2012 Camry puff of smoke on start up

[Nayov]

I thought that the oil burner motors were gone with the 2009 models. I am looking at an otherwise perfect 2012 with the 2.5 motor and 67,000 miles. The seller started it up and when he did there was an alarming puff of blue smoke which completely took the excitement out of the deal. Runs fine though. He was in FL for 2 weeks so I presume it sat for the same amount of time. Maybe the 0-20 is "too thin" ?

While we're here, he's asking $10,700. I'm thinking 9.

 

[Donald]

Valve stem seals.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

Having sat for two weeks, oil slowly crept under those seals. If you drive it 3-4 times per week and use HM oil, it may be many years before you see that blue puff again.
Keep harping on that blue startup and owner may come down to 9.

 

[billt460]

Is the oil level too high? I ask because when I bought our new Jeep, it turned out the dipstick from the factory on the V-8 HEMI's was marked wrong. This caused the crankcase to be overfilled at the factory by a full quart. (8 quarts instead of the 7 stated in the manual). I noticed that same puff of blue smoke at startup when I first brought the car home.

Chrysler Jeep published a memo to dealers about it. I ended up getting a new dipstick that was properly marked. And sure enough when I put it in, it read way over the "FULL" mark. I changed the oil and filter, and put in the recommended 7 quarts. The oil came right to the "FULL" hole on the new stick. And I never saw that puff of smoke again.

 

[Andrew1972]

It's just a Camry thing of that vintage and earlier, not the first I have seen especially when returning on a longer trip to workmates car at airport.

 

[demarpaint]

I'd pass on the car. It could be, an over filled condition [simple enough to check, but it might not be the cause], or valve seals, guides, etc. For that kind of money I'd look elsewhere. For me there is no point in doing diagnostics on a used car, I see a red flag I pass. That keeps me out of trouble. OTOH if it is priced at an extreme deep discount I might dive in, if I'm confident it will cover repairs and then some.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted by Nayov
While we're here, he's asking $10,700. I'm thinking 9.

I'm thinking "none". It's already got problems--let it be someone else's.

The 2AR-FE's haven't been known for much of any problems. That's not to say they can't have problems, just that they seem to have avoided the 1ZZ-FE and 2AZ-FE oil burning problem. I'd almost go as far as to say, this example you've found has been abused.

I suppose it's possible that it's had a lot of cold starts--started, ran for 15 seconds to show it runs, then shut down again. Maybe it's suffering from that. But eh. It's a Camry, why would you want that in the first place?

 

[alcyon]

Originally Posted by Triple_Se7en
Having sat for two weeks, oil slowly crept under those seals. If you drive it 3-4 times per week and use HM oil, it may be many years before you see that blue puff again.
Keep harping on that blue startup and owner may come down to 9.

+1. my 89 soarer does the same thing. start it on consecutive days no smoke at all.

 

[Cujet]

Originally Posted by Donald
Valve stem seals.


Not likely. Those engines have oil ring problems, leading to oil burning and occasional smoke. The use of conventional oil and long oil change intervals results in just enough low tension piston ring wear to allow oil consumption. It's good to note that the oil ring drain holes also tend to clog up over time, making the situation worse.

As always, the use of a quality synthetic oil of sufficient viscosity and frequent oil changes helps avoid the above mentioned problems.

 

[gregk24]

I would avoid, to me that reeks of abuse.

 

[StevieC]

Not a big deal at all. I've seen low mileage vehicles do that and live long lives and these vehicles saw regular timely oil changes.
Just a tad bit of oil slipping past the seals especially if they sit for a while before being restarted. So long as it's not a huge cloud.

Just a quick puff that you can barely see is fine.

You can run some high mileage oil in it like Maxlife and see if you can recondition the seals enough that it stops.

 

[KrisZ]

I would move on. The used market is full of these cars, no reason to choose one with a problem right from the start.

 

[The Critic]

Look for another one unless you are okay with the possibility of needing to replace valve stem seals in your near future.

 

[Job]

I have a friend who had a seizure and can no longer drive. Her car is a 10 Camry with the 2.5 and it sits in my driveway as I had the room. It's been about nine months there. I charged the battery and started it after it wasn't started for about four months. Started and ran like it was running every day, no smoke, no noises. I was impressed, and it still has the original battery which is probably discharged again. Nothing seems to hurt that car, it turns on and it's perfect. She had all oil changes done at Toyota using the Toyota oil and filter.
I would guess if the smoke is that noticeable, he/she is just getting rid of it, possibly for the problem you saw, and it was your lucky day to see the smoke.

 

[skyactiv]

If this was a VW, you all would say stay away. Because it's a Toyota, some of you give it a green light. I wouldn't buy any vehicle that puffs smoke on a cold start.

 

[BrocLuno]

Originally Posted by Donald
Valve stem seals.


Yup, no biggee ...

 

[javacontour]

Originally Posted by Nayov
I thought that the oil burner motors were gone with the 2009 models. I am looking at an otherwise perfect 2012 with the 2.5 motor and 67,000 miles. The seller started it up and when he did there was an alarming puff of blue smoke which completely took the excitement out of the deal. Runs fine though. He was in FL for 2 weeks so I presume it sat for the same amount of time. Maybe the 0-20 is "too thin" ?

While we're here, he's asking $10,700. I'm thinking 9.


And it will probably run another 200k miles or more this way.

We had an 02 with the 2.4L version of this and it puffed a bit of blue smoke every day. Just stayed on top of the level and changed it every 5k miles/6 months. Drove it from the showroom and another 277k miles after that.

If all you see is a little puff on start up, no blue smoke when it's running, and no leaks, I'd not lose any sleep over it and just keep an eye on the level if you get the car.

Of course, my first car was a '66 Nova that could have been the county mosquito fogger as it was a check the gas and fill the oil kind of car, so I may not be as alarmed by oil consumption as some others here.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted by BrocLuno
Originally Posted by Donald
Valve stem seals.


Yup, no biggee ...

Doesn't that require pulling the camshafts so as to pull the (followers? cam buckets?) and then one can pull the valvesprings? Sounds like a major job to me.

Originally Posted by javacontour


And it will probably run another 200k miles or more this way.

We had an 02 with the 2.4L version of this and it puffed a bit of blue smoke every day. Just stayed on top of the level and changed it every 5k miles/6 months. Drove it from the showroom and another 277k miles after that.

There's probably truth in that, but I'd still be leery. Just seems like this is a "not typical for this family" problem.

 

[mclasser]

Camry's are a dime-a-dozen. Look for one that doesn't smoke.

 

[aquariuscsm]

I've never owned a car that smokes. RUN away from this one.