1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Any known major issues with the 07 hycam?

Discussion in 'Toyota Hybrids and EVs' started by philwojo, Jun 12, 2007.

  1. philwojo

    philwojo Member

    Joined:
    Apr 4, 2006
    104
    0
    0
    Location:
    Darien, IL (West Burbs of Chicago)
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    My wife is looking at trading in her '04 Volvo S60 AWD for an 07 Hycam. I have a Prius, and have had it for about 1 year now, and I love it.

    She is not totally found of the push button start, but my main question is are there any known major issues with the 07 Hycam, or any reason to stay away from buying one at this point?

    We don't have any reason to get out of the Volvo and are not in a rush, other than for gas prices keep going up. She gets about 20 MPG now in a good week.

    Thanks,
    Phil
     
  2. SomervillePrius

    SomervillePrius New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 11, 2006
    944
    5
    0
    Location:
    Somerville, MA
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    I have seen no issues with the camry hybrid. In fact I think it's a great car! That said she is driving a perfectly functioning (premium) car. Is there a real reason to change? Sure she will double her mileage but still...
     
  3. McShemp

    McShemp New Member

    Joined:
    Sep 16, 2005
    371
    4
    0
    Location:
    SA, TX
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    I've heard only good things so far. There's a guy here at work with one about a month old. The car's analysis of your trip FE when you stop - with a message on the MFD - sounds kinda lame though.
     
  4. onerpm

    onerpm New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 10, 2004
    477
    2
    0
    Location:
    MN
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    My wife (from Plainfield, IL, BTW) traded her Prius in on a HyCam late last September. She has 8500 miles on it, nary a problem, and MsPG so far are just under 35 (this is in Minnesota, and we had snow tires on it for the winter).

    She adores the car. So do I. It is more comfortable, quieter, and smoother than the Prius, and has a moonroof and heated seats. We even chose to take it (instead of my Prius) on a 2600 mile weekend trip to southern IL for a wedding last weekend, giving up the extra gas cost for the comfort and a MUCH better stereo.

    I'm surprised your wife doesn't dig the SKS, as she must know from your Prius that never having to dig in her purse for the keys is a great thing!

    I would recommend the HyCam highly. The only negatives I've found are that the trunk is small (however, my wife can get her golf bag with pullcart in there) and that I can't get used to having to put the stick into Park before shutting it down. I also like the Prius digital gauges better.

    I realize she's comparing the HyCam to her Volvo, not your Prius, but I can't help there.

    rpm
     
  5. priussoris

    priussoris New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 5, 2007
    1,005
    4
    0
    Only thing that concerned me about the Hycam was when test driving it I floored it to check out the acceleration, and it bolted right out but it seemed to keep going even after taking my foot off the throttle, had to slam on the brakes and it actually skidded. :(

    I did not like that, felt as if the throttle stuck :unsure: so it was the prius we ended up with and I like it the best. :D
     
  6. ny biker

    ny biker Member

    Joined:
    May 22, 2007
    463
    11
    0
    Location:
    Northern Virginia
    Vehicle:
    2022 Prius
    Model:
    XLE
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(priussoris @ Jun 12 2007, 01:29 PM) [snapback]460248[/snapback]</div>
    I did not test a hycam, but I drove a '98 Camry for 9 years and I have noticed a difference in the throttle between my old car and the Prius, specifically with highway driving/acceleration. With the Camry, on a highway with little traffic I would sometimes find myself going faster than I wanted, because the throttle was very responsive. In fact this cost me a very expensive speeding ticket on the NJ Turnpike when the car was still new -- I merged onto the highway after a reststop, looked down at the speedometer and realized I had unintentionally accelerated to 80, and at just at that instant a state trooper behind me turned on his lights and pulled me over. Oops.

    So over time I trained my foot to apply the right amount of pressure to the throttle to maintain the speed I wanted, and now that I have the Prius I'm finding that I need to press a little harder to maintain speed, especially when going uphill on a highway. I don't feel it's a safety issue -- I never felt out of control with the Camry -- it's just a difference in throttle responsiveness that I have to get used to.

    By the way, I seriously considered getting the hycam, but decided on the Prius because it has more cargo space and it seemed it would be easier to get my bike inside it.
     
  7. JHSmith

    JHSmith 2020 Avalon Hybrid Owner

    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2006
    184
    4
    0
    Location:
    King George, VA
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    I've had my 07 Camry Hybrid (TCH) since August.

    My major complaint was a problem w/ MFD (Radio/Navigation display unit). It was replaced. Unfortunately, the first replacement was the unit for non-hybrid system. (Didn't show hybrid related data.) -- The parts department didn't believe there were two different units!! <_< Once that was fixed, haven't had any problems.

    If you haven't found it, you might want to step over to: http://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/toyota-...hybrid.049.html for the TCH forums.

    Biggest complaint that's been spoken about is "crickets" (squeaks) in the center arm rest area.

    My biggest complaint: Lack of "mod support" like y'all Prius' owners have. -- No EV mod capability (yet) like on the Prius. I've checked w/ Coastal, they are not even looking into supporting TCH, although they're all over the Highlander Hybrid. Only LockPick that will work w/ TCH is the lowest level. :(

    I enjoy the car -- smooth and comfortable. :rolleyes: (Shifted from '96 Grand Am -- 140,000 miles)

    Looking at the other responses -- Another complaint, on all my other cars, they maintained the desired speed when going downhill. TCH doesn't, it seems to gain +10 mph, even w/ cruise control. Not used to that. I need to be carefull when around areas where there may be radars or watchful eye's. B)
     
  8. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 2005
    9,810
    465
    0
    Location:
    MD
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    DH hasn't seen any major issues with them. and if anyone would have seen them by now around here, it's him. :p
     
  9. philwojo

    philwojo Member

    Joined:
    Apr 4, 2006
    104
    0
    0
    Location:
    Darien, IL (West Burbs of Chicago)
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ Jun 12 2007, 09:08 PM) [snapback]460560[/snapback]</div>
    Thanks everyone, kind of forgot I posted this, been a busy week.

    One of the main reasons she want out of her Volvo is she has never been totally happy with it, doesn't hate it either. I think after 4 years she is just up for a change. She has low miles, will get a decent price for it still, and it is in great shape.

    We haven't even been to look at a Hycam yet, so still not sure she will even like it. She is a little reluctant to changes and I think that is why she is not fond of th SKS system. She has only driven the Prius at most a handful of times, and is hesitant each time to do it for fear of messing something up, or forgetting to put it in park and not hitting the off button and driving in to a wall where she parks.

    Just wanted to make sure there wasn't a glaring reason to wait to look at these, like an '08 is going to be 100x better than an '07 model or anything like that. I do like to see that no major complaints, but I know this is a limited crowd, but at least I have some feedback as opposed to none.

    Again, thanks to all, and I will let you know if we decide to go with one.

    Phil
     
  10. philwojo

    philwojo Member

    Joined:
    Apr 4, 2006
    104
    0
    0
    Location:
    Darien, IL (West Burbs of Chicago)
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Ok, so the wife likes the look and feel of the Hycam, and we put in an order, but it looks like with the color and options she wants (decked out) that we will be getting a 2008 model, anyone know of any changes going on for the '08s?

    Phil
     
  11. meshell

    meshell New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 4, 2006
    65
    0
    0
    i have had my hycam for 1.5 weeks and i think i am 'in love' with this car. i have never been so adoring of a vehicle before. i love driving it! i traded in my 2006 prius for it and i don't regret it at all! i am in love with my car! (sad...lol) :p i haven't had any issues at all, at this point. no squeaks or weirdness at all...
     
  12. onerpm

    onerpm New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 10, 2004
    477
    2
    0
    Location:
    MN
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(philwojo @ Jul 30 2007, 08:21 AM) [snapback]487380[/snapback]</div>
    I was reading the latest Motor Trend (I think) last night, and it had the listing of all new cars with short reviews. I'm pretty sure that it said that the 2008 is unchanged.

    I think your wife will love the car. It sounds like the one thing I dislike about it (having to put the lever into Park before shutting the car off) will actually be a plus for her.
     
  13. philwojo

    philwojo Member

    Joined:
    Apr 4, 2006
    104
    0
    0
    Location:
    Darien, IL (West Burbs of Chicago)
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Well my wife finally made up her mind, and we took delivery of a 2008 Toyota Camry Hybrid on Saturday. She got a fully loaded one in Barcelona Red with the Ash leather interior.

    I have had my Prius for a little over a year now and have put on about 22k miles. I have to say the Hycam drives very nice, and if your on a residential street it really likes to be in electric mode. I seemed to stay in electric mode up to about 40 MPH, where the Prius only does that to 34MPH. It also will hold in electric mode longer, even on some minor hills.

    So far I am very impressed with the car and they have also improved the switch over/shut down when sitting at a light compared to a Prius, you can't even tell when it shuts down, there is not that hard shut down like the 2006 Prius I have does.

    I also like the improved consumption screen, with the bars now showing 1 minute intervals, in 5 minute blocks, give you a little more detail, nice addition.

    I do however miss the "info" button on the steering wheel to get in to that screen easily, the Hycam is missing that. We also miss the auto-up feature on the driver side window that the Prius has, but the Hycam is lacking.

    So far it is great to drive, and compared to her 2004 Volvo S60 AWD the gas mileage is great, looking forward to having both of these cars for a long time to come now.

    Phil
     
  14. onerpm

    onerpm New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 10, 2004
    477
    2
    0
    Location:
    MN
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Congrats!

    I drove my wife's hyCam a lot last week, and agree with you on the missing "info" button. It's a hassle to get to the info screen on the camry. I go the other way on the "auto-up" thing, though; don't like that feature at all.

    rpm