Boater61

Update: I've bypassed the smaller opening to the air intake as explained on the ToyotaNation web site. Along with the reprogramming that Toyota did, the car definitely has better, smoother pick-up now. So, try it; you've got nothing to lose.

update: TSB done this morning. Took about an hour and a half. Could feel the difference right away. Now I've got to get used to the smooth pull-out. Seems Toyota got it right this time. Time will tell. But I still think it's kind of rotten of them not to do the download unless the consumer complains over and over. I had to check AllData myself and convince the service writer that my car was part of the group eligible for the download. P.S. It's part of the 8 year/ 80k mile national anti-pollution warranty so there was no charge for it. If you've got a hesitation problem, check it out. The TSB was from June 2005 and focussed on hesitation/delayed shifting.

I just replaced the battery in my '05 Solara last week. 56,000 miles on it in 27 months. Car wouldn't start and wouldn't take a boost. Next day it started. Thought I had a defective ignition switch because of clunking in the steering column (see other string). Got to dealer, who checked it out. Shorted cell in the battery. They did me a favor and prorated it. Now I've got an 84 month battery in it with replacement guarantee. So, yeah, batteries die young, especially after 4 years.

Hey guys: Got a knocking sound in the steering on my '05 Solara too. Did some research on Alldata. There's a TSB on a revised intermediate shaft for the steering. It's supposed to be done by the dealer under basic warranty ONLY if the consumer complains. My car is out of warranty so they want over $400 to change the shaft. No word on whether it's anything more than annoying. I'm going to look into it. Changing the shaft is about an hour and a half job. Part's about $200. If you know what to do with the mechanisms of the car, pick up a shop manual, go to your library and connect to Alldata, assuming your library has a subscription to it, and download the TSB instructions. Chnaging the shaft is supposed to remove the various clunking, knocking etc. Good luck.

What I mean is that when you slow down, such as for a Yield sign, and then accelerate, there's a second or two in which nothing seems to happen. Then the transmission seems to kick in and the car accelerates hard. Sometimes, when starting from a standstill, the car doen't move and then kicks in hard. By the way, I grew up in the automotive repair business and was even a driver-education teacher, part time, for over twenty five years. When I was teaching, subjects other than driver ed. (that was just an additional job), I would drive about 30,000 miles a year, on average. Now that I'm retired, sort of, I only drive about 20,000 miles a year. So, I do know how a car should respond. Toyota has issued a TSB to deal with this problem for 2004 and up Camrays and Solaras. I'm now trying to get then to reprogram the computer in my car. So far, no luck. P.S. This past weekend my car refused to start. The battery had a shorted cell, in a little over 2 years since new.

Like many other Solara owners, I've had a hesitaion problem on my '05 V6, Toyota knows about it. All they have to do is read the National Highway Safety Bureau web site. The dealers know about it. They've gotten many cpmplaints. But nothing has really happened to remedy the situation. Re-flashing the computer hasn't worked. Public pressure needs yo be placed on Toyota. So any of you who've had the same problem on your "drive by wire" late model V6 Camry or Solara, post here so that Toyota can see the extend of the dissatisfaction and maybe come up with a remedy. And, if any of you have found a solution, even in an after-markert chip, please post the"how and where" so we can find it. Thanks.

Thanks for the suggestions. Dealer has supposedly checked everything and everything is OK. I'm going to try to plug in a regular antenna and see what happens. 880 radio AM is a 50,000 watt station, so there should be no problem receiving it even 50 miles from its antenna. And my previous cars had no such problem. Yes, 1010 WINS is still transmitting, news only!

I've got an 05 Salara SLE with the V6. The computor consistently tells me I'm getting 2 - 2.5 MPG higher than my actual mileage. This has been the way it's been since new, over 15,000 miles ago. The dealer calls this "within specifications"! It's not worth getting crazy over. I live in the suburbs and drive a mixture of highway and local roads. The typical MPG is 22, which isn't bad. I enjoy the car. Good luck with yours.

Thanks for the reply. No, I've not had any such problems with previos cars including my wife's Chrysler Sebring. My feeling is that the in-window antenna is at fault, but i'm not sure.

I have a 2005 Solara with the upgraded radio. I'm getting static on the strongest stations, 880 and 1010 (NY). Other stations are very weak. Noise sometimes sounds like rapid morse code. Service manager and customer relations say they've gotten similar complaints from Avalon and Camray owners. The antenna is in the rear window. Regional rep says all is well; no problem. Has anyone out there had a similar problem? And more importantly, has anyone found a cause and a solution? Thank Boater61.