From: John on
Hello.

I have a 1999 camry CE (4-cyl) with about 250K kilometers on it.
Lately, it's been having a strange problem. When I first turn it on
and start to drive it, it runs perfectly. But, after it's been driven
for 10 or 15 minutes, it starts to shake a bit. It's less noticeable
at highway speeds, but it's incredibly noticeable when I hit the
brakes. It's as if I was pressing them, then letting them go, then
pressing them, then letting them go, but really fast, making the car
jerk. As the car slows down, the frequency of the jerkiness also slows
down. Kind of like what anti-lock brakes would do if you really
slammed them on, though this car doesn't have anti-lock brakes.

Then, when I'm idling, there's something like a scraping noise coming
from somewhere in the back end of the car. However, it doesn't always
happen. It used to happen maybe once every 2 or 3 months, but lately
it's been more frequent. There are times when I can drive the car and
it won't happen at all, but there are other times when it's constant
whenever I'm idling. It's pretty loud, and therefore very annoying. My
car idles around 500 RPM... if I bring the RPM up to around 800, the
noise goes away. However, this means that when I'm at a stop light, I
need to keep one foot on the brake and the other one slightly pressing
the accelerator. That'll probably kill my gas mileage, not to mention
the fact that it's probably not exactly the safest thing to do.

I haven't brought the car in to a dealer yet, because they always want
to charge me thousands of dollars to "fix" things that aren't really
broken, and I simply can't afford that.

Does anyone have any thoughts on what the problem could be?

Thanks.

John
From: ransley on
On Apr 2, 8:49 am, John <jrtwy...(a)gmail.com> wrote:
> Hello.
>
> I have a 1999 camry CE (4-cyl) with about 250K kilometers on it.
> Lately, it's been having a strange problem. When I first turn it on
> and start to drive it, it runs perfectly. But, after it's been driven
> for 10 or 15 minutes, it starts to shake a bit. It's less noticeable
> at highway speeds, but it's incredibly noticeable when I hit the
> brakes. It's as if I was pressing them, then letting them go, then
> pressing them, then letting them go, but really fast, making the car
> jerk. As the car slows down, the frequency of the jerkiness also slows
> down. Kind of like what anti-lock brakes would do if you really
> slammed them on, though this car doesn't have anti-lock brakes.
>
> Then, when I'm idling, there's something like a scraping noise coming
> from somewhere in the back end of the car. However, it doesn't always
> happen. It used to happen maybe once every 2 or 3 months, but lately
> it's been more frequent. There are times when I can drive the car and
> it won't happen at all, but there are other times when it's constant
> whenever I'm idling. It's pretty loud, and therefore very annoying. My
> car idles around 500 RPM... if I bring the RPM up to around 800, the
> noise goes away. However, this means that when I'm at a stop light, I
> need to keep one foot on the brake and the other one slightly pressing
> the accelerator. That'll probably kill my gas mileage, not to mention
> the fact that it's probably not exactly the safest thing to do.
>
> I haven't brought the car in to a dealer yet, because they always want
> to charge me thousands of dollars to "fix" things that aren't really
> broken, and I simply can't afford that.
>
> Does anyone have any thoughts on what the problem could be?
>
> Thanks.
>
> John

I never go to dealers unless it warranty work, they charge 2-3x more
than my mechanic. 500 rpm is to low 6-700 is better. When car is cold
the gas mixture is richer, when it warms up is when you have an issue.
It sounds like a simple tune up is needed, the scraping in rear is
probably something loose. Fine a good local mechanic. If my car ran at
500 rpm it would not idle well.
From: Jason James on

"John" <jrtwynam(a)gmail.com> wrote in message
news:a1ad2a17-5b8e-4422-83b2-768e6a2b087c(a)u31g2000yqb.googlegroups.com...
> Hello.
>
> I have a 1999 camry CE (4-cyl) with about 250K kilometers on it.
> Lately, it's been having a strange problem. When I first turn it on
> and start to drive it, it runs perfectly. But, after it's been driven
> for 10 or 15 minutes, it starts to shake a bit. It's less noticeable
> at highway speeds, but it's incredibly noticeable when I hit the
> brakes. It's as if I was pressing them, then letting them go, then
> pressing them, then letting them go, but really fast, making the car
> jerk. As the car slows down, the frequency of the jerkiness also slows
> down. Kind of like what anti-lock brakes would do if you really
> slammed them on, though this car doesn't have anti-lock brakes.

Your disks are out of round,...I'd leave it, unless it became grossly so.


> Then, when I'm idling, there's something like a scraping noise coming
> from somewhere in the back end of the car. However, it doesn't always
> happen. It used to happen maybe once every 2 or 3 months, but lately
> it's been more frequent.

Exhaust is rattling against the body or rear suspension,..no biggy,..leave
it unless it really shits you.

There are times when I can drive the car and
> it won't happen at all, but there are other times when it's constant
> whenever I'm idling. It's pretty loud, and therefore very annoying. My
> car idles around 500 RPM.

Should be higher,..minimum 800,..ideal 1100 or so with AC on too.

... if I bring the RPM up to around 800, the
> noise goes away.

Its the exhaust,..dont worry about it.

However, this means that when I'm at a stop light, I
> need to keep one foot on the brake and the other one slightly pressing
> the accelerator. That'll probably kill my gas mileage, not to mention
> the fact that it's probably not exactly the safest thing to do.
>
> I haven't brought the car in to a dealer yet, because they always want
> to charge me thousands of dollars to "fix" things that aren't really
> broken, and I simply can't afford that.
>
> Does anyone have any thoughts on what the problem could be?

If you really want to see what is happening,..set the car up to make the
noise WHILE it is jacked up at the back,..get a friend to keep the car in
that state while YOU go and check out the exhaust from roughly the rear door
backwards,.....you will see where the noise is eminating from.

Jason