I am a new member and have been experiencing difficulties with my 2001 Camry since the beginning of November. When I take my foot off of the accelerator and begin to apply the brake the engines stalls. There is a bit of warning as I see the idle bounce between 250-750 before the engine shuts down. This happens sometimes 1-2 times a week after about 20-30 minutes of driving. The speed that it dies varies anywhere from 20-35 miles per hour. If I put my foot on the gas (after the car is in nuetral) it doesn't stall, but it drives roughly. The huge problem is that I can't brake after the car dies and I have come close to getting into numerous accidents. I have had it in to two different dealers who cannot replicate the problem. I keep hearing that everyhting is fine and then it dies again while I'm driving it. I am extremely frustrated with the fact that no one can fix the problem. My fuel injectors were just cleaned and the ECM was replaced - obviously not the problem since it continues to happen. Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

ask your dealer to check the intake hose as this could be split and where the engine leans forward when breaking it causes the hose to stretch a little creating an opening in the hose... this bypasses the air intake management system

see a pic of an older camry below

Thank you very much for the advice! The car is at the dealer now so I will mention that to them today!

it happened to me and sounded familiar.. but it might not be that.. just another suggestion

I spoke with the service manager and he said that that was something he had already checked. I do appreciate your reply, however.

I have a 1994 Camry stalling with no warning and under similar (but also broader) situations. After 2 months of mechanics, I finally got one to disconnect the EGR system (bypassing the EGR valve) and we appear to have "fixed" the stalling problem (would stall on hard break, sometimes while idling at a stoplight or accelerating from a complete stop at a sign). You don't "need" the EGR to drive the car, so its something that can be dissengaged for a few days to troubleshoot your problem.

Thanks for the advice - I will check into that as a possible solution!

Alas, I spoke too soon. The stalling and high revving in park is back...and the car is back in the shop after 4-5 days of perfect running. Next thing to look at is the distributor (ignition coils?--I am pretty ignorant on this) according to my mechanic who has ruled out the EGR thanks the to problem coming back AFTER we disconnected the EGR. We also noticed very little dirt on a now 4 month old air filter making ME wonder if there is a problem with general air-flow in the engine. Nothing clogging the intake leading to the filter, but man that filter is as clean as the day we took it out of the box.

DID YOU EVER GET YOUR PROBLEM RESOLVED?

I just discovered this club so I hope that I am placing this query in the correct location. I have a 1996 Camry, 4 cyl. with manual transmission. It now has about 190,000 miles on it and generally runs well. However starting when it had perhaps 50,000 miles, in cold weather, and sometimes in wet weather it will stall repeatedly when first started if one does not keep up the rpms using the accelerator. It is as though the automatic choke does not function properly. Sometimes the problem does not occur, and sometimes it is much worse than others, e.g. will repeat during the day when car has sat for three or four hours.

My otherwise very good mechanic has "tried everything" and can not fix it. He reports that a number of other Camry customers have had the same problems. Any ideas?

The saga continues...

We, as of Friday January 9, have discovered a bad TPS (Throttle Position Sensor) and bad MAP (Manifold Air? Pressure) sensor on my regularly but randomly stalling, fluctuating RPM at idle, 104,000 mile, 1994 Camry. Hope to have both replaced next week. No idea what the parts cost, though. Anyone paid for a TPS or MAP? Looking for estimates on parts cost. Thanks.

I have seen toyota stalling problems first hand. One with a 92' Corolla and now with a 94' Camry. Both 4 cylinder cars. On the Corolla, I brought it to 5 different mechanics including a dealership that put it on the computer only to find nothing coming up as defective.
As a last resort after dealing with it for several months and a recommendation from another mechanic who did not want to change a part unless he was certain it was defective, my son changed the distributor. Hurray success at last. That was last year.

Now our 94 Camry with 172,000 is showing similar problems.

So, we took care of the obvious routine maintainance stuff like distributor cap, wire, rotor, fuel filter, PC valve, plugs. You guessed it. Sometimes running great, sometimes stalling.
So yesterday we changed the distributor. ($150.00 for a remanufactured one) It may not solve the problem but it's really not a lot of money to replace a part that has provided 10 years of service. So Far it's running great. I will let you know how it goes in a week.

There are other parts that could be defective like the oxyegen sensor on the catalytic converter, or a maps sensor, but when they go the check engine light generally comes on.

By the way, changing the distributor pretty straightforward as long as you do not crank the engine while to old one is out.

Good luck.

I think its the Torque Converter which is causing the stalling. I've done some extensive research, and everything is pointing to this part.

(Torque converter clutch) which controls the slip speed of your transmissions torque converter at highway speeds.
in normal operation the TCC solenoid opens at about 45mph and commands the torque converter to slip in order to increase gas mileage over long distances. For whatever reason a common occurance has been found with these transmissions, the transmission reaches operating temperature and the TCC solenoid opens it may have a tendency to stick open causing your car to stall when coming to a stop after reaching a speed of 45+. Replacing the TCC solenoid will fix this issue given that you havent damaged the torque converter by excessive occurance of this issue.
(Car must be fully warmed up before the problem will occur. which would explain why it will start after 15 minutes to an hour) I'm not sure this is it but I'll know by next week.

I may not have been as clear as I should have been about the nature of the 1996 4 cyl. manual transmission stalling. It never happens once the car is warmed up and it is not entirely consistent. What happens is that the car, particularly if the outside air is cold and/or wet, and the car has not been driven for a number of hours, will start fine but once I take my foot off the gas the rpms slow and the engine stops instead of maintaining an idle speed. The problem is not always present and sometimes, even on the coldest day, the car idles properly and I don't need to keep my foot on the accelerator in order to keep the car running.

My 2001 Camry was stalling while warm (original post-automatic transmission). Since my car is rather "new" the dealer and district manager worked to get the car repaired. The car finally gave a code leading to the throttle position sensor which tested ok. They finally replaced the throttle position sensor (anyway), EGR valve, vacuum switching valve, and temperature sensor. So far the car hasn't stalled. I am keeping my fingers crossed! I hope this helps someone else, too!

The 1994 Camry that I put the new distributor in screwed up again. I finally broke down and brought the - - - ing car to the dealer, only because I don't have the diagnostic toys they have or the time to figure the damn thing out. I'm sure I'll be a bit poorer by the end of the day.

The guy behind the counter said it sounds like an EGR valve. I'll find out when I pick it up.

I've got a 1996 Camry 4cylinder automatic that exhibits the same stalling upon cold startup as ntl's - starts fine, but stalls if I don't have my foot on the gas.

So I'm stalled at work, and wishing there was a quick fix. Thanks all for recording your experiences. Let me know what ends up working, I'll let you know what I find out.

For ToyotaTom...

You finally broke down and took it to the dealer and they said EGR... Well what do you know. That must be the STANDARD answer as one of our local Toyota dealers said the EXACT SAME THING. In fact, the whole story went like this:

Dealer Mechanic: "Mr Banik, we think we have found your problem. Your engine has a lot of carbon build-up, especially in the throttle body and the EGR valve. We cleaned the throttle body and that didn't seem to improve the car all that much. I've got the EGR system disassembled right now and I can see a lot of carbon--like strands of it, kind of like a magnet when it picks up magnetic dust. The EGR cannot be cleaned, so we will have to replace it. This means you'll be looking at a new EGR valve, sensor, VCV, water pump...yada yada yada [sorry, I cannot remember ALL the parts that were part of this EGR system overhaul]. Its gonna cost ya about $736."

Me:"You cannot 'clean' the EGR valve but you are physically looking at it right now and can see the carbon?!?!"

Dealer Mechanic: "Well, technically I am not looking at it right this moment. Our mechanics have it disassembled and say this is the problem. I am the customer service rep who places the call to you. There is another guy who actually drives the car too. But, yes, an EGR cannot be cleaned. Its very common for these to get dirty and need repair."

Me: "So your mechanic can physically see and touch the carbon, but cannot clean it?"

Dealer SERVICE REP (now that I know what he really is): "Mr Banik, I am not trying to be difficult here. We see this kind of thing on a regular basis. We could probably spray some stuff in there like we did to the throttle body [at a cost of $35 I might add] but it won't help any."

Me: "Put the car back together. Do not replace anything. I will pick it up after work."

Dealer SERVICE REP: "I understand Mr. Banik. That will be $170."

Me: "$170? You told me it was $35 to spray stuff on the throttle body to clean it!"

Dealer SEVICE REP: "Yes, $35 for the cleaning--that's 1/2 hour of service. Plus the diagnostic fee and the time for us to analyze and drive the car to recreate the problem."

Me: "Just get my goddamn car put back together please."
-------------
Long story even longer...

I took all this info back to my neighborhood mechanic who disconnected the EGR to troubleshoot it rather than start throwing parts at it. Car ran well for 2-3 days with EGR disconnected (temperature for those couple of days was a dry 45-50 degrees), then started to exhibit the same stalling symptoms: hard crank to start cold, engine rev high in park/neutral (2000 RPMs), sputter/stall giving gas coming out of complete stop at light and/or stopsign, stall engine completely if shift from high 2000 RPM park to Drive or Reverse, cannot start for 30-60 minutes after stalling. As of late, the car will even LUNGE (due to fluctuating idle RPMs) when sitting at red lights. I almost bumped a guy in front of me the other day WITH THE FOOT ON THE BRAKE!!! Now I two foot drive when the car is not in the shop.

I am getting the TPS (throttle position sensor) replaced today. Mechanic is very sure there is a problem with the TPS he hopes related to the part, and not some other computer component. He is also troubleshooting the MAP (mainfold air pressure?) sensor as he is beginning to think there might be TWO problems manifesting themselves at the same time.

I have same problem with my 95 Camry.
These are the parts I did replaced: Distributor, EGR Valve, Idle Air Control Valve, Spark Plugs + wires, ignition switch, fuel filter.
I also have a mechanic checked these out: TPS, cleaned throttle body, ECM, etc..

BUT THE PROBLEM STILL THERE.

What's next???

MY COROLLA T3 AUTOMATIC SUDDENLY STALLED FOR THE 2ND TIME, DEALERS THOROUGH TESTING REPORTED NO FAULT. NEXT MOTERWAY JOURNEY IN BUSY PEAK TRAFFIC IT STALLED AGAIN AT 70MPH. THIS TIME A NEW COMPUTOR WAS INSTALLED. 1ST MOTORWAY JOURNEY IT HAPPENED YET AGAIN, THIS TIME ALMOST CAUSING A MAJOR ACCIDENT. THE CAR WAS ULIFTED AND BROUGHT BACK TO THE DEALER. I REFUSE TO DRIVE THE CAR AGAIN.
WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF ANY OTHER DRIVERS HAVE HAD SIMILAR EXPERIENCES BEFORE I TAKE FURTHER ACTION. :

Reporting back on my 96 Camry that would stall upon cold start:

Turns out that the IAC Valve was sticking. Followed the directions on cleaning IAC Valve from: [url="http://yotarepair.com/Engine.html"]http://yotarepair.com/Engine.html[/url]

Car's starting and idling fine now...Checked the records, and the car's had 3 of them valves since new.

Sounds like a common problem, and instead of $3 of carb cleaner and a simple procedure, the dealers opt for the $180 part. Typical.

Had engine stalled on my 88 Camry also. This type of problem is very hard to pin point cuz it could be caused by a lot of factors. One thing I want to point out is, it was an electrical problems for my car. Short circuit or open circut could cuase the engine to shut off. Oh yeh, if you have an alarm system, have it check. Hope it helps.

The problem, at a stop car stalls when warm. The car is a 1994 Camry 4 cyl engine, auto tranny, 104,000miles (live in New England where it cold). When cold the car is perfect, no problems. When the car stalls you can generally get it started right away, reving it up will keep it going, but it will stall again.
1) I bought new plugs--they come with a standard gap of 0.044" , can't get the engine started, flooded it several times. Regap the plugs down to 0.020, car runs. Still will stall at stop signs. The bigger the gap the worse it runs. 2) pull a plug with the wire attached (put a dummy back in the engine) nice long spark 1/8" when grounded to the engine. So I wonder if when hot there is a problem with the ignition.
2) pull the cap off of the distributer check the coil before and after a hairdryer application to internal coil--resistance within spec. The gap coil resistance within spec. Try to jam a feeler gage down to test the gap, not really successful. This has to be some type of heat sensitive component.
3) Replace the distributor cap and rotor--regap the plugs to 0.040" runs fine--next morning after warm up starts stalling at every stop.
4) Wonder if it is voltage related--battery voltage ~12 volts, rev up goes to 14+. At idle with all accesories on (defroster, heater max, lights etc) will stall at idle--runs really rough, turn everything off seems better. Huh? Idle speed is about 780RPM.
5) check spec's on TPS--has normal resistance
6) as somebody else said, it seems like it'll run all day on the highway at 65mph
7) I tried a hair dryer on the igniter module and I didn't see any difference.
8) Check engine light never comes on, but checking the codes, when I do the jumper between TE and E1 (I can't remember exactly the pins) the check engine light (Mal) blinks onece a second, but the overdrive "off" light blinks out a 6 and a 1 this makes no sense to me at all.
9) As one gentleman mentioned, some of these problems may have something to do with a lock-up selenoid in the auto tranny. So I watch the tach and it looks like there is a pretty tight coupling between engine and tranny at idle which unlocks when the speed hits about 20mph or second gear
10) I also tried to get the fuel filter out to replace it, but for the life of me I couldn't get the bottom flare fitting off, short of cutting the tube and re-flaring it--but it really doesn't sound like a fuel starve problem as I can drive it 65mph in second gear on Rt. 128 without any cut-out.

I just don't know. The biggest diagnostic is that when the plugs are gapped tight the situation is much better, when standard gap it runs like **&^% when warm.

Discovery made 3/12...

FYI, my mechanic was ready to cave and change the fuel pump/meter/filter but after 30+ minutes of running a fuel line (pressure?) test on the 94 Camry and things coming back normal, he just wasn't ready to take it apart yet. So he quit for a day or two...

Friday he took apart the throttle body again. Put it back together, still no improvement, but noticed an irregularity with air intake. I don't know how exactly to describe what he did, as I only talked to him on the phone, but he first verified there was no clog in the air intake leading to the air filter and leading from the air filter. However, air was not getting in the engine correctly. So, he took the entire assembly off (what exactly constitutes ENTIRELY I am not sure) and drove the car...and stopped the car...and waited...and restarted the car...and drove the car...and stopped the car...and waited..and drove the car...and stopped the car. Everything worked perfectly. Then he put all the crap he took out back in and the car went back to showing its old problems. So, at this point, he is trying to pinpoint a problem that seems to be between the air filter and the engine--or probably more realistically the EGR system as I think that is what the air intake feeds into.

Keep your fingers crossed.

1994 Camry 4cyl auto, 183K miles. The car had run fine since I bought it 1 year ago. One morning it wouldn't start. It turned over just fine, but no fire. Had it towed to dealer. They replaced timing belt, air intake control valve, cleaned the fuel tank?, replaced plugs. The car ran fine for two days, then began to stall once warm, wouldn't idle. I took it back to the dealer, they said it must be the distributor cap, rotor, and plug wires. I just told them to give it back to me, since I can go on a parts hunt just as easily. Anyway I replaced the distributor cap, rotor, plugs, wires, fuel filter, PCV valve. It ran a little better for a few days, but then right back to the stalling when warmed up. It finally died and wouldn't start again. Had it towed back to the dealer. I got the service manager to look at it, and he immediately said "It's the distributor". They replaced the distributor ($473) and all seems good. I'll let you know if it holds up since I've seen others in this space say that the distributor was replaced but wasn't a permanent fix.

This will not be a solver for all of those with problems, but if you have your A/C button pressed in (Don't have to be using it) then this can result in irregular idle and lunging. Sometimes fixable other times just a characteristic of the car cooling.

I keep a small wrench with me and adjust the idle as it tend to slip and that helps a bunch. When my sitting idle drops below 700 i start to get problems. (89 Camry Wagon v6 at 160k km)

I think I finally solved mine (keeping my fingers crossed ).

Camry 94 4cy auto 90k miles. Symptomes as everybody else here. Starts great when cold. Drives great for couple of minutes. At the first stop light, the RPM starts fluctuating, and eventually the engine stalls. First thing I did was a major tune up: replaced spark plugs, all cables, distributor caps, rotors, cleaned throttle bodies, what have you. The problem is still there, although it doesn't stall as frequent as before, but the RPM still fluctuates as crazy when car is idle, and the engine sometimes just gives up. Went through 3 months of diagnostics at 4 different mechanics. One suggested that the IAC valve is faulty, and replaced it with a genuine toyota part. The problem is still there. Then they suggested it was the EGR, but I was reluctant to change it there (morale of the story, PepBoys suck!). So i finally took it to the toyota dealer, and it took them 6 hours (!) of diagnostics to find out it was an ignition coil. changed it with a genuine toyota part for $92. Car runs great and idles great since then. hope it will continue to!

Looks like the distributor was the fix for mine. Two months and 2K miles later, I seem to be back to normal.

I have a 91 Camry with the same issues, it periodically stalls and I have to keep the throttle up. I took it to the dealership and they replaced the battery, saying it was faulty, NOPE try again, it stalled as I was driving off the lot.

Im going to do some work myself and try to replace the Distributor Cap and Rotor - then maybe the plug wires and pcv valve is sequence to see which one will resolve the issue. I will post my findings back here.

Ok guys I have to say that I think the camry car lines are all a f ing waste of money! I have an 88 that just started to stall on me. After reading all that above I think it would be best if we stop wasting money on trying to fix those satanic machines and get them all together for one big bomb-fire... Could just be me getting a little upset with this sh*t.

Got the stalling problem fixed, but now the water pump has given up! I'll bet if we put all 10 of these cars together, we might have enough parts to have one that'll run!

I'm not sure if this will help you guys but I had a stalling problem with my manual Corolla FX GT for about a year and a half, After replacing just about every component they finally found the problem today.

My car would stall at stop signs and only when warm, it would often be unresponsive when accelerating and would suddenly burst into action.

It turned out to be the flap in the air intake system jamming (becuase my car had done 190,000 kms it didn't work as well as it was when it was new) and when I came up to a stop sign the air intake valve was jamming shut so that the engine thought it was de-accelerating and would shut off the fuel causing the engine to stall. To fix the problem all they did was to take a bit of tension of the flap to free it up a bit and problem solved

Hope this helps someone.

my 92 camry also has the same problem. when i stop at a light, the RPM fluctuates, drops real low, and the car stalls. before it used to it occassionally, but now its doing it frequently. i suspect the alternator.

^^ it wasn't the alternator. the mechanic replace my whole throttle body (which i think includes the IACV). lets see if this works for me.

^^^its back with the mechanic. same problem. now he says its the MAP sensor. lets see if thats the fix.

Those of you still chasing this stalling problem, make sure you know that my previous posting about the distributor replacement, meant that I replaced the distributor, distributor cap, and rotor, NOT just the distributor cap. The distributor is a $500 part, but that WAS the issue with my 94 4-cyl. Good Luck!

I'm new to the board so hello to all.
My problem is very similar to many of the previous posts here. I have a 96 Camry 4 cyl and when I come to a stop, mainly at stop signs or stoplights, my car dies. It starts right back up usually, but this has become an annoying problem. I also notice that it dies when I come to a sudden stop, or a sudden stop and turn.
I noticed my check engine light was on so I replaced my battery and the check engine light went off, so I thought the problem was fixed -- nope -- still dies while at a stop, but not every stop?? I'm glad I found this board, but there seems to be a multitude of possible problems, so I really don't know where to start, sounds like mechanics also have a hard time finding the problem. This has been a great car with few problems, but this has been going on for about 3 weeks now. Has anyone found any new discoveries?

The idle bypass valve inside the throttle body may be clogged with carbon. If this is the case, it can be cleaned. That took care of my problem, but I have to have that valve cleaned every couple of months. I did buy a new one that was $170 some dollars, but found that it still has to be cleaned, so buying a new on was useless. I started having problems again two weeks ago and that turned out to be the vaccuum line and my mechanic fixed it for just a labor charge.

My check engine light is still coming on and going off and showing the code for the bank 1 oxygen sensor, but I've not replaced it because I'm getting good gas mileage. The car is running much better now.

Good luck to you.

misso, the egr valve is sticking, disconnect the vacuum hose and drive it, the problem should not occur again, however u will get a check eng light on, once confirmed, replace egr valve.

I, too, have the same problem with a 93 4 cylinder Camry.

I have read elsewhere about the ECT sensor being replaced, but it is not mentioned much in this thread. It makes sense that if defective it would signal the computer to add more/less fuel than needed. I read in Mitchell's that one would need to drain the radiator. What a pain. Is this true? Can I just slap a new one in there, since it is in a readily-accessible-consumer-friendly-spot. Anyhelp from anyone with some tips would be greatly appreciated.

My son's 94 4 cyl Camry had many of the symptoms described by others.
Started out stalling while braking, would start back up then stall at next
stop light, etc.. Took to Toyota dealer, they could not duplicate problem
and diagnostics showed no trouble codes. Since stalled while braking they
suspected IAC valve was bad. Drove fine for a couple of days then stalled
again at stop sign. Returned to dealer and they replaced IAC valve at cost
of $503. (IAC valve failure does not generate a trouble code). Stalled again
after a couple days, this time while cold and just pulling out of driveway.
Returned to dealer who drove and car stalled on them, ran diagnostics
which said distributor was losing power. They wanted to install a new distributor
for a cost of $750. I said I wanted to take to a friend to repair. When I picked
car up at the dealer it started but stalled after a few feet. Had to get towed to
friend for repair. He started car drove 10' then stalled, he checked and said plugs were not getting any fire from distributor. He installed new distributor for $300.
(this distributor has electronic points and internal coil). Ran great for a day then
stalled again. He said the only other thing it could be was an open in wiring or
bad computer (ECM), both are rather rare. I spoke to dealer about a new ECM
they said new one was $480. and part numbers must match since changes were made at times in middle of model years. I removed old ECM and took to a junk yard and they matched it for $75. That has been 2 weeks and so far no stalls.
The ECM is located on firewall behind glovebox not hard to replace after you
remove trim and glovebox. I hope this helps someone.

Like most everyone else, I too had problems with my 1998 Camry 4 cyl stalling after the engine was warm and usually after driving about 15 miles. The stalling occurred whenever I removed my foot from the accelerator to slow down or stop. The dealer couldn't duplicate the problem at first and suspected it was the EGR valve. No error codes shown. After researching the problem on the internet, including this forum, I ended up having the EGR valve and cooling temp sensor replaced at a cost of $492.

Very expensive, but the problem has been solved. Replacing the EGR valve by itself would most likely have solved the problem and saved me about $150, but considering I am keeping the car for a few more years and the lifespan of the original temp sensor may be near, I decided to replace it. It was about $50 less in labor to have both replaced at the same time.

I hope this helps anyone with similar problems.

I too, have a 92 Camry stalling at stop sign signs... especially when stopping hard. My wife and I have adjusted our driving styles to avoid the stalling, but last night I hit the brakes hard. The engine would start, then sputter and die. The car was towed home.

A while back, I replaced the dist. cap, spark plugs, wires, etc... Just as others here have done, but to no avail.

Thank God I found this thread.

I was close to having the car towed to a mechanic, even after my local Folsom toyota dealer service advisor stated he had never heard of Camrys stalling at stop signs before.

It seems everything in this thread points to the Air intake system. I went in to inspect the air filter, then bam, the intake hose was split completely open near the intake manifold. Steve... Thanks... Great advise!

The cost $70, + 15 Min. The test drive went well. No stalling and consistent idle.

I have a 1996 corolla that is stalling only in warm weather above 50 degrees farenheit,it will restart and run as new for another 5-10 minutes before restalling especially in low rpms,have replaced fuel pump,fuel filter,air filter,spark plus, but still to no avail, will still stall when warm outside even though actual inside temp gauge shows perfect operating temperate, please email me at mikechoiselat@hotmail.com if anyone has any suggestions

Thank you
Mike Choiselat

my corolla with similar symptoms stalled on me again this morning, although i thought i had it fixed, since replaced the IG sensor, ignition coil and spark plugs. no mechanic is able to help me as they say, tough luck. damn pice of junk, i see no other option than taking it apart, selling pice-by-pice as spareparts and buying myself another car. damn japanese talking whole world about their durable and extremely reliable car

Is this thread died out? It seems to be, but i add my final discovery though.
Everybody, CHECK YOUR IMMOBILIZERS!!!
My case is finally closed, it was the damn cobra immobilizer that cut out the fuel pump at random moments.

Hello--
It seems this thread has died out so as a new user I thought I would start it up again.
What everyone has described about their (mostly) 1995-ish Camry stalling I have experienced.
Two details that I don’t think I've read are...
I know this is going to happen because while driving mostly at highway speeds the engine runs rough (bucks a bit). I find if I throw my automatic transmission into neutral and rev the engine (4,000 RPMs or so) once or twice, the idle returns to normal.
I have 182,000 miles on my Camry and until this problem it has been a very dependable vehicle. I’ve had it to the dealer twice and they claim that since they cant replicate the problem, they can’t fix it. I understand that but on the other hand don’t want them replacing parts willy-nilly. The car (other than as transportation) is almost worthless. My solution, unfortunately, is I am car-shopping. I will probably trade it since I don’t want to sell it privately knowing this problem.
I MAY replace the EGR valve since this seems to be one of the major culprits. I also plan to rip out the distributor and take a look at the coil. But other than that, I’m not putting megabucks into something that’s not worth it. Any new ideas I would appreciate hearing about!
Thanks.
--Jerry

P.S...and a successful one!
Looking under the hood, taking out the distributor to inspect the coil seemed like more work than I cared to tackle. I found a photo of the EGR valve on the internet so I was sure I was looking at the right part. (It's located at the back of the engine block. It's bolted to the engine block. It's round and about 3 1/2 inches in diameter.) There are three hoses attached to the valve. One is metal (coming out the right side) and seems to be crimped onto the valve. No way I was going to try to disconnect that! The other two are rubber and pulled off easily. I had read elseshere that a disabled EGR valve would cause rough running and poorer gas mileage but I was wiling to take my chances. I have run the car on two major trips now and...it's fixed!!! (Or at least I found the offending part.) And it doesn't run rough, either. The "check engine" light has come on twice but then goes out. (This is the FIRST time in 10 years I've even seen this light!) So I feel confidant that the EGR valve is sticking and not operating properly.
For those of you with a similar problem I suggest you try this approach. You can always reconnect the two tubes if nothing improves.
Good luck!
--Jerry

I am a new member - I found this thread on Google.

I have a 92' Camry 4cyl Automatic which just began exhibiting stalling symptoms today. I drove it around all day and it was fine untill it started raining. I filled up while it was pouring rain and it appeared that the tanker truck was just finishing filling up the tank at the station (Newington Citgo, Rt 15). I finished filling up, started the car, and drove away. I got to a traffic light, looked down at my dash, and noticed that my A/C Light was flashing. I turned it off and continued driving. I got to the next traffic light (still pouring rain) and the engine started to buck and flutter, idiling VERY low - 250 to 500 RPM. It then stalled and I couldn't get it started again. I put it into park, cranked the engine, and gave it gas - I got it started and was able to drive away. Whenever I would slow down for a stoplight the engine would idle VERY low and then stall again. I had to drive with two feet and kick it into neutral at stoplights in order to keep my revs over 1000 - When I went on the highway in an attempt to get the car home as fast as possible it seemed very sluggish and didn't have the responce it usually has.

I got it home and decided that I must have pumped some wet gas into the tank. I went down to NAPA and bought 3 bottles of 99% Isopropyl Alcohol (Drygas) and dumped one bottle of it into the tank. I got in and started it and it contiuned to idle very low and rough in Park. I revved it up to 3000rpm for about a minute and let go. It was suddenly idling perfectly - like nothing happened -- I thought good, no problem. Let it idle for about 20 minutes with the A/C on - no problem. I went inside and did some stuff and then had to go out again --- still no problems. It worked fine untill about 9:30PM when I went to Wal-Mart - It started bucking and stuttering in the parking lot. I got out and dumped in another 1/2 bottle of drygas. I drove for another 20 minutes - it seemed like it was now stuttering/fluttering at about 2000rpm and when I parked it it stalled.

When I got back in it about 2 hours later I needed to hold on the accelerator in order to get it to start - I drove straight home and noticed it bucking at about 2000rpm/45mph. I stalled out at two stoplights. I parked it in my driveway.

Do you think the gasoline I purchased caused this? Did I plug up my fuel filter? Why did it work perfect for a few hours this afternoon only to have the problems reappear?

-Jamie

Hi.
Did anyone ever get to the bottom of the problem with the stalling engine?
I am having the same problem. The Dealers say they have seen the problem happen, but all the engine computers are reporting everything is normal. I think they suspected some ignition coil, but other toyota mechanics doubt this, and the coils have since been exhonerated as culprits for my problem Any ideas?

A

[quote name='A Ali' date='Jul 3 2005, 11:02 PM']Hi.
Did anyone ever get to the bottom of the problem with the stalling engine?
I am having the same problem. The Dealers say they have seen the problem happen, but all the engine computers are reporting everything is normal. I think they suspected some ignition coil, but other toyota mechanics doubt this, and the coils have since been exhonerated as culprits for my problem Any ideas?

A
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I have a 98 Camry 4 cyl. and I have a stalling problem too. After the engine is running for 15 minutes or so, sometimes it looses rpms as i stop and then rumbles a bit and dies. It starts right up again, and drives fine. It seems to happen once every few weeks. I have noticed that the car often surges a bit right before the problem occurs. I have not had any other problems with this car and I hope that this one can be solved! I am deathly afraid of taking it to a toyota dealer, as the last time i did this they tried to get me for $1000 worth of non-warranty repairs to my CERTIFIED toyota shortly after i purchased it in 2001. My response to this was that if the car was certified, it should not need $1000 in repairs three months later! I took it to a different mechanic and spent $200 to fix my brakes. Everything else was BS. BEWARE OF DEALERSHIPS!
When i figure out which of the myriad of suggested problems it is, I will gladly share. Some suspects that fit the bill are: EGR valve, IAC (idle air control) valve, Air valve flap is jamming, Vaccum line problem, Air intake system and cobra immobilizer. I have been scouring the net for possible causes. If anyone else is having this problem, please share.

Hi all,

I have a similar problem with my 93 4-cyl Camry (~130,000 miles). My car's been stalling when I'm stopped for the past week or so. It's only happened 5 or 6 times, and has only happened when I'm sitting on the brakes or in park. It usually doesn't start up right away (after dying), but on the second or third try, it starts normally and runs fine. It's happened both at the beginning, and the end of the drive, so I don't think it's a hot engine / cold engine issue.

It has been idling a little rough lately. One time (since the stalling happened), l noticed that if I let off the gas and coasted, then gave it a little gas, my rpm's dropped a little, then jumped up (and the car physically jerked at this time). This happened for a few blocks, but stopped after a few minutes. I'm not sure if this is related, but it's something that never happened before the stalling began.

The car stalled several times the first day, and has happened less frequently since then. The only changes I've made are:

*I put some fuel injector cleaner in my tank when I filled it up (shortly after it stalled the first time).

*I took it in to a local shop where I have periodic maintenance done and they could find nothing wrong (did an engine diagnostic, but not much more - they didn't charge me for any of the tests).

*I took it to my local toyota dealer. They drove it and couldn't find any problems. They checked everything and decided it was one of three things

1. VSV (he said it wasn't opening and closing properly, but thought it might be closing at the wrong times and killing the engine). He did block this and wanted me to drive it for a week and test it. The car died at the first stop sign after leaving Toyota.

2. Fuel pump - He thought this could the the problem also, but didn't think it was the most likely candidate.

3. Coil - If blocking the VSV didn't fix it, this was his next guess. When I told him about the car dying right after leaving the lot, he seemed certain that this needed to be replaced and wanted me to come back in to have this done.

Since I took it to Toyota, it's only died once (and I've been driving it a lot since then). Could the fuel-injector cleaner have done any good? Also, does it sound like the coil could be the problem? He seemed pretty certain, but it sounds like some of you have tried replacing it to no avail. If it restarts fine, is there any harm in continuing to drive it and having it stall occasionally (besides the annoyance factor?)

I just don't want to drop any more money at Toyota until it either happens often enough for them to duplicate it, or until I know for sure what needs to be replaced. I'm not exactly a car mechanic myself, but any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

Chris