My 1995 Camry has 125K on it, and I have noticed recently that the weatherstripping on the rear door openings has started to turn from soft rubber into a kind of goo. This is happening at the door opening, at the bottom, and it happening on both sides of the car.

Any ideas why this happened, and more importantly, can I do anything to stop or fix it?

I have included pictures at:
http://hpyglmore2.tripod.com/car/index.album

You can click on the "view full-size" for better detail

(http://hpyglmore2.tripod.com/)

No idea. I have a 94 and don't have this problem.

You are not alone!! My 95 has the same problem. I don't drive it every day so I guess I need to take a closer look. It might be some undercoating. My 95 has 220K on it.

Anyone got any ideas?

My 94 has the same problem, and it's very sticky! I should say it's now hairy because everytime my dawgs get in the car, their tails get stuck in the goo!

In the past I have removed it, but it just comes back.

Jackie

So it seems that others have this problem too... does anyone know why this is happening/how to prevent it/can I reaplace the gasket myself?

I also have this problem on my 94. Check out the following.
http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/archive/topic/156906-1.html
and
http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/archive/topic/23447-1.html

I have not tried this stuff. And according to Jackie, it will just come back. But I guess you still wash your dog even tho it will get dirty anyway, ya? I haven't found anything about why it happens or how to prevent it. There are probably OEM weatherstripping you can get that's a different material that you can put on yourself. I would check sites like partstrain. The second thread linked above one person said the dealer replaced it free and it was a "known problem." Another person says the dealer wanted $400 to fix. So I would take it to dealer first and see if you get any luck.

Edit: Haha, apparently I don't even read my own references! The first post of the second thread tells you what causes the problem and how to fix it. :-X I have not looked myself, but I assume they're talking about the black tacky stuff that holds the clear plastic sheet inside of the door panel. Anyone know of a sealant we can use to replace it that won't ooze?