Roger

Well I solved at least the problem with the iRiver FM transmitter. It turns out that either this device (most probably) or the outlet (not so likely) stops after 5-10 sec if not connected to the MP3 or CD player. I had just plugged it in to test it without connecting to any device, and that seems to be my problem. It now runs well if I have my MP3 player connected. If I do not connect everything together within 10 sec it all turns off. I then must replug the device or restart the car and everying is fine. I am not sure at all why this works this way, but at least I can now listen to my MP3 player in the car. Thanks for your time. Maybe my experience will help someone else. Roger

Hi and thanks for the reply. Yes, the contacts seem clean. Also, a little dirt should have been displaced during my repeated attempts of plugging and unplugging. Also, dirt should not be there on both outlets (always kept covered) in both my cars. I was wondering whether some safety relay was cutting out automatically at about the time that the cigarette ligher (which works fine) normally pops out. It is a bit furstrating since I have invested a bit of money into different chargers but none of them work with my cars. My options seem to either pay a bunch more money to have my Toyota dealer check it out (this is what Toyota Canada suggested in an email), or to buy my own power outlet and wire it into some other circuit wires (suggestions?). Thanks again for your thoughts.

I actually have a Canadian Camry and Corolla but assume that North American models are roughly similar. Both my 2004 cars have the same problem with both the aux outlet and the cigarette lighter. That is, devices which plug into these outlets only power up for about 5-10 sec and then turn off. If I unplug and re-plug, this scenario repeats over and over. This happens with both a cheap charger for my Motorola cell phone and also with my fairly expensive iRiver FM transmitter. Two devices, 2 models of car, two outlets all give the same problem. Anybody else every encounter this problem?