Front noise if passing over bumps. I have been told this very common to toyota camrys for this year the dealer states the only way to get rid of the noise is to replace the front struts at cost to me.
1998 Toyota Camry suspension complaints
Page 2 of 4: complaints 11 to 40 of 71, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I bought my car new in may 1998. I had the brakes replaced at least 3 times the first time being 11/8/99. I have complained several times of front end noise, car drifting, and steering vibrations. Each time I was told it was either incorrect tire pressure, out of balance or alignment. Most of the time I was told the noise is normal road noise and the drifting is normal drifting. I think something needs to be done about this. My car is no longer under warranty. I bought a new car to avoid having to pay for all these expensive repairs and because I had a 7 month old baby. I now have two children and sometimes I am afraid to drive them in my car. My car still makes the noise, drifts, steering wheel vibrations. I have even reported clunking noises from the bottom of the car and was told it needed to be greased or the bolts tightened. It seems toyota has known about this problem all along and decided to do nothing about it. Toyota should be forced to fix all the vehicles with this condition. It shouldn't take someone's death before something is done. I am a first toyota buyer and very disappointed. I can not afford to fix a suspension system that was defective at the time of purchase, nor should I have to for a $20,000 car that is barely 5 years old with only 53,000 miles on it. I thought the mechanics were right about normal noise until I saw all the complaints about the suspension system. Please help. Thank you. Jb
The suspension of my 1998 camry le has been having noises when pass the speed humps for two years. I went to the dealer and they said they have heard some complaints about this problem, but there is no recall yet. It make me very concerned.
Just before 30,000 miles my right font suspension began to rattle occasionally. The car now has 93,000 miles and the rattle is still heard now and then. Numerous trips to the shop have not turned up any cause.
Front suspension, noise when driving over bumps, uneven pavement. Sounds like something is loose. Dealer suggests trying different parts but none seems to correct the problem. Its getting expensive and the problem is still there. The service tech stated his wife has the same car and it has the same problems and was not sure how to correct it. He also stated the toyota solara was having the same problems.
Front suspention sounds loose when going over bumps in rapid concession. Getting louder every day and can't pinpoint the problem
Front supension makes clunking and banging noise when driving over even small pot holes. Noise gets much worse with larger pot holes. Noise started around 25k miles.suspect front struts and strut mounts.
Consumer stated that while driving and without warning the front right struts snapped causing a distraction to the consumer. Dealer notified. Ts
The suspension system was faulty which caused a knocking and squeaking noise while driving. The dealer is aware of the problem. *mr
Problems with rear suspension bottoming out going over dips, bumps, etc. Have become more pronounced over time. Anytime you have any passengers, even one small child, in rear seat, the car bottoms out and scrapes the street surface. Even backing out of our driveway, which is slightly elevated, causes the rear to bottom out and scrape the driveway. When driving at the speed limit, it will bottom out on slightly rough road. We have contacted the dealership's service department but they have advised us that there is nothing that can be done about the problem. They are very aware of the problem with the suspension but insist that toyota built the car with a soft suspension for a soft ride. The result is a car that bottoms out continously if you have any passengers in the rear of the compartment or a load in the trunk.
The front suspension was excessively shaky. It vibrated and made a lot of noise when going over a rough road. From my research on this subject at the federal safety agency web site, there are 52 reports of this problem with the 1998 toyota camry model. I had the problem fixed at a dealership in louisiana. They replaced the strut mounts on both the right and left side of the front suspension at a cost of $420.82. They told me this was not covered under warranty or recall by toyota. It is my wish that toyota be held responsible for what is a design defect in the '98 camry.
No summary listed for above vehicle.
Recurrnet noise from front end since day one, especially going over rough pavement. Dealers serviced once for free, but noise continued. Now that warranty has expired, I am advised that the strut mounts have failed and ned to be replced. Replaced both front strut mounts at cost of $416.58. Service adviser admits toyota has had a problem with this but will not do anything about it. I believe this a potential safety problem that the manufacturer should repair for all owners of camrys.
When vehicle is cold and driver turns hitting or a bumping there's a grinding noise. Took vehicle to dealer, dealer stated that it was strut towers. Please provide any further information.
Front struts experienced leaking, strut mount supports noisy.
I tried working with toyota to resolve there issues, but becasue the warranty time is expired they won't assist in fixing there defects. I was told if I wanted to pay the $2,000.00 bill they would be happy to order the parts. The head lamps are so dim I have nearly hit deers in the road on 5 seperate occasions I know these can't pass fmvss requirement. The drivers seat is loose in the track and rocks when accelerating and stopping. The front struts mounting brackets rattle, shake, vibrate and bang. The steering wheel vibrates while turning. The rear stuts are too weak for the vehicle so people can't ride in the rear or the car bottoms out. The car alarm somtimes works and somtimes doesn't. The burlwood dash is splitting,craking, fading and peeling. I was told by the asst. Service mgr. At the toyota dealership that toyota is aware of all these defects and it's a result of poor engineering and vehicle test validation. I then heard him tell a mechanic "what people think just because it's a toyota it doesn't ever break" he then laughed and said these cars are the worst. I think we need some help in making toyota fix there known defects because this is uncalled for.
Vehicle shakes and vibrates while driving the and alignment is off. Dealership will be aware of problem.*ak
While traveling at high speeds there was vibration in vehicle, and it was difficult to control. Dealership has examined vehicle, and could not determine a cause to the problem. Please provide any additional information / attachments.
When attempting to make a right hand turn stablizer bar split, dealer has not been contacted. *ak as a result of the stabilizer bar breaking the driver lost control of the vehicle and ended up in a ditch.
Since buying my toyota in april of 1998, I have needed to replace the brakes and rotors 3 times. I still continue to have screeching and grinding noises. I have been told by toyota dealerships that this noise has been a noted problem. I find this to be unacceptable for a "new" car, I bought a new car to avoid making repairs and I have made more on this toyota and its bad breaks than I would have spent on keeping my used rodeo. I mean with regular mainantence check, oil change, car payments, $200 brake jobs every 8 to 12 months, this is ridiculous. I have also had problems with clunking noises coming from my front suspension, especially if I go over a rough road. For a company that has a reputation for superior cars, this has been a disappointing first buy as I find the car to have a very, very poor braking system and suspension. From reading your technical bulletins, there has been 90 reported complaints on the brakes and 31 reported complaints on the suspension. How many more complaints need to be filed before a recall on these brakes are done?
Service dept. Said strut mounts were backlogged and would probably take more than 1 1/2 to 2 months to come in. Do not drive car on highway but o.k. To and from work locally.
Whenever vehicle ran over a bump/pothole, etc., it caused hard banging noise under front of vehicle. Dealer notified, and informed consumer that vehicle out of its warranty, and not covered under a recall. *ak consumer states that dealer says strut parts are on back order due to the problem being nationwide.
Front suspension started rattling at around 40,000 miles. Took to dealer. Dealer acknowledged technical service bulletins have been issued regarding the problem and repaired the defective components at a cost to me of $342.00. Toyota refused to cover under warranty. I know from the federal safety agency complaints and consumer reports data that this is a very common problem. However, toyota refuses to cover as I am over the 36,000 mile warranty limit.
Poor braking system and suspension; disappointing first toyota buy.
Both front tires experienced abnormal tread wear on the inside, the worst of the two front tires was worn to the casing and was discarded when it developed a leak, possibly related to the tires or the front end suspension system. Nlm
Driving at highway speeds with 2 children & luggage car "bottom outs" when going over highway dips.
Brakes continue to fail intermittently even though a brake kit was installed at 4,000 miles. New master cylinder was installed as well. At times brakes go all the way to the floor and car does not stop. Suddenly loud noise happens and car jerks and stops. All struts have been replaced and solved crunching noises. Relay switch installed to solve lock problem. Car is falling apart before my eyes!!
When making a sudden stop brakes will experience a longer stopping distance intermittently. Dealer cannot determine defect. *ak dealer would make so called adjustments, however would not remedy the problem, a brake specialist detected brake problem, but could not find the exact problem, consumer feels brakes are unmatching parts or something along those lines that does not allow for repair, the dealer has adjusted rear brakes, replaced brake pads, machined rotors, replaced rear wheel cylinders. Consumer states vehicle is too low to the ground, vehicle would scrape the ground while entering and exiting driveway that had a very small peak, dealer stated strusts were fine, consumer feels struts are defective. Vehicle has a loud engine noise and idles high on a cold start, dealer adjusted the timing belt. Left sun visor is loose, dealer tightened, visor mirrors were crackedm dealer replaced. Air conditioner has an odor when in use. Tires keep losing air, found tires were missing a valve stem. Engine light illuminated, dealer replaced air fuel sensor, engine stalls at times when starting, deale replaced the iac valve. Right headlamp is dim, dealer ordered new bulb assembly, bulb shorted. Consumer contacted previous owner of vehicle who stated that there were many brake problem that the dealer could not fix, manufacturer told her that some of these vehicles were made with an ill fitting part that would eventually be recalled, previous owner had returned vehicle due to these brake problems, when current owner bought vehicle toyota hid the fact that vehicle was leased and that it had experienced these brake problems.
Defective front & rear struts. Dealer has added strut plates & replaced all 4 struts. Caused front tires to fail @ 12,000 mi. Struts are loose & rattle. I was told by dealer that this is a "design defect" of the 1998-1999 camry. Multiple tsb's and complaints exist for this problem. Dealer said he has a one month lead time on ordering front strut plates since so many vehicles are affected by this potentially hazardous problem. Toyota uses the strut plates as a quick fix instead of redesigning the suspension. No real solution exists for problem due to design limitations. *ak( dot number: tire size: p205/65r15 )
In 18 months 8 alignments and 3 sets of tires and the car still vibrates.
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