Camry/US 0r Asia??

Well, I like my Japanese cars made in JAPAN, thank you!

I had a 'problem' with my '85 GTS: the tire installer didn't torque the lugnuts. So, when the WHEEL FELL OFF, and the car required repairs, the tire dealer rented me a car; a '98 Camry made in USA. On the third time opening the window, it wouldn't close (power windows). There were also a lot of squeaks in it. However, my '88 Honda was made in Ohio, and gave me very few problems (hardly any to speak of.)

How to tell: a Japanese manufactured car will begin the VIN with the letter J. One made in the US will be a 1,4 or 5 (5 seems to be on the Tundras). 2 is Canada, and 3 is Mexico. Also, I guess a 1 is all (or mostly) US parts, 4 is manufactured with mostly imported parts. Don't know what the 5 means. I'm crossing this to a.a.toyota; perhaps someone there knows...

Copied & pasted from TMS USA's web site (search faq's "VIN decoder") The Vehicle Identification Number, commonly referred to as the VIN, is a sequence of 17 letters and numbers that is uniquely assigned for each vehicle. The VIN can usually be found on the driver's side dashboard near or under the bottom portion of the windshield. It can also be found on the certification label found on the driver's doorjamb on most vehicles.

The VIN provides some information about the vehicle. It is typically composed of four sections.

The first three digits are called the World Manufacturer Identifier (WMI). Toyota VINs starting with "1", "4", or "5" represent vehicles assembled in the United States and VINs beginning with "2" indicate vehicles assembled in Canada. Vehicles with VINs that start with "J" were produced in Japan.

The next five digits (4 through 8) are the Vehicle Description Section (VDS). These digits provide information on the vehicle model, body style, and engine type.

The ninth digit is a check digit used internally. The 10th digit indicates the model year; letters (except "O" and "Z") were used for vehicles up to the 2000 model year while numbers are used for 2001 and newer vehicles. For example, "X" means the 1999 model year, "Y" is the 2000 model year and "1" represents the 2001 model year. The 11th digit is the plant code.

Finally, digits 12 - 17 are the unique serial number.

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Ray O
correct the return address punctuation to reply

In the case of vehicles 'assembled' in the US, a '1' indicates the vehicles is assembled of at least 70% American parts A '4' indicates less than 70% American part are used but more than

40%. A '5' barely makes the grade as assembled in America because it is assembled of less than 40% of American parts which means ALL of the part could be imported. Camry, the number one selling CAR in America, is either a 'J' made in Japan or a '5' The number one selling vehicle in the US, the Ford F150, is a '1' primarily, and the number two selling vehicle the Chevy Silverado is a '1' primary, The number three selling vehicle the Dodge Ram is a '1' primarily. Ford does assemble a few trucks in Canada (2) but generally for the Canadian market. GM and Dodge assemble trucks in Mexico but again generally for the export market although some are sold in the US, particularly Dodge trucks assembled in Mexico (3). In all cases of Canadian and Mexican assembly, they are assembled of at least 70% American parts because of the UAW union contract pertaining to vehicles sold in the US by domestic manufactures that have union contracts. The same union rule of 70% applies to to the VIBE and Tacoma built in the GM/Toyota plant in California

mike hunt

Ray O wrote:

Including NUMMI built Corolla. :-)

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  - Philip
In observance of Pear Harbor, feel free to
Zero in on a Mitsubishi driver and cut him off!

I've never seen a Camry with a VIN starting with a "5". I've seen "4"s and a few "J"s.

As far as quality goes: I've had a couple of US made Camrys (92 and 01 and

02), and never had any mechanical problems with them. The only problems were the following: 92: One minor interior plastic trim assembly issue

01: Overall chap-looking interior with misaligned dash plastic components and a stereo that stuck out noticeably on one side; I was so disgusted with it I traded it in for a ...

02: Great interior, but it had a couple of annoying rattles or squeaks (sunroof rattle, HVAC fan speed switch module squeak, and driver's door window track rattle). Oh, and the factory installed the wrong stereo -- the window sticker said it had a CD changer, but they installed the single-disk CD player instead. (Don't get me started on how badly the idiots at the dealer scratched and gouged the dash trim around the radio and the HVAC dials when the replaced the stereo, and how they forgot to tighten the bolt in the A pillar that appears to secure part of the curtain airbag after removing the headliner to remove the sunroof rattle...). Overall, a decent car, with some minor cosmetic quibbles.

On the other hand, the two Japanese made Toyotas I've had were impeccable.

-Doug in VA

You probably have never seen a person being struck by lighting either. ;)

mike hunt

Doug >