We have a 2009 Toyota Camry LE that is one year old. It was bought back in June 2008. It has about 17000 miles on it and now seems to be making some "wobbly and grinding" sounds from the passenger side of the engine. The sounds are pretty faint and could be mistaken for sounds from tire hitting the pavement. But I think the sound could be made by a loose pulley/belt either the main belt or power steering. I took it to the dealership here in TX and they say they can't hear any sounds. I requested that they drive with me in the car and I will point to the sounds when I hear them. They have asked me to schedule for that and I will next week. The sounds are similar to twirling a yoyo with one holding the end of the string and letting the entire length swing. It seems to increase when I speed up and dies when the car slows. What could it be? The sound is faint but is there! Could it be a loose belt, or pulleys or something that the dealership does not want to fix?
If it only happens when the car is moving, then the prime suspects are the right tires, rotor, and wheel bearings. If it's the rotor it should get worse (or possibly stop) when you step on the brake.
Does the noise occur only when moving? Or when you rev the engine too?
If it's moving then you can probably narrow down to the parts that's road-speed related. For example, sticky brake caliper, halfshafts, differential, etc.
If the noise occurs when you rev the engine, then it's not likely to be brake calipers, etc.
Have the dealer hear it and document it. Because earlier 2.4L have problems with the buzzing intake manifold and defective drive belt tensioner. But I'd think those are fixed in 2009.
I suggest you also drive a brand new Camry with the technician if he claims he can't hear the noise from your car or if he claims all the sounds are normal. Usually, that's all it takes to make them pay attention to you.
Why are owners getting rid of their 2009 Camrys so early? And with vibration and noises at 17-18K miles? I've always wondered if they're back to making cheap tin cans again.
Thanks. I took the car back today and they insisted that they (their technicians) will drive the car first. I said OK and let them test it. They came back this time and said they could hear the sound and they pointed it to the tires and said that the rear tires were cupped and that caused the sound. I said that I heard the sound from the right (passenger side) engine compartment. They told me that it sounds like that but the sound is really the cupped tires in the rear and that I had not rotated the tires enough times or once every 5000 miles. My counter was that I had rotated them but once every
6000-7000 miles and that I have had that done 2 times now (since the car has about 17000 miles) and one coming up at 20000 miles. They told me that putting 2 new tires on the back will fix the problem and the sound will go away. They told me that Toyota warranty will not cover the tires and that I will have to go to Bridgestone to get them to give me new tires.
In a way, I can somewhat attest to what they are saying. We used to have a 1997 Camry that made the same racket. Since my wife drove that car, she was quite oblivious to the sound. I was really dumbfound when I drove it one time and the sound was really driving me crazy. I had it checked out by a mechanic who did the timing belt and he said that everything was fine. I, then had it checked out by another mechanic who could not find anything wrong. Since the engine was not making the same sounds when parked, I assumed that it was road noise. We bought new tires for it and the sound just went away completely.
I carefully inspected the thread wear on all the four tires. The tires on the front have more thread than the ones on the back. I wonder whether they are rotating the tires properly. It is really suprising how much noise an improper rotation can cause. I intend to follow the 5000 mile thing religiously from now on.
I have to convince bridgestone to give me 2 new tires for the worn ones in the back. Considering the car has only 17000 miles, these tires are really crap tires.
Other than some sound, will this cause any damage to any other part? The service guy at the dealership says to buy new tires when the tires wear out and that nothing bad will happen except for some noise that I am hearing.
Cupped tires will create a worrisome sound that does sound like a bad bearing. This perhaps used to be more of a problem with the lightly loaded tires in the rear ends of import cars some years ago. My guess is that it's less of a problem these days with cars being so heavy and all.
Back then, the technicians could offer no soluti> Thanks. I took the car back today and they insisted that they (their
The tires on my 07 Camry were Bridgestones and all four had to be replaced at 24,000 because they were bald. I started noticing the problem around 17K and had the same cupping problem even though the tires were rotated every 5-6K as required.
The tires Toyota is putting in new cars are much cheaper versions of the tires the cars are rated for (I believe V-rated). I have heard that all of the car manufacturers are doing this. They put on thinner tires to save money and these tires have a live expectancy of about
30K.
Replacement tires from Bridgstone were in the $250 - 300 each range from the dealer. I got Uniroyal Tiger Paws for $100 each from Sears. They came with a 80K warranty. I've put about 20K on them and they are wearing nicely.
Start saving your money and watching the papers for good deals.
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