the electrical components work on your car, it may be a stretch of a guess but not just thinking thats it not getting power but something else wrong with it i would say if might actually be the actual fuel pump, your car isnt getting the fuel pumpd to keep it running, i am only saying this as it happened to my baby mommas car quite a few times and we just couldnt figure it out sometime it would start up just fine then all of a sudden bam car stops all lights and everything still working, just car wouldnt not start, it ended up being the fuel pump, we changed that and it didnt happen anymore, you might want to ask the dealer to look into that, even with this being such a newer car, but it was also the first year these new camry models were produced

 

Nah, if the engine is running you can actually remove the battery and it will continue to do just fine, running from power from the alternator. I'd guess it is related to the fuel pump in some way, but his latest comments about the lights going dim makes me wonder.

 

Ok so after nearly 2 days of not getting a response from the dealer, I called them. They told me that they had no idea what the problem was and that it would be at least another few days so they could tear down the engine to try and figure it out..... :wtf:

 

i would guess a bad battery, a bad alternator or a blown fusible link somewhere. Did you add any electronics to it? maybe a bad installation that created a problem. camrys are very reliable and refuse to believe something major just happened.

 

I bought and used a 150w power inverter to charge my 80w laptop that I plugged into a 12v outlet. I also had my gps plugged into the other. But I do believe those both have safety fuses that would blow rather than doing any harm. Other than that I haven't done anything else. I was about to, as I have with my past 2 cars, install new speakers, subs and an amp but I hadn't touched anything yet.

 

Stupid dealerships, I hope your warranty covers it. Sounds like a major electronics failure, so typical of cars these days, also can be difficult to troubleshoot apparently. Sounds like a direct short in the alternator, I have only had this happen to me once, and it did take the battery with it. I was able to turn around real quick and drive about a half mile or less before the car quit.

Smoke was coming out of the alternator.

 

So I finally got a half answer to why my car died on the highway last week.

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/showthread.php?t=321656

Apparently the engine blew a hole in itself. Has anyone had this happen? It's been at the dealer since last monday night(11/16). It is now 11/23 and they say it's going to be another 1-2 weeks before I get it back. I am nervous because I fear it is my fault, and that the warranty won't cover it.:argh: I changed the oil myself, as I have always done with all 3 of my previous cars, without any problems. I used Mobile Clean 5000 5w20 with a fram oil filter. The mechanic says that there appears to be clean oil in the engine and that it he sees no reason why it wouldn't be covered but he still has to continue looking at it for further damage and to find the reason why it happened. Anyone ever had this happen? I've never heard of a problem like this.

 

Why start a new thread for an old problem????

 

Who knows, someone merge his threads.

Did they say what broke?

 

Fram oil filters aren't the best choice for Toyota's, they restrict oil flow. I wouldn't use anything but OEM filters to perform oil changes in the future.

 

You really don't think that's what caused it do you? I've used them previously in my last few cars and never had a problem like this. It had also only been on there for about 2-3 weeks before this problem happened.

 

I doubt it caused the catastrophic engine failure, but they can shorten the overall life of the engine.

 

And this is why you want to let the dealer change the oil while the car is in warranty. Now you may need to grub around and find receipts for oil and filters to prove that you actually changed the oil. Much easier if the dealer has the records on their computer system. There is no argument. You can have faith that Toyota will want to see records of engine maintenance and try to wiggle out of an engine replacement, so go find those records.

 

I have used Fram oil filters on all 4 of my Camrys since I bought the first one new in 1986. I have always done the oil changes myself every 3000 miles or 3 months. I have never had an engine related problem on any of them. I do agree with gdanaher that you will probably have to prove you did the routine oil changes, so start looking for all your receipts. I keep my oil change receipts right in the glove box with the car's owner's manual.

Mike

 

There is nothing wrong with Fram oil filters. The Moderator didn't have anything to contribute to this thread so he uttered off some gibberish.

 

There is nothing wrong with Fram oil filters. The Moderator didn't have anything to contribute to this thread so he uttered off some gibberish.

and you just did the exact same thing :facepalm:

 

The VW 2.0 has a known problem with the water pump and they blow holes in the block all the time. IDK if that could have happened to you.

 

wow, sinisterouge keep us posted. sorry to hear.

a hole in the engine block ? a cylinder got loose or something ? that's something that happened to my brother's old Fiat Croma 2.0L gen1 in Poland long time ago. that was after some "amateur tuneup" done by his friend (running a shop until present by the way).

 

don't worry. you did nothing wrong, fram is a well known brand I use them all the time. toyota has to prove that it was "YOUR" fault (they won't be able to), if they try to screw around with you, get yourself a good lawyer and you will get a brand new Camry.

 

Good Luck with the engine.

On the Fram issue, I used to use them for every oil change on my previous car which I changed every month (a lot of driving).
From my AMATEUR point of view, I noticed inconsistencies with what I thought was the bypass valve on those filters. The motor was NEVER starved for oil (still running GREAT at 250k miles) and I wouldn't say anything negative about Fram filters....BUT, I am buying genuine Toyota filters (ebay) for my Camry and my Tundra, especiall while they are/were under warranty. I really like what I see during oil changes as far as consistency and quality with the Toyota filters versus the Fram and Purolator (which I tried on the Tundra).

 

at least your covered... 6K more and you would've been screwed

 

Yea I've been repeating that over and over in my head to keep me from going insane.

 

They may not have been able to figure out what the original problem was, but knew it was engine related, so they blew the engine themselves to get you a new one since you're still covered. Crazy, I know, but not uncommon. Don't ask me how I know.. Hopefully it was just a POS engine, built on a Friday.

 

They may not have been able to figure out what the original problem was, but knew it was engine related, so they blew the engine themselves to get you a new one since you're still covered. Crazy, I know, but not uncommon. Don't ask me how I know.. Hopefully it was just a POS engine, built on a Friday.

hahahahahaha nice.

i wouldnt worry about it mate. like all the members said they will have to prove that it was your fault but it isnt. the dealership can go "f" themselves. did they give you a paid for rental?