Problems with 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

I had to have my evaporator coil replaced. this seems to me to be a premature failure of the air conditioning. *tr

Problem started with a clicking noise under the hood, near the engine and brakes that were crunching when slowing down or stopping. the clicking noise grew louder, happened more often and even continued after the car was turned off. took the car to dealer who told me it was the abs actuator. the dash lights were not on at this point and i continued to drive it. the lights on the dash appeared almost 6 weeks later when i stopped driving the car because it could be dangerous if i suddenly lost my brakes. checked with toyota headquarters who told me there was not a sufficient number of complaints for a recall. checked the internet for complaints and there were plenty of camry new car owners experiencing the same problem. filed a complaint with toyota and received a case number for reimbursement if the problem became a "recall" later on. this car was brought to dealership for every maintenance. this car is still not completely paid for. this "hybrid" car did not save me a penny in gas because of the abs part will cost me over $2k. these hybrids should come with disclaimers that batteries and electronic parts cost more than non-hybrid cars and maybe people will not buy them. the costs are outrageous! they should come with extended warranties. *tr

A few months before the check engine light came on, i started to notice some unusual noise from a part under the hood at the far right side, behind the head light. in the beginning it just hummed very loud when i stopped the car. then it became worse, i could hear the noise even during driving. i took the car to the dealership and they told me this was normal for hybrid car. i didn't believe them but couldn't argue with them because i know very little about cars. then one day in early june of 2012 the check engine light came on and the brake became soft. so i immediately took it to the dealership and this time i was told that a part called an actuator needs replacement. the cost would be over $3000. i was totally shocked and couldn't believe that a car with less than 70k on it and just out of the warranty would have this kind of problem. after some negotiations with the dealership they agreed to charge me about half of the price. toyota had a reputation for reliability and it was the reason that i bought the hybrid car. just a few months ago, in october 2011 the water pump was also broken, which cost me about $200 after some haggling about their warranty. obviously the actuator failure is a more serious problem and i've learned from other customers that they have had exactly the same problems (water pump and actuator) around the same mileage range. so this is clearly a common problem. i am filing this complaint in joining others to force toyota to address these problems. *tr

During the last 2 or 3 oil changes the shop i was at noted that the car was low on oil when it came it. i've always made sure they filled it to the top and while checking it recently in between changes (2k before next oil change was due) the dipstick was only showing oil at the halfway marks between the two dots on the stick. i also noticed that during hard acceleration on the highway smoke is coming out of the tailpipe. there are no visible leaks and the car has been properly maintained. i am filing this complaint to join the growing number of camry owners that are having this oil consumption problem. a car with less than 100k miles should not be having this problem. and the fact that toyota states that it is normal for some oil to be burned in between changes does not sit well with me. this is unacceptable and toyota needs to step up and fix this issue. *tr

I purchased a new 2007 toyota camry hybrid in 2007. about a month ago, my water pump started to leak. this was unusual because cars that i previously owned, the water pumps lasted for much longer than 3 yrs. recently, i found out that toyota had did a national recall on 2004-2007 prius hybrid models for water pumps that leaked. so today, i checked on online forums, and i found out that many owners with the 2007 toyota camry hybrids had also had issues with leaking of their water pumps, and had to have them replaced. i had to spend $750 to have mines replaced at the dealership. please investigate! *tr

Yesterday,jan. 16, 2010, i was driving my camry and noticed the odor of oil through my a/c. it was raining so the street surfaces were wet, and i noticed that i was slipping as i accelerated from stops and making simple turns at normal wet-driving speeds, and three times this almost caused an accident. as i neared my home, the oil pressure light came on for just a moment and went off again. this happened once more a moment before i pulled into my driveway. i parked the vehicle, turned it off, and went inside for a moment to get a flashlight. when i came back outside, there was an oil sheen on the wet driveway spreading out from beneath my camry. i opened the hood and found oil spatter all over the passenger-side of the engine bay. i checked the dipstick only to find that the oil pan was dry. i closed the hood and waited until today to look into the issue further, as the rain had stopped. i filled the motor with oil and there were no drips visible, so i jacked up the car and checked the oil pan nut and filter housing and they were tight, so i started the vehicle. at that time, a rubber hose located on the left side of the engine began spitting oil out of what appeared to be a pin-hole in the hose. i turned off the car quickly, pushed it back into its parking spot and cleaned up a bit, knowing that i'd have to have it towed for service. a search of the internet for this problem finds a great deal of forum discussion, and that the toyota avalon using this same engine and part in 2005 had the same problems, leading to a service bulletin. i feel that the inherent danger that this poor engineering poses should be addressed for all camry owners to prevent the potential accidents that could occur should this happen on the highway instead of normal low-speed surface streets. *tr

Letter from senator on behalf of constituent re stalling problems while driving his 2007 toyota camry hybrid. *kb the consumer stated the vehicle has stalled three times while driving in traffic. the vehicle stalled each time the consumer stepped on the gas pedal. he would have to suddenly depress the brake pedal to avoid a collision. the engine would lose power and pressing on the gas pedal did nothing. the consumer stated he was able to coast the vehicle off the highway. the dealer stated nothing could be done if the computer didn't record the incident. *jb

Tl*the contact owns a 2007 toyota camry hybrid. the vehicle has been experiencing an intermittent failure in which the vehicle would stall when heavy pressure was applied to the brakes. after the failure occurred the vehicle was pulled over and began functioning normally after it was restarted. he stated that the failure occurred four times when firm pressure was applied to the brakes to avoid a crash. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer three times and they were unable to diagnose the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 20,000 and the current mileage was 28,000.

Vehicle suddenly lost power while driving on the freeway. vehicle towed to dealer. dealer states vehicle lost communication with bus system causing system to stall out. dealer cleared codes and reset. test drove o.k. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2007 toyota camry hybrid. while attempting to park, the vehicle suddenly shut off and the warning light to check the hybrid system illuminated. the vehicle was taken to the dealer and they stated that the inverter converter needed to be replaced. there were no warnings prior to the failure. the current and failure mileages were 700. updated 02/18/10. *lj

Engine sludge: engine started making a noise, so took it to a toyota dealership. they inspected it said it had engine sludge. they told me i never changed my oil and i used the wrong viscosity, i used 5w30 instead of 5w20 recommended, not required recommended. thin oil is mandated by federal standards for mileage purposes only. i change my oil every 5000 miles, and told them so. at that time they told me i needed the engine rebuilt, it will cost $8000 or 9000 to fix it. and then they voided my warranty. i have since taken the car to another dealership, i was told it had a bad coil, it was only running on 3 cyl. they replaced all the coils, they said it ran great for about ten minutes, then it started running worse than before. they contacted corporate toyota to find a fix, they told them to cease working on it, and put it back the way it came in that the warranty was void. since this happened i have numerous complaints on the internet about toyota's engine sludge problems. going back as far as 1996. *tr

My 2007 toyota camry hybrid ceased functioning (lost all pwer) with 13,300 miles on it. a warning light came on saying check hybrid system, followed by a warning saying check engine, followed by an exclamation point. i was 200 miles from home when this happened. the toyota dealership to which it was towed could find no problem. i have looked on-line and found other people with the same vehicle who had the same problem, and their dealerships were not able to figure out what was wrong with those vehicles. one gentleman was on the freeway between two trucks when his camry hybrid lost all power. i am very hesitant to drive the car now. *tr

I was stopped at a stop light when my camry hybrid suddenly stopped running and my radio, air conditioning stopped,the dash board showed several errors, a battery problem, a triangle with a ! mark, a brake sign, "move gear to park and restart your car" all which were obvious signs that something had gone wrong. my car started and i called toyota to report it and made an appointment and drove to their site on eubank, karl malone. they inspected it and told me nothing showed in the technical maintenance report which made me so angry. i saw the information on the prius reporting the same problem i experienced stopping engine while driving my car. *tr

Re: 2007 toyota camry hybrid: a rock passed through a manufactured hole in the grill, hit the radiator and put a hole in the radiator causing a hybrid system failure. toyota asserts that this was a occurrence that had nothing to do with any design flaw, given that no other reports to this effect have been received. the radiator had to be replaced at a cost of $600. fortunately, we were just minutes away from a toyota dealership and were able to drive it over. we have ownership of the damaged radiator. *jb

Tl* - the contact owns a 2007 toyota camry hybrid. the contact stated that the vehicle was emitting fumes that made her sick. however, she was unsure of the composition of the fumes. she went to the hospital 3 different times , and was admitted for a week each of the last 2 times. her doctor said that she had chemical pneumonia or statis asthmaticus. neither speed nor weather conditions were a factor. the current and failure mileage were both 1,600. *ak