1996 Toyota Camry

4 CYLINDER ENGINE HAS STARTING PROBLEMS WHEN COLD. IT TAKES ABOUT THREE OR FOUR ATTEMPTS TO START (STALLS A LOT.) TOOK VEHICLE TO INDEPENDENT SHOP AND WAS TOLD IT "PROBABLY" NEEDED A TIMING BELT. $1200 LATER AND THE CAR WAS GOOD FOR ABOUT THREE MONTHS. THE STALLING PROBLEM IS BACK. TOYOTA SAID IT CANNOT DIAGNOSE IF THEY CANNOT DUPLICATE PROBLEM. NO CODES SET AND IT WILL NOT HAPPEN ALL THE TIME. IT IS BECOMING FUSTRATING THOUGH.*AK

FAILURE TO PASS SMOG TEST. MY 1996 CAMRY HAS BEEN SERVICED REGULARLY, MOSTLY BY DEALER. HAD ITS 60,000 MILE SERVICE IN AUGUST LAST YEAR BY TOYOTA (AND 45,000 SERVICE IN 02). FAILED THE SMOG TEST AT 70,271 MILES. TOYOTA DEALER THEN DID INVESTIGATION (SAID FAILING HC READING SLIGHTLY OVER LIMIT). CHECK 02-SS SIGNAL ON BOTH SENSOR AND PCV VALVE. THEY ALSO SAID THEY "REMOVED AND CLEAN MASS AIR FLOW AND PCV SYSTEM". JUST DOESN'T SEEM RIGHT THAT THE CAR DIDN'T PASS THE SMOG CHECK, WHEN TOYOTA HAS BEEN MAINTAINING CAR, AND WHEN THE CAR REALLY ISN'T THAT OLD (WITH NO MODIFICATIONS). *NM

AFTER PURCHASING THE CAR IN MARCH 2002, ALL OIL CHANGES WERE PERFORMED BY ME. THE PREVIOUS OWNER IS A FRIEND, AND I KNOW THE CAR WAS MAINTAINED VERY WELL (APPEARANCE OF THE CAR ALSO REFLECTS THIS). IN EARLY MAY 2003, WITH MY WIFE DRIVING, THE CAR THREW #1 PISTON ROD THROUGH THE BLOCK. THE ENGINE STILL HAD AMPLE OIL, AND ONLY HAD 1500 MILES AFTER AN OIL CHANGE (I CHANGE THE OIL BETWEEN 3-4000 MILES, RELIGOUSLY). THIS IS NOT THE TYPE OF ENGINE FAILURE TO EXPECT FROM A WELL MAINTAINED CAR, AND AFTER PULLING THE MOTOR OUT, I NOTICED SLUDGE ALL OVER THE OIL PAN, VALVE COVERS, AND ON VARIOUS ENGINE COMPONENTS.

COMPLAIN I OWN A 1996 TOYOTA CAMRY THAT RECENTLY EXPERIENCED AN ENGINE DAMAGE DUE TO THE BUILD-UP OF OIL SLUDGE BEFORE 80,000 MILES. MY CAR HAS THE SAME 2.2L 4 CYLINDER ENGINE AS THEIR CAMRY 1997-2001 MODELS, WHICH TOYOTA AGREED TO COVER THE COST OF REPAIRING THOSE ENGINES. HOWEVER, DESPITE THE FACT THAT MY CAR HAS THE SAME ENGINE AND IT WAS PRODUCED TWO MONTHS PRIOR TO THAT TIME FRAME, BECAUSE IT IS IN A 1996 MODEL, TOYOTA HAS REFUSED TO COVER THE COST OF REPAIRING IT. THERE IS NO DISPUTING THAT THE FAILURE OF THOUSANDS OF THESE ENGINES AS A RESULT OF A BUILD-UP OF OIL SLUDGE CAN BE ATTRIBUTABLE ONLY TO THE FACT THAT THESE ENGINES ARE DEFECTIVE. AS SUCH, IT IS ABSOLUTELY OUTRAGEOUS THAT TOYOTA SHOULD TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE REPAIR OF SOME OF THESE DEFECTIVE ENGINES AND NOT OTHERS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION.

MY 1996 CAMRY WAS RECENTLY DIAGNOSED WITH A MAJOR SLUDGE PROBLEM REQUIRING A NEW ENGINE AFTER ONLY 80,000 MILES. THE CAR HAS THE SAME 2.2L 4 CYLINDER ENGINE THAT HAS BEEN SHOWN TO BE SUSCEPTIBLE TO THIS SLUDGE PROBLEM, BUT TOYOTA HAS REFUSED TO COVER THE COST OF REPAIRING MY ENGINE UNDER THE "SPECIAL POLICY" REPAIR PROGRAM THAT THEY IMPLEMENTED TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM WITH THIS ENGINE. TOYOTA DID NOT DISPUTE THAT IT WAS THE SAME ENGINE THAT HAS EXPERIENCED THIS PROBLEM - INSTEAD, THE RIDICULOUS AND TOTALLY ILLOGICAL REASON THEY GAVE WAS THAT THEIR "SPECIAL POLICY" REPAIR PROGRAM WAS LIMITED TO THE ENGINES MANUFACTURED DURING AN ARBITRARY TIME PERIOD AND THE ENGINE IN MY CAMRY FELL OUTSIDE THAT PERIOD BY TWO MONTHS. IN OTHER WORDS, THEY ARE FIXING SOME OF THESE DEFECTIVE ENGINES BUT NOT OTHERS.