Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | |||
| 03/25/2004 | 75000 | 1 | 08/08/2003 |
| 8/2003 bought car. at 75.000 miles, freeze plugs started to go. one after the other. leaving me stranded many times. after we replaced the freeze plugs, 76.000 miles the car started dumping its coolant through the overflow tank.. could not get answers from phillips toyota. started loosing oil. the obd light has never come on. the car runs quite and smooth. made several attempts to take care of this problem with the corporation, but they will not help. also, the brakes have always made loud noises, and the cruise control has a mind of its own. car has now, 130000 miles on it, and all i can do, is add water every 25 miles or so. none of the shops we have taken it to can tell us what the problem is. can you help me please. *jb | |||
| 03/08/2003 | 1 | ||
| The driver's side tail light had blown out several times, the mechanic finally diagnosed the vehicle's electronic control module shorted out the tail lights.8jb | |||
| 03/30/2001 | 1 | 12/21/1995 | |
| While driving at approximately 40 mph felt a slight loss of power which was corrected by itself. a minute later, wheels locked up, and vehicle came to a stop. transmission repair shop informed consumer that transaxle cracked and it broke off where it was attached to the body. differential unit locking was torn up, and center support was wiped out. transfer case also broke where it went onto the body. *ak dealer also stated that there was chunks of metal found from the differential drain plug. consumer had electrical problems with vehicle including starting problems. strut failure. key and lock problems. windshield wipers faulty. interior and brake light failure. *slc | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - BATTERY | |||
| 02/01/1996 | 5 | 10/04/1995 | |
| Upon starting vehicle at idle speed, the control valve sticks. this problem has been examined by dealership, and consumer has been told that this was normal. *ak brakes experience grinding, squeaking, and vibration, rotors were warped and brake pads were glazed, brakes have been replaced, however problem continues. consumer states there is a suspension problem that is causing uneven tire wear. vehicle experiences several engine related problems, motor mounts were weak causing steering wheel vibration, 16 valve seals came apart due to being installed incorrectly, water pump leaked, timing belt failed, valve cover leaked, and cam seal was replaced. vehicle experienced transmission related problems, right outer axle boot was split and leaking grease, cv boots failed twice, shifter was hard and was making noises, dealer found the shifter lever plate was broken, transmission pan gasket was replaced, there was a clunking noise in the rear when going in reverse. the car jack was missing from the trunk and the antenna was inoperable. dealer found an open circuit in the battery. consumer noticed a rattling noise under the right front seat, dealer secured seat slide adjuster hook, temperature gauge did not work properly. overdrive light was inoperable. vehicle has experienced several fuel related problems, the egr valve assembly, egr modulator, idler control valve, idle air speed control, distributor o-ring, idler bearing, isc valve, and vacuum switching valve have all been replaced, blue smoke was coming out of the exhaust, dealer cleaned the throttle body, fuel injection, and recalibrated the fuel sensor, vehicle was running rough and stalling due to faulty egr vacuum modulator, dealer stated that the valve would default if there was too much oil added, the valve is too small so it will stick or become clogged up with carbon build up. *slc | |||
| 04/25/2000 | 1 | 07/01/1996 | |
| The vehicle failed to start due to loose connection and corroded battery terminal. yh | |||
| 1 | 06/01/1996 | ||
| Battery leak. | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION | |||
| 07/13/2007 | 130000 | 2 | 01/10/1996 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 1996 toyota camry. on two separate occasions, the contact was able to exit the vehicle with the key in his hand and the vehicle in drive. on one occasion, the vehicle rolled backwards down the driveway. the contact sustained minor injuries. there is a recall on the 1997 model regarding this same failure. the current mileage was 133,700 and failure mileage was 130,000. updated 03/26/08. *lj | |||
| 03/15/1997 | 1 | ||
| Consumer states that while turning on ignition vehicle will vibrate. nlm | |||
| 03/29/2000 | 1 | 07/01/1996 | |
| Vehicle failed to start due to fuel injection failure and failure of the spark plugs. *mjs | |||
| 04/01/1998 | 1 | 04/05/1997 | |
| 1sc valve sticks causing ignition to not start vehicle. | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION - SWITCH | |||
| 07/16/2002 | |||
| Consumer can take key out of ignition while vehicle is not in park. this had caused an accident. dealer notified. *ak | |||
| 4 | 11/01/1995 | ||
| I bought the car brand new toyota camry le in nov. 95 it was model 96. an ongoing problem of starting the car. when i start the car whether its morning or in the afternoon, once i release the key it dies. i've been going to 2 toyota dealers and their diagnosed is always the idle control. i believe the problem started in 1997, then again in 1999. i went to toyota north hollywood and they fixed it by replacing the idle valve itself, so i was told. then may 2000, i had a problem again when in my dashboard the warning check engine lit. so i went again to have it fixed. then this time, i am having a problem again starting the car, the engine dies and i have to step on gas pedal for more than 2 minutes to start it , whether it's morning or afternoon. i went back to toyota service this time in toyota wondries alhambra where i bought the car. and they said they need to replace the idle control valve again and it will cost again $330. why is this an ongoing problem? i know dozens of cars from my friends and families but they dont go through the same problem every other year. please help.*ak | |||
| 01/07/1997 | 1 | 11/29/1995 | |
| Gear shift would not release the key. | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - STARTER ASSEMBLY | |||
| 3 | |||
| Starter panel failed to work. this would cause vehicle to stall out for no reason or warning. has happened at least three times. *ak | |||
| 01/15/1997 | 1 | 02/17/1996 | |
| Vehicle would not start after sitting for 2 days. | |||
| 1 | 03/01/1996 | ||
| Starter failure. | |||
| 06/01/1996 | 1 | 05/01/1996 | |
| Starter failed, causing vehicle to stall. | |||
| 12/31/1996 | 1 | 03/01/1996 | |
| Starter failed. | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING | |||
| 07/04/1996 | 11 | 03/01/1996 | |
| Dates of service for the same problem: 7/17/96, 7/29/96, 9/06/96, 9/20/96, 11/02/96, 07/10/97,10/06/97 dealer turned off engine light but problem was only temporarily fixed. 5/14/98 is the most recent date when engine light illuminated & turned off by itself 3 days later, therefore 5/14/98 occurrence was not brought in for service. dealer had concluded the cause to be several things. their first diagnosis was that the light being set off by electrical malfunction in alarm wiring (alarm was installed by the same dealer), the next diagnosis was it was due to bad charcoal cannister for which the parts were specially ordered & car was brought in for service from date 9/12/96 to 9/19/96. the problem was shortly fixed for the engine light went on again and car was brought in again on 11/02/96. it was a hassle to keep bringing in the car only to have the engine light on 1-2 weeks later. i have been giving up on this problem (ie bringing in to the dealer). the problem still exists. i just ignore it& the light would go off by itself which is equivalent to the result of my dealer's service, only ignoring it saves me time & energy. dealer keeps telling me it's not dangerous and keep bringing the car in whenever this happens again. | |||
| 03/19/1996 | 9 | ||
| Turn signal blinks too fast due to loose rear wire connection. *sd | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING - FRONT UNDERHOOD | |||
| 06/02/2003 | 54000 | 0 | 08/15/1996 |
| My 1996 toyota camry caught on fire while on the road. the vehicle was tottalled. *ak | |||
| 06/07/2002 | 1 | 04/01/2002 | |
| The engine seized and blew while driving on the interstate, which caused a catastophic fire and complete damage to the entire engine and surrounding parts. it was a potentially disastrous event that could have caused great injury. we are contacting toyota regarding the newsworthy engine sludge problem that they are admitting in 1996-2000 camrys (ours was 1996) and there claim of honoring engine damage claims.*ak | |||
| 07/01/1998 | |||
| Engine caught on fire while driving down the highway. *ak | |||
| 07/15/1998 | 5 | 07/01/1996 | |
| Vehicle has experienced continued starting problems due to faulty wiring to the main engine harness, prior repairs of the egr valve did not rectify start up failure. *mjs | |||
| 11/27/1996 | |||
| Vehicle was parked for period of 10 minutes and under the hood fire broke out due to an electrical short, will provide more information. *ak | |||