Camry '08 transmission problems

We are having the same exact problem that scottkm described. Our dealership is in Oak Brook, Illinois. We were told that there has been a complaint about this in California as well.

Ours is also a new 08 with 5 speeds, and it feels as though we are going over a rumble strip every time we pass 40-42 mph and also at lower shifts. We are SO frustrated. Our local dealership replaced the torque converter, and if anything, the problem is worse. The corporate person we have dealt with is hopeless. He says the car is "up to specs" so there isn't a problem. He keeps saying we can go to arbitration if we want, but he makes no suggestions about a solution to the problem.

Obviously, we need to pursue this further, first with Toyota, then ??? Has anyone found a solution for this problem? Has anyone had Toyota try anything that did or didn't work??? They say their regional engineer is looking into the problem, but they gave us our car back after a week without a solution.

 

5th gear requires 48-50 mph to shift into it.

 

I have an update. Many are having this issue although it seems to depend on driving habits and individual vehicles.

I finally took two regional Toyota tech managers for a test drive last Thursday. At 40-42mph, they both experienced the rumbling sensation in the vehicle - I made it happen three times. They had a Panasonic Toughbook diagnostic laptop attached underneath the dashboard. The manager claimed he captured three excellent "snapshots" - exactly while it was happening.
He told me that it is a "Torque Converter Flex Lockup" problem.

He says they are getting many complaints from 08 owners and 07 owners with the August TSB reprogram. They are hoping to flood Toyota engineering with enough "proof" to get them to issue a fix. I hope so - this issue drives us nuts and we have to keep shifting from "D" to "4" to prevent it.

He may be wrong about the exact cause but regardless I hope they can get Toyota to issue a fix.

Best Regards,

Scott

 

We just got a 2008 4Cyl with the 5spd auto. Only had it two weeks.
When driving 35-45mph, the tranny will shift up into 5th gear and then basically STAY there. As we approach a slight upward grade, the tachometer is stuck at 1200 RPM and the whole car shudders and vibrates as the engine "lugs" down. We find ourselves constantly playing with the gas pedal in order to FORCE the tranny to downshift.
Scott

Hello Scott, we are dealing with the same exact problem on our 2008 4Cyl camry and its only two weeks old. So are you saying that the 08 camry transmission issue is not related to the 07 camry tranny issues?? I read a TSB for the 08 camry which is a "Techstream ecu flash reprogramming procedure." I just emailed my service advisor and explained this issue...hasn't got back to me yet... hopefully he'll give me a good answer.!!!

 

Is there a TSB for the 08's?.....would like to know for when I go in for 10K oil change

 

Yes there are two TSB's for the 2008 camry's...
1) Techstream ecu flash reprogramming procedure. *kb, and
2) Floor mat installation during (pds) pre-delivery service. *nj!!!

Have you experienced any tranny issues with your camry?

 

They told me that the reprogrammed 07's had could experience this issue.
They also said that there were no updates for my 08 because it already came with the "reprogram" from the factory.
Let me know what you find out!

Scott

 

08 Camry ...Tranny Troubles !

My wife and I have been very loyal Toyota fans for many years. Two weeks ago, we bought an 08' Camry, and we have noticed that when we get it to approx. 1400 RPM's, the tranny makes a "rumple strip" sound and feel. We took it back to the dealership in Lancaster PA. , and they found the same problem with other 08' Camrys on the lot. The service manager, and the GM of the dealership said that it is a "Common thing" with the 08's, and there is nothing that they can do about it. I find it very hard to believe that Toyota would settle for a "sub par" tranny performance from any of their vehicles, especially their #1 selling vehicle. I was told that the 06's ,and 07's had the same trouble, and Toyota had to "reflash" the computer to resolve it. Lancaster Toyota states that there isn't a fix for this. If any of you can suggest what I should do to get this resolved, I would greatly appreciate your help.

Many thanks,
Vito

***** Scott,

Thanks for the reply to my post , which I attached above , for the other readers. This is ridiculous !! Our dealership is pulling the same stunt that they all are. I won't settle for this. I have been a service / operations manager of medical, and technology companies, for many years, and I have never treated a customer the way that my dealership in Lancaster PA has treated my wife and I. We are going back into the dealership this Friday, and if I don't get some answers, I am taking this to the media. We have some top notch investigative reporters in this area, and they will get to the bottom of this. Taking care of my customers is what I do best, and I will do what I can to get this resolved. We need to do this civily, and I will. I won't have them treat my wife like she is stupid. I have documented all of my correspondence with my dealership, and have forwarded copies of the snide replies that I've gotten, to Toyota Corporate. I will fight this to the end, and with the help of all of you folks that are going through this too, we will get this answered! WE deserve results, and we deserve to be treated fairly, and with respect.

Vito

 

08 trans. problem

My wife and I have been very loyal Toyota fans for many years. Two weeks ago, we bought an 08' Camry, and we have noticed that when we get it to approx. 1400 RPM's, the tranny makes a "rumple strip" sound and feel. We took it back to the dealership in Lancaster PA. , and they found the same problem with other 08' Camrys on the lot. The service manager, and the GM of the dealership said that it is a "Common thing" with the 08's, and there is nothing that they can do about it. I find it very hard to believe that Toyota would settle for a "sub par" tranny performance from any of their vehicles, especially their #1 selling vehicle. I was told that the 06's ,and 07's had the same trouble, and Toyota had to "reflash" the computer to resolve it. Lancaster Toyota states that there isn't a fix for this. If any of you can suggest what I should do to get this resolved, I would greatly appreciate your help.

Many thanks,
Vito

***** Scott,

Thanks for the reply to my post , which I attached above , for the other readers. This is ridiculous !! Our dealership is pulling the same stunt that they all are. I won't settle for this. I have been a service / operations manager of medical, and technology companies, for many years, and I have never treated a customer the way that my dealership in Lancaster PA has treated my wife and I. We are going back into the dealership this Friday, and if I don't get some answers, I am taking this to the media. We have some top notch investigative reporters in this area, and they will get to the bottom of this. Taking care of my customers is what I do best, and I will do what I can to get this resolved. We need to do this civily, and I will. I won't have them treat my wife like she is stupid. I have documented all of my correspondence with my dealership, and have forwarded copies of the snide replies that I've gotten, to Toyota Corporate. I will fight this to the end, and with the help of all of you folks that are going through this too, we will get this answered! WE deserve results, and we deserve to be treated fairly, and with respect.

Vito

 

Today one of the service technician test drove our car and he experienced the same transmission issue we are dealing with. Our Service Advisor told us that many 08 camry 4cyl owners are experiencing this transmission issue. He said that Toyota is aware of this concern and will have a remedy soon. He said that it might take a couple of months for Toyota to release a software fix for this issue. So he told us that once the software update is released, the dealership would contact us....and until then there is nothing they can do.
So I guess all we can do now is to wait for Toyota to release a software update....which who knows when!!!

 

Frustrated with no fix in sight

Our dealer is in Oak Brook, Illinois and we're experiencing the same denial by Corporate Toyota. We too have been loyal Toyota clients for 20 years and never experienced anything like this. We are very dissapointed at their attitude, and how they are handling this.
I spoke to Tesarina Ablin 1-800-331-4331 who is their Corporate Case Manager Supervisor (our case manager is Greg Simmonds - extension 73001 with the same attitude) who told me that she had not heard of anyone reporting this tranny vibration problem and that we were unique. She told me the car was working up to specs. Arbitration was our option, which at this point is not acceptable to us. People with this problem need to call her to show that this is a larger problem than just me and it needs to be resolved. Maybe if there are enough of us complaining, they might do something. This is an unacceptable performance for the nation's most popular car. I'm talking with our Toyota Regional Manager but all they say is that they are looking into it. Waiting is all we're doing at the moment.

 

Our dealer is in Oak Brook, Illinois and we're experiencing the same denial by Corporate Toyota. We too have been loyal Toyota clients for 20 years and never experienced anything like this. We are very dissapointed at their attitude, and how they are handling this.
I spoke to Tesarina Ablin 1-800-331-4331 who is their Corporate Case Manager Supervisor (our case manager is Greg Simmonds - extension 73001 with the same attitude) who told me that she had not heard of anyone reporting this tranny vibration problem and that we were unique. She told me the car was working up to specs. Arbitration was our option, which at this point is not acceptable to us. People with this problem need to call her to show that this is a larger problem than just me and it needs to be resolved. Maybe if there are enough of us complaining, they might do something. This is an unacceptable performance for the nation's most popular car. I'm talking with our Toyota Regional Manager but all they say is that they are looking into it. Waiting is all we're doing at the moment.

Do you have any other local dealers that you can take your car to??

 

Let's have another look, folks:

When driving 35-45mph, the tranny will shift up into 5th gear and then basically STAY there. As we approach a slight upward grade, the tachometer is stuck at 1200 RPM and the whole car shudders and vibrates as the engine "lugs" down. We find ourselves constantly playing with the gas pedal in order to FORCE the tranny to downshift.

Took it to dealer. They experienced same thing. They said it was "Normal for this model - at this time". They quietly told me they are getting other complaints and look forward to Toyota releasing new programming for the ECU.

Yes, this is "lugging the engine."

There is nothing wrong with your engine.

There is nothing wrong with your transmission.

Except, of course, for the fact that the shift point Toyota has chosen allows the engine to lug. And I do expect that the shift points are controlled by the ECU, so Toyota could change them with a programming change. And, "that could happen" some day.

In the meantime, feel free to "actually drive your car." Golly, some times, you might just consider taking some action on your own part to use the controls you have available in order to get the performance from the car that you desire. If it lugs when going uphill at a lower speed like this, by all means, use that lever on your right and pop it down to D4. I'm sure you'll find it an effective solution.

Your dealer is right -- there's nothing they can do, except pass it along to Toyota. So, it's a good thing to go in there and raise the issue, so it gets "recorded" as a concern, and hopefully Toyota will come out with an ECU programming change in response some day. Until then, you can just get on with your life, and grab that shift lever every now and then, as move it around as needed.

That's really all there is to this situation. Nothing more to be seen here. Move along....

Oh, and let me add one more concept to consider:

With all of these electronically-controlled systems, manufacturers are often programming them to achieve the best gas mileage and the lowest exhaust emissions. Yes, and by choosing those issues as their primary concerns, "performance" may suffer, from your perspective. So, again, if you prefer "more performance" in a situation, you might have to take control of your car away from these systems, if possible. In this situation, a simple manual gear shift on your part will take care of it entirely effectively.

 

Let's have another look, folks:



Yes, this is "lugging the engine."

There is nothing wrong with your engine.

There is nothing wrong with your transmission.

Except, of course, for the fact that the shift point Toyota has chosen allows the engine to lug. And I do expect that the shift points are controlled by the ECU, so Toyota could change them with a programming change. And, "that could happen" some day.

In the meantime, feel free to "actually drive your car." Golly, some times, you might just consider taking some action on your own part to use the controls you have available in order to get the performance from the car that you desire. If it lugs when going uphill at a lower speed like this, by all means, use that lever on your right and pop it down to D4. I'm sure you'll find it an effective solution.

Your dealer is right -- there's nothing they can do, except pass it along to Toyota. So, it's a good thing to go in there and raise the issue, so it gets "recorded" as a concern, and hopefully Toyota will come out with an ECU programming change in response some day. Until then, you can just get on with your life, and grab that shift lever every now and then, as move it around as needed.

That's really all there is to this situation. Nothing more to be seen here. Move along....

Oh, and let me add one more concept to consider:

With all of these electronically-controlled systems, manufacturers are often programming them to achieve the best gas mileage and the lowest exhaust emissions. Yes, and by choosing those issues as their primary concerns, "performance" may suffer, from your perspective. So, again, if you prefer "more performance" in a situation, you might have to take control of your car away from these systems, if possible. In this situation, a simple manual gear shift on your part will take care of it entirely effectively.

+1

and mine does not shift into 5th gear until 48-50 mph.

If it does and I coast to slow down to around 40 and press gently on the accelerator it will lug.

A slightly firmer appication on the accelerator will cause the torque converter to unlock or it to shift into 4th gear.

..........like, work as it is designed to.

 

In principle, I do agree with both Thoots and Njerald.

Having to move the gated shifter back and forth from 4th to D is not the end of the world - it would be great if possibly the manual or the Toyota sales force would bring that up during test drives. Maybe we missed something?
I've driven another 2008 with the same mileage and the tranny would downshift much more willingly than ours. There are some inconsistencies with the 2008's.

Njerald described the situation very similar to ours (I should have explained it that way to begin with). Coasting down and then applying gas will cause this. You have to play with the accelerator some to get it to shift. Again, not the end of the world - I used to drive a standard afterall.

We own a 2004 LE 4cyl and it is drastically different. That is what surprised us the most. We have not driven any automatic tranny quite like the '08 but we are retraining ourselves. When our 08 starts vibrating/lugging, it is quite severe. I still wish Toyota would have handled things differently though. Many people WILL complain about having to "shift" an automatic.
As for gas mileage, at almost 4000 miles, I hope it improves. We get 33mpg faithfully with our '04 but have yet to achieve 27mpg with the '08.
Maybe if they add a clutch to our vehicle and knock $500 off the price, that would take care of the problem.

Scott

 

08 camry trans. problem

My wife & I just bought a new camry le 08 with 4 cyl. We noticed the same trembling feeling around 40 mph while driving home. I thought the car being new & very tight would get better. It didn't so we called the dealership we bought from & set up an appointment. They test drove car & noticed the trembling. They kept my car overnight & called the next day & said they wanted to set up a meeting with me. I knew at this point I was in trouble.
They told me this was normal with my car & at this point Toyota would do nothing. I was very upset & still am. The wife & I have bought several new Camrys & have had no trouble until this one. I don't believe they have a fix & I am affraid they won't have any time soon. I down shift to 4 and this helps, however if I wanted a stick shift thats what I would have bought. If the dealership will trade without raping me I will trade for a RAV4. If anybody knows of a fix please reply. I would like to give the dealership problems but this won't help. I really don't think they:sosad: have a good solution.

 

If anybody knows of a fix please reply.

The car is simply lugging the engine -- probably when you're going slightly uphill. There are two entirely reasonable solutions:

1. STEP ON THE GAS when it does this.

2. Grab the shift lever and downshift to a lower gear when it does this.

Pretty simple.

 

Add my 07 with 18,000 miles to the list of those having this problem. I had it at the dealer about a week ago to address this issue, along with having the dashboard rattle TSB performed. I went for a ride with one of the techs and it took about 10 minutes of driving before it finally did this. I described it as happening from 38 to 45 MPH. The tech felt it and also said it is in the transmission and right now there is nothing they can do for it. He said they had 2 or 3 others with this complaint. I notice that giving the car a bit of gas eliminates the shudder. I believe that Toyota corporate will eventually come up with a fix for this in time. It's really up to Toyota corporate and not the dealerships to come up with a fix. Your dealership's service department can not re-engineer things. They can only provide feedback to Toyota corporate on the existance of the problem.

Mike

 

Look, everyone, it's this simple:

YOUR CAR IS CONTROLLED BY COMPUTERS.

You no longer have a "mechanical link" to most of your car's systems when you put it in gear, or press down on the gas, and so on. Your car has electronic sensors that send your inputs to computers, which then tell the car to do something.

These computers just may not do things quite the same way as you have gotten used to with all of the mechanical systems you've controlled in the past.

In fact, the computers very most likely will choose to do something that will REDUCE EMISSIONS in the process of controlling your car's systems according to your inputs, and/or do something to increase fuel mileage. And these actions might be substantially different than what you might expect.

"Computers" have everything to do with this I4/5A engine lugging -- it's all about the shift point that has been programmed into the computer.

"Computers" have had everything to do with the I4/5A "hesitation" -- which was mostly solved with a change in transmission programming.

"Computers" may be the primary culprit in the V6/6A "flare" problem -- the information I've found that makes the most sense tends to revolve around the electronic controller not directing the flow of transmission fluid quite right, which affects the way the mechanical systems handle a shift change.

"Computers" is why we have a complaint about the V6 engine being so loud on cold starts -- every car these days is programmed to control the engine very carefully during cold starts, because that's when emissions can be at their highest. So, the engine revs up quite a bit during cold starts, to reach operating temperature as soon as possible.

"And so on."

So, what's my point? Twofold:

1. There's a big difference between something being "defective" and "operating the way Toyota programmed it to operate."

2. You might do better with your dealer if you ask them to "report the electronically-controlled system's programming to Toyota," rather than screaming "I want a new car!!!"

In the end, I think it's possible to be a little more satisfied with your vehicle if you understand that the computers in your car might have a slighly different agenda than you might expect when you do something like push down the gas pedal. By all means, let your dealer know if you're not happy with how some of these things work in some situations, but believe your service writer when he or she says there's really nothing that they can do about it. The only way to really change many of these things is to change the programming -- which so far, tends to be something only the manufacturer can do.

So, "try to understand," and, golly, "relax" in the meantime!

 

+1,001!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Hey that sounds great, however that does not fix the problem. I drove 4 other new camrys today 3 of the cars had much less vibration than mine, and the 09 was prefect. I don't think you have any idea how bad my car vibrates!!!! By the way, my car had 300 miles on it when I first took it in. Regardless of all this I decided to work with toyota to get this fixed. If no fix appears in 6 months I will look for something else. not a toyota!!

 

hey there, my wife & I are going through the same thing,keep me posted. I thought about the media myself. I haven't taken action yet but might in the near future if I get no results. (read my complaint above)

 

Are these "computers" a new thing?
If you are coming from a 1977 Ford Thunderbird, I can understand but many of us are coming from some very recent vehicles.
Are Honda, Hyundai, Nissan owners shifting their automatic transmissions?
Maybe their owner manuals are written differently than ours.

Again, shifting it to "4" is not the end of the world but when your vehicle is rumbling JUST AS BAD as being on the interstate rumble strip, you don't have much choice!!!
I have confidence that Toyota engineering will fix this eventually - if they get enough complaints however I am discouraged that they let it happen to begin with. If the Camry was getting 10mpg higher than all the unaffected competition - I'd keep my mouth shut but unfortunately, that is not the case!

I understand that computers are controlling more and more functions with our vehicles and we can expect some "peculiar" behavior from time to time. However, even the corporate regional techs are telling customers that Toyota has a torque converter lockup issue on their hands. Maybe Toyota needs to reeducate them too?

Scott

 

My answer today 02-27-08 was live with it. We don't have a fix & will not in the near future. My o8 Camry 4cyl. auto 5-speed is trembling at 37mph-42mph & is getting worse. Miles on car now 700 & about 300 when I first told my dealership. This isn't looking good,I will most likely trade off car & lose my butt.

 

Does it happen to I4 engine only? I did not experience any lost power (shuttering) driving uphill on my 08 SE V6. The only one time I felt shutter was when my car ran slowly (10 mile/hr) coming to a red light, and the light turned green, I made a hard acceleration, and I felt the shutter when the gear changed from 3rd to 1st. I think that is normal when then car kicks down.

 

Oh, it's trembling and rumbling...............

Poor you.

 

So is EVERYBODY having this trans problem??? That would be how many camrys running around with a bad trans?? Was planing on a test drive this week, but, after reading this tread, not sure what to do. Guess I have to run the crap out of the one I want to buy and form my own opinion.

 

<....sigh....>

This is essentially the problem.

As a matter of fact, only a few people have reported this -- maybe a half-dozen from what must be hundreds of Gen6 I4 owners in here. A few have described it in monumental proportions, which I think is a bit hyperbolic.

After nearly two years with one of the first Gen6 I4 Camrys ever sold, I'm now on my second, now a V6. I did experience a very slight bit of lugging on a daily basis -- the drive home from the office had a slight uphill stretch, a couple of blocks past a lighted intersection. Yes, the car would lug a bit going up that hill, and I'd either just "not worry about it," or I'd occasionally "step on it a little more," or I'd just pop it down to D4, the latter two being actual 'solutions,' which effectively got the engine spinning fast enough to stop the lugging.

And no, the V6 hasn't had any problem with lugging while going up this same little hill.

As I've mentioned above, I believe it all has to do with the shift point Toyota has chosen for the I4/5A transmission. And I believe Toyota has done this in order to increase fuel economy -- yes, the thing probably goes up to fifth gear at too low an RPM, and leaves you lugging if you happen to be there when you need more RPM's to handle a speed change or an uphill stretch. Again, I don't think there's anything wrong with the engine, or anything wrong with the transmission -- it's just the aggressive fuel-economy tranmission programming. And, Toyota could come out with a TSB that would change that programming -- maybe tomorrow. Or next month. Or next year. Or never. We just don't know.

That said, "lugging is lugging." If the folks who are complaining about it the worst here agree that what they've got is some engine lugging, then let me put it this way:

Toyota has programmed your transmission for "greatest economy." If that results in too much lugging for you, then I would encourage you to "do something about it" as you drive -- mainly, by shifting down to D4. For instance, my commute to work is entirely on local streets with speed limits of 30 MPH or less. There really wouldn't be any problem with putting the car in D4 for my entire commute, every day. Might that be an option for your experience?

Also, for those of you with less than a thousand miles or so on your vehicles, bear in mind that the transmission programming is "adaptive" or whatever they call it -- it supposedly will adjust itself to an extent, based upon your driving habits. Now, I generally drive on my commute like the old fart I actually am -- not the most agressive driving you'll encounter. So, for at least the first couple of thousand miles, I would recommend "giving it more gas!" in any lugging situations -- perhaps it'll learn to downshift more aggressively than it is now.

So, give those ideas some thought, and I hope they might help you with your trembling.

 

if your in california or some states

doesn't this issue constitute for lemon law?

 

Same thing here. We have an '08 with about 6500 miles on it. It's annoying and can't be good for the engine, lugging and vibrating like it does so we've learned to slap it over into 4 when driving around town or in hilly country. I'm sure they'll come up with a software fix eventually, still a great car. We put over 200K on our 2000 Camry.

 

thats sucks. im glad i got the manual. theres no problems with it at all