Toyota Camry transmission problems

MY 2007 CAMRY LE (4-CYL) HESITATES WHEN ACCELERATING, SOMETIMES 2-3 SECONDS, TO THE POINT THAT IT SEEMS UNSAFE. THE TECHNICIAN SAID THAT IT IS DESIGNED TO HAVE AN "ADAPTIVE MEMORY" MEANING THAT IF I DRIVE CONSERVATIVELY, WITH NORMALLY NO QUICK ACCELERATION, THAT IT "REMEMBERS" THAT AND WILL NOT ACCELERATE QUICKLY WHEN I WANT IT TO. *NM

I PURCHASED A 2007 TOYOTA CAMRY LE ON LATE APRIL OF 2006. SINCE THEN, I HAVE EXPERIENCED NUMEROUS TIMES THE PRESENCE OF ACCELERATION PROBLEM. VEHICLE HESITATES WHEN PRESSING THE GAS PEDAL AT LOW SPEEDS. WHEN PRESSING THE PEDAL ALL THE WAY, THE CAR "SITS" ON THE ROAD AT THE CURRENT SPEED, AND AFTER A FEW SECONDS, IT KICKS FORWARD. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS WHEN DRIVING IN TRAFFIC, WHICH FOR ME IS EVERYDAY LIVING IN THE DC METROPOLITAN AREA. THERE HAVE BEEN TIMES THAT I HAVE TO MOVE OUT OF THE TRAFFIC BECAUSE BY THE TIME MY CAR STARTED ACCELERATING, THE CAR IN FRONT IS BRAKING. OTHER CARS HAVE HAD TO MOVE AROUND ME BECAUSE OF THIS PROBLEM AS WELL. THIS SEEMS TO BE A COMMON PROBLEM READING THE POSTINGS IN THIS WEBSITE AND OTHERS. 8JB

I PURCHASED A 2007 CAMRY LE IN LATE APRIL. FROM THE DAY I TOOK DELIVERY, THERE APPEARED TO BE A PROBLEM WITH ACCELERATION; THERE WERE DEAD SPOTS. THAT LED TO LONG 3 TO 5 SECONDS LAG TIMES BEFORE THE CAR WOULD RESPOND WHEN PRESSING DOWN ON THE ACCELERATOR. ALSO, THE TRANSMISSION SHIFTED INTO OVERDRIVE WHEN A STEADY ACCELERATION WAS ALL THAT WAS NEEDED. I FINALLY TOOK IT TO THE DEALER TODAY; I THOUGHT THAT I WOULD ALLOW A 'BREAK-IN' PERIOD TO SEE IF THE PROBLEM RESOLVED ITSELF. THE MOMENT THAT I BEGAN TO DESCRIBE THE PROBLEM, I WAS STOPPED AND ASKED IF IT WAS A 2007 CAMRY LE. AN AFFIRMATIVE RESPONSE BROUGHT AN ANSWER THAT THERE IS NOTHING THAT THEY CAN DO; IT HAD BEEN REPORTED TO TOYOTA. APPARENTLY TO DEFLECT WHAT MUST HAVE LOOKED LIKE RISING ANGER, I WAS TOLD THAT THE SERVICE MANGER'S DAUGHTER HAS THE SAME PROBLEM. A CALL TO TOYOTA OF AMERICA BROUGHT A RESPONSE THAT THE VEHICLE IS OPERATING AS IT WAS DESIGNED (SO, I GUESS IT WAS DESIGNED TO STALL WHEN MAKING A RIGHT OR LEFT TURN, CHANGING LANES ON THE INTERSTATE, TRYING TO GO FORWARD, ETC). MY ANGER IS 1) THAT THEY SOLD ME A DEFECTIVE CAR, 2) THAT THEY KNOW IT IS A FACTORY DEFECT BUT CHOOSE NOT TO FIX THE PROBLEM (I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT THEY ARE STILL 'THINKING' ABOUT A SOLUTION), AND 3) THAT I WASN'T NOTIFIED OF THIS RATHER MAJOR DEFECT (AND WHY IS TOYOTA ALLOWED TO CONTINUE TO SELL THESE CARS WITHOUT THE CAVEAT THAT THERE IS A FACTORY DEFECT THAT HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED AND TOYOTA HAS NO PLANS TO PROVIDE A REPAIR)? I HAVE LOOKED AT OVER A DOZEN WEB SIGHTS WHERE MEMBERS HAVE COMPLAINED, BUT I HAVE NOT SEEN A MENTION OF THE REASON FOR THE PROBLEM OR A SOLUTION OF WHAT TO DO. SOMEONE IS GOING TO BE KILLED BY THIS ERRATIC BEHAVIOR. *JB

RE 2005 TOYOTA CAMRY V-6 XLE 5-SPEED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION (A/T), 1MZ-FE ENGINE. VEHICLE PURCHASED NOV 30 2004. FROM DAY OF PURCHASE THROUGH CURRENT, A/T HAS NOT SHIFTED SMOOTHLY AS IT WAS ADVERTISED TO. FOLLOWING DEPENDS ON ACCELERATOR PRESSURE - DOES NOT OCCUR ALWAYS. HESITANT & SOMETIMES HARSH FROM 1ST TO 2ND & 2ND TO 3RD PERIODICALLY, IN 35 TO 45 MPH RANGE, ROUGH SHIFT DOWN AND THEN BACK UP. AT TIMES THE HESITANT SHIFT FROM 2ND TO 3RD HAS PUT ME IN AN UNSAFE SITUATION. IT IS NOT A "SURE/POSITIVE" SHIFT - IT WINDS UP BEFORE IT ENGAGES. PRIOR VEHICLE WAS 1999 CAMRY V6 - NO SHIFTING PROBLEMS. *JB

THIS COMPLAINT IS RE: A NEW 2007 TOYOTA CAMRY LE 4 CYLINDER WITH AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. THIS CAR WILL HESITATE FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME BEFORE ACCELERATING FROM VIRTUALLY ANY SPEED (BEHAVIOR NOT SEEN WHEN ACCELERATING FROM DEAD STOP), REGARDLESS OF HOW HARD THE DRIVER PRESSES THE GAS PEDAL. PROBLEM OCCURS WHEN MOVING AT VIRTUALLY ANY SPEED AND THEN QUICKLY PRESSING AND HOLDING THE GAS PEDAL DOWN SO AS TO ACCELERATE QUICKLY. THIS BEHAVIOR IS NOT LIKE ANY OTHER CAR I HAVE EVER DRIVEN, INCLUDING A RENTAL 2005 4 CYLINDER CAMRY THAT I DROVE FOR A WEEK IN THE COLORADO MOUNTAINS LAST SUMMER (2005). SAFETY ISSUE IS THAT CAR IS UNPREDICTABLE IN SITUATIONS WHERE ONE MUST MOVE THE CAR TO AVOID TRAFFIC. EXAMPLE: ROLLING FORWARD INTO A LEFT TURN AT A GREEN LIGHT INTERSECTION, PRESS GAS TO CLEAR THE INTERSECTION BEFORE ONCOMING TRAFFIC GETS TOO CLOSE, THE CAR DID NOT INCREASE ENGINE REVOLUTIONS AND TOOK OVER 1 SEC. TO DROP INTO LOWER GEAR AND BEGIN TO INCREASE ENGINE REVOLUTIONS/ACCELERATE. THE CAR'S FAILURE TO RESPOND TO GAS PEDAL INPUT WAS SO LONG THAT I WOULD HAVE HAD AN ACCIDENT IF I HAD PERSISTED IN THE LEFT HAND TURN; I HAD TO TURN THE CAR PARALLEL TO ONCOMING TRAFFIC TO AVOID HITTING THE ONCOMING CAR. THIS BEHAVIOR IS REPEATABLE AND THE DELAY CAN BE UP TO 2 SEC. IN LENGTH BEFORE THE CAR EVEN BEGINS TO ACCELERATE. THIS BEHAVIOR IS ALSO SEEN BY NUMEROUS OTHER OWNERS OF '07 CAMRYS AS CAN BE SEEN IN POSTINGS ON WWW.EDMUNDS.COM (CLICK ON FORUMS TAB AND SEARCH FOR "CAMRY HESITATION"). THE ISSUE IS NOT ONE OF LACK OF HORSEPOWER. THE ISSUE IS LONG AND UNPREDICTABLE RESPONSE TO THROTTLE INPUT. THERE ARE ALSO VERY ANNOYING DRIVABLE ISSUES WITH THIS CAR THAT ARE RELATED TO TRANSMISSION/ENGINE BEHAVIOR, BUT I AM ADDRESSING ONLY THE SAFETY ISSUE IN THIS COMPLAINT. EFFORTS TO RESOLVE ISSUE HAVE NOT BEEN SUCCESSFUL; TOYOTA'S RESPONSE HAS BEEN THAT THE CAR IS OPERATING "NORMALLY" AND "AS DESIGNED." IF SO, THERE IS A DESIGNED-IN SAFETY ISSUE WITH THIS CAR. *JB

THROTTLE RESPONSE DELAY IN 2007 TOYOTA CAMRY (4 CYL. AUTO) CAMRY - BOUGHT NEW 4/06 FROM TOYOTA OF NASHUA (NH). DEFECT IS A DELAY OF 1 1/2 SECONDS IN THROTTLE RESPONSE. DELAY WAS MOST NOTICEABLE AT NORMAL URBAN TRAFFIC SPEEDS OF 35 TO 45 MPH. A LIGHT INCREASE IN THROTTLE AT CONSTANT HIGHWAY SPEEDS IN THE 35 TO 45 MPH RANGE RESULTED IN THE ENGINE 1) USUALLY NOT REMAINING IN HIGH GEAR 2) HAVING NO RESPONSE FOR 1 1/2 SECONDS, AND 3) THEN ROUGHLY DOWN-SHIFTING, AS IF THE DRIVER HAD CALLED FOR STRONG ACCELERATION. THE CAR'S SPEED "SAGGED", AND THEN THE CAR'S ENGINE OVERSPED. THE DRIVER THEN HAD TO DECREASE THROTTLE TO PREVENT OVERSPEED IN TRAFFIC. PULLING OUT INTO TRAFFIC BECOMES UNPREDICTABLE AND DANGEROUS. DELAY AND/OR OVER-RESPONSE IN THE THROTTLE CONTROL'S ACTION MAY CREATE SKIDS ON WET AND ICY ROADS. LESS EXPERIENCED DRIVERS MAY BECOME UN-NERVED BY THIS KIND OF THROTTLE RESPONSE. TOYOTA'S RESPONSE TO COMPLAINTS CONSISTED OF THESE REPLIES: (LISTED IN THE ORDER IN WHICH THEY WERE GIVEN OVER MULTIPLE SERVICE VISITS) 1. "WE KNOW WHAT IT IS. IT IS THE FLY-BY-WIRE CONTROL. THEY ALL DO IT AND THE OWNER HAS TO LIVE WITH IT" (SPOKEN OVER THE PHONE PRIOR TO THE FIRST SERVICE VISIT) 2. "OPERATING AS DESIGNED".. "THIS ISN'T A SAFETY ISSUE". 3. "THE CAMRYS HAVE A DRIVER HABIT IMPRINT FEATURE WHICH ADAPTS TO THE DRIVER'S STYLE". 4. "THE CAR IS PRETTY MUCH NORMAL". 5. "HE HAS SEEN A FEW OF THESE". (GARAGE TECH REP.) DURING SERVICE APPOINTMENTS, THE DEALERSHIP SUPPLIED THREE 4 CYLINDER, AUTOMATIC 2007 CAMRYS AS "LOANERS". NONE OF THESE CARS DEMONSTRATED THE SAME DRIVE-TRAIN BEHAVIOR. THE WRITER HAS BEEN TOLD OF TWO OTHER CAMRYS WHICH EXHIBIT THE PROBLEM: HEY ARE SERIAL #S: 4T1BE46K27UXXXXXX AND 4T1BE46K87UXXXXXX A SIMILAR COMPLAINT IS DOCUMENTED ON-LINE IN THE "CAR AND DRIVER" MAGAZINE'S USER REVIEW. *NM