My 97 Camry LE has an incredibly low exhaust pipe. I know that many Camrys have low pipes, but mine scrapes over every undulation in the road if I have 3 or 4 155 lb people in my car (including myself).
Is there a way to raise this pipe without too much hassle? Do other people have this problem?
Three separate questions:
- Has the exhaust system ever been serviced? If yes, by dealer or independent shop?
- Are you the first owner of the car?
- What kind of roads are you talking about? I'd be surprised if Toyota would build a car that was unusable on decent roads.
I bought the car used about three years ago. I didn't anticipate the pipe would be a problem, but I've had one mechanic tell me that it had been in some way illegally welded (someone seems to have done a shody repair job) and wouldn't pass inspection b/c of emissions and that the repairs would cost somewhere in the window of $800 to replace the exhaust system. I didnt opt for repairs and it's passed inspection twice and I've never had any other problems with it. The exhaust seems to be functional, but the pipe is low.
I drive entirely on normal city roads.
I think you answered your question - it's lower because it was repaired incorrectly. The most likely other reason would be terribly worn springs.
I've only needed a lot of exhaust parts replaced on two Toyotas. In both cases, my mechanic, who loves my money, suggested that I have the work done by the Toyota dealer because they offered a lifetime warranty on exhausts (for corrosion, I assume). You might check to see if this is still true, and base your future repairs on what you find out. A warranty like that could be quite valuable if you live where the roads are salted in the winter.
The Toyota warranty is parts and labor for the life of the car, after being replaced at a Toyota dealer.
I just had my muffler replaced free of charge at 204,000.
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