Hello Scotty. I've watched you for quite some time and I absolutely value every tidbit of information I get from you. I bought a 14 Camry 2.5 auto last July. I don't like it I know it's having very slight transmission issue I can feel it, and they keep saying it's fine. I lost my last car a 14 Impala I loved to an unknown issue I now know was also Torque converter shutter, because I feel it ever so slightly in this Camry too. Now its making an odd noise when I put it in gear almost like a throwout bearing on a 5 speed, that same rattle type sound. It has another appt at Toyota next week to get it looked at but I'm not hopeful they will say it is what it is and fix it under the warranty enhancements. Its "worth more" now than I paid for it last yr. Carmax offered me just enough to buy it back to pay it off. I'm thinking about getting out from under it completely. I need a car that's not spendy, a sedan or maybe small SUV. What can I possibly look at that don't have a trashy transmission? I looked at an Outlander and saw it has CVT so it bummed me out. I had a Rogue rental when my Yota was in the shop last time and that thing was garbage lol. Can you help me Scotty? I thought I bought a lifetime car with this Camry and I got one of the one's I guess wasn't so good. Thank you Mr Kilmer for all your honesty and well not just car information but also your wise common sense. Sincerely,
Spring in Tennessee
Get something with a manual transmission. No more automatic headaches.
Those particular years and models of Camry were screw ups by Toyota. If you had bought a V6 or newer one you would have been fine. Just see whats available out there and do some research to make sure it isn't a lemon before you buy it.
The 2012-2014 Toyota Camry’s with the 2.5 L I4 mated to the 6-speed automatic transmission had issues and we tell members to avoid those model years:
The later model years in that generation (which ended for 2017 model year) were not as bad wrt to the transmission, especially if it had the V6 engine. You may look into buying one of those.
In any event, I would get rid of your Toyota Camry in this HOT seller’s market before things get worse.
As for replacement, Toyota still makes good products and in case you might still have a bad taste in your mouth from the Camry, I would recommend an Avalon instead or a Lexus ES350 (for sedans) or a RAV4 for a small CUV (but you will pay a lot more for one than the sedans).
I would forget about the Nissan and Mitsubishi products you are looking at.
As far as your current transmission, DayWalker is absolutely correct,
I need a car that's not spendy, a sedan or maybe small SUV. What can I possibly look at that don't have a trashy transmission?
Almost all new cars have junk transmissions, even those that still have conventional automatics have terrible quality issues. I can tell it by my new car and from many posts on this form.
The two ultimate commuter cars:
- LATE PRODUCTION 10th generation E150 Corolla (4/5 speed automatic)
- 3rd generation Mazda3/6 2.0/2.5 NA (6 speed automatic)
BUT, try to find one that's reasonably low milage. people don't replace the transmission fluid on these and it cases most issues.
