Our just-acquired 95 Camry is getting only about 15 miles per gallon!?! It is sluggish off the line, but seems to run fine when up to speed of any sort. Haven't checked the compression in the cylinders yet, but reeally need some thought starters about what might be happening. Any help is appreciated.

 

Sluggish how? Does the RPM rise but the car not accelerate, slow RPM rise, etc.

How does the engine idle and at what RPM?

What have you checked so far such as plugs, dist cap and rotor, intake air system for plugging, exhaust system for plugging, etc.

 

It's a slow RPM rise, although if I floor it response will come "sooner". The engine idles at about 1K RPMs, but slower if the AC is on. When at speed, the engine responds great, making me think it might be a "torque" issue (head compression or something).

I'm a rookie at wrenching on cars, although I have done a bit more on my motorcycle.... As a result of having limited experience, my "what-ifs" are all over the map.

Going to replace the plugs and dist cap/rotor this weekend while also doing the brakes. I just added some fuel injector cleaner the other day. Someone suggested it will be combination of things (tune-up, fuel filter, etc.).

I've avoided air and exhaust systems so far, as the car passed emissions with flying colors. Maybe the two are unrelated, though....

P.S. On my wife's V6 95 Camry, I replaced the mass air flow sensor and resolved an idling problem there, by the way. This problem just seems a little different.

Your help is greatly appreciated.

 

Might start with a tune up. There should be a hot spark, the ability to gap 1/2 inch of air.

If the engine runs starts OK, runs OK at hwy speeds and passes emissions the compression and intake/exhaust should be OK.

The can fuel filter seldom plugs up. This would show up as poor acceleration at all speeds.

The 4 cylinder has a MAP sensor which seldom fails. One sign of a bad MAP is if the car stalls when you press on the gas. Might disconnect the hose and determine if there is any difference in throttle response.

 

sometimes it's better to pay a diagnosis fee to the Toyota dealer.
you're going to be spending more than that just throwing parts at it.



and it doesn't mean you have to hire the dealer to do the work.



I'd also find out where prior owner had it serviced and call them.
Is fair chance this shop told prior guy car needed parts A,B, C and guy then chose to sell it instead, in which case diagnosis is already done.

 

It was / is "a sled" that we got for our teenagers; it had not been serviced properly for some time. What kind of mileage shouold this car be getting, by the way?

 

Overall around 26 mpg, for prolonged hwy travel at steady speeds MPG can reach 32ish.

 

Here's the latest!

Slight mileage improvement after using some top end/fuel injector cleaner. Put in new plugs, plug wires, rotor, distributor cap, and PCV valve, and it now feels a little smoother still....

It satisfactorily idles at about 1-1.2K RPMs when the air is off, but still drops down to 0.7-0.8K RPMs when the air is on; sometimes the "oil idiot light" blinks on when idling with the AC on as well. Also, still a slow RPM rise when faced with high torque situations (uphill starts in particular). I'm thinking: 1) the can fuel filter might be next, or 2) having the compression checked in each cylinder, or 3) perhaps replacing the idle control sensor? Not sure which is most likely to garner a favorable result. AS ALWAYS, FEEDBACK CONTINUES TO BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!

Two items of note, though. 1) It appears this is a California car, as the distributor cap that I replaced was the Cali version. 2)There is an "open hose" near the firewall that appears to start on the intake manifold as a metal hose, then becomes a rubber / insulated component as it winds it way from the passenger to the drivers side and then just leads to nowhere. Looking at a picture of an intake manifold in my Haynes repair manual, the hose looks like it is a permanent fixture on the manifold, so not sure if that might be an element in the poor gas mileage/acceleration or not....

 

Talked to a local who suggested that the idle variability and HP/torque weakness might be improved on with the use of some Sea Foam motor treatment to ungunk the top end of the engine! I know the engine has been mistreated for the most recent 20K-40K miles, so.... Going to give it a try this evening and advise.

 

DONE! Put a third of a can of Sea Foam down the vacuum line (temporarily taken off the brake booster), followed the directions on the can, and WOW, what a difference! More torque, horsepower, the engine knows when to shift, it is amazing.

Combined, the oil change, tune-up, fuel injector cleaner, and Sea Foam have gotten this previously abused car purring like a cat! It really is true that this Camry is built like a tank, to have taken so much abuse and still come out running like a champ!

And yes, pouring over the Haynes manual and this forum's threads, talking to everybody I know, and spending hour after hour under the hood all combined to make a difference too! Thanks to all....