2009 Camry?
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MACT4R
Senior Member
Yes, reliable as well. My wife had her 07 Camry SE 4 cylinder since the beginning and still going. No maj fixer besides routine maintenance, oil changes, brakes, rotors...oh I changed the alternator but that's it so far knock on wood. I can't remember what year 07-09 the 4 cylinder engine burns oil and you have to get an oil consumption test if it passes obviously your good but if it fails Toyota will fix it for free under TSB
riceandpho
Elite Member
suspension might need changing, usually u see it leak and even dealer said its ok, its not ok if the shocks leak. i still need to do my girl 2011 base camry.
dougfoglesong
New member
We are on our 3rd. First 2 both 10-12 years, 200K+ miles.
Lester Lugnut
New member
2007 - 2009 4 cylinder Camry's can have oil consumption issues. Not saying it will happen to you. There are lots of hits on this - google.
What to Do About Toyota's Excessive Oil Consumption | Choisser Import Auto Services
What to Do About Toyota's Excessive Oil Consumption | Choisser Import Auto Services
MuttJockey
New member
Yes. Have an '09 Hybrid with about 60k miles. Other than routine maintenance/ tires/ wiper blades, have had to replace only the water pump and have the ECU reflashed to correct a sunroof malfunction. It's one of three Toys we own, the others a '10 Tundra and a '15 Highlander Limited. Looking for a TRD Pro now to trade the Tundra in on.
BlackWorksInc
New member
If you're gonna get a Camry I'd get the V6. The inline 4's have oil consumption issues due to the design of one piece oil ring on the pistons. From my experience, the "fix" is hit or miss also.
The problem is that all we are doing is installing new pistons and rings (going back to a traditional 3 piece oil control ring vs. the one piece they used), if you're lucky you get a short block if there's deep scratches in the cylinder walls (typically the Scion TC seemed to be the ones that had that). Realistically other than a gasket kit, nothing else is done to the engine. We're cracking open 100k+ engines slapping new pistons in and then putting it all back together without even honing them (not that you can since they are nitride coated walls) for relatively crappy labor time (16-ish hours for the whole job).
Unfortunately I've heard that some of these "fixed" engines will still consume oil; that doesn't entirely surprise me since the campaign isn't really addressing any other wear items on the engine unless it fits specific criteria that Toyota has deemed caused by Oil Consumption. So it's in no way an engine rebuild.
Bottom line, the majority of the Camry's out there are 4 bangers and the majority of those 4 bangers were horribly maintained (most of the ones we get are from people who you'd have to pull their teeth to do an oil change, but since the ZE7 is free they think it means they get a new engine), so even if they had the ZE7 done it's entirely possible that the damage was done already.
That's alongside issues like the struts seeming to leak on that generation of Camry like no tomorrow. We'd replace them left and right when they were new, barely 30k in and they're leaking past the spring perches (I want to say the replacements last a bit longer but I can't remember). Water pumps weren't uncommon to see leaking on those 2.4L but they aren't horrible to change out. I haven't seen too many transmission issues on them or other significantly major mechanical issues. Oh, there is the Sticky Dash ZE6 CSP for them and when they say sticky, they mean it. My first one shocked me at how seriously tacky and sticky it was; but they get dashes as well and they aren't too bad to do.
Bottomline, the Camry is not a horrible car; but get the more expensive/higher trims if you're gonna go for one. The bare bones, cheapy models are typically trashed and abused by horrible owners and you don't want to deal with their mistakes because they couldn't be bothered to be responsible.
If your daughter wants a more fuel efficient vehicle and something a bit more "cutesy" and practical; a Highlander or Rav4 are not bad choices as well. But again try to stay away from the cheaper trims and for the Rav4 they are also subject to the Oil Consumption issue.
If your daughter is dead set on a Camry, I'd go for the newer generation ones with the 2.5L I4 vs. the older 2.4L we haven't seen many issues mechanically with that engine and they are pretty nice. Or just get a Corolla, the newest ones seem to be more creaky/noisy in my opnion (and based on the typical complaints I saw from owners in the Bay Area), but they are fairly nice and pretty reliable. Anything from '95~Present would be nice (the '09~Present seemed to be when they became a bit more "creaky" and "cheap", probably since they stopped making them at NUMMI by then?)
The problem is that all we are doing is installing new pistons and rings (going back to a traditional 3 piece oil control ring vs. the one piece they used), if you're lucky you get a short block if there's deep scratches in the cylinder walls (typically the Scion TC seemed to be the ones that had that). Realistically other than a gasket kit, nothing else is done to the engine. We're cracking open 100k+ engines slapping new pistons in and then putting it all back together without even honing them (not that you can since they are nitride coated walls) for relatively crappy labor time (16-ish hours for the whole job).
Unfortunately I've heard that some of these "fixed" engines will still consume oil; that doesn't entirely surprise me since the campaign isn't really addressing any other wear items on the engine unless it fits specific criteria that Toyota has deemed caused by Oil Consumption. So it's in no way an engine rebuild.
Bottom line, the majority of the Camry's out there are 4 bangers and the majority of those 4 bangers were horribly maintained (most of the ones we get are from people who you'd have to pull their teeth to do an oil change, but since the ZE7 is free they think it means they get a new engine), so even if they had the ZE7 done it's entirely possible that the damage was done already.
That's alongside issues like the struts seeming to leak on that generation of Camry like no tomorrow. We'd replace them left and right when they were new, barely 30k in and they're leaking past the spring perches (I want to say the replacements last a bit longer but I can't remember). Water pumps weren't uncommon to see leaking on those 2.4L but they aren't horrible to change out. I haven't seen too many transmission issues on them or other significantly major mechanical issues. Oh, there is the Sticky Dash ZE6 CSP for them and when they say sticky, they mean it. My first one shocked me at how seriously tacky and sticky it was; but they get dashes as well and they aren't too bad to do.
Bottomline, the Camry is not a horrible car; but get the more expensive/higher trims if you're gonna go for one. The bare bones, cheapy models are typically trashed and abused by horrible owners and you don't want to deal with their mistakes because they couldn't be bothered to be responsible.
If your daughter wants a more fuel efficient vehicle and something a bit more "cutesy" and practical; a Highlander or Rav4 are not bad choices as well. But again try to stay away from the cheaper trims and for the Rav4 they are also subject to the Oil Consumption issue.
If your daughter is dead set on a Camry, I'd go for the newer generation ones with the 2.5L I4 vs. the older 2.4L we haven't seen many issues mechanically with that engine and they are pretty nice. Or just get a Corolla, the newest ones seem to be more creaky/noisy in my opnion (and based on the typical complaints I saw from owners in the Bay Area), but they are fairly nice and pretty reliable. Anything from '95~Present would be nice (the '09~Present seemed to be when they became a bit more "creaky" and "cheap", probably since they stopped making them at NUMMI by then?)
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Wow! Its going to take some time for me to absorb this. Thanks for taking the time to post such an informative reply,
