knowthroughroad

Hi , turns out that there was a short in the loom from the igniter. The mechanic replaced the igniter as well, as apparently these can be damaged if there is a short. Anyway it starts fine now and seems to drive ok. Will have to monitor it for a while But hopefully it will be ok. They also managed to fix the problem with the shocker mounting grommet or bearing which was making such a terrible scrunching noise after the shocker had been replaced. Cost me $450 all up. I think i will get a service manual and a code reader.... sure their is only so much i can do with out a work shop and the appropriate tools and experience, but i might save some money if i can do some fault finding myself. Any suggestions for getting the most from ,or recommended mechanics, for camrys of this vintage ?

Dropped it off at the Garage this morning. Last night it was terrible to start it just wouldn't catch, and then did all that i described several times before it drove without fault. Started fine this morning but by the time i got to the garage , a few kms away it had happened again several times. The Mechanic has just called to say , he thinks it could be one of the ignition sensors .... and that with some equipment that he will have tomorrow he will be able to tell which one is faulty . He said that there is one that sends messages and two that are reactionary. If he replaced them all it could be thousands of dollars! This is starting to sound expensive!

All the spark plugs were replaced and the fuel filter at the last service, only a few weeks ago. Besides the dealer where it has been serviced , I have only had this garage look at it, never used them before but they seem ok. Before the service this wasn't a problem. It did feel better after the service When it happens i can remember if the engine actually stopped or if just pulled over / restarted it in a hurry. It didn't happen this morning . Is it worth buying an adapter so i can read the error codes myself. I'll give the garage a call today

Hi All I'm in Melbourne. My vehicle a 2002 TOYOTA CAMRY MCV20R CSI WHITE 4dr WAGON with a Automatic 6cyl 3.0L 1MZ-FE Engine The orange check engine light comes on while i'm driving. Firstly the car feels underpowered for a moment then the orange light flicks on and off then it stays on all within 30 seconds 1 minute and the engine dies, and power steering is gone. The car comes to a halt and i have to restart the engine. This all happens while the car is driving. It feels very scary. What can i do to fix this problem? Ive never worked on a modern car but have done basic repairs / swapped parts to some old cars when i was first driving (120y, Escort, Renault 16 swapped radiators, bumpers, gearshift ball joints , basic tune ups gaskets etc ). I've owned this car for about 2 years. It has done alot of km 260,000 and was serviced at the dealer regularly before i got it. I have the full service history. When i bought it I had the timing belt changed . History to this problem I've just taken it for a service a few weeks ago and things have not gone well since. First service all the plugs were changed to long life plugs, they had only been changed once before. In the past the owner had complained of some difficult starting from time to time . I found this too . It might stall reversing out of the drive a couple of times may be tow days in a row , then no problems for several months (regardless of the weather or season). About a week after the first service it started stalling on me while driving, once going up a hill once slowing to a stop behind traffic, then again stopped waiting to turn into a main road. I took it back ( to the garage not which was not the dealer) He checked and said their were no fault codes, and cleaned the throttle inlet ? which the dealer had done before. Now a week and a half later , it the engine malfunctin light comes on while driving and the car grinds to a halt. I restart the engine all is fine for a kilometer or so then again. this happened on Friday , I took it for a long Drive on Sunday no problems. Then Monday night its done it again twice in a row , and again this morning. Its a bit scary If this happens at high speed or in traffic or turning things could get ugly for me. It doesn't feel safe to drive. On the long drive on the weekend 100 kms or more the engine felt great on the freeway really smooth. I'm so glad that nothing happened then. Anyway , at the same time I also had the shockers and a rear trailing bush replaced at the garages suggestion. 260 000km and they had never been done before , seemed reasonable. I want the car to be safe for my young baby and wife you know. The left one is ok , but the right on made noises when i turnend. I went back, and they changed the baring for no cost , it still continued to make scrunching noises. I took it back again and they took the bearing apart and re lubed it / greased it ? Again for no cost , though they suggested it might need a new rubber mount for $200. It was better but again it making noises only on part of a turn. I though i'd drive it for a week or so see if the noises got worse , and its now that the engine malfunction light comes on!!! I don't know if i should go back to the garage and get them to fix both problems or to take to a toyota dealer straight away. The car feels at the same time much better to drive but less safe than it was before the service What can i do to fix this problem? Its cost me total $2k so far for the service, including all plugs, two new pirelli tyres, wheel alignment, oil, two new shockers , and a rear trailing bush .... something like $500 + of labour charges? Does that sound too much $? Thats two days in the garage for the work and a couple, a and two other days when i left it so they could look again at the right shocker. ( I only paid roughly $7500 for the car when i got it and $670 for the service to replace the timing belt) Is their anything I can do my self? what can i do to get my car fixed. Looking on the net see that it could be sensor gone dodgy?... but would this the cause the car to loose cut all power and stop the engine?? What should I ask the garage or the Dealer , so that i know whats going on , and that my car will be safe and that i, wont be throwing good money away. This is very frustrating! Cheers Neil

oh yer ... What about the fuel injectors and a bottle of wins?

I'm not a lead foot , and dont gunn it but don't drive "like a little old lady" either On the way to work I'm am stuck in traffic in the mornings .... it will take 25-35 min to go 10km from Caufield to Collingwood about the same in the arvos, mostly stuck around the bridge crossing the South Eastern in Burnley / Richmond way I found this link too , and am not sure , what is being meant by driving the car hard resetting the ECU Do you mean go on a long freeway drive etc at 100km/hr .... or just drive it aggressively? around town? on a race track?? I havent driven a car with an ECU before , and dont know what to expect. Should i reset the ECU ... as you describe and then just drive to work? Things i did notice when i got the car that sometimes it would seem to accellerate differently when i was diving the same that it would slowdown a bit quicker or accelerate longer after i took my foot off it, but that seems to have settled down now. The car has done 240,000 km when i got it ... it was high and i was concerned but it was at redbook price from a dealer with warranty and in great condition. I got it serviced at by Toyota for a minor service and timing belt change as that not been done !! a week after i got it They gave me the full service history as i asked for it and i can see that the Engine computer was checked for fault codes at 135,000km service. what do you think..... sould they have picked up any issues with ECU or any thing else .... i said they could have gone ahead and done a major service if needed, as it would be due for one at 247,000 KM I hope its not the kms that have reduce the economy ... RACV gave it a full check

Hi , I recently , bought a 2002 Toyota Camry CSi MCV20R 3.0L v6 station wagon and am wondering if the fuel consumption is a bit high at 14.5 L per 100k Ive put about 55L in several times and have got between 360 and 390 kms from that before I refilled. The driving has all been in suburban area's and to and from work ... Should i be getting better fuel economy ? A friend at work suggested that it was a bit high and that it migh be the fuel injectors. I have the full service history it has regulary been serviced at a toyota dealer and i had a minor service and timing belt replaced as soon as i got it RACV gave it all thumbs up . Thanks N