I have a 2010 Toyota Camry LE.Since day 1, there is a loud clicking noise every time the car shifts from first to second gear, exactly at 11 mph. Diagnostics showed no problems. I was finally able to have my service tech hear the noise. The service mgr. has the same car so we drove it to see if it also made the same noise – it did! I have been told that it is of no concern but I don’t understand why a brand new car (bought in 5/2009) should have an undiagnosed noise, especially in light of all the other Toyota issues. Any thoughts?
Contact Toyota’s Corporate-level customer service staff regarding this issue.
Contact info is in your Owner’s Manual.
A new transmission should not make a loud clicking noise when shifting, and if this condition exists in other Camrys also, it may indicate yet another design flaw in this vaunted brand. As Business Week reported in a recent issue, even some of Toyota’s long-time suppliers have been shocked to see the reduction in quality of newer Toyota models.
BW also reported that internal e-mails from within Toyota’s US division revealed conflicts between those staffers who wanted to keep cheaping-out on design/construction and those who insisted that this cost-reduction campaign would wind up biting the company in the butt. Guess who was proven to be correct?
I would be fearful that this noise indicates a problem that will result in component failure somewhere in the future–possibly after the warranty expires. If you have this complaint documented now–including a “case number”–you should be covered for transmission repair even after expiration of the warranty. Hopefully an escalated level of complaint will yield a fix in the near term. If not, at least you want this complaint documented in the event of future mechanical problems.
As usual, very good advice from VDC.
I also want to point out that the srvc mgr’s car is most likely a dealership perk, and he does not own/make payments on it, so he really does not care if it lasts a long time or if it breaks often-he’ll get a new one in a minute.
Any Thoughts ? Yes, I Do Have A Thought. Carefully Reread What You Wrote At The End Of Your Question.
" . . . but I don’t understand why a brand new car (bought in 5/2009) should have an undiagnosed noise, especially in light of all the other Toyota issues. Any thoughts?"
Read it again, slowly. The question contains the answer. 
CSA
Hey! My car is doing this same thing. Did you ever figure out the issue? Happens just like yours? Any long term issues?
Warren it not likely that someone from 10 years ago will see your post.
You will get much better help by clicking on the New Topic button , list your vehicle , mileage and a clear description of your problem.
Click during auto trans shift is likely selenoid activation no cause 4 concern inless there are other symptoms.
I know I just came across this randomly and was hoping they were still active since this is the same issue I’m seeing
Hey thank you, it’s sometimes there and sometimes not. Dealer did a health check on the transmission and said it was fine. 2015 Toyota Camry. But I don’t know, it just scares me, the noise, like what is causing it.
Since the original poster’s vehicle was diagnosed as normal it was likely the sound of the ABS solenoids activating during the self test, this occurs once every ignition cycle at about 10 MPH and to call this “loud” is an exaggeration.
If your vehicle has a loud noise while accelerating it should be diagnosed by a technician.
This is actually a clicking noise when the car is downshifting into first. It doesn’t happen all the time, well like 50/50