I'm new here and as we just bought an '07 Camry LE with the 4cyl and see the phrase "PCM Reflash" posted or described as something to have the dealership perform. What is this? I am researching the sluggish behavior upon the cold starts and runs.

The dealership said it was something that all new Toyota's had built in to not tear somthing up before it warms up. Hey, I live in Mississippi and it's 98 degrees here today with high humidity. Nothing needs to "warm up".....

Thanks....

 

PCM stands for Powertrain Control Module, its the computer for the car. There are numerous sensors all over the engine and car itself that feed into the computer. The computer then takes all of these inputs and uses it to determine things like when to shift the transmission, what the air/fuel ratio should be, when to advance and retard the timing, etc. etc. To have it reflashed simply means to have it reprogrammed and this is usually only done when something on the car has changed mechanically, like performance modifications. Lets say you put a cold air intake and performance exhuast on, you could have it reprogrammed to take advantage of those mods for better efficiency and power. Lets say you drastically change the wheel size, like put 20's or some stupid **** like that on it, well now the speedometer is gonna be off so you'd have to have it reprogrammed for that. Yeah dealerships can do it but theres a reason they call em "stealerships" theyll rape you for it. If you can find a reputable programmer for your car Id say go with that. Ive use Bryan Herter of PCM for less on my Chevy, and he workedwonders for that car, of course that was coupled with some fairly serious mechanical mods, but Im not sure if he messes with rice burners . There is also software and interface cables available for nearly any car if you dig around, so you could litterally hook up a laptop to your cars pcm and edit whatever the hell you want, but you gotta know what youre doing, you can mess **** up. The other option is to buy a Hypertech tuner to plug up to the PCM and it will give you a limited amount of programming capabilities, but they are kinda generic..at the same time keeps and amature from blowing **** up, and they are fairly pricey. HTHs

 

Thanks! I appreciate it.

I can't get over going from an Expedition with a 5.4 V8 to the 4cyl. We knew it was going to be lacking but sometimes I catch myself taking my foot off the gas and then reapplying making sure that I don't have it on the floor. (Seeming that it's not going to go)....