Hi everyone,

As you may have guessed by my username I drive a 2006 Toyota Camry SE. The first 30,000 miles of the car were great..but then at exactly 30,000 miles my condenser broke and needed replacement. Now at 40,000 miles the water pump gave out.

Toyotas are known for their reliability so even though these problems were relatively "minor" I was wondering if it was at all unusual to have small parts like these give out at about 30,000 to 40,000 miles. I was expecting to go to 100,000 just with oil changes, brake replacement, and tire replacement. Is that unrealistic? I thought that was part of the appeal of a Camry. Anyway if anyone else has similar experience or can offer their opinion as to whether my circumstances are unusual or not it would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

Wow, Thats strange. I have a 2002 SE 4cyl and put 175k miles on it only change the starter recntly. I have passed it along to my son now and bought a 2009 SE V6. I am expecting the same results.
I would think that maybe you just caught a run of bad luck?

Alan

 

The failure of a condensor is very rare. Was it a bad part? It happens that this item being in front of the car is hit by road debris such as rocks causing a Freon leak and needs to be replaced.

The water pump failure at this low miles is also rare. Typically they should last at least 150K. If using non-Toyota coolant make sure it is silicate free.

 

Though it is uncommon for the H2O pump to just "give out" as you say it did, H2O pump leakage is fairly common for the Camry particularly the 4cyl model. As mentioned, condensor's are located in an area where they can receive impact and become damaged. This does not reflect it's reliability.

JJ

 

id have to say its rare...i hit a bird at 60mph in the lower grill area causing no damage..just a bunch of feather...ive hit my fair share or rocks behind dump trucks...id just have to say either very bad luck...or you got shafted.. but like any car things can and will go wrong...sometimes there just mind boggling

 

I was expecting to go to 100,000 just with oil changes, brake replacement, and tire replacement. Is that unrealistic? I thought that was part of the appeal of a Camry. Anyway if anyone else has similar experience or can offer their opinion as to whether my circumstances are unusual or not it would be appreciated.