This past week my Camry Hybrid is now 3yrs old. Time for some reflection...

It is the 13th car I've ever owned (7th new car) and I would have to say it has rated #2 in enjoyment to drive (after my 89 Firebird) and #2 for reliability/quality behind my 04 Sienna.

Enjoyment Factor

The sign of a fun ride is noticed when even after years of ownership you can still look forward to getting into that car for a simple 20 minute drive. While my Firebird was a shining example of the art of poor quality manufacturing, it was still a super fun ride throughout the 8 years I had it. Any drive in my Camry continues to be enjoyable event too, although for different reasons that the bird. I am still usually fascinated with the hybrid drive setup and regularly drive with the goal to try to push the fuel economy just a bit better. I've found that hunting for the best fuel economy is often more art than science. It still surprises me how some techniques, speed choices, etc. one day will yield great FE, then the next day something different works better. Every once in a while when all the variables line up: the road, the traffic, the wind, the temp, my mood; they all combine to yield absolutely stunning fuel economy. While somewhat rare, those are great days!

I've always hated automatic transmissions (the Firebird was a V8 with manual 5spd which greatly contributed to its #1 fun ride rating) but the smooth power delivery of the CVT setup is awesome. I have also found the electric drive and traction control systems make this the most competent mild mannered winter driving vehicle I've ever owned. I quite enjoy driving in snow with it. I've had other FWD vehicles with and without traction control that could outperform in snow, but only at the expense of style and grace.

On downsides, I find the suspension a bit harsh, bumps are somewhat more jarring than I have experienced on many of my other cars. I also find, while fine at most speeds, the steering/tracking is less than 100% competent at higher highway speeds (>115kph/70mph). It tends to need more of those little adjustments to stay true in the lane. As far as noise goes, I've had 2 common rattles previously discussed in past postings. The car did have the console crickets issue which I easily fixed myself with felt pads. It also has the dash clunking issue when temp is cold, but it hasn't been a big deal to me. I have it partially under control with some foam strip between the windshield and dash. Fortunately it is virtually the same colour as the dash so its not generally noticeable. My biggest disapointment with noise is from wind noise. I find if there is any cross wind component at all, a noticeable wind whistle can be heard at speeds > 80kph/50mph. Fortunately 80-90% of my driving is city so again it's not a big deal to me most of the time.

Reliability/Quality

So in 3 yrs I had 1 key/remote replaced under warranty because it started to consume batteries every few weeks. I also had to have the rear brake pads replaced, because one of the pads stuck against the rotor. I began noticing a squeal and one day after a short drive and I was examining each rotor, I discovered 3 cool to the touch and the other burning hot. They covered half under warranty. My fuel economy took a nice upturn after that, no surprise there. I had hoped that the whole regen braking thing would see me well into the future before needing brake work (I work hard at only using gentle braking to maximize regen), but mechanical brakes can still mess up for other reasons too. I can still hope for the front brakes I guess. I also suffer from the occasional no volume issue switching to AM radio that has been mentioned by other early Camry owners. My solution is easy, cycle through the mode button until it comes back to AM and sound is restored. I've heard others have had tougher problems on that issue, but for me its only happened about 4 or 5 times and the fix is always quick and easy mode cycle. Only other issues are the noise issues mentioned above.

I had to give the #1 rating to my Sienna though, because even after 6 years it continues to deliver a quiet, solid, comfortable ride and it has seen a lot worse service than the Camry. It's needed a couple of minor fixes recently, but it's first 3 yrs are unmatched by anything else.

Most of my other new cars not mentioned (86 Lebaron GTS, 89 Firebird, 94 Cutless Supreme, 97 Venture, and 00 Montana) generally needed regular odd repairs for one thing or another, and all but the 97 Venture experienced at least one major driveability issue during their first 3 yrs.

 

Andy, thank you for this wonderful bit of reflection on the three years of ownership. I will try to do the same, as mine is turning 3 next month, and I already have 58,589 miles. You didn't mention the mileage on your car, or is is called kilometerage? LOL

 

Nice review...
I don't believe I've had any major driveability issue on any of my cars in their first six or seven years (our first new car was an 86 Camry followed by 88 Jeep, 92 Voyager, 96 Avalon, 98 Honda CRV and 08 TCH).
Not sure, but I think my wife's Voyager needed a warranty covered new transmission after 3 years?
Since you've been unfortunately blighted by mechanical problems within a short period of time more as a rule than an exception, may I ask if you are particularly hard on your cars?
Three years is not an old car...what kind of issues have you been having?

 

Strangely, most people I know still call it mileage...

 

Andy,
Great review, but now I have to find the post with the console cricket fix.

 

Yea, kind of funny, even for metric we still say "mileage". One of those words that will move beyond it's original roots.

 

Ah, you had to ask... Hmmm, how good is my memory..

86 Lebaron GTS: head gasket (didn't stand a chance, it was a turbo model), transmission linkage failed, computer faulted in cold (car would rev from 1000rpm to 4000rpm in continual cycles at "idle"), wheel bearing failure

89 Firebird: transmission fault (5th gear would make a lot of noise, they redid clutch, rebuilt tranny and made no diff, finally replaced the whole thing, took many days), ignition system failed, wiper controls failed (turn on and off as they pleased), frost plug popped and dumped all my coolant on the highway (in summer btw).

94 Olds: throttle cable snapped, injectors often gummed up and caused misfires. (but this one was still one of my favs)

97 Venture: The first without a driveability issue, but it needed the computer replaced because the door locks could not be reprogrammed, the power sliding door needed to be fixed every 3 to 6 months.

00 Montana: Frequently stalled for the first 3 weeks we had it until finally dead. Took dealer 3 days to find some electric short in the system. This van had opposed wipers, one day they got into a fight and beat the scrap out of each other. The drivers side won fortunately. Audio system failed.

 

Nice review! I too still look forward to driving my wife's car, (three years old next month). The only issues we've had are the steering recall and of course the run-in with the deer.

 

In the 3 years I have had mine, I have replaced the stereo (Nav screen was stuck on Toyota Logo), rear brakes, tires, water pump, and had body work done when a tree branch crunched the roof and pushed the sunroof into the car. Other than that... 75,000 miles and still getting great mileage.

 

Did you pay for the water pump? If so, how much?