Toyota Camry weak points: what to check when buying used

Which Camry you are looking at

The Camry has been sold for decades in almost every market, so the generation and the engine matter more than the badge. The recent ones are the XV40 (2006–2011), the XV50 (2011–2017), the XV70 (from 2017) and the XV80 (from 2024). The engines: a 2.4 four-cylinder (2AZ-FE) on the XV40, a 2.5 (2AR-FE) on the XV40 and XV50, a 3.5 V6 (2GR) on all three, and on the XV70 a new 2.5 (A25A-FKS) and hybrids. The registration document or a VIN decode tells you which one it is.

Engine: what to check

• 2.4 (2AZ-FE), oil consumption: some engines burn oil because of the piston rings, and Toyota extended its warranty on affected cars in some markets. Pull the dipstick: the level should be near the top mark. Blue smoke after a long idle and an oil-soaked spark plug well point the same way. Head gasket leaks have also been reported at high mileage.
• 2.5 (2AR-FE), cold-start rattle: a short grinding rattle in the first seconds after a cold start comes from a worn VVT actuator (cam phaser). Ask for the engine to be cold when you arrive. Look for dried pink coolant crust around the water pump, a known leak on this engine.
• 3.5 V6 (2GR), oil line and pump: early V6s had a VVT oil line with a rubber section that could burst and dump the oil; Toyota replaced it with an all-metal line in a service campaign. Ask whether it was done and look for oil on the right side of the engine. The water pump can leak too, and worn ignition coils show up as a misfire.
• 2.5 (A25A-FKS), XV70: owners have reported oil consumption and, on some cars, coolant pump faults. Check the oil and coolant levels and ask for the service records.

Gearbox, body and interior

• Automatic: it should change gear without jerks, flares or long pauses, from cold too. Early XV70 eight-speed boxes got software updates for rough shifts at low speed; ask whether they were done.
• Taxi and fleet use: in the Gulf and many other markets the Camry is a popular taxi and company car. A worn driver’s seat and steering wheel, a shiny gear lever, a sagging rear seat, holes from a taxi sign on the roof or a meter on the dashboard do not match a low odometer reading.
• Accident repairs: check the paint thickness and the panel gaps, especially on the front end. See How to check a car’s paint and accident damage.
• Heat: a cracked dashboard, a peeling clear coat on the roof and weak air conditioning are common on cars that lived in the sun.

Hybrid Camry

Toyota’s hybrid system has a good reputation, but the battery ages. On the test drive the car should start in electric mode at low speed and the petrol engine should join smoothly. Any hybrid system warning is a reason to stop and get a diagnosis. Ask whether the hybrid battery or its cooling fan was ever serviced: a clogged battery fan filter makes the battery run hot.

Before you pay

Ask a Toyota dealer by VIN about open recalls and the campaigns above. Do the whole inspection from How to check a used car before you buy it, the cold start from Cold start: what to listen for and look at and the drive from the used car test drive checklist. If you buy in the UAE, read Buying a used car in the UAE too. Use what you find to negotiate.