Toyota Camry Problems

The FCAI guide to E10 compatibility indicates you can use E10 in your car and BP also says you could use E10 without a problem. But there is too little real world experience available yet to say for sure that it will be fine. At least for the short term your mechanic's advice to use Premium unleaded would seem to be prudent until we know more.

Try the new Michelin Primacy LC, we're told that it's specifically designed for a smooth ride and low road noise.

The consumption is higher than I would expect. When new Toyota was claiming 11.0 L/100 km in city driving and 8.0 or so on the highway, but after 280,000 km you could expect it to have worn a little and the compression would be down, so you would anticipate that you wouldn't be getting close to the new figures. Even so your consumption does seem too high.

I'd say you have an engine problem, perhaps a cracked head.  Chemiweld is mostly used for a temporary repair to seal a crack in the cooling system without tearing the engine down and doing a proper fix. It's worked to some degree in that the engine is no longer running roughly and there is less steam coming from the exhaust, but the problem still appears to be there. Pull the engine down and find the real cause of the problem.

Don’t do it, get the wheel alignment done correctly. Whoever did the wheel alignment hasn’t adjusted the tie-rod ends correctly. You can remove the steering wheel, but unless it’s a full spline out it won’t line up anyway. When you replace the wheel you will find there will be a code showing a problem with the airbag and you will have to reset the code. That would be a problem.

Your experience of increased performance and increased fuel consumption on E10 is in line with what we've been told would happen, but the failure of a rubber component in the fuel tank is cause for concern. So too is the starting difficulty you had. Both of your cars are claimed to be E10 compatible, but like you I'm not convinced that E10 won't cause some issues on some cars.

When you turn the key you should be able to hear the starter solenoid kick in to engage the starter, if it doesn't then it could be a problem with the solenoid. If you can hear it engaging the starter it could be the battery. Even though you say you have fitted a new one, check its condition and make sure it is one with sufficient cold cranking capacity for your car. When it does fire and go don't put your foot on the throttle immediately, the SV21 has   fuel-injection and doing that will confuse the ECU, just let it run for a moment before trying to drive away.

Yes, it fits within the legal maximum difference in diameter.

The repairs seem to have been carried out competently and the tests confirm that the engine is in good condition, so I would be happy to buy the car. The price your friend is asking is about the current market value and the kays are about average.

We haven't had any other reports of the problem on the Camry Hybrid, so it could be something related to the extra equipment you've fitted to your cars to operate as taxis.