2002 Camry Winter/Cold temperature rough idle

Driving/Drivers
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1

Hi there,

I own a 2002 toyota camry, with 115k+ miles. My camry usually runs pretty well during the warm weather months. However during the winter especially on really cold days after the car has been sitting outside, when I start the car it idles very rough, almost like the whole engine is shaking. Once the engine warms up (after about 10 to 15 minutes of idling) everything seems to go back to normal. Anyone have any suggestions on what I can do to keep my Camry happier over the cold winter months of upstate NY ? I have experimented with the behavior in that, if I leave the car facing the cold wind idle is much rougher vs. if I simply turn the car around so the wind is not blowing directly in through the front grill while the car is sitting in the parking lot all day.

As an additional piece of information it may be worth it to note regardless of the time of the year (within the last 2 to 3 years), if the car has been sitting for a few days and than if i go to start it I do initially get more than usuall smoke coming out of exhaust (blueish in color). This happens only when the engine initially starts.

Thank you in advance for any advice.

2

Have someone check the cold start injector. As the name implies, it adds extra fuel to the engine when temperatures are really low so the engine runs smoothly. If the cold start injector is leaking, it will add extra fuel to intake of the engine and that could cause the smoke you see on start up.

Tester

3

When was the last time your Camry had new spark plugs?

4

Still the original spark plugs, I have owned this car for for about 8 years now and I haven’t put any new ones on it.