12' camry le
 

Well I recently paid off my 05camry and now you guessed it I bought a 2012 camry 2.5 4cyl with 30k on the clock...I work for a dealership so I got a good deal..

Heres a pic of it, and the guy detailing it...

Future plans,
Tint Windows
Black 18" rims (undecided still)
K&N intake
Maybe some blue headlight bulbs to blind people with the projector style headlights lol

oh yea...install radar detector lol

Great looking car!

thanks man...since it has less miles than my 05 most of my mods will go to this car...rims, intake etc....

since your around toyotas more than I, are the 2.5 4cyl dual vvti engines any good toyomoho? I ask because I notice several changes compared to my 2.4 ....2.5 uses electric power steering? I dont see the pump....Tranmission dipstick is now gone an I believe there is a check plug? It also calls for 0w20 oil opposed to my 2.4 5w30...

I always have ran synthetics but never even knew toyota uses 0w20..lol...will 5w20 be ok? I live in Florida so it doesnt get nearly as cold as northern states...

Whats a good rim for this car? should I stick with factor size 17" that come on other camrys? or does that not matter as much once aligned? Currently has stock 16' steelies with hubcaps....Gotta go...lol

The 2.4L engine had a few problems which may be why it was replaced. The rear head bolt threads in the block tended to pull out, and the piston oil ring oil control holes plugged up resulting in oil burning. The bad threads can be replaced with Time-Serts to save the block. The chain drive was noisier receiving complaints. Not the best engine and certainly not as good as the one it replaced, the 5SFE.

No conventional oils are rated for 0W thus none were recommended in older cars. The use of synthetics is partly a MPG improvement angle and way to extend oil changes but the superior oil qualities at low and high oil temps are great. The owners manual would have the recommended fluid for your climate.

The 0W-XX or 5W-XX is for cold oil, cold starts. Suggest using the lowest number possible as in 0W-20, once the oil warms up it will have the same viscosity 5W-20. Thicker oil may not be better and synthetics have changed the game with mineral oils as multiviscosity oils changed the game with single viscosity oil.

Electric power steering may be another way to increase MPG slightly and give a wow factor. Perhaps Toyota is planning ahead for the Google robot car.

The trans has check plug but filling is not the conventional. Toyota has a procedure to do this. Basically trans fluid is added then engine run to heat it up to set temp then excess drained out. The fluid is synthetic and in theory does not need changing until around 100K but dealers do have a color card to compare the fluid to. This is what is meant by check fluid condition. Recommend changing it every 50K miles (not 100K) as cheap insurance. Bad fluid is the No 1 cause of trans failure. Use the correct fluid for the trans models as they are not all the same.

Not up on rims. Larger wheels make for better handling due to the lower tire profile (stiffer side wall). They will change braking effectiveness slightly, increase MPG slightly while making the ride harsher. A lighter rim (perhaps alloy) of the same diameter will improve performance. I suggest sticking to 17 inch if wanting to replace the steel ones.

Yea I was gonna stick with 17 inch stock size just a customized rim...although toyotas rims dont look shabby...Im just tired of owning steel rims with hubcaps lol...I plan on doing the transmission at 50k like you suggested...Ive always done mine on my 05 every 30-40k

Whats the procedure on transmission fluid change exactly? Im very capable of doing it myself...Or is it worth just paying a dealership to do it?

The 2.4 2az-fe is a nightmare I agree, Ive heard horror stories about them.I've heard about the stripped head bolt threads.Somewhere I read they corrected the problem by 05??I could be wrong..I take good care of mine, synthetic oil every 3k, coolant drain an fills every 50k with thermostat.. Plugs every 50k since 100k....clean the KN airfilter when im up to it lol..Only problem has been a bad throttle body..Lucky me I found a used one with 20k on it off an 06 scion for 200$ an its worked great. Dealer wants like 800$ WTH! Other than that a hydraulic idle tensioner pulley went bad and I had to do that recently with the help of the instructions you provided...thanks again:) Now at start up I get a puff of smoke that goes away with in a few seconds...Believe its the valve steam seals going on it....Not losing coolant or oil and it only does it sometimes...So ehh Ill deal with it till it needs a new motor I guess....


On the new 2.5 I noticed the water pump and thermostat look to be one in the same? I see the radiator hose running right into what looks to be like the water pump since its driven off the serp belt...You know anything about this? lol This one is timing chain driven as well no?

I havent driven it much honestly...Its been parked in the car port till I get the windows tinted and some floor mats....Somehow my work lost the floor mats or threw them out? Who knows...Its a nifty little car...MPG and fuel readouts air pressure readout...touch screen radio usb ports aux ports, blue tooth......Nothing at all like my 05 lol Its hard to get away from driving the older one...Im so use to it...I wanna keep the new one, new as possible lol..

Besides I just did a 400 mile round trip to take my daughter home an I got 32.94 mpg on a car that has 205k and thats at 80-85mph....Its just breaking in I think It keeps getting better and better mpg...lol weird


Also does the 2012 camry bumper have fog light inserts that pop out and you can install factor ones ...Ive been looking around online and it looks like you can just buy the stock ones, install them and run wires with switch that replaces the blank knock outs inside the cabin panel....I know on my 05 you have to buy a new bumper unless your camry came with them or jiggy rig them lol

Well I picked up some 17" camry rims...2013 take offs :) just need tires now

Thought Toyota came out with a new block design in 05, maybe 07 for 2AZ-FE. There is LONG tread at this site on head bolt thread problems, might review the years members posted about having problems.

The throttle body was another problem, along with idler. Good pickup on the Scion part.

The 2.5L water pump bolts to a housing that bolts to the engine. The housing has the T-stat. On the 2.4L all this was hidden by the timing belt cover.

For the tail pipe smoke issue, smell it. Coolant is sweet, oil smells like oil, etc. Or could be just condensation, water vapor.

Never installed fog lights on this year. Appears a bolt-on job as replacement bumpers have the holes which must be covered if no lights installed.

For trans, check fluid type which is most likely ATF-WS, synthetic, Toyota has their own brand. Don't substitute brands unless sure compatible. Takes approx 3 quarts for pan drain/refill.

Make sure car is level. Fill plug is behind the drivers side wheel splash shield. Make sure the plug can be loosened before draining fluid then drain fluid.

Drain fluid in a container design that allows you to determine approx how much came out as you want to refill with the same amount or slightly more.

The drain system incorporates an overfill tube like a toilet tank. This is how the correct amount of fluid is established in the trans pan. Excess fluid will flow into the tube and out the drain hole.

The plug and tube come out of the trans to allow draining all the fluid. Once all fluid out reinstall tube then refill pan with fluid until it comes out the drain hole as a trickle.

You will need a long nose funnel or standard funnel with attached hose to allow fluid to go into fill hole. Once fluid starts to tickle out drain hole, install but don't tighten filler plug as you will need to remove again.

If you can not add the SAME amount drained out (and slightly more) install drain plug and with engine at idle shift through all gears pausing in each for 30 sec then set to Park. Stop engine and add more fluid to the point matching what drained out and install fill plug but don't tighten.

To obtain the correct fluid level the fluid needs to warm up to 104-113F. The dealer would use the built in temp sensor and readout temp via the Toyota diagnostic tool but you don't have one. Some people measure the pan temp with an infrared thermometer or run a remote temp sensor into the fill port (engine off). Remote sensor as in a small sensor attached to a long wire going to a digital, these are cheap at around $10-15 most likely for measuring water temp around the house.

Warm up fluid engine at idle (AC off) until it reaches the desired temp range. Then remove drain plug only engine STILL RUNNING and drain out excess fluid until a trickle. If no fluid need to add more and warm it up thus you want more not less fluid on initial fill.

The complete trans takes approx 5.6 quarts thus a pan drain and refill doesn't get it all. Somewhere on the internet may be a photo of the color chart the dealer uses to determine if the fluid needs changes. The more brown in color the worse the fluid is.

Might do two changes over time depending on fluid color. Trans fluid is cheaper then trans repairs and the best insurance against trans failure.

Post a photo of your new wheels once they are installed.

Re

Thanks...sounds complicated kinda lol...Ill save the trans job for a dealer ship perhaps on this car...well see when i hit 50 k...


Ill post pic once stock steelies are worn an need replacing...Got a good deal on the rims tho...I seen a se model with the same rims and it looked sharp! cant wait to have em installed with a alignment...but will have to remove sensors from old wheels as well...fun fun...

You could always heat the oil still in the containers in water on the stove. Pour it into the trans, start the engine, run it through the gears and let the excess run out. Not much harder then filling a manual gear box.

Yea it doesnt look complicated...Basically the same procedure for a drain and fill on a camry just with out the dipstick for a reference point...and like you said...run it through the gears...Id probably just put like 10 miles on it an then check it to see if it needed more or let it drain etc...

I notice its a very shifty transmission vs my 05 5spd automatic...Its always tring to shift where as my 05 I know where each shift point is under light throttle persay...

I dont think Ive ever hit over 5,000 rpms yet lol