Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STEERING - LINKAGES - ROD - RELAY - CONNECTING | |||||
| TSB-0177-09 | 06/12/2009 | 10032712 | Toyota: vehicles may exhibit a condition with multiple warning lights illuminated, vehicle not shifting from park to drive, and other accessories becoming inoperative after the vehicle has cold soaked in sub freezing (below 14 f[-10 c]) am | 04/30/2010 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| STEERING | |||
| 09/17/2011 | 58000 | ||
| I have a 2008 camry that has steering issues. the steering wheel is loose and hard to control with severe vibration at speeds of 35mph and up. i have made several trips to the toyota dealer and told nothing is wrong with the car. i have had new brakes and rotors recently as well as new tires. i can not get help from anyone with the above issue. i do not feel safe driving this car let alone putting my kids in it, however i do not have a choice. toyota needs to do the right thing and issue a recall on the 2008 camrys. | |||
| 03/01/2011 | 30000 | ||
| While turning the toyota steering wheel, i can notice a severe clicking or thumping sound from the steering wheel. it appears there is a problem with the suspension or the struts. i took my toyota to get it check out a few months before the warranty expired. they indicated the struts were leaking. one strut was severely leaking so they replaced it. the other strut was also leaking but not as severe so it was not replaced. however, the steering column has the aforementioned noise and i know, through internet searches, that many owners have experienced this problem. it's likely a mass defect that should be looked at asap before someone is severely injured. my wife uses the car to take my children to school so i am very concerned about the safety of the vehicle. | |||
| 12/13/2010 | |||
| The power steering systemof the 2008 toyota camry se seems to be faulty. the car suddenly shook violently from left to right when my wife reached a speed of 45mph. then the car drove into a ditch. when she pushed the brakes, the car turned over. the car was totalled,but none of the 6 airbags deployed. | |||
| 07/05/2008 | 7 | ||
| Driving on back road late at night-car suddenly veried to left hitting oncoming car-then going into ditch-could not control my car-was having problems prior-as car kept wanting to veer to right and acceletor seemed to stick from time to time-car was totaled and i suffered from injuries.i was one mile from my home when accident occured. i always felt like car had handling problems-but with toyda,s quality reputation did not think it was a manufacturing issue. i have a new toyda-still has tendancy to acciler ate from time to time unexpectedly-no accidents or close calls. | |||
| 03/10/2010 | 50000 | ||
| 11 days ago the marina toyota dealership performed both toyota recall repairs on my 2008 camry. on march 10, around 0519 am, i was starting to park my car at the gym. i applied the brakes to slow into the parking stall. the moment that i applied the brakes; the engine started to race; the car lurched forward; the brakes were useless in stopping the vehicle; and i could not steer the vehicle. my vehicle slammed into a parked jeep cheroke; the jeep inturn collided with a parked subaru outback. my vehicle was towed to the dealership and we are waiting for toyota's technicians to examine the car. i am very thankful to god that no one was injured or killed in this incident. however, i firmly believe that my camry is unsafe and i will never drive it again. i have written the vehicle off as a total loss. since i am a jehova witness, i cannot sell the vehicle because then i would be blood-guilty if anyone was injured or killed by the vehicle. i am a electrical engineer with a masters degree in electronics and control systems. i have 32 years experience in systematically solving electrical problems (particularly intermittent electrical issues). in my case, given the simultaneous failure of multiple systems (engine rpm control, braking and steering), the cause is definitely electrical , not mechanical. my experience with computer controls strongly suggests that the key hardware involved is the on-board cpu. therefore, in my professional engineering opinion, toyota has not determined the root cause of the sudden acceleration problem. | |||
| 11/29/2009 | 57000 | 1 | |
| I bought a new 2008 toyota camry in nov 2007, at around 50k miles i heard a grinding noise while driving and experienced vibration in the steering wheel . i brought it into the dealer and they noted the strut needed to be replaced. not soon after that repair @ around 80k miles i experienced the same noise and vibration in the wheel again and i took it to a les schwab auto shop they linked the problem to the struts and wheel bearings which caused uneven tire wear. as the car was still under warranty i took it to the dealer again, they agreed with the assessment from les schwab and replaced the struts again and the wheel bearing. the dealer agreed that i should not be replacing the struts as often as i was on a relatively new vehicle. dealer mentioned that it is a defect and toyota (the corporation) is aware of it and that i should be getting a letter in the mail to that effect. to date ( 2/26/10) i have received no such letter. the concern is that nhtsa has not yet gotten to the bottom of all the defects that are out there with the camry models for the years that are now being recalled for accelerator issues. with the recent recall i had to bring my camry in to get the gas pedal shortened and to install the shimmy to prevent the sudden acceleration. please look into the issue with the struts as the strut housing serves as a structural part of the suspension system and it connects the upper strut bearing to the lower ball joint so that the entire assembly can then pivot when the steering wheel is turned. struts therefore affects the driver's ability to steer and maneuver the vehicle safely, i now see that the corolla are being recalled for steering issues, i am concerned that this is not limited to only that model as my camry had issues with steering that was linked to defective struts. struts should not wear out as often as mine did on a new car. for the safety of toyota drivers investigate how many vehicles from 2007 to 2010 have had issues with struts. *tr | |||
| 02/25/2010 | 41000 | 1 | |
| I am writing to you in regards to my 2008 toyota camry se. i have notice whenever driving on a road that is not paved well the something under my vehicle causes the steering to lose control. i have to make sure that i hold onto my steering wheel tightly or it goes out of control which could have cause me to have an accident. my car is apart of the other recall and i plan to address this issue with the dealership but i thing that this is another thing government needs to look at. this car is not safe. i am afraid everyday i have to drive it. i want them to look into this matter as well. i don't want to have an accident in this vehicle when it could have been avoided. i am sending this information about what happens in my vehicle just in case there is an incident and i am letting the government know something needs to be done about this as well. *tr | |||
| 02/26/2009 | 15000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2008 toyota camry. the contact stated that she was driving 60 mph. the weather conditions were inclement and the roads were covered with snow when the vehicle lost control and did not respond to her steering at all. the contact called an authorized dealer and explained what happened. the dealer stated that she should call highway patrol to ensure that there was no black ice on the highway. the contact did contact highway patrol who confirmed that there were no known reports of black ice on the freeway. the manufacturer was not called. the failure mileage was 15,000 and the current mileage was 25,870. updated 04/16/10. *lj | |||
| 10/10/2009 | 15000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2008 toyota camry. the contact was driving approximately between 50-55 mph. suddenly, there was a loss of steering control. the driver stated the vehicle began to drift to the left and right direction. the vehicle was able to continue in operation. there was extreme difficulty steering. the failures occurred at high traveled speed rates. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer on three separate occasions for the identical failures. the technician performed a wheel alignment and rotation of the tires. the malfunctions progressed which there were no resolutions. the failure mileage was 15,000. | |||
| 02/08/2010 | 24200 | 1 | |
| I purchased a pre owned 08 toyota camry this past summer and had noticed problems with the steering in that it over compensated when making a 90 degree turn. at a certain angle - for me 90 degrees hard left - the steering wheel locks instead of coming back to neutral when you lift your hands. if i lift my hands slightly off the wheel and remove my foot from the gas the car will turn itself into my garage. a driver expects the wheel to come back and slide thru your hands to neutral. in this case it does not come to neutral, you have to actively correct the steering. it also seems to speed up. my 26 year daughter commented that it took her by surprise and takes some getting used to. i called toyota in response to the pedal recall and while on the phone asked them about the steering. the customer service rep said she knew nothing about it and could not address it. she transferred me an i waited on hold until i gave up. i took the car to my local toyota dealer and described this problem. they kept it for two days and said they could not reproduce the problem. pulling out of the service bay i replicated it - steering wheel locking and foot off the gas;car kept going by itself, hard left - almost running over three of the toyota staff . i had to fight the car to get it to straighten out. they observed for themselves but just asked if i was ok . toyota has over engineered their product. the steering problem is also on the camry. *tr | |||
| 04/01/2008 | 7000 | 1 | |
| I own a 2008 toyota camry and have had a few serious problems that were never recognized by the toyota dealer which i always serviced the car. they range from small to serious. front struts seem to be leaking hydraulic fluid, i also complained about a steering problem to the dealer, they inspected the car and told me they found nothing wrong. the steering issue was very apparent, and now has gotten worse. when cornering at low or higher speeds the car seems to skip, and controlling the car gets much more difficult, which becomes a serious safety issue for me. there where service bulletins available for these issues but yet my car was never repaired. another issue i have noticed has been with braking, the car will vibrate dramatically once brakes are applied. the brakes have been replaced and rotors have been cut 5 months ago. the car has new tires and has been aligned in the past 6 months as requested by the toyota dealer, yet the steering problems persist. i feel very unsafe driving this car, in back of my mind i feel like something serious might happen every time i get in this car and drive it. i have no confidence driving this car. *tr | |||
| 08/01/2009 | 7000 | 1 | |
| My 2008 toyota camry le has a vibration problem that occurs throughout the car and is felt in the steering wheel when the car hits speeds between 40 - 55 mph, particularly going uphills in d. i took it to my toyota dealer and they informed me that this was natural. the mechanic told me, the car just has to shake sometimes to get up a hill when going at such low rpm's. i don't buy it, and i know of several others who have said the same problem has occurred in their camry's as well (www.edmunds.com). *tr | |||
| STEERING - ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM | |||
| 02/09/2008 | 600 | 6 | 01/28/2008 |
| Loss of power steering in brand new 08 camry hybrid. *tr | |||