I bought a new 2021 Camry and lately, after 2.5 years of ownership different electronic stuff was acting weird, like starting, locking, and today I got a message that says "RCD not available" and the steering felt really strange all of sudden. Thanks to your videos, I suspected the battery and had it changed. Can you believe that I had to recalibrate the steering to get the steering back to normal?? Luckily I found a video on Youtube on getting into the service menu, but I can't believe a simple battery can cause so many issues and be so complicated on these cars!!
it's all to please the climate regulator gods. Don't you know that hydraulic power steering kills the planet (sarcasm)
{black}:laughingoutloud: And the road feel with ( LE model's) electronic steering is horrible!
Yes.
I agree. Too much tech. Too complicated.
Yeah, an average driver is not going to figure this out on his own and the low end service shops like most dealers and rental agencies might even adjust it wrong. I saw three videos and two out of three had it wrong!
Unfortunately they're pretty much all like that these days. That's one of the reasons I stick with older models that may have seemed complex back in the day but are trivial to deal with compared to the technical nightmares that newer cars have become.
At first glance all the safety tech is good, especially for the distracted or inattentive driver, and I'm all for passive safety advances, but the tech comes with a price that you don't realize up front... more trips to the mechanic, less road and pedal feel, etc. Is there an era that had the right amount? What years would you recommend?
The sweet spot to have something reasonably modern but not overly complicated seems to be around 1996-2010. The problem of course is that while the cars are easier to work on you have to deal with age-related issues. (The newest vehicle I've ever owned is a 1999 model.)
yeah early 2000's were a good time
it's crazy ... some cars need reprogramming at the dealership, just to change a stupid window switch. Blower motors ... no longer resistors and relays (easy to replace). It has its own stinking control module. I'm actually afraid of what my next car will have to be. Forget MacGyver'ing a solution on the side of the road any more.
No kidding, I am scared that the good, older cars are going to be very hard to find when I need a car in the future.
I have a friend that is 74 years old, and her 2005 Camry just got totaled and she asked if I could help her find a newer one.
Looking up the reviews on anything past 2006 is just scary, The amount of complaints goes up the newer they get.
Even Corollas past 2008 started having more complaints.
It scares me to make a recommendation because the amount of possible issues they have has just gone way up, and many people complained because they appear to be building them cheaper, lacking the quality they once did.
I hope some car companies start going out of business because of making garbage, and maybe it will scare the others into remembering that reliability, and quality are something people want, not just gadgets.
I miss the days when the gas pedal was connected to a cable
I don't miss IAC valves that were frequently acting up and needed cleaning.