Top 5 Problems Toyota Camry Sedan 4th Generation 1997-2001

Welcome to the 1A YouTube channel. And today, we're gonna talk about the top five problems on this 2000 Toyota Camry. Number one problem is hesitation on acceleration. So what you want to think about here is high mileage vehicles. It's not going to be so much a software update, which they recommend from Toyota as a software update. That would be if this car had, say below 50 K on it, or 60 K.

That would mean you got a barn jewel. You found it in someone's barn, they have under 100 K on a 2000 Camry. I'm sure it's happened and I'm sure it's out there. But you shouldn't have over 100,000 at this point with it. And if you do, it's not so much a software update, as it could be mechanical. So the first thing you want to do is check your fluid.

Now we're not going for level at this point, we're going to check the condition of it. Let's check the color, and see if there's any dirt, or rust, or chunks of metal coming out. That's really clean. But the next step to do is, it's a 2000 Camry, is it really clean because we have a fluid leak or someone keeps adding? So you're gonna raise that thing up and check the fluid leak.

So the first thing you're going to do if you can on your 2000 Camry, is lift her up on the floor jack, jack stands, or lift if you're lucky enough and check for transmission leaks. Now, I can see right here we have some nice red fluid dripping outright from the bell housing. So that confirms that I have the transmission fluid leak. You can also just check on the ground where you park overnight and see if you have any drips.

If you do, it's not going to be a software update, you're going to be low on fluid. Now, you have to think about 2000 Camry, how many miles you get on it? Add the fluid, see if it shifts better. If it shifts better once you put fluid in, it's not going to be a software update. Hey, if you got under 100 K, and it shifts bad, the fluids good, there's no leaks, go spend the money, get it revised, flashing on that computer, and see what it does.

Number two on this Camry is an O2 sensor code, oxygen sensor code. So it's going to be the one on the front, not the one below. It's going to be upstream, not downstream, and also on a Toyota, they call it a air-fuel ratio sensor. This is the one located right here. What happens is 90% of the time the heater circuit inside fails, so it doesn't give a proper air-fuel ratio reading. So the car doesn't know whether it's cold outside, how much fuel to dump, how much air mix with the fuel, so you can have a hesitation, engine light come on, and overall lack of performance.

Number three is power steering leak. I've noticed through the years of working on these lovely cars and I do enjoy working on them, is power steering leak at the power steering pump which is located down below. First thing I do is I check the reservoir, check the fluid level, and it has a pre-existing marking here. We have max full hot, and cold max-min cold, and we're right at the minimum cold. Let's raise her up and see what we have for leak.

So we have it lifted up in the air and we can locate the power steering pump right here. It's got that little small belt on it. Here's the pump. See where the hose goes in, we have a filling and a return hose. That's actually return hose right here. And that's the filling hose up here. You can't see it. But on this return hose, right where it's mounted to the pump, there's a rubber seal in here and that seal goes all the time. Little 10-millimeter wrench socket will get this bolt off, you can pry this off and replace that O ring seal there.

There are some models on these Toyota's where it's a steel line going into the feed line, and it's a copper banjo washer. Those are notorious for leaking, and you can get that washer right at your manufacturer, Toyota manufacturer. Easy replacement and you can do it.

Number four, burning smell. You smell something burning due to an oil leak, it's more than likely going to be the valve cover gasket. Now, the V6 has more of a tendency to leak on the rear valve cover. That's the one closest to the firewall. And you'll probably really smell it because it's right there in front of the vent. Four cylinders, they still leak also, as you can see on this one, we have seepage in the back. So what you're going to want to do there is a simple valve cover job. Just replace the valve cover gasket, and you're ready to go.

Number five, now this one can be kind of tricky, but it's kind of a fun replacement or repair, shall I say. You ever have a Toyota where the harness breaks because it's attached to the trunk lid right here. So it's constantly going back-and-forth like that and it causes a break in the harness. And you'll know this happens is when your shifter doesn't work or you have a no reverse lights. So sometimes you'll get in your car, you start it up it, starts up great, go to take it out park, she doesn't want to leave the park. Well, it could be as simple fix as a broken wire back here.

When I lower the trunk a little bit, you'll see how the harness rubs right here. It's actually flattened out quite a bit. So the first thing you want to do is take this loom off and see if you have a crushed wire and then you can repair it right there. No need to replace the harness.

So that's the top five we came up with this 4th generation Toyota Camry. If you like to add anything to the comments, please tell us your story on any Camry story you got. We'd like to listen to it. Secondly, don't forget, please subscribe, ring the bell, turn on all your notifications so you can get more of these stories.