Possible Purchase '01 Soloara - hlp buying it Common Issues?

[sumzxr7]

Hi,

I was unsure as to which section I would post, so I figured this would be the best place as it relates to the Gen 1 Solara.

I am currently in the process of looking for a new (used car) and within my budget I have narrowed it down to two cars. The 01-03 V6 SLE Solara or an 02 Altima 3.5 V6 SE. Both are amazing cars, but I am slightly biased towards Toyota and the overall refinement of the Camry/Soloara, etc.

Now with that said, I just wanted to know if there are any common "trouble" areas that I should look out for before I decide to purchase the car...is there any known issues, with the 3.0L V6. I am aware of the sludge issue, but I really think its due to neglect, but if anyone here can confirm that for me I would really appreciate it.

Ive pretty much driven Fords all my life 96 Probe GT, 1992 Cougar XR7 (5.0L - Mustang Motor) and a 1993 Ford Thunderbird SuperCoupe (Supercharged - 3.8 V6) so this would be first real foreign car (well full import as the Probe was essentially a Mazda)

Anyways, any help would be greatly appreciated.

With Regards,
Samir

[woa_its_j3ff]

careful, the solara has weak internals (engine), but it's never stopped me from loving this car. browse around the forum using "search" hopefully you can find something useful best of luck..

[sumzxr7]

Thanks...by weak internals what do you mean? rods, bearings, etc?

I dont think many of the used Solaras are driven too hard, so I am not to concerned..its not like Mustang where owners thrash their cars,etc.

As for the search, there isnt much that I was able to find, etc..

Is the sludge issue a major problem?

Thanks in advance.

[Turbosolara]

dont mind him. weak internal as if you cannot boost over 13 psi safely. sludge issue is like a urban legend, none of us had it. i test drove altima before, it was not as solid build as solara. keep in mind that this engine came with a dealer option along with a supercharger. my girlfriend's dad has a v6 camry with 1mzfe motor and he blow his motor at 200k miles, because he did not keep his maintanace up to date. i think solara is a good choice.

[jhenty]

the solara is a fantastic car. you wont have problems. The internals are fine if your not boosting. The sludge is only a problem if the previous owner didnt follow oil change intervals. If there was a sludge problem you would know it already. You wont be disapointed by this car and its better looking than an altima although not as powerful.

[Wang2k]

i had sludge. locked my oil pump up at like 60k and the motor locked up. It was definately due to neglect from the previous owner, who was a woman and probably didnt change the oil like she should have. I dont think sludge would ever be an issue if you use mobil 1 and change it regularly. But, for an extra measure of safety i put a bottle of sea foam in my oil the last 1000 miles or so before i change it to clean all the oil passages and break down sludge. My engine is fresh inside and i want it to stay that way. It may or may not be necessary, but i do it for that extra measure of safety.

BTW, when my engine locked, it thew a rod out the block. Toyota had to inspect the oil pump to make sure that was the cause because they said(came from a guy representing toyota) a 1mz had never thrown a rod in regular situations!

[Turbosolara]

i had sludge. locked my oil pump up at like 60k and the motor locked up. It was definately due to neglect from the previous owner, who was a woman and probably didnt change the oil like she should have. I dont think sludge would ever be an issue if you use mobil 1 and change it regularly. But, for an extra measure of safety i put a bottle of sea foam in my oil the last 1000 miles or so before i change it to clean all the oil passages and break down sludge. My engine is fresh inside and i want it to stay that way. It may or may not be necessary, but i do it for that extra measure of safety.

BTW, when my engine locked, it thew a rod out the block. Toyota had to inspect the oil pump to make sure that was the cause because they said(came from a guy representing toyota) a 1mz had never thrown a rod in regular situations!

you suppose to only keep the seafoam in the egine only 10 minutes of driving! because that thin out the oil and cause the engine oil lost vicosity and function of lubrication.

[Wang2k]

where did you get that from? boy where we live people run straight sea foam forever! lol j/p really tho i say 1000 miles but really its just a lil while, cuz i thought about the thinning. It is definately more than 10 minutes tho. i looked for an answer to the "how long to leave it in" question and never found it, so where did that come from?

[Wang2k]

also ive only done it once so no harm done im sure, i only have like 5000 miles since i built the motor

[sumzxr7]

Thanks to all of those that replied...i really appreciate it.....lots of usefull information.

Cheers,
Samir

[toy4x4boy]

As said the Solara is an excellent car, no real problem areas. Keep the maintenance up to date and it should last forever, like any Toyota.

[Turbosolara]

also ive only done it once so no harm done im sure, i only have like 5000 miles since i built the motor

from 240sx forums where people have 200k miles on their engine. some of them felt that just let it idle 10 min is good enough but some of them think you should rev it up for good couple minutes to "flush" out. but the oil thinning explaination make sense to me.

[WTF??]

solara owners have been coming up here n there stating they have problems with their idle... either it keeps going up and down, or they just cant keep it alive.... but theres a easy fix to it, which is to clean out the Throttle Body....

obviously if you do this regularly, you wont have any trouble....

overall its a great car and many of the owners with 99-01's are already in their 6-digit odometers

[Jeffrey Olson]

The two Solaras - 99 4 cylinder and the one I bought, a 99 V6 - have suspension problems. Consumers Reports rated the suspension on the 99 solar to be "fair" and the 04 to be "poor." All other years were very good or excellent

ore information

Reliability history
Trouble Spots Toyota Camry Solara V6
99 00 01 02 03 04 05
Engine 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
Cooling 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
Transmission 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
Drive System 5 4 5 5 4 5 5
Fuel 4 4 3 4 5 5 5
Ignitiion 5 5 4 5 5 5 5
Electrical 5 5 5 4 5 4 5
AC 5 5 5 5 4 5 5
Suspension 2 5 5 4 5 1 4
Brakes 4 4 4 4 5 5 5
Exhaust 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
Paint/Trim/Rust 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
Body Integrity 4 4 4 3 2 1 3
Power equipment 5 5 5 5 4 4 5
Body hardware 4 4 4 4 3 3 4
Used Car Verdicts 5 5 5 5 5 3 4
New Car Prediction Better than average 4

Jeff

[Hefty]

I've had to replace the EGR valve position sensor and have seen a couple of others indicate that as well. Also, had the idle stall problem but a throttle body cleaning took care of that. Had to replace an O2 sensor at about 107,000 miles.

The suspension is very smoothe over most bumps but when going over specifically sharp drops in the road a loud banging noise will emanate from the front suspension. Its only when the road drops out completely from under the car and the suspension will instantly pop out to the full range of motion and let out a loud thump -- so no jumping hills in this car if you can help it. The ride is a tad floaty and disconnected feeling with normal cruising. However, I've found that the car reacts predictably when pushed to the limits.

Just the other day I was getting off the highway and someone leaving a gas station right off the exit ramp decided to pull out in front of me and then come to a complete stop in the middle of the road. I had to stomp the brake pedal which reported with the growl of the antilock immediately kicking in and pulled the wheel sharply to the right and the car responded with impressive stability. I'm pretty sure I missed his car with all of about 2 inches to spare. Close enough to see the, "Holy Crap" look on his face.