2004 Toyota Camry - smoke test next?

2004 Camary misfire. 159000 miles. Got codes P0157,0300,0302,0306,2238 maybe some others. I had all of these sensors installed and still had the problem. I took it to dealer and they said it needed fuel injectors and installed them. Had plugs and coils packs. Had compression test, still lurking when starting, drives good afterwards. Where do I go next? Should I get a smoke test done or what

I am not sure I understand what you are saying. You had a number of things replaced, but you still have misfires when you start the engine and after it warms up it runs fine? Do you still get the codes that you listed?

Yes, I still get all of the codes.

Exactly which engine do you have?

You can’t have P0306 unless you have the V-6, which was the less common of the 2 available engines

And if you do happen to have the V-6, were the compression test numbers low?

Post them please, in any case

The V-6 definitely has adjustable valve lash . . . but it’s a pita to actually do it. Not pita bread, the other pita, if you know what I mean. Think acronym :wink:

If the compression was low, correcting valve lash may result in improved compression, possibly enough to take care of those misfires and make starting easier.

In all honesty, I think the coil packs and injectors may have been pure guesswork on the part of the dealership mechanics, because their diagnostic skills are probably terrible. This is known as the shotgun approach, not that the guys at the dealership will ever admit to using this approach . . .

Just because you’re going to the Toyota dealer, doesn’t actually mean you’re getting the best guys. But it does mean the hourly rate is the highest, and they’re definitely using factory parts.

The next questions are extremely detailed

And it’s important that you answer them exactly, not I think so, sort of, and so forth

Is the hard starting present ONLY after the car’s been sitting all night?

After you start the car stone cold after sitting all night and you drive the car for several miles to do your errands and shut it off to go the grocery store, for example, does it restart easily? No funny business?

If so, low compression is quite possibly THE reason for your problems

If you have vacuum leaks . . . flat intake gaskets, example . . . that tend to seal better as the engine warms up, that will not generally affect starting.

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I am surprised the dealer changed all injectors and all that other stuff. A quick test could indicate whether or not the engine is starving for fuel or one or more plugs are bad.

I assume the fuel filter was changed with the new injectors. If not do it.

A vacuum leak around the intake manifold could lead to multiple misfires. A smoke test could identify the leak. You can also take a can of carburetor cleaner, run the engine and spray around the intake manifold. A change in engine speed/rpm would indicate a leak.

A real filthy throttle body could also cause problems, cleaning it well would not hurt, but I am reluctant to think it would cause multile misfires suddenly.

P0157 and P2238 are O2 sensor related and could be caused by the misfire.

A 2004 Camry doesn’t have a separate filter, as far as I know

The only filter would be the sock

That test method often doesn’t always work on modern engines

I am not sure because I remember on mechanic telling me that the fuel filter on my car might be in the gas tank. He did tell me to try to get it put on a smoke machine

This is a red flag to me. Surely not every sensor went bad at the same time. I think your mechanic is just throwing parts at the problem instead of doing a proper diagnosis.

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This would be my question as well considering ignition and fuel supposedly were addressed. Should have been done early on…

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Can’t find out the compression numbers but I have found a mechanic who will put it on the smoke machine to find what the problem is, will have that done very soon. Will let you know what we find. My son , a mechanic but not in my area things it may be a leak in the e vap system, so we will see.

Missfire at idle, check for vacuum leaks first.