My daughter had a 93 Celica GT with an absolutely bulletproof paint job. Likewise for my 99LC. My 2004 Tundra's is decent but my wife's 08 Solara is lacking. Quite a few chips with only 10K miles. Other than that and the underpowered engine,it is a very well built car. If they had used the same V6 in the Solara as they have in the Camry and Avalon, Toyota would have trouble keeping up with the demand.
Here, here!!
Add a manual tranny (or at least a decent AT that doesn't totally slug and suck) and yes indeed, a winner we would have!
FWIW, I've done a lot of mods to my ride to try to get it over the 200whp bump (at teh wheels) and I barely squeak by! Includes custom headers & exhaust, CP-e SRI intake and a custom tune box from Split Second. I can get 2nd gear scratch from it but the sloppy tranny is the weakest link to the wheels I'm afraid.
Hi Jeff, I recently traded for a 2004 Solara SE with 101,200 miles and the suspension is very stiff and I feel every bump in the road . Is this Solara model normally that stiff? I purchased a set of Michelin 215 R60 16 Primacy Mxv4 tires and it helped some. I tested the shocks by pushing on each of the four corners of the car and there was hardly any movement at all. I am wondering if this is normal and if anyone else has had that problem. Thanks for any suggestions. b36mech
The SE is the "Sport" edition and has stiffer struts than the SLE. If you want a softer ride, I'd be happy to send you my barely-used SLE struts in exchange for your SE struts!
There are no aftermarket struts or shocks for our cars - only COs (Coil-Overs) which are adjustable to lower your car and make it even stiffer.
I'm serious about my offer if you're interested. I have only a few thousand miles on my original SLE struts and the SE struts I currently have are getting worn out.
Serious problem going on here...
06 sle solara conv- original owner with 125,000kms (canada- metric)
In mid summer my rear tires were almost completely bald due to misalignment- showing more wear on the outside of the tires. (photos available on request)
Previously, I replaced the oem's with Turanza-Serenity for comfort and noise- overall very pleased with this tire!
I use winter tires so the mileage on these tires was only about 30,000kms when the severe wear occurred. The front tires still had 8/32" tread at the time which indicates normal wear.
After realigning the wheels, I rotated front tires with 8/32" to the rear and put new tires on the front.
Now it seems to be happening again with only 6,000 kms since the rotation. I have monitored the tire wear closely and the current tread depths on the rear are:
The outside tread is measuring at 4/32” and the 2 inside treads at 6/32”
there is minimal wear on the the new front tires.
I am doing mainly highway driving and have not hit any large bumps/potholes etc. Front alignment seems ok, no pulling.
Any ideas what would cause the reoccurring problem?
That sounds like a camber issue. I used adjustable camber bolts to bring in the top of the wheel so I could clear wider tires after I lowered it, but I had the INSIDE of the tire wearing faster typically. There isn't much camber adjustment stock, but you might see if your alignment shop could try these bolts to modify your camber - or carry around a lot of extra weight in your trunk!
Thx, the alignment checks indicates a toe in causing the sawtooth wear pattern.
Why would the camber be out all of a sudden? What concerns me is that it keeps reoccuring after realignment.
Well, I too had a 2003 Tundra and traded it for a 2004 Solara.
My question involves air conditioning. I searched for both "air conditioning" and "air conditioning service" with no results.
About two months ago (in the middle of a heat wave here in SoCal) my A/C stopped blowing cold. Kind of a gradual fade in the "coolness" factor. Now it just blows tepid air. Is this indicative of a freon recharge, or is it common for a/c to die with 56K on the odometer for an 04?? If so, should I go to the dealership for service, and about what should I expect to pay for this?? Thanks in advance for the help. JT
First guess would be a freon leak. Should still be working fine at 56K IMO - no idea on what it really is and of course a dealer will charge you more than an A/C shop.
Re: Solara Questions - ASK ME!
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