My wife drives the same car with only 220 thousand miles zero oil leaks zero oil burns and still runs just like the first day i can’t believe how good these cars were built
Get a grip, if this is what you're angry about then you have problems, man. Not everyone is taught about vehicle safety & maintenance. So many judgemental comments here.
@@chocolate_squiggle Not everyone is taught, you say? Most cars come with a manual, or one can be found online - checking the oil is clearly mentioned in the manual. Even if one thinks of a car as an appliance, it's the most complex appliance we use - and we ride in it. Failing to read about the basics of owning a car is both ignorant and dangerous.
@@chocolate_squiggle honestly, people only make comments like yours because they're angry they lacked a father/masculine role model in their life to teach them essential life skills as a teenager. It's tragic and we need to reverse the trend but we must first be honest and address the problem head on if we are to solve it.
@@azxctbygalumbo9516 exactly! You can read the owners manual maintenance section and it’ll tell you what to do. Watch peters channel or chrisfix or scotty or Eric or humble mechanic…. My point being it’s so easy to get free information online with videos.
Wow, this car was on the brink of disaster on so many levels. If it had overheated it would have been game over. Thank you for saving this Camry from the junk yard and for teaching this college student a valuable life lesson! An ounce of prevention... you know the thing.
I know people think the 2AZFE is a bad engine because it burns oil, but all you need to do is fill it back up as it burns and your engine will last many more miles. Our 2003 started burning oil at 220k miles, and now at 270k it still runs fine. My own 2003 was bought with 240k and when I bought it, it had no oil in the engine at all. 15k miles later and I’ve had no issues as I top the oil off every once in a while. It runs very nice, and I’d like to keep it for a couple more years.
Usually its a small leak, replaced the valve cover gasket and oil pan gasket and it stopped losing oil and its near the 300k mark. The 2001-2006 2azfe engines did not have a oil burning issue, the ones after 2006 did because they changed the cylinder heads and oil control rings.
That car must have been neglected for a really long time for it to end up limping into your shop like that. All the fixes you outlined there are simple DIY things that any car owner should be checking regularly. Poor little Camry. What a trooper for surviving that long to see you!
Just bought a 2003 with 390,000km that was almost as badly maintained as this Changed all the fluids and she runs like a top now. Probably the best powertrain Toyota has ever made
I have a 2005 Camry in Toronto, Canada. Absolutely bulletproof car with 350,000 kms and running like a champ. This was the last great generation of Camry. Solid.
I have an 06 Camry SE model witha 195k miles on it. Still runs and goes down the road. The SE model looks quite different from all the other Camrys out there that looks like in between a Lexus ES and a Mazda 6 with black spider headlights, dark front grill, 5 spoke alloy wheels. I have a Grey one. It's got the 4 banger engine that gets great gas mileage.
@@hellokittybebop if you change the struts just change the struts and use kyb for original ride feel. Monroe's are junk. But worse are the eBay or Amazon ones. And only last 8 months to a year.. You can use tokiko but they're pricey! Sensen is a good compromise. Japanese quality.
I was expecting to see oil fouled spark plugs because of the low oil. Maybe that motor had the rings changed by Toyota. I'd do a Vin search then I'd give that college girl a good spanking.
They a very strong engines. These didn't have the same oil consumption issues like years 2007-2009. But all cars burn some oil as they age esp when they reach up to 200k or more.
@@eman0828 I hope you’re right! I have this engine in a 2006 Camry and I just learned about it. Now I’m freaked out. I only have 126,000 km’s on it. It doesn’t make sense to me the same engine design changed and then fails and burns oil.
I'm a super maintenance freak. To see this car with lack of any real maintenance is tough to watch. I just don't understand why people neglect basic maintenance of a vehicle. I guess the younger people have no one to teach them basic maintenance and therefore they never check anything until a "warning light" starts to flash. I've always enjoyed maintaining my vehicle. Not so much now, but I'm getting too old for this now. However, I do have a trustworthy Toyota Dealership, so life is good.
I agree. The things I repaired I do no more. Small stuff, yes. I too found a dealer I can trust. I have no problem checking their work. Local mechanics charge the same as dealer and use plain wrap boxes.
It's not just young people today - I'm in my forties and I didn't have anyone to teach me basic maintenance. And when you only ever buy second hand cars a lot of times the owners manual is already lost - so I never even realised there was such a thing as a 'maintenance schedule' until I bought a used motorbike and it came with that little booklet. Many people don't have the time, space, tools, money or the knowledge to keep a vehicle in tip-top shape - the fact is many people have more pressing issues to deal with in their life. Some of them, like me 20 years ago, won't even know that you're supposed to do anything except change the oil and take it to a mechanic when something goes wrong. How are they supposed to know if nobody ever tells them? I'm not having a go at you I just hoped you might understand why people neglect basic maintenance. I'd bet that most of the time it's just plain ignorance. Personally I don't understand a lot of the harsh comments here, it might be disappointing but it's hardly the crime of the century. Geeze they need to watch Mech a Nic's channel if they really want to see what neglected cars look like.
Whenever I hear of an engine with such low oil that it can't be read on the dipstick, I worry about how much damage may have already happened from lack of oil circulation. Especially when, such as this car, you can see the warning on the dash. I'm not saying the engine is going to throw a rod tomorrow, but the whole thing probably has a lot more wear than the mileage would indicate.
i was the same in high school. abused the hell out of my corolla. broke every part on the car. but it taught me how to not destroy a car when i bought cars later in life
I hope the girl and her mother read the comments in this vlog and realise how bad and negligent they were. If this was a cat or dog and not a Toyota Camry, they would be in court for animal abuse and neglect.
@Toyota Maintenance. Thank you Professor Peter for today's lesson on proper maintenance and diagnosis. I hope there's more to today's lesson on that Camry. Hopefully with your recommendations to your customer about proper maintenance, your customer will have many more driving miles with their Camry. Hope you and your family stay safe and well. Have a safe and pleasant Memorial Day weekend.
chocolate squiggle so if the parents bought the daughter a car, surely they would be wise enough to teach her the basics of car maitenance. Now I’m not saying how to change oil, globes or spark plugs, but show her how to check the oil, strictly follow scheduled maitenance intervals, how to jump start a car and change a tire. The parents have been doing this for some time now.
Peter, I want to assure you, the Society For The Prevention of Cruelty to Camrys (SFTPOCTC) has been alerted. The owner can expect an angry knock on their door from SFTPOCTC inspectors any minute!
Not maintaining a Camry, it’s like a crime against humanity. Looks like someone replaced the high beam bulb and touched the glass surface of the bulb with the oil on their fingers caused the bulb to fail.
She may be just too young to understand to value her things. Not even 1/3 the way through and I see even her rear driver's tire seems so low. Maybe even mid 20 psi.
Really isn't the disaster you're making out. A missed oil change, couple of bulbs out. Someone else was likely responsible for the disconnected PCV hose.
Nice and interesting to look over your shoulder. I appreciate to be able to see this. And well diagnosed and repaired! Amazing how people neglect and abuse their cars. It only just made it into your workshop. But I wonder what this thick burned oil did to the bearings and the piston rings....
1 Quart of oil? WOW that is amazing! I bought a 2004 Collision titled Camry with 112k miles on it. We kept it for five years of low milage driving at 138k miles, and my wife one day went out and bought a new RAV4 as she didn't enjoy the gray color and though it beyond useful life in 2016. Camry 2004 served me well as upon entering the airport tollway a "bang/clunk" sounded along with "check engine" or 'battery' indicator lite up. The steering became really heavy, especially turning into airport parking. I noticed "steam" coming up from under the hood. Not wanting to delay picking up my mother in law after an international flight, i took the toddler out of that back seat and proceeded to the terminal. On the way back to the car, i opened the hood to notice that i was losing/lost coolant and wondered whether I had enough coolant to drive the 25 miles back home. I sort of shrugged and didn't think twice with calling triple A. Well it was a rainy day, and with the battery light on and some issue with coolant, and a very stiff power steering...i instinctively kept at 55mph, turned off lights, and even turned off wipers until absolutely necessary. I felt something was "wrong" but didn't want to stop by the roadside. We made it back into the home garage and stopped the engine. Being curious, i tried to start the car, but it wouldn't start up. That was when i realized it was time to use my TripleA to call the tow to local mechanic/garage. My car wouldn't start, can you fix it? Root cause? something about a water pump seizing up, pully head broken off, and accessory belt completely off track. Engine was fine, and my wife used the car for the next two years. I sold the collision titled camry for $2500-3000, and the buyer test drove it on the highways just to their expectations. Fast forward to 2023, i'm evaluating EV cars, second hand late model years of Sonatas, Camrys, etc, as a spare car to "back up" my Sienna. Well guess what, I found what appears to be a well kept low milage (132k miles, if its true) Camry 2004 in luxurious white. Going next weekend to see if it checks out, unless it gets sold during the week! My wife's first comment? You already have an old car, don't waste money...what if they don't make parts for it any more? LOL. I'm wondering whether my kids will want to drive it in 5 years...electric car fad is having trouble getting off the ground to mass adoption. Too many risks to the consumer. PRICE of "disposable cars". Also,Think battery charging risks,,,otherwise think of Turboinjection engines, CVT transmissions, dying engines due to extra sensitivity to oil conditions (toyotas, hyundais, kias, etc). Maybe i'll keep these early model Toyotas going until we get mass produced solid state batteries in PHEV mode before trading up.
My wife’s 2010 Highlander kept burning out headlights, and phone chargers?! The battery is in good health and fairly new, the charging system checked out ok as well. So I just went with LED bulbs and so far so good. Thanks Peter for everything!
just purchased a 2005 camry. heaps of room and quite good all round. going to the gas station i didn't know what side the lid was but, as my sister pointed out and not a lot of people know, if you look at the fuel gauge it has an arrow pointing to it.
From a friend who stopped to help the young (male) owner of a Honda Civic that was running poorly: the owner didn’t know how to open the hood. He had owned the car several years.
Oh the horror! Had a friend seize his engine on a Subaru Outback because he ran it dry of oil. Thing is the circle of friends was a mechanic, another mechanic, and myself a mechanic. We reminded him almost daily to check it and out of the blue after putting it off again and again, "my car blew up!" We were all aware and knew it would happen. Only reason we didn't take charge is because we were college students, broke as hell. He learned his lesson!
Thank you Peter. Saw you posted video srayed up past my usual bed time to watch and learn. Goodnight to "The Prophet on the burning shore" I borrowed that line from a Grateful Dead Song.
Yeah sorry stupid cheap people of these cars that garbage starting up on a very cold day and you can hear the engine knock for like 3 minutes or more in one day anyone down maintain while you rub xeloda a lot you hear it start knocking garbage
I own the same color and exact model. I never let my fluids get low and I always change my oil regularly. I bought this little diagnostic tool. I got email or text something was wrong. So I rescan later the next day. Not only did I get the text I also got a link to a CZcams video on how to fix the problem. I currently have 145000 miles on the camry. I love it. The peppiest little 4 cylinder that I've ever driven. I gunned the gas one day. I will just say this you never want a car to fishtail with the Frontend.
Ah good on you Petare you learned when I said to put your hand behind to help focus, well done man! Now you are no longer frustrated with the camera finding the focus. I learn from you, you learn from me. Now, these workhorses. I am cheap to buy a new car, and I have almost always had the bad luck to need another and almost every time every camry has been okay to run but always some little problems like this. This one may be neglected too much. What is that SST Toyota air housing attachment fitting. I have never seen before. Maybe it is the new 90009C-CLAMP they came out for this year. Bad design. Good thing they changed it middle of the refresh for this body. Toyota Red! I see you wiped the top of the valve cover. Fresh dry wipe cleaning marks. Beautiful! Such a shame she does not respect the hard working Camry. The synthetic will help clean out all the sludge that must be inside. Sometimes the quick lube places say a short interval as they won't change the oil. So maybe she was only 2000 over the recommended 5000, however, if they did not change it and it's not that the washer was stuck on the pan, wow. Must be a long time. This is why you get out of the waiting room and watch them do the work. Wish you would do the plugs 3&4 like you did and then coil swap differently like 3&2 to know exactly! Hopefully her mother is paying for it. Then you deserve to fix it more just in case.
I have exactly the same car 2004 Camry LE [Maroon], 275,000 miles still running, will run it atleast 300,000 , one car mechanic a friend of mine said he has seen this car with 500,000 miles on it in good running condition.
About Missing Water. A blown head gasket would cause the car to run like crap. Good chance of seeing water coming out of the exhaust pipe too. Radiator coolant could smell of exhaust. Water could be in the oil. Could the car's water pump had sized and then freed up without leaking out the weep hole? That will explain the slickness and gouges in the v-belt and maybe the missing coolant. Peter started the car and didn't mention a coolant leak. A radiator cap maintains pressure to a specific pressure (typically 15psi) to lower the boiling point of water. (1psi = 3degF). If you did the math and got 257degF you did well. Once this pressure is achieved the cap will relieve excessive pressure to the coolant recover bottle. When the engine cools it creates a vacuum which sucks back the coolant from the coolant recovery bottle. The upper seal allows this transfer to happen gets cracks in it allowing air to seep in instead of the coolant. So basically the engine pumps out coolant and sucks back air. The recovery bottle will completely fill and allow coolant to flow out the over flow tube. Water and antifreeze are both coolants. One works better than the other in many ways. One evaporates quicker. The remaining coolant in the reservoir evaporates. There was a time where cars didn't have recovery bottles. They would have to have their water checked almost every time they filled up with gas. The gas station attendant knew how to open a hot radiator. The attendant would have the driver run the engine while water was added. This would give the gas pump attendant the opportunity to inspect under the hood, for fluid levels, belt wear, and air filter. Wipers were checked when the attendant washed the windshield. Tire pressure checked and corrected on demand. Over pressurizing the coolant system causes excessive wear on seals. The radiator seal can blow out or the water pump seal. Some water pumps are inside the timing cover and will blow water into the oil pan. Caps are cheap, replace them before stuff happens.
Petr, did you miss something? 02:41 The oil sticker in the window says 03/17/20 Is that when the last oil change was done? Or is that the date the next oil change is due by? Mileage 224805 My guess is that car was due for an oil change by March 2020 I think the oil was last changed long before 03/20, probably in mid-2019. My guess is the oil hasn't been changed or checked since 2019.
Good Catch! Usually the mileage on the sticker is when the next oil change is due. The mechanic should "Do the Math" not the customer. Who Knows? It would explain why the oil was crud and so low.
I have a 2004 Toyota Camry XLE. Check engine light means it needs oil change. Change your head lights. Oil light, make sure you have enough oil. My car has 128,000 miles and runs fine.
Good Start. The spark plug's lateral electrode did have the protrusion/bump where the spark hits from the central electrode. Most fake Iridium plugs don't. What ever happened to the coolant? Was there a leak in the reservoir? I suggest replacing the radiator cap just to know the cooling system pressure is correct so the customer doesn't blow the radiator tank seals. There was a bendable bundle tie above the dog bone just bent out doing nothing. That car needed so much. I could keep going, but I won't. One other thing, worm clamps distort plastic nipples. I saw them used on the power steering reservoir which is soft plastic.
During the oil drain sequence, I liked the white zip-tie holding one of the under body panels on. Possible a "shade tree" mechanic worked on this vehicle? To be honest, I would have used a zip-tie in that situation.
I have a 03 and didn't realize it was burning oil until I did a hard stop and the oil light briefly came on. Now I used to take it to my mechanic of 20 years and he never said that not enough oil was coming out during the change. Now I understand that it's my responsibility to check these things and I did fail in that area. The Camry has 260K now and is using about a quart every 4K of synthetic. Oh this same mechanic told me I needed new heads on my 4runner and it turns out it was a bad spark plug, but that's a whole different story.
Mine has 209k miles now and it doesn't burn any oil. The seat belts were pretty gross when I got it at 203k miles, though. I suppose the struts have seen better days, but I replaced the spark plugs, oil, filters, and brakes myself. Even started painting it and added a spoiler. I recorded the spoiler and painting stuff... might upload them sometime soon.
As Scotty says, he should have rinse the old oil with a cleaner oil at 1-.K2K RPM for 15-20 mins, the drain it and put new recommended oil. Was the coolant filled up?
She went to 'Rip Off Oil Change' where they don't even bother to put in cheap recycled oil, much less the expensive synthetic stuff. Peter saved that car, since even Toyota engines won't run for long without oil under pressure being delivered to the crankshaft and connecting rod bearings. I'm surprised he didn't see any metal particles floating around in the oil he drained. Another few hundred miles with intermittent oil pressure, and that engine would have been toast. I hope Peter told the owner not to take the car back to whoever worked on it in the past. That oil was probably in there for at least several years. And any shop should make sure the oil is in the normal operation range before a vehicle leaves the shop, after any service.
Never take your car to a "quickie" oil change shop, quick just means rushed or in this case not done at all. When I met my wife she was taking her Audi to a quickie shop, they had stripped the oil pan drain plug threads, lost all the protection cover hardware and screwed it in. I do all the maintenance on my Tundra my wife's new Infiniti and my kids 2 Toyota Matrix. They run like clockwork.
Is it too early to say you saved the engine? I hope you did - but seems like damage could have already been done. Sure, it's not seized, however I wonder if it could have early failure if it's been neglected that long (low oil level)
Just last week i took my 2016 Camry to the dealer here in Arizona for a transmission fluid exchange at 68,000 miles. I didnt ask the dealer because I thought that they would use the products the manual calls for. I got home and found that they had spilled fluid all over my transmission and surrounding areas which I had to clean up.Then I see on the bill that they used Valvoline "multi-vehicle " and not the Toyota WS fluid" . I am beyond upset, Talked to the dealer he said thats what they use because it is cheaper . My owners manual absolutely states to NEVER use and different fluids in a Toyota transmission . AND they added some "additive" to the fluid to there tune of another $25 dollars. Something else toyota does not recommend . Now, they say all they can do is have me bring the car back and they will do the flush over with the proper fluid and I will have to pay the additional $75 for the proper fluid. I already paid $300 and now another $75 to fix what they did wrong. I wish I lived close to Peter to get it done correctly !
I would have wrote a letter to Toyota Motors USA, with a copy of the invoice. Toyota would be very unimpressed with the dealer using non-genuine / non-recommended parts and fluids. I wonder do they use genuine oil filters? They (Toyota) would be reading them the riot act, and they wouldn’t be in their good books after that.
@@paulsz6194 I did contact Toyota, they responded in 1 day. They asked me for permission from me to contact the dealer on my behalf. I gave them permission. They contacted me later in the day and told me the dealer customer relations person would contact me before end of business on 5/28. The dealer missed the deadline, another strike against them. I will contact Toyota again on Monday
@@zonie1953 Good! Make them accountable. Explain to them , what’s the point of going to a dealer for “ genuine service” if they don’t use genuine parts? Might as well go to another mechanic and pay less then..
Hello Toyota Maintenance 👋 My 2004 3.3 V6 Camry is running lean. I already changed the O2 sensors, Fuel pump & strainer. I put a bottle of fuel injection cleaner. I don't see any vacuum leaks. The car is running very good. The engine light goes away on the highway. It turns on when I drive in the city. Do you have any recommendations on what I should change next?
@@frankg6578 if you have coolant loss see/feel smell if it's leaking out the back of the head and getting soaked into this foam pad thing they put between the intake manifold and the block. There are a lot of vids and info on the repair, Google: toyota time sert head bolt kit
The vent hose can blow out a lot of oil but the engine does not look dirty enough to have been covered with oil like that very strange. But that car was not maintained at all, the low coolant everything is just low, its important for parents to tech their kids how to check and maintain their cars.
My wife drives the same car with only 220 thousand miles zero oil leaks zero oil burns and still runs just like the first day i can’t believe how good these cars were built
I have 2006 Camry 257000 miles drives like new
I have a 2005 400,000 miles still going strong
Who else is dumbfounded at the complete lack of BASIC maintenance to this poor car? I mean this is one of the easiest cars to maintain!
Get a grip, if this is what you're angry about then you have problems, man.
Not everyone is taught about vehicle safety & maintenance. So many judgemental comments here.
@@chocolate_squiggle Not everyone is taught, you say? Most cars come with a manual, or one can be found online - checking the oil is clearly mentioned in the manual. Even if one thinks of a car as an appliance, it's the most complex appliance we use - and we ride in it. Failing to read about the basics of owning a car is both ignorant and dangerous.
@@chocolate_squiggle honestly, people only make comments like yours because they're angry they lacked a father/masculine role model in their life to teach them essential life skills as a teenager. It's tragic and we need to reverse the trend but we must first be honest and address the problem head on if we are to solve it.
@@azxctbygalumbo9516 exactly! You can read the owners manual maintenance section and it’ll tell you what to do. Watch peters channel or chrisfix or scotty or Eric or humble mechanic…. My point being it’s so easy to get free information online with videos.
But it is a Toyota it can drive forever so I just drove it
Wow, this car was on the brink of disaster on so many levels. If it had overheated it would have been game over. Thank you for saving this Camry from the junk yard and for teaching this college student a valuable life lesson! An ounce of prevention... you know the thing.
she didn't learn anything. that car will be toast in 3 years
@@protagonist6969 XD
I know people think the 2AZFE is a bad engine because it burns oil, but all you need to do is fill it back up as it burns and your engine will last many more miles. Our 2003 started burning oil at 220k miles, and now at 270k it still runs fine. My own 2003 was bought with 240k and when I bought it, it had no oil in the engine at all. 15k miles later and I’ve had no issues as I top the oil off every once in a while. It runs very nice, and I’d like to keep it for a couple more years.
Usually its a small leak, replaced the valve cover gasket and oil pan gasket and it stopped losing oil and its near the 300k mark. The 2001-2006 2azfe engines did not have a oil burning issue, the ones after 2006 did because they changed the cylinder heads and oil control rings.
That car must have been neglected for a really long time for it to end up limping into your shop like that. All the fixes you outlined there are simple DIY things that any car owner should be checking regularly. Poor little Camry. What a trooper for surviving that long to see you!
That Camry is a tribute to Japanese engineering that it can keep going with such poor ( or no) maintenance!
I love this gen of Camry’s. Breaks my heart that someone neglects them.
Just bought a 2003 with 390,000km that was almost as badly maintained as this
Changed all the fluids and she runs like a top now. Probably the best powertrain Toyota has ever made
Some people just don’t know the basics of car care ,Great video Peter
I have a 2005 Camry in Toronto, Canada. Absolutely bulletproof car with 350,000 kms and running like a champ. This was the last great generation of Camry. Solid.
I have an 06 Camry SE model witha 195k miles on it. Still runs and goes down the road. The SE model looks quite different from all the other Camrys out there that looks like in between a Lexus ES and a Mazda 6 with black spider headlights, dark front grill, 5 spoke alloy wheels. I have a Grey one. It's got the 4 banger engine that gets great gas mileage.
My flatmate has an 08 Aurion with 550,000 km. They still make em like they used to
Driving 2006 camry 225,000 miles on it engine and transmission are great the shocks and power steering is another story
@@hellokittybebop if you change the struts just change the struts and use kyb for original ride feel. Monroe's are junk. But worse are the eBay or Amazon ones. And only last 8 months to a year.. You can use tokiko but they're pricey! Sensen is a good compromise. Japanese quality.
This is the best generation of Camry because it rides nice and sits tall.
Good grief, I've never seen so little oil come out of an oil pan. Who says the 2AZ-FE is a weak engine, that one basically survived WW III.
I was expecting to see oil fouled spark plugs because of the low oil. Maybe that motor had the rings changed by Toyota. I'd do a Vin search then I'd give that college girl a good spanking.
They a very strong engines. These didn't have the same oil consumption issues like years 2007-2009. But all cars burn some oil as they age esp when they reach up to 200k or more.
@@kingcraven8056 I would also but for different reasons
With the oil that horribly low, shouldn't the warning light been on all the time, for a long time?
@@eman0828 I hope you’re right! I have this engine in a 2006 Camry and I just learned about it. Now I’m freaked out. I only have 126,000 km’s on it. It doesn’t make sense to me the same engine design changed and then fails and burns oil.
No way we were going to hear the word "creampuff" in this video.
Female college student is all I needed to know about the situation lol 😂.
A mechanic who takes pride in his work....he even sucked up the dead leafs under the hood....good work!!
Holy shite, that engine was probably within its last week if hadn't been brought to you.
Your commentary on this video is superb , and your skills in the car repair is not in doubt. I love it.
I'm a super maintenance freak. To see this car with lack of any real maintenance is tough to watch. I just don't understand why people neglect basic maintenance of a vehicle. I guess the younger people have no one to teach them basic maintenance and therefore they never check anything until a "warning light" starts to flash. I've always enjoyed maintaining my vehicle. Not so much now, but I'm getting too old for this now. However, I do have a trustworthy Toyota Dealership, so life is good.
I agree. The things I repaired I do no more. Small stuff, yes. I too found a dealer I can trust. I have no problem checking their work. Local mechanics charge the same as dealer and use plain wrap boxes.
It's not just young people today - I'm in my forties and I didn't have anyone to teach me basic maintenance. And when you only ever buy second hand cars a lot of times the owners manual is already lost - so I never even realised there was such a thing as a 'maintenance schedule' until I bought a used motorbike and it came with that little booklet. Many people don't have the time, space, tools, money or the knowledge to keep a vehicle in tip-top shape - the fact is many people have more pressing issues to deal with in their life. Some of them, like me 20 years ago, won't even know that you're supposed to do anything except change the oil and take it to a mechanic when something goes wrong. How are they supposed to know if nobody ever tells them? I'm not having a go at you I just hoped you might understand why people neglect basic maintenance. I'd bet that most of the time it's just plain ignorance. Personally I don't understand a lot of the harsh comments here, it might be disappointing but it's hardly the crime of the century. Geeze they need to watch Mech a Nic's channel if they really want to see what neglected cars look like.
Whenever I hear of an engine with such low oil that it can't be read on the dipstick, I worry about how much damage may have already happened from lack of oil circulation. Especially when, such as this car, you can see the warning on the dash. I'm not saying the engine is going to throw a rod tomorrow, but the whole thing probably has a lot more wear than the mileage would indicate.
Yeah. Like spun bearings or excess wear on the crank, etc.
i was the same in high school. abused the hell out of my corolla. broke every part on the car. but it taught me how to not destroy a car when i bought cars later in life
You're right learn young so you're wiser later on. Sadly though this might not be the case with them.
The cleanest car garage you'll ever see!
I hope the girl and her mother read the comments in this vlog and realise how bad and negligent they were.
If this was a cat or dog and not a Toyota Camry, they would be in court for animal abuse and neglect.
Wow! She brought that car to you just in the nick of time! It lives only because its a Toyota
@Toyota Maintenance. Thank you Professor Peter for today's lesson on proper maintenance and diagnosis. I hope there's more to today's lesson on that Camry. Hopefully with your recommendations to your customer about proper maintenance, your customer will have many more driving miles with their Camry.
Hope you and your family stay safe and well.
Have a safe and pleasant Memorial Day weekend.
One word: Neglect
Maybe. Or it could just be ignorance. So judgey people on this channel.
chocolate squiggle so if the parents bought the daughter a car, surely they would be wise enough to teach her the basics of car maitenance. Now I’m not saying how to change oil, globes or spark plugs, but show her how to check the oil, strictly follow scheduled maitenance intervals, how to jump start a car and change a tire. The parents have been doing this for some time now.
There's something hypnotic about oil changes ... nice video! Thanks for sharing!
Peter, I want to assure you, the Society For The Prevention of Cruelty to Camrys (SFTPOCTC) has been alerted. The owner can expect an angry knock on their door from SFTPOCTC inspectors any minute!
This may be a class a felony
@@miriamvivo4279 I hope there is a vacancy at Alcatraz.
Not maintaining a Camry, it’s like a crime against humanity. Looks like someone replaced the high beam bulb and touched the glass surface of the bulb with the oil on their fingers caused the bulb to fail.
What a testament to the quality of Toyota! They can run without oil. Crazy!
Hi Scotty! Sounds like you have a cold, hope you're feeling better by now. Happy New Year! Thanks for the info on the Camry!
Love the longer vid. Keep it up, especially with the trucks.
I spy a red C-Clamp
Excellent job Peter. Those engines are noted for the piston rings cracking and that causes them to burn oil like crazy.
Isn't that the 6th Generation (2007-2009) and/or non-Japan made engines or piston rings?
Very simple but satisfying fixes but at the end of the day most people just don't keep up with their cars maintenance.
I couldn't be a mechanic. I would be scolding my customers for neglecting their card's maint.
I would be embarrassed to bring such a car to a shop with this list of issues.
@@paultennis9414 Me Too!
She may be just too young to understand to value her things. Not even 1/3 the way through and I see even her rear driver's tire seems so low. Maybe even mid 20 psi.
Your comment also brings back memories of the lunch lady scolding for throwing away food
Really isn't the disaster you're making out. A missed oil change, couple of bulbs out. Someone else was likely responsible for the disconnected PCV hose.
Nice and interesting to look over your shoulder. I appreciate to be able to see this. And well diagnosed and repaired!
Amazing how people neglect and abuse their cars. It only just made it into your workshop. But I wonder what this thick burned oil did to the bearings and the piston rings....
My brother owns his own shop 1-problem no oil or past oil change time!! Good job Peter your the Sherlock Holmes of Toyotas
Awesome job! I enjoyed every minute watching this video.
Great video! I always learn so much.
1 Quart of oil? WOW that is amazing! I bought a 2004 Collision titled Camry with 112k miles on it. We kept it for five years of low milage driving at 138k miles, and my wife one day went out and bought a new RAV4 as she didn't enjoy the gray color and though it beyond useful life in 2016. Camry 2004 served me well as upon entering the airport tollway a "bang/clunk" sounded along with "check engine" or 'battery' indicator lite up. The steering became really heavy, especially turning into airport parking. I noticed "steam" coming up from under the hood. Not wanting to delay picking up my mother in law after an international flight, i took the toddler out of that back seat and proceeded to the terminal. On the way back to the car, i opened the hood to notice that i was losing/lost coolant and wondered whether I had enough coolant to drive the 25 miles back home. I sort of shrugged and didn't think twice with calling triple A. Well it was a rainy day, and with the battery light on and some issue with coolant, and a very stiff power steering...i instinctively kept at 55mph, turned off lights, and even turned off wipers until absolutely necessary. I felt something was "wrong" but didn't want to stop by the roadside. We made it back into the home garage and stopped the engine. Being curious, i tried to start the car, but it wouldn't start up. That was when i realized it was time to use my TripleA to call the tow to local mechanic/garage. My car wouldn't start, can you fix it?
Root cause? something about a water pump seizing up, pully head broken off, and accessory belt completely off track. Engine was fine, and my wife used the car for the next two years. I sold the collision titled camry for $2500-3000, and the buyer test drove it on the highways just to their expectations. Fast forward to 2023, i'm evaluating EV cars, second hand late model years of Sonatas, Camrys, etc, as a spare car to "back up" my Sienna. Well guess what, I found what appears to be a well kept low milage (132k miles, if its true) Camry 2004 in luxurious white. Going next weekend to see if it checks out, unless it gets sold during the week!
My wife's first comment? You already have an old car, don't waste money...what if they don't make parts for it any more? LOL. I'm wondering whether my kids will want to drive it in 5 years...electric car fad is having trouble getting off the ground to mass adoption. Too many risks to the consumer. PRICE of "disposable cars". Also,Think battery charging risks,,,otherwise think of Turboinjection engines, CVT transmissions, dying engines due to extra sensitivity to oil conditions (toyotas, hyundais, kias, etc). Maybe i'll keep these early model Toyotas going until we get mass produced solid state batteries in PHEV mode before trading up.
My wife’s 2010 Highlander kept burning out headlights, and phone chargers?! The battery is in good health and fairly new, the charging system checked out ok as well. So I just went with LED bulbs and so far so good. Thanks Peter for everything!
just purchased a 2005 camry. heaps of room and quite good all round. going to the gas station i didn't know what side the lid was but, as my sister pointed out and not a lot of people know, if you look at the fuel gauge it has an arrow pointing to it.
Good job Peter. Be careful putting your ratchet/metal tools near the + battery terminal.
From a friend who stopped to help the young (male) owner of a Honda Civic that was running poorly: the owner didn’t know how to open the hood. He had owned the car several years.
Oh the horror! Had a friend seize his engine on a Subaru Outback because he ran it dry of oil. Thing is the circle of friends was a mechanic, another mechanic, and myself a mechanic. We reminded him almost daily to check it and out of the blue after putting it off again and again, "my car blew up!" We were all aware and knew it would happen. Only reason we didn't take charge is because we were college students, broke as hell. He learned his lesson!
Thank you Peter. Saw you posted video srayed up past my usual bed time to watch and learn. Goodnight to "The Prophet on the burning shore" I borrowed that line from a Grateful Dead Song.
i'm getting ready to buy one of these. thanks so much for the lessons!
Best most reliable car for the money. Nothing fancy but drives and rides nice and bullet proof with basic maintenance.
Yeah sorry stupid cheap people of these cars that garbage starting up on a very cold day and you can hear the engine knock for like 3 minutes or more in one day anyone down maintain while you rub xeloda a lot you hear it start knocking garbage
Thanks for saving the engine on this fine car!
I own the same color and exact model. I never let my fluids get low and I always change my oil regularly. I bought this little diagnostic tool. I got email or text something was wrong. So I rescan later the next day. Not only did I get the text I also got a link to a CZcams video on how to fix the problem. I currently have 145000 miles on the camry. I love it. The peppiest little 4 cylinder that I've ever driven. I gunned the gas one day. I will just say this you never want a car to fishtail with the Frontend.
What's the tool called. And do you mean torque steer where one side pulls forward more than the other?
Thanks for sharing this video, interesting observations.
That shows you how good Toyota’s are.
She sounds just like my camry nice .great work
Ah good on you Petare you learned when I said to put your hand behind to help focus, well done man! Now you are no longer frustrated with the camera finding the focus. I learn from you, you learn from me.
Now, these workhorses. I am cheap to buy a new car, and I have almost always had the bad luck to need another and almost every time every camry has been okay to run but always some little problems like this. This one may be neglected too much.
What is that SST Toyota air housing attachment fitting. I have never seen before. Maybe it is the new 90009C-CLAMP they came out for this year. Bad design. Good thing they changed it middle of the refresh for this body. Toyota Red!
I see you wiped the top of the valve cover. Fresh dry wipe cleaning marks. Beautiful! Such a shame she does not respect the hard working Camry. The synthetic will help clean out all the sludge that must be inside. Sometimes the quick lube places say a short interval as they won't change the oil. So maybe she was only 2000 over the recommended 5000, however, if they did not change it and it's not that the washer was stuck on the pan, wow. Must be a long time. This is why you get out of the waiting room and watch them do the work.
Wish you would do the plugs 3&4 like you did and then coil swap differently like 3&2 to know exactly! Hopefully her mother is paying for it. Then you deserve to fix it more just in case.
Great video and very educational
I have exactly the same car 2004 Camry LE [Maroon], 275,000 miles still running, will run it atleast 300,000 , one car mechanic a friend of mine said he has seen this car with 500,000 miles on it in good running condition.
Less than 1 quart--unbelieveable!
Only a Toyota could survive this abuse!!!
Outstanding!
Love the c-clamp holding the air filter box closed. 😂
#thatsfactree!!
You saved it in the nick of time!
Excellent video, thank you so much.
Glad you were able to save this poor Camry
What an amazing vehicle .
That's a great mechanic!
About Missing Water. A blown head gasket would cause the car to run like crap. Good chance of seeing water coming out of the exhaust pipe too. Radiator coolant could smell of exhaust. Water could be in the oil. Could the car's water pump had sized and then freed up without leaking out the weep hole? That will explain the slickness and gouges in the v-belt and maybe the missing coolant. Peter started the car and didn't mention a coolant leak.
A radiator cap maintains pressure to a specific pressure (typically 15psi) to lower the boiling point of water. (1psi = 3degF). If you did the math and got 257degF you did well. Once this pressure is achieved the cap will relieve excessive pressure to the coolant recover bottle. When the engine cools it creates a vacuum which sucks back the coolant from the coolant recovery bottle. The upper seal allows this transfer to happen gets cracks in it allowing air to seep in instead of the coolant. So basically the engine pumps out coolant and sucks back air. The recovery bottle will completely fill and allow coolant to flow out the over flow tube. Water and antifreeze are both coolants. One works better than the other in many ways. One evaporates quicker. The remaining coolant in the reservoir evaporates. There was a time where cars didn't have recovery bottles. They would have to have their water checked almost every time they filled up with gas. The gas station attendant knew how to open a hot radiator. The attendant would have the driver run the engine while water was added. This would give the gas pump attendant the opportunity to inspect under the hood, for fluid levels, belt wear, and air filter. Wipers were checked when the attendant washed the windshield. Tire pressure checked and corrected on demand. Over pressurizing the coolant system causes excessive wear on seals. The radiator seal can blow out or the water pump seal. Some water pumps are inside the timing cover and will blow water into the oil pan. Caps are cheap, replace them before stuff happens.
Maintenance is the key. This is disappointing
Petr, did you miss something? 02:41 The oil sticker in the window says 03/17/20
Is that when the last oil change was done?
Or is that the date the next oil change is due by? Mileage 224805
My guess is that car was due for an oil change by March 2020
I think the oil was last changed long before 03/20, probably in mid-2019.
My guess is the oil hasn't been changed or checked since 2019.
Good Catch! Usually the mileage on the sticker is when the next oil change is due. The mechanic should "Do the Math" not the customer. Who Knows? It would explain why the oil was crud and so low.
I have a 2004 Toyota Camry XLE. Check engine light means it needs oil change. Change your head lights. Oil light, make sure you have enough oil. My car has 128,000 miles and runs fine.
this has the same engine as my car… Good to know that it can run with hardly any oil and keep running hahah
I love these cars. Also Accord of this vintage.
Great video..... Where were those oil leaks coming from?
Good Start. The spark plug's lateral electrode did have the protrusion/bump where the spark hits from the central electrode. Most fake Iridium plugs don't. What ever happened to the coolant? Was there a leak in the reservoir? I suggest replacing the radiator cap just to know the cooling system pressure is correct so the customer doesn't blow the radiator tank seals. There was a bendable bundle tie above the dog bone just bent out doing nothing. That car needed so much. I could keep going, but I won't. One other thing, worm clamps distort plastic nipples. I saw them used on the power steering reservoir which is soft plastic.
During the oil drain sequence, I liked the white zip-tie holding one of the under body panels on. Possible a "shade tree" mechanic worked on this vehicle? To be honest, I would have used a zip-tie in that situation.
@Toyota Maintenance Did you add coolant to the reservoir? Did the car need any?
The fact that this totally abused camry came to the shop without being towed is a solid testimony of Toyota reliability.
I have the same an 2004 and love my vehicle. This owner needs to give tlc to this car they last if u maintained it
I have a 03 and didn't realize it was burning oil until I did a hard stop and the oil light briefly came on. Now I used to take it to my mechanic of 20 years and he never said that not enough oil was coming out during the change. Now I understand that it's my responsibility to check these things and I did fail in that area. The Camry has 260K now and is using about a quart every 4K of synthetic. Oh this same mechanic told me I needed new heads on my 4runner and it turns out it was a bad spark plug, but that's a whole different story.
Time to keep the heads on the 4Runner and change the mechanic
@@emeyer6963 oh yeah, done that 3 years ago.
Mine has 209k miles now and it doesn't burn any oil. The seat belts were pretty gross when I got it at 203k miles, though. I suppose the struts have seen better days, but I replaced the spark plugs, oil, filters, and brakes myself. Even started painting it and added a spoiler. I recorded the spoiler and painting stuff... might upload them sometime soon.
On a very cold day Mary called a start your s*** up and tell me how much the motor not if Tony it don't you're a liar
Tell me how much the Moana not on a very cold day when you started for the first time and if you tell me if not you're a liar
9:24 the coil plug clips break on like every one of those Camry coil packs. It's rare to find them intact and lots of repair kits available for them.
As Scotty says, he should have rinse the old oil with a cleaner oil at 1-.K2K RPM for 15-20 mins, the drain it and put new recommended oil. Was the coolant filled up?
She went to 'Rip Off Oil Change' where they don't even bother to put in cheap recycled oil, much less the expensive synthetic stuff. Peter saved that car, since even Toyota engines won't run for long without oil under pressure being delivered to the crankshaft and connecting rod bearings. I'm surprised he didn't see any metal particles floating around in the oil he drained. Another few hundred miles with intermittent oil pressure, and that engine would have been toast.
I hope Peter told the owner not to take the car back to whoever worked on it in the past. That oil was probably in there for at least several years. And any shop should make sure the oil is in the normal operation range before a vehicle leaves the shop, after any service.
Never take your car to a "quickie" oil change shop, quick just means rushed or in this case not done at all. When I met my wife she was taking her Audi to a quickie shop, they had stripped the oil pan drain plug threads, lost all the protection cover hardware and screwed it in. I do all the maintenance on my Tundra my wife's new Infiniti and my kids 2 Toyota Matrix. They run like clockwork.
What was the result of the water pump pulley with the scratches
Did you get to look at that
Cheers
Joe from Australia
Is it too early to say you saved the engine? I hope you did - but seems like damage could have already been done. Sure, it's not seized, however I wonder if it could have early failure if it's been neglected that long (low oil level)
Did you save this car or has the damage been done and potential problems? Especially driving around with practically no oil for a long period.
What about the serpentine belt issue? What ended up scratching it from the outside?
How could someone bring their car in like that and disappoint our best mechanic friend! We know he feels the engines pain lol.
Was the air box held together with a small C clamp or was I seeing things?
Always entertaining and educational!
Good luck 👍
That owner was very lucky!
Did anyone else see the air box held on by a c-clamp?
My sister has a 2004 toyota camry xle v6 similar miles. Has a po442. Hoping not as many problems as this one
My ‘05 burnt up in ‘12 because the mechanic did not completely attach the radiator hose after an AC service. Low mileage < 60k miles.
Looks to me like it's well maintained. low oil pressure light comes on bring it to Toyota Maintenance! Young person I hope.
Poorly maintained. He said young college student. Mom's car.
Just last week i took my 2016 Camry to the dealer here in Arizona for a transmission fluid exchange at 68,000 miles. I didnt ask the dealer because I thought that they would use the products the manual calls for. I got home and found that they had spilled fluid all over my transmission and surrounding areas which I had to clean up.Then I see on the bill that they used Valvoline "multi-vehicle " and not the Toyota WS fluid" . I am beyond upset, Talked to the dealer he said thats what they use because it is cheaper . My owners manual absolutely states to NEVER use and different fluids in a Toyota transmission . AND they added some "additive" to the fluid to there tune of another $25 dollars. Something else toyota does not recommend . Now, they say all they can do is have me bring the car back and they will do the flush over with the proper fluid and I will have to pay the additional $75 for the proper fluid. I already paid $300 and now another $75 to fix what they did wrong. I wish I lived close to Peter to get it done correctly !
Quit the dealer. Find a good independent mechanic, like this guy.
I would have wrote a letter to Toyota Motors USA, with a copy of the invoice. Toyota would be very unimpressed with the dealer using non-genuine / non-recommended parts and fluids. I wonder do they use genuine oil filters? They (Toyota) would be reading them the riot act, and they wouldn’t be in their good books after that.
@@paulsz6194 I did contact Toyota, they responded in 1 day. They asked me for permission from me to contact the dealer on my behalf. I gave them permission. They contacted me later in the day and told me the dealer customer relations person would contact me before end of business on 5/28. The dealer missed the deadline, another strike against them. I will contact Toyota again on Monday
@@zonie1953 Good! Make them accountable. Explain to them , what’s the point of going to a dealer for “ genuine service” if they don’t use genuine parts? Might as well go to another mechanic and pay less then..
@@paulsz6194 👍
Hello Toyota Maintenance 👋 My 2004 3.3 V6 Camry is running lean. I already changed the O2 sensors, Fuel pump & strainer. I put a bottle of fuel injection cleaner. I don't see any vacuum leaks. The car is running very good. The engine light goes away on the highway. It turns on when I drive in the city. Do you have any recommendations on what I should change next?
wow my 04 Camry over 212 thousand miles and baby maintained since new and amazed how much abuse a Toyota can take this !
Those are not Camry problems , Those are owner neglecting and abusing the car problems.. Ive seen these camrys with over 350K and still running good..
I know you know to check that intake diaper for coolant. You can catch the stripped head bolt issue if you know to look.
I've got a 2005 still in good shape with 75,000 miles. Could you explain in more detail how to catch the stripped head bolt issue? Thanks.
@@frankg6578 if you have coolant loss see/feel smell if it's leaking out the back of the head and getting soaked into this foam pad thing they put between the intake manifold and the block. There are a lot of vids and info on the repair, Google: toyota time sert head bolt kit
That diaper is a big pain in the A that almost never goes back. Sound dampener? Ridiculous.
WOW 1st class very kool great info. AAAAAAAAAAA++++++++++++ again great video I liked it a lot keep up the great work
The vent hose can blow out a lot of oil but the engine does not look dirty enough to have been covered with oil like that very strange. But that car was not maintained at all, the low coolant everything is just low, its important for parents to tech their kids how to check and maintain their cars.
A 17 year old engine of any kind will most certainly need to have oil added monthly in some cases.
Toyota like a Timex watch it takes a licking and keeps on ticking