About my new 2006 Camry LE (4 cyl)

Why didnt you rent or test drive one before your purchase instead of asking now. If I say no you wont be happy, what will you do ask them for

2 more cilinders, please, or just prozak

I have 1995 camry LE with 4-cyl, 2.2 liter engine for 7 years now. Also used as a family car.

I have made a lot of trips and put about 150k miles on the car since I have it (purchased with 47k miles in 98).

We went from Chicago to Atlanta and Florida several times. We went to Mount Rushmor, Yellowstone Park, Denver Colorado and all these sking villages (in the winter!). We went from Chicago to Great Cannion, Las Vegas and Los Angeles to the Pacific shore one summer making over 5000 miles during 2 weeks period...

No problems at all with 4 cylinders, guaranteed. Very reliable car, economic in the fuel usage and has enough power to not stay behind any other car on the road.

I am now thinking about replacing my camry with a new

2006 one. Also buy 4-cylinder LE version. Do you mind if I ask you how much you had to pay for your 2006 ?

I was thinking about perhaps asking for 2 more cylinders and a weeks dosage of Zoloft, I think I'll do that. Thanks for suggesting.

About the only thing I notice on my 4-cyl Camry is the inability to maintain cruising speed (say 75 mph) going up long, steep hills. But there is an easy solution for that. Simply push the button that disengages overdrive, and you will have plenty of power to get up the hill (RPM = power). The only trick is to remember to re-engage overdrive when you no longer need the extra power, to avoid burning extra fuel.

Merritt

I don't mind at all. I paid $20,350 -- probably overpaid a bit, too but I'm overall happy with my purchase.

My first car was a 1994 Saturn SL1 (very tiny 4-Block.. 1.9 lit). I didn't know any better then, so it good enough.

I've since owned several domestic V6's and V8's and honestly I think the Toyota 2.4 is adequate for pretty much anyone over the age of 25 (I say 25 because when I was 23..I all I wanted was a Detroit muscle car with a V8.. now I don't really care anymore. It just has to be a good car that's nicely made and will last --

That's a Toyota Camry :)

Thanks for the note

Tad late now - but as long as you don't fill the back with overweight relatives you'll be fine. It has 1544hp which is decent for a 2.4L 4 cylinder engine. Change the plugs once on the V6 and you'll appreciate the

4 even more.

This sounds strange... you might want to check your transmission.

Mine downshifts automatically when it needs more power to maintain speed uphill when on cruise controll. You should not need to turn overdrive off to make it downshift.

Maybe you were thinking about the POWER button next to the shifter? This button switches the tranny computer to use lower gears longer with higher rpms... Very usefull with highly loaded car or towing.

Nothing strange or out of order. It is just a matter of controlling the transmission manually, instead of letting the transmission decide when to shift down. Why do you think Toyota puts the O/D button on the shifter if not to use?

Of course not. I could either let the car slow until it downshifts, or step on the accellerator forcing a downshift. But it is a much smoother operation simply to force the transmission to not use overdrive until I want it to.

No. As you say, that button delays the upshift, holding the transmission in the lower gear until a higher RPM is reached. Good for maximum acceleration, as on a freeway on-ramp.

Merritt

Yeah, that 1,544 hp really makes it scoot!

Merritt

I am not saying you should not use it. I said you should not be forced to use it to maintain the speed.

So it can or cannot maintain the speed on its own? I understood what you said it cannot maintain the speed without you switching off the o/d. This sounded abnormal.

OK.

Ok, will you be happy, yes with better mpg, yes 99% of the time, but the day you drive through the hills, car loaded, all dressed up, 4 people, dog, cat, AC on , full of gas, trunk full of stuff, you may have to get out and push, but dont worry , only uphill.

You have 154 Hp ? I have 110 and im satisfied. I wouldnt worry.

Do you know what difference does it make? It would switch the tranny from 4th to 3th or 2nd gear uphill - thats all. Don't buy all crap the sellsman is trying to sell you as truth! As I said before, I was traveling with my family over the course of 2-weeks vacations with ALL my stuff in the trunk: clothes, food, equipment. No problems uphill - more problems downhill because I had to switch tranny myself to the 2nd gear to not burn the breaks. In some places in the North East California I was going downhill on the 1st gear because the 2nd was too fast on the crazy curves. No problems uphill. I hope your were joking with the suggestion about getting out and pushing... :-) No such problems whastoever.

At 197400 miles I would estimate 30% of my horses are dead already ;-)

Merritt wrote: "push the button that disengages overdrive, and you will have plenty of power to get up the hill" ~~~~~~~~~~ Here's another equally effective alternate: Just push the gas pedal further. That will also disengage overdrive and then downshift if necessary. The electronic transmission control is linked to the throttle position sensor so it responds to angle of throttle valve opening.

Wolfgang wrote: "t has 1544hp which is decent for a 2.4L" ~~~~~~~~~~ Shouldn't have any trouble climbing hills with over 1,500 horsepower. That must be the turbocharged version.

I think people tend to overlook the reality that horsepower is rated at full throttle opening and over 5,000 rpm. Most daily driving is done with the throttle only partially open and much lower engine speed. Even with four cylinders, it is rare that the right pedal needs to be pushed to the floor and held there. If so, you've reached the limits of the engine, but it doesn't happen very often. Under most driving conditions, four or six cylinder, only a small fraction of maximum rated power is used.

And this is exactly what I have experienced with my 4-cyl camry.

Smokes the tires and gets 34mpg hwy, not bad!

Reb

actually 154hp --- other is with the ion flux capacitor activated

I just found this calculator for power required

You will see about 20 -25 hp to go 60 mph.

I just went from a 1989 Camry to a 2002 Camry (same as 2006) the new one goes up hills without downshifting where the 89 always either unlocked the torque converter or shifted to

3rd gear. The new 4 cyl . has lots of power and better mileage.

Slim