Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STRUCTURE - BODY | |||||
| BO02800 | 11/03/2000 | 616095 | Technical service bulletin introducing a field fix for incidents of moisture and odors permeating into the vehicle. the quarter panel air duct flaps may have become loose or missing. replacing the quarter panel air duct will remedy | 02/09/2001 | |
| 032999 | 03/29/1999 | 605165 | Subject on center console latch improvements. *tt | 06/02/1999 | |
| BO00599 | 03/26/1999 | 604653 | Improvements on center console compartment door latch on vehicles built within certain vin ranges. *tt | 05/07/1999 | |
| BO03098 | 12/04/1998 | 603187 | Information on rear console box improvements. *yc | 02/08/1999 | |
| 970822BO0025 | 08/22/1997 | 54416 | Seat cover replacement for side air bag equipped vehicles. *yc | 04/07/1998 | |
| STRUCTURE - BODY - HOOD | |||||
| BO03198 | 12/11/1998 | 603191 | Information on hood prop rod support clamp improvement. *yc | 02/08/1999 | |
| STRUCTURE - BODY - TRUNK LID | |||||
| AX00101 | 03/09/2001 | 619097 | Technical service bulletin regarding retro-fit internal trunk release kits. *tt | 05/14/2001 | |
| 351 | 11/07/2000 | 616054 | Subject regarding leaks into trunk. *tt | 02/08/2001 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| STRUCTURE | |||
| 11/14/2010 | 139000 | ||
| 1998 toyota camry (139k miles) rear driver side tie rod break while driving. purchased two rear tires and car alignment mid october. two weeks later while driving on a city road, felt a problem with wheels, pulled off road, called tow truck. tie rod had broken into two equal sized pieces. tie rod was very rusted and corroded and missing the sleeve that covers over both ends. part was either defective from the beginning or somhow lost the sleeve. it was impossible to align the car. however the tire place charged me for an alignment when i bought the tires. more annoying was the fact that they never informed me the tie rod was damaged/rusted and liable to break. i had no indication the tie rod was defective and have since learned that a break like that is rare. fortunately i was driving slowly and no damage to the car or injury. lastly i have tires rotated twice a year at local toyota place and was never informed the tie rod was defective/ rusted and missing the sleeve | |||
| STRUCTURE - BODY | |||
| 05/01/2003 | 55000 | 1 | 12/01/2001 |
| The paint on the hood of my car is peeling off. it first began to bubble and then peel. the areas are very large and it looks terrible. i believe it has to be a defect in the paint job because the rest of the paint is fint. *ak | |||
| 100 | 01/01/1999 | ||
| When making a sudden stop brakes will experience a longer stopping distance intermittently. dealer cannot determine defect. *ak dealer would make so called adjustments, however would not remedy the problem, a brake specialist detected brake problem, but could not find the exact problem, consumer feels brakes are unmatching parts or something along those lines that does not allow for repair, the dealer has adjusted rear brakes, replaced brake pads, machined rotors, replaced rear wheel cylinders. consumer states vehicle is too low to the ground, vehicle would scrape the ground while entering and exiting driveway that had a very small peak, dealer stated strusts were fine, consumer feels struts are defective. vehicle has a loud engine noise and idles high on a cold start, dealer adjusted the timing belt. left sun visor is loose, dealer tightened, visor mirrors were crackedm dealer replaced. air conditioner has an odor when in use. tires keep losing air, found tires were missing a valve stem. engine light illuminated, dealer replaced air fuel sensor, engine stalls at times when starting, deale replaced the iac valve. right headlamp is dim, dealer ordered new bulb assembly, bulb shorted. consumer contacted previous owner of vehicle who stated that there were many brake problem that the dealer could not fix, manufacturer told her that some of these vehicles were made with an ill fitting part that would eventually be recalled, previous owner had returned vehicle due to these brake problems, when current owner bought vehicle toyota hid the fact that vehicle was leased and that it had experienced these brake problems. *slc | |||
| 03/01/1998 | |||
| Sunvisors on driver's and passenger's sides of vehicle are designed too small to block the sun, and they make it hard to see while driving. dealer says it's designed that way. *ak | |||
| 2 | 05/01/1998 | ||
| Left and right visor mirrors failed. yh | |||
| 02/01/1998 | |||
| Sun visors. | |||
| 09/01/1998 | 1 | ||
| Visor mirror cover broke off. *yc | |||
| 12/01/1998 | 1 | 03/13/1998 | |
| Sunvisor failed. mjs | |||
| 04/15/1998 | |||
| When there are passengers in the back seats, and vehiclegoes over a speed bump, the bottom of the vehicle hits the ground. *ak | |||
| STRUCTURE - BODY - BUMPERS | |||
| 05/03/1999 | 1 | 11/01/1997 | |
| Pulling very slowly into a parking space, i scraped the metal around the wheel opening of the car next to me. he had paint marks but the side front driver's bumper was completely smashed. | |||
| STRUCTURE - BODY - DOOR | |||
| 12/11/2006 | 38199 | 01/01/2001 | |
| Tl* - the contact states that in december of 2001 3 out of her 4 door handles failed. the only one that didn't fail was the passenger side door handle, since it was rarely used. then on december 11 of 2006 the passenger rear door handle failed. the contact is concern because on 12/06/06 the front passenger door handle that she got repaired in december of 2001 failed, as well as the rear left handle door seems to be on the verge of breaking. the contact also states that once the door handle fails there isn't a way to get out the vehicle and that is definitely a safety concern for her. the contact can provide pictures, the failed door handle and or, invoices if needed. | |||
| 06/26/2002 | 2 | 08/01/2000 | |
| Apparently some part or parts have failed within the door handle assembly, resulting in the inability to open doors. often this failure results in not being able to open a door from either the inside or the outside of the vehicle. simultaneous failures could result in being trapped inside the car.*ak | |||
| 08/03/2000 | 1 | 02/01/1998 | |
| Dealer wants 80$ to tell us if gas tank purge valve is under warrenty or not. also dealer states that door handle clip breaking is a common problem. | |||
| 01/01/2000 | 2 | 10/02/1998 | |
| A clip within the door handle assembly broke, making it impossible for driver and passenger to open doors. *ak *ml | |||
| 09/13/1999 | 1 | 07/01/1998 | |
| Battery was replaced by toyota (no cost to me ) because it was defective. but the following problem still exists since day one: electric shock when touching door on the way out after turning engine off. when turning engine off. | |||
| 09/24/1999 | 1 | 08/01/1998 | |
| Right rear door handle difficult to open. yh | |||
| 4 | 03/01/1998 | ||
| Power door lock failed. yh | |||
| 06/10/1998 | 1 | 06/01/1998 | |
| Electric locks failed. yh | |||
| 6 | 02/01/1998 | ||
| Driver's side door handle doesn't work from inside the car. | |||
| 04/01/1998 | 1 | 02/15/1998 | |
| Left side interior panel does not fit tightly. yh | |||
| 1 | 08/01/1998 | ||
| The driver side door has no padding or rubber gasket,as a result forehead of consumer gashed. yh | |||
| 08/14/1999 | |||
| When consumer attempts to exit the vehicle, there is a sharp corner of the door that when closing hits and injures her leg. *ak *yc | |||
| 08/18/1999 | 10 | 10/01/1997 | |
| Electric door locks fail at random. if you enter the car, close the door, and lock the car using the electric door lock on the drivers side, you cannot unlock the car doors unless the key is in the ignition and turned to the on position. this is clearly | |||
| 1 | |||
| Power door locks are designed to only lock when all four doors are slammed shut, failure of lock system when one door not closed with excessive force. mjs | |||
| 1 | 11/01/1998 | ||
| Lock design allows for consumers to be temporarly locked in vehicle. | |||
| 11/18/1998 | |||
| When someone gets out of the passenger or driver side front or back of vehicle and locks the door behind them, if anyone is left inside vehicle, he could not get out from the inside, door locks, they would need keys or the transmitter. *ak | |||
| 01/01/1998 | 01/01/1998 | ||
| Doors will not close completely unless they are slammed shut. dealer contacted and is aware of the problem, states the design of the vehicle, cannot duplicate the problem. problem still exists. *ak | |||
| 1 | |||
| Power door locks fail intermittently. | |||
| 12/02/1997 | 4 | 12/02/1997 | |
| Power door locks indicated that it is not locked when infact it is, locking passengers inside. after restarting engine and manipulating lock several times locks will release. | |||
| STRUCTURE - BODY - DOOR - HINGE AND ATTACHMENTS | |||
| 10/17/2005 | 100000 | 1 | 12/01/1997 |
| Dt: the consumer complained about a problem with driver's side door handle. upon pulling open the door handle it broke off. the vehicle has not been taken to an auto shop for repair. the handle was made of poor quality plastic that was very fragile. this was the first and only incident with the door handle. no repairs or corrections have been made. *ak | |||
| 01/14/2004 | 60000 | 1 | 08/30/1998 |
| Door handle on driver's side broke off (in cold weather) when i tired to open the door. *ak | |||
| STRUCTURE - BODY - HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE - SUPPORT DEVICE | |||
| 01/01/1998 | 01/01/1998 | ||
| Doors will not close completely unless they are slammed shut. dealer contacted and is aware of the problem, states the design of the vehicle, cannot duplicate the problem. problem still exists. *ak | |||
| STRUCTURE - FRAME AND MEMBERS | |||
| 06/26/1998 | 4 | 09/01/1997 | |
| Either the frame is out of line or something is wrong with the front end alignment parts as the front end cannot be aligned according to specs. they replaced bolts in the front end for alignment & this did not correct the problem of front end shimmy and tire wear. | |||
| 1 | 07/26/1998 | ||
| Metallic sounds coming from under the chassis. yh | |||