Wow! This thread sure took off. I have some updates.

I just took the car in this morning to get the steering wheel aligned and the moonroof repaired and was told it would be finished by this evening. The tech was very good about explaining the cause of the problems and what they were going to do to fix them. He said that the steering wheel alignment problem was due to differences in spec between the new and old intermediate shaft. Apparently, they just remove the shaft without disturbing the steering wheel and pop the new one in. I have a feeling that something was moved during the procedure that caused the wheel to be off center, but I'll be content if it's ultimately fixed.

I just got a call on the status of my car and was told that they will need to keep it another day. For some reason, they need to replace the glass in the moonroof now (broke during repair?) and can't get the part until tomorrow. Apparently, Toyota knows about this popping moonroof issue and have released a new part to fix it. It is "insulation" that is installed on the track. I was hoping it was just an alignment issue as mentioned by an earlier poster. I'll post an update tomorrow when I hear more.

After dealing with the friendly service techs, I feel a bit better about my vehicle and Toyota in general. It seemed as though it was a priority for them to get this car fixed perfectly for me ASAP. I wish I was offered a free rental (so I don't need to get a ride to/from work), but I'll live.

 

I just wanted to say to a soon to be TCH owner, i have owned my 2007 TCH since the beginning of August of '07 and have had NO issues with squeaking/rattling or anything else for that matter. I am really pleased with the car. I think that with all cars......especially one as popular as a Camry, you are going to have a few issues. There are so many of them out there!! I'm happy with the quality of the car and it was assembled in Lexington Kentucky. Most of the new TCH's are built there now since about mid November of '06. I'm sure you will be pleased!

 

I'll second that. Not to belittle the problems that some have had - but mine has been outstanding in every respect. Even the odd thing I have complained about is really minor, and just satisifies my occasional need to whine.

 

It seems as though the early adopters (I bought mine June 2006) with vehicles built in Japan are having the majority of these minor (but annoying) issues. It seems as though Toyota fixed these manufacturing problems relatively soon. Despite my car troubles, I firmly believe that Toyota is concerned about the latest blemish in their reputation and will take steps to prevent these manufacturing defects in the future. In my opinion, I think they simply rushed the 2007 Camry out too quickly and didn't have enough time to discover these problems before shipping the cars out. Mechanical reliability is the most important factor for me and this car seems to be just as tough as earlier models in this respect. I'd be interested in seeing some statistics comparing the number of defects between 2007 and 2008 model year Camrys.

PS. Still no word on the status of my car.

 

Bought mine June of 06 too. Still no major problems with it, though the bits of squeakiness would probably drive some crazy--I don't really know how my squeaks compare to those others get.

But Wednesday I did have one little moment of weirdness. As I occasionally find myself with serious frost on the _inside_ of the windshield, I'm occasionally trying to do the simple solution--crack the car open while it's off to let the humidity out so it doesn't condense/freeze. Not sure why it's so humid (downside of not using the heat much, it's not "conditioning" the air much?), but I've had a few days of serious inside frost. Anyway Wed night leaving work it was like that, so when I was approaching the gym I started to try to crack the moonroof (up). It stuck for a moment, then opened--sliding back I think? Then sliding forward. Then opening up. Turned out, as far as I could tell, using any moonroof control in any direction it would go through open/close in both directions (up/back) and back in a cycle. Kind of weirded me out, but after I shut it off and came back from the gym it's working fine again. Some kind of odd result of it sticking at first? None of the windows wanted to open at the time either, all being frosted shut or something.

But still, 18+ months and no problems with the car itself (except I'm still bummed I need to put gas in it sometimes!! ).

 

It sounds like you're describing the moonroof calibration cycle, 'though I don't know why it would go into that by itself - I can't even make mine do it on-purpose, even following the directions in the service manual (not that I needed to - was just playing).

 

Stephen,

As far as the MoonRoof cycling, it sounds as if, for some weird reason, it may have been doing its initialization bit. From the repair manual that was posted MANY moons ago:If it would have just been cycling up and down or back and forth, I would have ventured a guess that it may have been the jam-protection feature coming into play, but since it was "going all over the place", it sounds like re-initialization.

Somewhere I read about there being a procedure concerning initialization of the power windows, but can't find it now.

From what you wrote, this sound like a queer bit got loose in the circuit and finally fell out.

Now, concerning your recent frost build-up: This has recently been mentioned over on PriusChat. IIRC, the general consensus was this is caused by: the humidity of YOUR exhaust (breath, not the other one); having the RECIRC set to internal so the humid air will not be exchanged; not having the A/C on, which will not dehumidify the air. The Prius-types who have had this problem recommend turning on A/C about 3-5 minutes before arriving home to dehumidify the interior air.

 

Hm. Interesting possibility. It does seem to be working fine now, but maybe next service visit I should have them check to make sure it's properly calibrated still--unless I can force it myself and don't need to (or something weirder happens and I can't wait).

As for frost, when I did a search I just found "humidity, crack a window". I can certainly imagine my minimal heating use (so it doesn't AC-dry the air) is a factor, but as long as it's not snowing/raining/etc I'm cool with cracking the roof, hehe. And as for where the humidity's coming from... might be me breathing, but it's also been snowy, and first snowstorm when I opened the door a bunch of snow fell on the driver's seat & floor. I guessed that was the culprit for the first couple of frostings. At this point, who knows. But I've also had random days in warmer weather when the rear windshield was randomly all condensed up. I dunno.

 

I live in Florida, so I rarely have to be concerned with frost. ;-) But we have constant humidity, and occasional cold days. And we drive up north occasionally, as we did just last month.

Every toyota I have had, over a period of more than 20 years, has had a problem with condensation on the inside of the windows if I do any of several things: 1. Run the heat without recirculating the air, in humid weather (due to humid outside air); 2. Run the heat with recirculating, for too long (due to humid exhaled human breath).

To avoid the condensation, I just run the AC with the heat. I know it does wonders for the gas mileage, but at least I can see out the window and avoid the crash. The AC functions as a dehumidifier. It makes the heater less effective at heating, but in weather that is warm enough to be humid that really doesn't matter.

In dry conditions (sub-freezing weather), the outside air would not be humid, and so you might be able to run the heat without the AC. But, if you recirculate the air, the exhaled breath will add water to the inside air and cause the same problem. Some outside air, or some dehumidification, is needed to prevent condensation in the closed cabin.

I do notice that on the TCH, in chilly but-not-frozen weather, If I push the 'auto' button and then raise the temperature, it keeps the AC on while the heater is running. (At least, the little light on the AC button is lit, so I think it's on.) That makes me thing Toyota is aware of this problem, and has programed the machine accordingly.

So, that is probably the thing to do. Just let it "automatic" to the temperature that you want, and don't worry about exactly what it does. And, if it somehow starts to get condensation anyway, either let in some dry air or run the dehumidifier (AC) for a few minutes.

 

I got my car back from the dealership fri night. I'm so relieved! It's like a brand new car again... No crunching in the steering and the steering wheel is aligned perfectly. To be on the safe side, I haven't tried the moonroof yet. I want to wait until is a little warmer (tomorrow will be in the upper 40's, which is plenty "warm"). I have a feeling that all the manufacturing glitches likely have surfaced by now and are now fixed. I'm hoping for a reliable, high quality car that will last me years, just like in my previous Toyotas.

UPDATE: Moonroof moves silky smooth.