New to these forums also...
First, sorry you are having problems. I jumped from Honda Accord to Camry just over 3 years ago (issues with Honda and Honda dealers). This is the first batch of a new model so I suppose it's "somewhat normal" for it to have a few problems. I would take the Service Manager for a ride to demonstrate the suspension noise...it's good to have him/her on your side when you are dealing with Toyota Customer Support (trust me, I've had to call them several times...not about problems with the vehicles but rather "Dealer screwups" that they didn't want to "take ownership" of.

Naturally, the airbag light issue would seem more important to me. Being that could be a safety issue, I would assume Toyota would be extremely responsive to this issue (given their problems last year).

Please keep us informed...
thanks,
Gary

 

I did take a mechanic and the customer service manager of the dealership where I bought it from for a ride in the car, but I could not duplicate the suspension issue. Like I said, the car has to be sitting for a while for it to even have a chance of happening, and then once it hits a decent-sized dip, it will no longer make the noise anymore. By the way, the "Passenger Airbag Off" light came on again this morning. That makes this the third time it has happened. It eventually went of by itself again, but I was able to record it with my cell phone camera thankfully.

 

Shouldn't the Pass. airbag "off" always be light if there is no one in the the seat...then when someone is in the seat it should light up to say "on".

I know in other vehicles this is the case, they always read off, until someone is in the seat then it reads on.

 

Not in Toyotas. PASS AIRBAG OFF is meant to indicate that the person sitting in the seat is too light and that the airbag will not deploy in a frontal collision.

 

No. According to the Camry manual, if the passenger seat is empty, the "Passenger Airbag Off" and "Passenger Airbag On" are extinguished. If a child (or baby in a car seat) is in the passenger seat, the "Passenger Airbag Off" light will come on indicating that the airbag has disarmed so as not to injure them in the event of a crash. In addition, if the seatbelt is not buckled at this point, the passenger seatbelt warning will come on. If an adult sits in the passenger seat, the "Passenger Airbag On" light comes on indicating that the airbag will deploy. If the system senses that the passenger seat sensing system has a malfunction, the "Passenger Airbag Off" light will illuminate along with the SRS malfunction light on the dash. This is all according to the manual (I'm a pilot, so I'm big into trying to understand the logic of computer systems like this). The only thing I get is the "Passenger Airbag Off" light illuminating by itself with the seat completely empty.

 

Hmm. My passenger airbag light says off 100% of the time unless someone is sitting there.

Suspension noise was a problem for the gen 6 SE as well, I knew a guy having almost the same exact issue with it. Only on cold mornings.

I've only found one issue with the new Camry's that I've sold. One back door handle was making a clicking noise when opening. We were able to correct it before the customer picked it up thankfully. Nothing else so far, and trust me I found many issues with most of the old ones that I had fixed.

 

What did they find out was causing his suspension noise?

 

I don't believe it was ever resolved, have not talked to him in awhile. If I can get in touch, I'll let you know.

 

My airbag "off" light is on all the time unless someone is sitting there and then it pops on....I know it's a Gen 6 but I've seen a thousand different Toyotas do the same thing.

OP-just remember you have one of the VERY first Camrys out for the year, with a new suspension setup than before. You're almost always bound to run into issues with a new model year and new technology.

 

My airbag "off" light is on all the time unless someone is sitting there and then it pops on....I know it's a Gen 6 but I've seen a thousand different Toyotas do the same thing.

The lights remain off unless there is weight on the passenger seat. If there is some weight on the seat, then the "airbag off" light will come on if the seat belt is not buckled, and the "airbag on" will come on if it is buckled.
<-gen 6.5

To the OP, good luck with your problems and the dealer. These problems are always difficult to duplicate, and they will only do something if a warning light remains constant or if they can duplicate it (which is basically their word).

 

Alright, so I just got a call back from my case manager Britney. She told me that she had talked with the Toyota regional dealer rep. He told her that Toyota will not do anything about my issues until the dealer physically verifies both issues (which is kind of hard to do since they both occur intermittently). They cannot accept videos of the problems happening. She said that was all she could do, and suggested that the only next step was to go back to the dealer or go through arbitration. I called the dealer and told them to keep the car for as long as they want, I don't care. Then, the service writer told me they can only do a loaner car for a "day or two." I then talked to the dealer's customer service manager once again about my issues and he said he would talk to the dealer's vehicle service manager who is currently on vacation. He said he would call me around the middle of next week. This is where things stand now: the same place as before. Glad to see that Toyota corporate washed their hands of me so quickly.

 

And you're surprised? Toyota's mantra has always been "Go see your dealer"....I'm a dealership employee and still get the same, scripted, stupid message from corporate.

Good luck...I hope they can finally duplicate the problem. If not, keep bringing it in until they pull their hair out, haha.

 

^Mine doesn't do that.

 

Just like most industry, if they can't replicate the problem, they can't fix it.

 

Well this is interesting. Just when I thought Toyota corporate was through with me, I get a call from Brittney my case manager. She asks me some follow-up questions about the airbag light. I answer her and tell her I have video of everything; the light, the empty seat, etc. Then she tells me to e-mail her the videos of the airbag light and the suspension noise, which I did. I'll keep you all updated.

 

Weird.

 

Apparently my case has been elevated. I just got a call from Toyota HQ and was told by the guy that they saw the videos, and that this a new car and I shouldn't have to deal with this. They want to do a 2-3 hour manufacturer inspection of the car sometime in the next week. What a difference a day makes.

 

That's good news :thumbup:

 

Nice to see Toyota HQ cares!

I am new to Toyota, still waiting on my 2012 Camry Hybrid XLE that is being built. I am very happy to read this story and see Toyota will take action over the dealer only ability to check the car. It shows that Toyota cares and it enforces my believe in them.

I of course am sorry to hear about your experience, and I see from others that its not a common problem at least, but we all can have the bad luck to get a lemon or a bad car. Its what happens after that counts.

All best wishes and please do update this story as it progresses.

 

I got a call from the Toyota dealer right near my house (not the dealership where I bought it from). I'm going to bring my car in at 8am on Wednesday so a team from Toyota Engineering can go over it. I'll keep you guys updated.

 

If the problem is easier to replicate when cold, I would drop off the car the evening before.

 

Airbag Light on 2012 SE V6

I have the same airbag light problem on my 2012 SE V6... It make no sense on when it is illuminated or not. Hardly ever have passengers or put anything on the seat. This seems to be a problem for the new car.

Otherwise, this has been the best toyota I have owned to date.


Adding to the above post.. when someone is in the seat, the "on" is always illuminated. So this seems like it has something to do with the sensors and an empty seat. Dont know if having leather seats has anything to do with it.

Have not heard any noises from the front-end of the car.

 

First year production vehicles often have bugs to be worked out. This is nothing new... It's been that way as far back as I can remember. They can test them all they want but putting them in customer's hands is where the final product development happens.

Hopefully they get this resolved. I have confidence that they will.

 

to the OP: care to share the video on youtube with us?

also: toyota is really putting a lot of money into advertising the new camry and any feedback they can get with early adopters to the car is good for them. the last thing they want are bad comments for the new camry.

 

I don't have a youtube account. The only thing I can do is e-mail the videos as attachments, but I think the forum rules ban us from posting our e-mail addresses. Maybe private message me your e-mail address if you want to see the them. I'm just surprised at how I went from Toyota basically telling me that I was on my own, to now where the Engineering Team is coming into town to go over my car.

 

I don't have a youtube account. The only thing I can do is e-mail the videos as attachments, but I think the forum rules ban us from posting our e-mail addresses. Maybe private message me your e-mail address if you want to see the them. I'm just surprised at how I went from Toyota basically telling me that I was on my own, to now where the Engineering Team is coming into town to go over my car.

I don't think it's so much as telling you that you're on your own, but that it's kind of hard for them to fix something if it doesn't happen while they're testing it.

Still, it's good to see the engineering team getting in on this. Hopefully they can resolve your issue.

 

With there now being two posters on this thread with the same problem, you can bet there is a problem. Probably software that'll need an update. Stay tuned!

 

as much as I know, airbag off is supposed to be on when there is nobody in the seat. just like our rear seat lights in europe (now mandatory), that will be on when there is nobody in the seats, but chime and warn when there is someone in them, but not buckled up.

it is basically warning you that airbag is off, in case it falsely detected nobody on the seat.
If it actually detected someone, it would chime and warn you of them not being buckled up, it is different warning. At least thats how it works here in europe.

 

i am just putting this out there - Toyota's ESP (VSC), makes this clunk sound when you first go over some speed (maybe 10-15 mph)... are you sure this is not it? It is some protection for the sensors.

kind of goes with your story of it happening only once and after the car has been sitting for long time. It is clunky metal sound (as metal hitting metal).