Recently looked at some 2012 Camrys at a local Toyota dealer and was somewhat shocked to see that none of the power plants had an exhaust manifold shield/cover. While the average Joe/Jane probably wouldn't notice anything amiss, this was the first thing I noticed after popping the hood.
The salesman claimed that they rattled over time so Toyota had stopped using them. A head mechanic said that they did have covers originally but the upstream O2 sensors had to be replaced with longer ones and so the covers could no longer fit.
Here is a picture of the 2012 Camry power plant showing the unsightly area;
Who cares what it looks like under the hood. It's amazing that they haven't locked the hood yet with a Toyota-proprietary lock.
Face it, anything can be engineered. But it comes down to the value; does it pay off to engineer that piece?
Me, I'd rather they keep that money and put it into engineering something substantial--engine, tranny, suspension, better materials for the interior, whatever.
Let's look at it this way: Toyota custs costs by getting rid of that shield. VW cuts costs by turning their bread and butter Passat and Jetta overall into utter pieces of shit designed to last the length of the warranty and no longer. Pieces of shit that look uglier than hell and that, when you sit in them, feel like a 1980s GM car.
In five years, we'll see who did the better job of cutting costs while keeping customers happy and sales up.
They probably didn't receive the shields that would fit in time for the production. It looks like there are places to mount the shield. Maybe the 2013s will have it.
Of course the salesman has an excuse for every decontenting. I remember when folding outside mirrors were dropped on the U.S. Camry's and they said that they created more wind noise. Yet the Camry's sold in other countries continued to have folding mirrors, sometimes automatically folding mirrors.
Definitely you want to wait until they get the exhaust manifold shields on there.
Someone in another forum told me that Toyota leaves them off for one reason or another from time to time. They get away with it because most people don't really care. My 1997 Camry had one and the 2009 Camry I turned in also had one...Hence my disgust with the 2012.
That missing shield is completely incommensurate with the rest of the car. Furthermore, the manifold is going to discolor and rust over time and make the power plant look like an even worse POS.
I thought it was a *heat* shield, and wondered if I should go to the junkyard to find a replacement, but so far the wires and such have been ok, not melted, so I forgot about it. Ha. =3D)
I can't imagine the 2012 will look worse than the 1996 in your second picture. Is all that discoloration from salt?
My SO's RAV4 has a big plastic cover over most of the engine and a shield over the exhaust manifold. Looked pretty good back in 2007, but starting to look a little ratty now. I figure in another 5 years it will look pretty bad. I am not sure not having the cover would look any worse.
The manifold on the 2012 looks like stainless, so it probably won't look much worse in 5 years except along the welded seams. At least you'll know it is looking bad and might need attention. When you hide things under non-functional covers, it is hard to see problems sometimes. Some of those late 1990's GMs where they covered everthing were a real pain to work-on. It took an hour removing things jsut so you could see the ral parts.
Like most things on a car this is an engineering compromise:
For the cover - looks nice, might prevent a severe burn.
Against the cover - not functionally required, requires design time, requires tooling, additioanl assembly labor, parts cost, adds weight, reduces servicability (additioanl time to remove cover to diagnose / repair engine problems), potential source of noises / rattles, increased warranty costs, etc.
In the end it is a managment decision. Will they sell enough additional cars at a profit becaue the shield is installed to justify the extra costs of the shield. I would guess if they get enough complaints from Customers (even ones that still buy a Camry), that the word will filter back to marketing and make it more likely they will be present in the future.
When I first got by 2006 Fusion, I was disappointed when my engine didn't have the big plastic cover like my Sister's older Escape (both had the 3.0L V6). I could see that the mounting bosses for the cover were still there, and the Lincoln MKZ's got a cover. I briefly considered buying one and installing it myself - until I priced it and decided it was a worthless piece of plastic that was mostly in the way.
If Toyota told you you could have the shield as a $15 option, would you pay for it? How about if it was a $50 option? Do you worry about shields for the undersaide of the car?
or, just make it an accessory for anal people who get bent out of shape seeing that it's not there. Look, for only $100 more plus installation, we can solve that problem for you!
This is fron New Zealand Cant believe your American car manufactures have stopped fitting folding side mirrors. Have had two side mirrors wiped out on two different cars in parking buildings in the last 5 years.Always fold mirrors in public carparks now.
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