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Did you ever find out what caused it to fail? The mechanic told me that I should be lucky. He recently dealt with a customer who had a twin exhaust system.... both cats gone. I guess he went elsewhere to have he job done.

Have a look at what the OBD2 diagnostic port tells you. You might know someone with a reader or just go to your dealer and they'll check the codes. I have a problem where my engine management light has been on for 4 years. It used to be intermittent but now stays on all the time. Toyota has replaced rather expensive sensors $500 plus.. but still can't figure it out. The car's been running fine. Adelaide to Melbourne less than one tank of fuel. (Camry 98 V6). I guess when the light goes out I'll have to pay for a new globe!! :D

I had something similar in my camry. It turned out that the wheel bearing had some play and although I didn't feel any problems under normal driving I got a tremendous rumbling throbbing sound when I went down a steep hill and applied the brakes. It turned out that the front disk had play in it and it's looseness manifested as noise under braking and turning conditions. It actually wore out my axle. I had it replaced ( all of it from a wrecker and have driven over 100 000km more on it without trouble.) I hope your solution is as simple. Cheers.

Does lightning strike twice? Well it did in my case. I drove down from the Adelaide Hills to my son's place in my wife's RAV 4. That night, when I went home the car had lost power and was really struggling to climb up the hills. The next morning I started the car and heard that tell tail noise of what sounded like gravel in the exhaust system. Oh no... heard that noise before in my Camry a couple of years ago. So... I booked it in to the local Toyota dealer. Drove down after morning peak traffic hoping that the engine wouldn't stall on idle. "Yeah no worries mate. we'll have a look and call you when we are any the wiser." That afternoon the phone call came. "Hi. About that RAV4. You're quite right.. it's the catalytic converter. We do have a replacement. How much? Aw about $800. plus the time we've spent on it so far. What caused it to go? Dunno. Yep you're right. it might happen again. Ok we'll get on with the job." 15 minutes later. "Oh hi. That quote we gave you. That's not the part. We've got to get it down from Sydney. So you'll get it back in a couple of days. And by the way the part actually costs $1800 plus labor." "Bugg*r!!! that's a lot and you don't know the cause." "Look you'll understand if I ring around for a better price?" So, with the mechanics understanding I rang around. I called a local Exhaust dealer. "Yea sure. Bring it in tomorrow and we can have you up and running in 2 hours...tops. Cost? $450. Labor? Naw mate that includes the labor." Well I just saved myself over $1500 dollars. But still not any the wiser re the reason of the failure. 10 minutes later. "Hi, Toyota here. We had a look and found that it's your ignition coil. That's running poor and so that's caused your problem. We put a spare one on and it's running really sweet now. We cleared out the junk from the catalyst and it's barely a matchbox full. Come and pick it up." The cost of the parts and labor still cost me about $500. The car is running fine (even better than before) but even though I was hit by "lightning" again it didn't cost me well in excess of $2400. Well you got to be lucky sometimes!!

I know that this is a reply to a post which is old, but I'm sue that there are a number of Toyota Owners out there who, like me are generally happy with the car but are somewhat annoyed at the skimpish attitude of Toyota to it's Australian customers. So... if you're happy to put up with my rave... read on. A trip computer is one of those items that Toyota feels is unnecessary for it's buyers. It's truly amazing that in virtually every other make of car the trip computer is standard. Distance to empty, instant km/100 etc. (Temp indoor/ outdoor) Ok... before I get a reply that the Coralla has one ( I know) why is it that it's not standard on all Toyotas? I've owned 5 Toyotas and am considering purchasing a PRADO next. Guess what?.... no trip computer (unless you buy the top of the range!) OK next option. Buy an item like "Scan Gauge" ... that would just fit into the OBD 2 connector and should work... right? Nope! they have their own propriety On Board Diagnostic port cleverly disguised as an OBD2 connector. Won't work on my Camry or my RAV4 (Works ok on US models though) Won't work on a 2003-4 Landcruiser... but I've yet to check out any of the vehicles produced since 2006. Connect it to a Holden or a Nissan and it's good. Today I went to an auto specialist and checked out a Japanese made OBD2 unit (http://greddy.com/home/?id=282) Now that looks cool... but are you prepared for a $780 price tag? Watch the video. I tried out a similar unit and it works but is virtually too small to view and is unreadable in bright daylight. Some years ago I came across an automotive site which gave instructions of adding a trip computer to a different model vehicle. I've long lost that link but I do remember that the connection wasn't so involved. All it needed were 3 connections. And... now to top it off, last night on the Ch 10 News there was a item which talked about ways in which car owners could be informed about their driving style. Info such as braking, fuel consumption, engine information all displayed on a unit that can be attached GPS style to your windscreen. Now, what's the bet it plugs into the OBD2 connector (which is, as they say "Found on virtually every car.)? And of course... I suspect Toyota owners miss out again. If you are aware of any after market products that work on Toyota's.. let us know.

Hi... I too have been looking for a trip compute to put into my Camry 6 (98). True Oztrip no longer makes the unit ( he had trouble sourcing some parts I think) then I saw Scangauge and thought ... there is the solution. Simple connection via the OBD2 port under the dash and presto... a trip computer and more to boot. Alas.. for me it didn't work because I don't have the right type of OBD2 port. Do a search on this site for OBD2 or Scanguage to find out more also just google Scanguage 2 for more details. Australian dealer is Wooder's Garage in Sydney (Google for that online site) ... that's where I got mine (and returned it). If your Corolla has the right port you're in luck. Cheers

On a similar note.. my remote button has stopped working.. so I have to unlock and lock manually (Camry 98) The unit can't be opened. Does anyone know if it has a battery and if so do they get replaced. If no battery.. what allows it to send. The unit is completely sealed unlike others I've seen, allowing for a battery replacement. If not... what are the likely causes of it failing ( I noticed that it briefly worked again on one occasion but from the passenger side only. Now it doesn't work anywhere. Cheers

Sorry.... I don't know why but each of my posts today have sent double!!! (hence the edit) I have a 98 Camry and recently replaced it with a Sony Xplod(e)?? It's got all the bells and whistles I need and plays mp3 disks as well as having a front aux in for ipods or equivalent. The existing sound system works fine (but my son wouldn't agree... but he's got a full amplifier system and bass.) and the beaut thing was that it didn't break the bank. The installation was done by the supplier and it looks fine (but in hindsight I should have gone all black without the chrome trim). Cheers

I have a 98 Camry and recently replaced it with a Sony Xplod(e)?? It's got all the bells and whistles I need and plays mp3 disks as well as having a front aux in for ipods or equivalent. The existing sound system works fine (but my son wouldn't agree... but he's got a full amplifier system and bass.) and the beut thing was that it didn't break the bank. The installation was done by the supplier and it looks fine (but in hindsight I should have gone all black without the chrome trim). Cheers

I somehow managed to send a double reply ... so I've just edited this. Sorry. One thing though... which I'll search for in previous posts is the engine management light comes on and stays on for a long while... then for some reason will go off until the next vehicle start. The mechanics at Toyota suggest that it's the O2 sensor that is faulty and that it's ok to keep running the car. Toyota Dealers mechanics don't seem to think that the light is an issue which warrents immediate attention. Another mechanic who has checked the vehicle has suggested that it's not the sensor. He says.. sure .. let Toyota replace the sensor and charge you.. but it won't solve the problem. The car runs fine.. but at next service I think I'll get them to do a replacement. Anyone had similar issues? Cheers

Ok.. I'm just new to this forum... but I'm from Adelaide. (Well Bridgewater) I have a 98 V6 Camry Auto and I've owned 2 Camry's prior to that. My Wife has a manual Rav4 1992. I'm pleased with my car, but I don't really have any mods done to it (Tried a ScanGuage II.. but the OBD2 connector isn't compliant in that model. Occasionally I think I might upgrade to something a little newer... but then I figure that with the car having done 176000km it wouldn't get much of a trade in and other than driving around in a newer car I'd be having to fork out a bunch of money I could put to other things. Somewhere down the track I'd be interested in towing a small pop-top caravan... but my car has only a 1200kg towing capacity... perhaps the 2003-4 model V6 with a towing capacity greater than that might just get me by. (Maybe a 4WD diesel further down the track migt be considered. Cheers

just go and test drive the new yaris or something :D plug it in and you'll see how it work :) Hmmm sounds good. Now I've only to convince my wife that I need to spend x thousand dollars on a new car so my $235 Scangauge will work. Perhaps she won't mind. Toyota would be pleased though!! Cheers

Sorry to see that happen. I recently had a trip to Brisbane from Adelaide and managed to run into one of those heavy hailstorms. Luckily the hail wasn't anywhere as punishing as what you experienced but it had me a little concerned... lucky thee was no damage... but having paid a bit extra to cut out the $3000 excess was worth it. Some of the guys in our local Fire Brigade had their cars damaged in a hailstorm recently.... being on duty for an incident meant that the County Fire Service took up the bill.

Yes you're quite right... my source led me to believe that it was around that time for some (but not all vehicles eg 2005 Toyota (Kluger or Prado ..can't remember which).. can't get ScanGauge to connect. I guess you are quite happy with yours? Oh if only mine worked too!!!! <_< Cheers

Scanguage II is great... but won't work with pre 2005 Toyotas that aren't OBD2 compliant Just bought a Scanguage for my Camry. Well I'm sorry to say that it won't work on Toyotas that are pre 2005 or so. Although our vehicles have got OBD2 ports, they don't seem to be compliant to the rest of the world. Our Aussie cars up until recently aren't wired up. I've tried it on 1998 Camry V6, 2002 Rav 4 2005 Prado, 2005 Mitsubishi 4WD ..... no joy. But the only car handy Holden 2006 Astra works like a charm. So.... my disappointment might well be shared with others... unless there is a work around. I had intended getting it mainly for the trip computer aspects... without having to cut into existing wiring etc. This was so simple... just plug it into the port under the dash. Oh well. Is it possible to retrofit a trip computer into my Camry? Cheers Stan (Oh by the way... I purchased mine (ready for return now) in Australia for $235.

Hi, I'm new to this forum too and I'm interested in any information / solutions to this OBD II connector. I purchased a SCANGUAGE II which does a whole lot of amazing things via the OBD2 port found just under the dash. Well, I guess it came as no surprise that it didn't work. The unit kept "connecting...." but didn't fire up. ( I tried the unit in a current Holden Astra and there was no problems) My understanding is that the OBD2 connector in Aussie Toyota cars are not fully compliant to the OBD2 standards until about 2005-6.... whereas similar Toyotas in the USA were compliant since about 1995. Clearly I'm disappointed that the SCANGUAGE II doesn't work on my Camry or my Rav but I was wondering what the purpose of the labelled OBD2 port is in our vehicles? Is it a cut down version or is the wiring different? Any help would be appreciated. I'll be sending my units back to the place I purchased them (They have been good at offering a full money return)... but if I find a solution to this issue I would go and buy it again. Whilst on this topic... has anyone been successful in retrofitting a trip computer into a Camry 6? Cheers