One problem related to grinding noise has been reported for the 1997 Toyota Camry. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
The front brakes make noise and produce a grinding sound when applied with normal pressure. The dealer stated that Toyota knows of the problem but can't fix it. My regular mechanic has had other complaints with Toyotas from his customers. I can't understand why it can't be fixed. 2) on my 25,000 mile service I could not have my back tires rotated because they were cupped. I was told this is because of weak shocks on the car. My wife who weighs 100 pounds is the one who drives this car 85% of the time and with my two kids the total weight is less that 300 pounds. I noticed that the car would bottom out but did not expect to have poorly performing shocks. I am very dissatisfied with these two problems to the point that I wonder where else Toyota cut corners on quality. If this report is going to Toyota, please pass on that the chances of this consumer buying another one of their products is zero. Also, the chances of a bad referral is highly probable. At the minimum, it is better than Toyota coming up with a solution to a known problem.