2003 Camry Alignment Problems?

[tomasallan]

Just bought my 2004 solara 5 days ago, and it has been to the dealer 4 times counting today.

The car pulls to the left and vibrates between 75-85MPH, also the rattleing noise on the dashboard(in the back).

We found one of the noises is caused by the Stoplight located in the rear window (Loose).

Never had this problem before with Toyotas, so I am quite surprised.

One thing I noticed, is that the car is assembled here in the US. (WHY???)

Lemon LAW?

HOW TO?

[Outville]

tomasallan,

Toyotas have been made in the US for about 15 years. My 1991 was made in Georgetown, KY. It still drives well after 13 years and 202,000 miles of hard use.

To initiate Lemon Law activity, look in yout blue Owner's Warranty Rights Notification booklet that is in with your owner's manual and find the appropriate state info. Fill in and send the form. They won't do anything about your problem, but you'll feel better knowing you did all you could.

I would suggest legal counsel if the problem isn't something you can live with.

[Cometstorm]

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[TCG]

This thread is disappointing to me. I have a 2000 Camry LE and it has always had the pull to the left problem. It wore out two tires by about 25,000 miles. Got it aligned and bought four new tires. Still pulled to the left, but I convinced myself it was road pull (and, it was my wife's car, so I didn't drive it day-to-day). A little over a year and a half later, it has worn two of those tires out. Went to dealer, bought two new tires and had it aligned. Of course, it still pulled to the left when I drove home. Depending on how fast I'm going and how bad the road pull is, sometimes it veers hard left. Other times, it just veers gradually left. Sometimes, though, if I ride in the far right of the right lane, the car's left hand pull counteracts the road's right hand pull and it goes straight.

Any suggestions? This thread doesn't hold out much hope I'm afraid for returning to the dealer (which admittedly did do a good job when I had a problem with the car smoking at 52,000 miles). I don't know what to do, because I don't want to keep adding tires every year.

Thanks.

[Cometstorm]

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[TCG]

Thanks--I think--Cometstorm because you have confirmed what I've seen by perusing this thread.

Has anyone else had a problem with the left pull wearing out tires? I've never had this much problem with tires on any car I've driven, so I've got to think it's related to the pull.

Again, any info is appreciated.

[Intruder]

My car pulls left but after 20k miles, I haven't noticed uneven tire wear. The tires have been rotated many times since every new attempt to fix the left-pull problem starts with a dealer blaming the tires.

I checked into aftermarket Caster/Camber adjusters from K-mac. They don't provide adjustment recommendations.

The adjusters are the answer to the problem but an alignment shop needs to do the caster/camber adjustments and you would have to tell them how you want it set up. That's a problem. We already know that Toyota's specs are no good. I don't know what the Caster & Camber should be to make the car handle like a 'normal' car. ie. go down the road straight - for a change.

That's the only thing holding me back from ordering the k-mac kit.

[TCG]

Please keep me updated if you find additional information. I'd be glad to do the aftermarket adjusters if I knew what to do, but I'm certainly less technically savvy than most of the posters on this board. I suppose I'll just have the tires rotated much more frequently than I've done before. Again, I've never had any problem like this with any car I've driven.

[Outville]

Regarding caster adjustment: Caster adds stability. Camry specs show a range of 1.9 degrees to 3.40. People who work on Mustangs suggest 5.0 degrees, a Corvette thread suggested 7.0 degrees. The Camry strut tower has about 1/2" of space for movement of the strut/spring assembly, which would allow for approximately 1 degree of adjustment. If your Camry presently has 2 degrees of caster, you can possibly get 3 degrees, which is still within specifications but would be more stable than 2 degrees or less. You would also have the opportunity to equalize the caster as it should be equal from side to side. The higher your caster angle, the more stability you will have. More caster will also give more cornering feedback.

This week I paid an independent shop for an alignment. I followed the owner's suggestion that the front camber be reduced. Now the left pull is worse. He then tried to blame the tires, then admitted he flipped one tire on the rim to rule out the tires. He then became defensive when I told him Toyota was not honoring their warranty (I forgot he owns a Camry) I'm back to square one. People can become very sensitive when you suggest anything that goes against their beliefs, such as Toyota's reputation.

All I want is this car to drive like every other vehicle I've driven, including my 1991 Camry.

[Intruder]

According to the alignment printout Toyota provided last time, the Caster spec is 1.4 to 2.9. Mine is 2.4 and 2.1 (L/R)

They also show a Front Cross Caster spec of -0.8 to 0.8. Mine is 0.3. (I am guessing that this is just the sum of left/right Caster - meaning that there should be no more than 1.6 degrees difference between L/R)

So everything is set the way it was designed! Doesn't say much for SH$*TY Japaneese engineering.

BTW, I just sent another letter to Toyota North America's President telling him what I think of his car and the nonexistent warrantee support. I will get a call from some low level flunky in about 6 weeks asking if my problem was resolved yet. I'll tell him "no" and that will be the end of it.

[Outville]

Intruder,

I would like the address to the Toyota executive you have written to. I just got a reply back from our consumer protection division of the Attorney General telling me they are unable to help since I lost the arbitration. So much for the consumer protection laws. They really amount to corporate protection laws. My only option is to file a lawsuit, and the arbitration results would be use by Toyota as a defense.

I plan on keeping up a letter writing campaign just to make them answer. I also plan to keep posting candid reviews every time I get a chance.

[kipp]

I appreciate factory alignment allowable parameters [range] provide a variation to allow for manufactoring and accident/frame variability for self straightening and tire wear.

However, my understanding is that the angles in the individual car should be the same side to side avoiding the expected pull proportionate to their variation.

I have noted that the camber angles are different on your cars.

Why wasn't the aligner more exacting about the side to side camber? [Caster is not adjusted to my knowledge on this McPherson strut.] With the caster being less than most cars, [except when fully loaded] the car will be more sensative to small camber variations. <_<

[Intruder]

Here it is, Outville:

Mr. Yuki Funo, President

Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc.

19001 So. Western Avenue

Torence, CA 90509-2991

However, I have a feeling that such letters drop into the same stack as letters to the Toyota Customer Assistance Center. I learned that they are backlogged by 5 to 6 weeks just opening their mail. (I wonder why they get so much mail from their customers. ) My previous letter to Mr. Funo generated just one useless phone call to me about 6 weeks after sending it.

None of my previous letters to Toyota ever generated a written response. Obviously they do not want to create a paper trail that acknowledges the existence of a problem or even a complaint.

BTW, I ordered the K-Mac Caster/Camber adjusters last week. About $130 including shipping.

[kipp]

If your state allows single party approval, you can record the call, or if both parties need approval, ask if they will approve of the taping.

If both are no: then you can send a confirmation of the essence of the conversation via 1st class mail with return receipt requested. If they don't correct you, then it may be considered confirmed.

[X-toyota loyalist]

Hello Everyone,

I'm sorry I have to post on such a forum but I too have a 2004 Camry limeted edition that pulls left most notably at highway speeds but evident at all speeds. I have only had time to scan this entire thread but intend to read thoroughly all previous post to educate myself on this problem. I've owned several toyota's in the past and have never had a quality or safety issue. I've only owned my car for 2 months and I've never felt so cheated by a company. I've had no success with the dealer in resolving any of my problems.

I have a couple of questions that someone out there may be able to answer. First, I've heard that Toyota has issued a technical bulletin on the alignment issue but doesn't have a recommended solution. Is this true? I've also heard that this problem mainly affects only Camrys with 16 inch wheels which would include SEs, XLEs, and my Limited Edition. Does anyone know if this is true?

In an unrelated issue, my gas milage is only about 23 miles per gallon and I drive about 50/50 highway city. This seems far lower than it should be. Any suggestions/feedback?

This being my first post I just want to say that I'm happy that I'm not this alone. Hopfully all of our efforts will help work toward a solution to this problem.

[Intruder]

Mine is a 2001 Solara SE with 16" wheels.

[Jack Bauer, Jr.]

Hi. I just posted this on another thread in this forum about the solara pulling to the left. Apperently, the problem resides in the springs. The dealer needs to rotate the spring within the perch 1/4" to fix the left pull. It took the dealer about an hour to fix my car (including alignment). According to the dealer, this is a brand new (as of today) recall. At least it is on Solaras, so I'm pretty sure it's the same deal with the Camrys.

Good luck everyone.

[X-toyota loyalist]

I just checked with my local dealership and with Toyota Customer service. Unfortunately (for camry owners :( ) the bulletin only pertains to Solaras and not Camrys. I

[hyyz]

My Camry is a 2004 LE which has 15" wheels yet has the left pull problem. Dealer tried to adjust it to make the pull almost unnoticeable, but I still don't think it is fixed. Actually I think the reason is other than alignment (as jack Bauer, Jr. said). I think the left side of the car is a little lower/softer than the right side. Seems jack Bauer, Jr. confirmed this. I'll see if Toyota will publish a TSB for this. If yes, I'll bring back the car and have them do the fix.

[Outville]

I see we're still generating some interesting chatter, but no solutions. For those unfortunate souls recently posting in this forum, take heart. I have counted a total of 51 NHTSA complaints for the 2002-2004 Camry/Solara steering problem. A few are obvious duplicates, but the most significant thing I noticed was 10 '04 Solara complaints registered in the last month alone. Could we be on the way to a recall? Probably not, but it does add fuel to your argument.

This tells me that Toyota is still cranking these cars out without fixing the problems down in Georgetown. Sooner or later they'll have to look up and see just how many are running in leftward circles.

Newcomers should note that 2 months worth of posts were lost in a server glitch. We didn't solve the problem, so little was lost.

I'm not buying the soft spring theory, as mine sits dead level and pulls like a mule.

[Jack Bauer, Jr.]

Okay, well I've got my car back and it no longer pulls to the left. They fixed the problem. Turns out it's a problem with the strut mount, not the spring. But they still haven't fix the issue with the tire inflation light.

And according to the service sheet (*drum roll please*)... It is a recall for 04 Solaras. However, there's no recall campaign number on it. Hmmm... <_< ... Gimmie a few hours to get on the phone with the service rep I had worked with to get a recall number.

[Jack Bauer, Jr.]

Just got off the phone with the dealer....according to another service guy, it's NOT a recall, but a TSB. He said the mechanic my have mistaken it for a recall when printing my service sheet.

Fact is Toyota knows how to fix the problem, so take it to the dealer and tell them to fix the strut mount issue.

[Intruder]

"It is a recall for 04 Solaras"

Are you sure the TSB is limited to 2004 Solaras? Not other years or Camrys?

[X-toyota loyalist]

According to the Toyota representative that I spoke with, the TSB is only for Solaras. In fact, the representative said she had never heard of this problem with the Camrys and that she hadn't received this complaint before that she could remember. I found that funny since my dealership told me its one of the most common complaints they get about Camrys.

My Camry pulls left but it also seems to get blown around alot at highway speeds, kind of like I was behind a semi or something - Do you think this is related to the alignment problem? My intention is to bring this up when I go back to the dealer next Tuesday.

[Intruder]

I just called a dealer to check on that TSB. They told me that it only applies to 2002 Solaras - nothing else. ...and they said that since alignment is only warranteed for 12k miles or one year from purchase date they still won't do anything about my car even though I have documented complaints since day 1.

AllData TSB index for 2002 Solara

ST005R-01 DEC 01 Steering - Vehicle Pulls To One Side, Manual Supplement

Y'know, I feel dirty after talking to those sleezy Toyota creeps :!Removed!: . You would almost think they were incented to make sure customers never return.