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4 Posts
Well, I have several issues that have popped up with my '98 Camry LE over the past year that I'm trying to get some insight into. I'll start by saying I bought the car in 2006 used from the local Toyota dealership with 109k miles and NONE of these issues were present at that time, or for a while afterwards. They are all more recent. Despite the mileage the car was in very good shape and drove perfectly for a time. Last year I started a job that has me doing 40 miles round trip every day, compared to just a few miles around town that I was doing before, so I think that these issues are surfacing because of the additional driving. Also, I got all-new tires a few months ago and they have been balanced and aligned recently. All the issues I will mention were present before and after the new tires.
• First off: Wobbly/slippery/rough ride. This has been sort of noticeable for a while and it seems to be getting slowly worse. It's not easy to describe clearly... it just feels wobbly, a little too bouncy and rough when going down the road, like there's a very strong wind blowing the car around or the road is bumpier than it is (it's noticeable even on the smoothest roads), or even like somehow the wheels are wobbling around. I can feel it mostly through the seat but almost slightly noticeable in the steering. From the little research I've done it seems like it likely has to do with a worn suspension. At first I thought it had to do with the steering but the more I think about it the more I think it to be the suspension. It is not quite veering left or right or anything like that, though it feels as if it might. What IS happening is I'm instinctively correcting for the wobbliness that I'm feeling which IS causing me to not drive totally straight. It requires a lot of concentration to just try and hold the wheel straight.
• Steering wheel won't turn/hard to turn when making sharp turns in the rain. This specifically only happens when it's raining and very wet out, and only when making fairly sharp turns at low speeds (low speeds because, well, I don't make sharp turns at high speeds of course!). For example, a right turn from a stop sign, or a sharp blind corner on a back road. I did read that in some cases this sort of thing was caused by loss of power steering from the belt slipping because it was wet. Loss of power steering seems to fit the bill - the wheel is not locked into position, but rather it is extremely difficult or next to impossible to turn it very far. I have no idea when the belt was last replaced, or if replacing the belt would fix it since it seems it's still going to be getting wet.
• Soft break pedal, requires excessive pressure. There have been a definite change in the pressure of the break pedal compared to when I got the car. It was gradual enough that I didn't notice it for a long time. A few months back I had the fluid changed and the breaks cleaned and this made a tremendous difference - for a time. After not too long it returned to being too soft and requires an excessive amount of pressure now. I think there must be a pressure leak somewhere? I'm not too sure.
• Vibration in break pedal. Another issue regarding the breaks that I hadn't given too much thought too until now. There is a slight vibration felt when pressing lightly (NOT the ABS, definitely different). Seems this could be caused by a warped rotor? Could it at all be related to any of the other issues?
Again, I've had the balancing done and alignment checked recently by a very trusted shop. I did have out of balance tires once and know very well what that feels like, it's definitely not my issue here. Of course I'm going to have to talk to the service guy and describe these issues so they can check them out, I'd just like to try to gain as much insight into them as I can before that time.
• First off: Wobbly/slippery/rough ride. This has been sort of noticeable for a while and it seems to be getting slowly worse. It's not easy to describe clearly... it just feels wobbly, a little too bouncy and rough when going down the road, like there's a very strong wind blowing the car around or the road is bumpier than it is (it's noticeable even on the smoothest roads), or even like somehow the wheels are wobbling around. I can feel it mostly through the seat but almost slightly noticeable in the steering. From the little research I've done it seems like it likely has to do with a worn suspension. At first I thought it had to do with the steering but the more I think about it the more I think it to be the suspension. It is not quite veering left or right or anything like that, though it feels as if it might. What IS happening is I'm instinctively correcting for the wobbliness that I'm feeling which IS causing me to not drive totally straight. It requires a lot of concentration to just try and hold the wheel straight.
• Steering wheel won't turn/hard to turn when making sharp turns in the rain. This specifically only happens when it's raining and very wet out, and only when making fairly sharp turns at low speeds (low speeds because, well, I don't make sharp turns at high speeds of course!). For example, a right turn from a stop sign, or a sharp blind corner on a back road. I did read that in some cases this sort of thing was caused by loss of power steering from the belt slipping because it was wet. Loss of power steering seems to fit the bill - the wheel is not locked into position, but rather it is extremely difficult or next to impossible to turn it very far. I have no idea when the belt was last replaced, or if replacing the belt would fix it since it seems it's still going to be getting wet.
• Soft break pedal, requires excessive pressure. There have been a definite change in the pressure of the break pedal compared to when I got the car. It was gradual enough that I didn't notice it for a long time. A few months back I had the fluid changed and the breaks cleaned and this made a tremendous difference - for a time. After not too long it returned to being too soft and requires an excessive amount of pressure now. I think there must be a pressure leak somewhere? I'm not too sure.
• Vibration in break pedal. Another issue regarding the breaks that I hadn't given too much thought too until now. There is a slight vibration felt when pressing lightly (NOT the ABS, definitely different). Seems this could be caused by a warped rotor? Could it at all be related to any of the other issues?
Again, I've had the balancing done and alignment checked recently by a very trusted shop. I did have out of balance tires once and know very well what that feels like, it's definitely not my issue here. Of course I'm going to have to talk to the service guy and describe these issues so they can check them out, I'd just like to try to gain as much insight into them as I can before that time.