I have a 98 camry with about 205k miles and have few questions:
1) How often should we replace fuel filter (last time it was replaced at 110k)
2) Lately shift from Drive (D) to Parking (P) and rear (R) etc becomes very stiff and it does not easily go from P to D and vice versa and sometimes stuck in between and I have to put extra force to move it, what can be the possible issue?
3) Sometimes, once every 10-15 days when start the car rmp stay low near 0 until i start driving the car and press accelerator, what can be possible issue?

Thanks
--rubs

Hello,


Like you, I rarely replace the fuel filter. I do it whenever I have extra time on my hands. Even though the mfg. suggestion is usually ever 3 years or so, I've never had an issue related to a fuel filter clogging and I replace mine every 60k to 100k. So "If it ain't broke, don't worry about it."

If you just have an issue removing the car from park to any gear, it could be the brake switch. The brake switch prevents you from moving the car out of park without stepping on the brake. There is an override on the shifter. You can see a plastic cap, remove it, and if you press the button with a screwdriver you can move the car from park without stepping on the brake. I would try this just to see if it makes it any easier.

If you have difficulty in general moving the shifter, the linkage might be rusted a bit.

Once you step on the gas, is everything fine? If the car is idling low until it warms up, you might have a temperature sensor or cold start injector that is malfunctioning. If the car corrects itself right after you step on the gas, I wouldn't worry about it. For a car with 200k miles, it sounds like it isn't a big issue. I actually have the same car and the shop manual (however, I'm writing this reply from memory.)

> I had an 87 Camry for 16 years (240K+ miles) and still have a 94 Camry (220K+ miles) I bought in 2000. Never changed the fuel filter on either. Never had a fuel related problem. I live in a desert but if I were back east, I'd go with every 100K miles due to the nasty weather and wild temp changes.

> Check the maintenance manuals listed at the top of the forum. Read up on the shift interlock system. There may be a clue there. May just be a binding linkage.

> First thing that comes in view after the above suggestions is the Idle Air Control (IAC) valve. It opens a port downstream of the throttle valve (butterfly valve) in the throttle body assembly. This keeps the engine idling when the throttle valve is closed (foot off the pedal). The valve itself could be going or the port could be getting clogged or cycling between clogged and not. I would lean towards the valve itself due to the fact it appears all is well when warmed up. The valve could be reacting to cool temps.