CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2009 Camry used to be adorned with our “Seal of Pretty Good†but that was before an alarming number of complaints started rolling in for excessive oil consumption.
Owners are being caught off-guard with how quickly their cars are running out of oil. No leaks, no spills, just 1 quart of vanishing oil in as little as 1,200 miles. Toyota maintains this is “normal†for the 2AZ-FE engine, even though they issued a TSB for the problem in August of 2011.
This engine knocks excessively during the first 10 minutes of warm up. Not spark knock, just sounds like the pistons are slapping around inside. I have tried different oils, and always drive it gently during warm up. I would understand if this just occurred for several seconds once started, but the knocking lasts for at least 5-10 minutes. This Toyota engine sounds more like a worn out Chevy Vega, I can hear it while driving. The problem has not gotten any worse with time.
The slick Toyota service rep told me I was "old fashioned", and this "piston slap" was perfectly normal. My guess is that Toyota loosened up the tolerances in the engine to gain a mile per gallon.
I could have paid much less for a different make of car and been more satisfied, last new Toyota for sure.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
This engine knocks excessively during the first 10 minutes of warm up. Not spark knock, just sounds like the pistons are slapping around inside. I have tried different oils, and always drive it gently during warm up. I would understand if this just occurred for several seconds once started, but the knocking lasts for at least 5-10 minutes. This Toyota engine sounds more like a worn out Chevy Vega, I can hear it while driving. The problem has not gotten any worse with time.
The slick Toyota service rep told me I was "old fashioned", and this "piston slap" was perfectly normal. My guess is that Toyota loosened up the tolerances in the engine to gain a mile per gallon.
I could have paid much less for a different make of car and been more satisfied, last new Toyota for sure.
- Don K., Providence, US