I have a 2007 Toyota Camry that has intermittent instrument cluster problems. The Speedometer and Tachometer will cease to indicate proper readings and drop to zero. The tachometer will then bounce between zero and what I can only assume is a close approximation of the actual engine RPM. At the same time, the ABS and parking BRAKE warning lights illuminate and stay on for the duration of the "episode". These last anywhere from 10 seconds to 10 minutes. In the meantime, the car runs normally from what I can discern. I can be driving down the highway at 70 or sitting in the parking lot idling and these episodes occur. There are no other indications that something is amiss...no rough idling, no engine stalling, just the display. This is a 2007 Toyota Camry, 4 cyl, 5 spd automatic. I have inspected the transaxle input and output shaft sensors and they appear to be in good working order. There are no indications of oil buildup or broken/shorted wires. Connections all look good from what I can tell.

 

I found a solution to this issue.

Problem:
Camry 2007 with ABS, no Traction Control or Skid Control. The instrument cluster goes haywire intermittently. Speed drops to 0, Tachometer jumps up and down. AC blows warm air. ABS and BRAKE warning lights on the Cluster always light up when this happens. Odometer does not increment miles traveled. Other than that the car is fully operational and can be driven no problem. The key word here is intermittently. The car does not seem to have any issues for say 10 minutes, and then for the next 10 minutes it has all the issues listed above. Additionally when scanning OBDII codes - no trouble codes can be found! However when the intermittent problem occurs the OBDII CAN protocol communication also seems to fail.



Solution:
I found the problem on my Camry was BOSCH ABS ECU. And thankfully I was able to fix the ECU problem without having to go to the Dealer or purchasing the new ECU unit... Which I am guessing would have cost me over $1000.

I bought Torx E5 socket at a local auto parts store for $20. This is needed to remove 4 "Female Star" bolts that attach the ABS ECU to the ABS block. Be very careful when removing the ECU. Pull the ECU from the block gently - no force required once the screws are removed. Also remember that this is a sensitive electronic device - you need to work static free. Also make sure the engine is off and perhaps remove the battery negative terminal for safety. I did not run the engine until I put everything back together.

Once the ECU is sitting on your table - you will need to pry the cover open to get to the main board and the microprocessor. The cover is glued to the plastic body using some sort of rubberized silicone glue. This is very difficult to do unless you have proper tools. I used box cutter blade to cut away as much rubber as I could. Then I tried to push the blade in and pry the cover open. The pieces of the blade broke until I finally succeeded - applying like 20 lbs on the blade...

Once I opened the cover I immediately saw where the problem was (although I could not believe in such an easy solution until the whole thing was over) Inside you will find the main board and the microprocessor sitting on top of a heatsink. There are about 8 hair thin 1/2 inch long bare jumper wires that connect the microprocessor to the main board. Well it turned out that two of those jumper wires were almost touching each other - curious I thought. I pulled apart the jumper wires and give them a good distance. I tried to look for other clues like a broken solder or the like - but could not find any other defects. Then I glued the cover back on with Crazy glue, and mounted the ABS ECU back where it belongs. Started the engine - and never saw the issue come back again - for more than a week already. Car runs like new.

I still need to put a good layer of Silicone caulk around the cover before the winter comes to weather proof the cover. But that's hopefully next week.

Final analysis:
I do not know how my Camry worked for 5 years without having any problems and then all of the sudden these jumper wires came together to cause intermittent shorting of the CAN bus. I believe at least one of the jumper wires was a CAN bus wire - since the Controller Area Network suffered and I believe was the cause of the fiasco when this intermittent problem happened. (Unfortunately no circuit prints are available and Haynes manual does not even show any ABS wiring in their repair manual electrical diagrams!?) I guess the jumpers were far enough to enable the CAN protocol to work error free part of the time and but close enough for the "spark" to jump and cause a short the other part of the time. Some how over 5 years these jumper wires moved closer to each other until this finally became a problem. My opinion is that this is a reliability flaw in a Bosch circuit board design - that may not present itself immediately but may show up later as the jumper wires may move under vibration/ thermal expansion over the years.

Hopefully someone finds this useful!

Ed

 

Hello, so glad to find these log. I have a 2007 Camry with the exact same problem. Can you tell me how to locate theABS ECU to the ABS block? Thanks so much

 

Toyota used Advics and Bosch made ABS units.

There is a Skid Control ECU with Actuator. Location is in the engine compartment, passengers side on the forward side of the PS fluid reservoir. It is connected to about 27 wires in a harness.

Note: There appears to be more then one ECU configuration. TMC or TMMK made, and with or without VSC.

 

I have the same problem, intermittent abs brake light on and rpm mph drops to 0, ac stop working while blower still work, temp gauge drops. I also have a Bosch abs computer, took it apart and found those jumper wires but none of them were shorting. Is there a way to test the computer for faults? I'm pretty good with a dvom I just need tho know procedures. Thank you for any help.

 

Ok so I have just paid my car off and now I been having the same issue with the gauges and the AC.
However I replaced the ABS module (that's what the mechanic said it was), which was about $60 and it worked for about a week. Then the problem returned. I took it to the dealer ship and they said that it was that the Skid Control ECM was bad and that it had shorted out. The problem is that they wanted $2300 to replace it and $3000 to also replace the wire harness. That is almost the value of the car!!!

I am needing to see if I can somehow remedy this to at least last me another year or 2, so that I can get some sort of enjoyment out of having a paid car.

Anymore advise would be extremely helpful!

 

I have a 2007 Toyota Camry, 4cyl, 5speed manual. It lost control of the dials a few weeks ago. First they said it was just the connections. Then they said it could be the ABS, but the paperwork they gave me said traction control. I don't think they have a clue what's wrong, but want me to experiment with $2500 to see if it fixes it. I called the Toyota care line and was told that more people need to call in and report the problem for them to send out a warranty extension. Please call Toyota at 800-331-4331. And if you have any information about fixes and how they worked, please share!

 

Did you find a fix for the problem? Please call Toyota to report the problem, whether it was fixed or not. 800-331-4331

 

ok. I am having the same issue, i was told it was instrument cluster that was giving out. So today i ordered a used one but does anyone know if the 2007 camrys come with this vehicle stability control?

 

I know my CE does not have VSC because there is no button to turn it off or indicator light that it is active, etc.