Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| SERVICE BRAKES | |||
| 01/15/2013 | 26000 | 1 | |
| Vehicle was being driven on a dirt road, going around a corner, the vehicle did not slow down and went off the road and skidded alongside the road for about 30 ft. the vehicle then hit a few small stumps, still without slowing down, and finally slammed into a large tree. the impact in which the car hit the tree was so strong that the back end of the car rose up into the air and stayed in that vertical position. only the tail lights were still visible from the road after the car slammed into the tree and stopped. if the tree hadn't been hit, the car would have continued down the hillside into the bottom of a ravine, about another 40 ft. the entire front drivers side was shoved almost to the windshield and not one of the airbags deployed. the entire drivers side of the motor and hood were destroyed, the battery was crushed and leaking acid everywhere and was sitting behind the front tire and the hood was v shaped and pushed into the windshield. there were no skid marks so clearly the brakes weren't functioning properly either, also the speed in which the vehicle went into the tree shows that the acceleration was faulty because the vehicle wouldn't slow down. the drivers face slammed into the steering wheel and broke her nose and received a possible concussion because the airbags failed to deploy, along with numerous bruises and scratches. the damage is so severe that the car is a total loss but still we are left wondering why the airbags didn't go off. if the driver hadn't been wearing her seatbelt, it is very likely that she would have been thrown straight through the windshield and it would have been a fatality. we have pictures of the vehicle and the scene of the accident to show just how serious and dangerous this is. we would like to have answers as to why a vehicle with such high crash test ratings would fail to provide adequate safety to the driver. *tr | |||
| 01/15/2013 | 26000 | ||
| Vehicle was being driven on a dirt road, going around a corner, the vehicle did not slow down and went off the road and skidded alongside the road for about 30 ft. the vehicle then hit a few small stumps, still without slowing down, and finally slammed into a large tree. the impact in which the car hit the tree was so strong that the back end of the car rose up into the air and stayed in that vertical position. only the tail lights were still visible from the road after the car slammed into the tree and stopped. if the tree hadn't been hit, the car would have continued down the hillside into the bottom of a revene, about another 40 ft. the entire front drivers side was shoved almost to the windshield and not one of the airbags deployed. the entire drivers side of the motor and hood were destroyed, the battery was crushed and leaking acid everywhere and was sitting behind the front tire and the hood was v shaped and pushed into the windshield. there were no skid marks so clearly the brakes weren't functioning properly either, also the speed in which the vehicle went into the tree shows that the acceleration was faulty because the vehicle wouldn't slow down. the drivers face slammed into the steering wheel and broke her nose and received a possible concussion because the airbags failed to deploy, along with numerous bruises and scratches. the damage is so severe that the car is a total loss but still we are left wondering why the airbags didn't go off. if the driver hadn't been wearing her seatbelt, it is very likely that she would have been thrown straight through the windshield and it would have been a fatality. we have pictures of the vehicle and the scene of the accident to show just how serious and dangerous this is. we would like to have answers as to why a vehicle with such high crash test ratings would fail to provide adequate safety to the driver. | |||
| 06/14/2012 | 1 | ||
| There was a loud engine running all of sudden and the car took off by itself. it was very quick spurt of acceleration and slamming on brake did not slow down the car. the car was totally uncontrollable. the car ran over side walk and rammed into the school fence. my car was totaled. it was toyota's sudden acceleration defect happened to me. *tr | |||
| 06/14/2012 | |||
| There was a loud engine running all of sudden and the car took off by itself. it was very quick spurt of acceleration and slamming on brake did not slow down the car. the car was totally uncontrollable. the car ran over side walk and rammed into the school fence. my car was totalled. it was toyota's sudden acceleration defect happened to me. | |||
| 11/24/2012 | 37000 | 1 | |
| A very very bad burning smell is coming from the brakes. i smell it everytime i get out of my car. started a few weeks ago. *tr | |||
| 12/06/2012 | 15000 | 1 | |
| This has happened several times in virtually identical scenarios but the most recent was as follows: i was driving in moderately heavy traffic on a three lane divided street with traffic signals. traffic was fluctuating between stop & go and approximately 30 mph. after a traffic light turned green, i began accelerating at a relatively rapid pace when a vehicle cut directly in front of me and braked. i immediately stepped on the brake but felt a tremendous amount of resistance from the pedal and the car was barely able to stop in time to avoid hitting the vehicle in front of me. i noticed that as i was attempting to brake, the engine was still revving at a high rate from the acceleration attempt. it seems that there is some type of problem with the braking system whereby if the engine is revving the brake will fail even if the accelerator pedal is no longer being pressed. a very important detail is that each time this has happened it has been within the first few seconds of a quick acceleration from a complete stop or a crawl. i have never had this problem when trying to stop from a normal speed. *tr | |||
| 11/24/2012 | 37000 | 1 | |
| A very very bad burning smell is coming from the brakes. i smell it everytime i get out of my car. started a few weeks ago. *tr | |||
| 12/06/2012 | 15000 | 1 | |
| This has happened several times in virtually identical scenarios but the most recent was as follows: i was driving in moderately heavy traffic on a three lane divided street with traffic signals. traffic was fluctuating between stop & go and approximately 30 mph. after a traffic light turned green, i began accelerating at a relatively rapid pace when a vehicle cut directly in front of me and braked. i immediately stepped on the brake but felt a tremendous amount of resistance from the pedal and the car was barely able to stop in time to avoid hitting the vehicle in front of me. i noticed that as i was attempting to brake, the engine was still revving at a high rate from the acceleration attempt. it seems that there is some type of problem with the braking system whereby if the engine is revving the brake will fail even if the accelerator pedal is no longer being pressed. a very important detail is that each time this has happened it has been within the first few seconds of a quick acceleration from a complete stop or a crawl. i have never had this problem when trying to stop from a normal speed. *tr | |||
| 11/24/2012 | 37000 | ||
| A very very bad burning smell is coming from the brakes. i smell it everytime i get out of my car. started a few eeks ago. | |||
| 12/06/2012 | 15000 | 1 | |
| This has happened several times in virtually identical scenarios but the most recent was as follows: i was driving in moderately heavy traffic on a three lane divided street with traffic signals. traffic was fluctuating between stop & go and approximately 30 mph. after a traffic light turned green, i began accelerating at a relatively rapid pace when a vehicle cut directly in front of me and braked. i immediately stepped on the brake but felt a tremendous amount of resistance from the pedal and the car was barely able to stop in time to avoid hitting the vehicle in front of me. i noticed that as i was attempting to brake, the engine was still revving at a high rate from the acceleration attempt. it seems that there is some type of problem with the braking system whereby if the engine is revving the brake will fail even if the accelerator pedal is no longer being pressed. a very important detail is that each time this has happened it has been within the first few seconds of a quick acceleration from a complete stop or a crawl. i have never had this problem when trying to stop from a normal speed. *tr | |||
| 12/06/2012 | 15000 | ||
| This has happened several times in virtually identical scenarios but the most recent was as follows: i was driving in moderately heavy traffic on a three lane divided street with traffic signals. traffic was fluctuating between stop & go and approximately 30 mph. after a traffic light turned green, i began accelerating at a relatively rapid pace when a vehicle cut directly in front of me and braked. i immediately stepped on the brake but felt a tremendous amount of resistance from the pedal and the car was barely able to stop in time to avoid hitting the vehicle in front of me. i noticed that as i was attempting to brake, the engine was still revving at a high rate from the acceleration attempt. it seems that there is some type of problem with the braking system whereby if the engine is revving the brake will fail even if the accelerator pedal is no longer being pressed. a very important detail is that each time this has happened it has been within the first few seconds of a quick acceleration from a complete stop or a crawl. i have never had this problem when trying to stop from a normal speed. | |||
| 09/05/2012 | 50000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2011 toyota camry. the contact stated that as the brake pedal was depressed, the contact heard an abnormal noise coming from the rear tires. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection where they stated that the rear driver's side brake pad had detached from the vehicle. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified and stated that the vehicle would not be repaired. the failure mileage was 50,000. the vin was unavailable. kmj | |||
| 09/05/2012 | 50000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2011 toyota camry. the contact stated that while driving, the driver depressed the brake pedal and heard a noise coming from the rear tires. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection and they stated that the rear driver side brake pad has came off. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified and they stated that the vehicle would not repaired. the failure mileage was 50,000. the vin was unavailable. ap | |||
| 07/11/2012 | 23706 | 1 | |
| I went in to do the last free oil change i had with toyota and they came in and tell me they can't let me drive my car it is not safe as one brake pad is totally worn and the other isn't and shows normal wear and tear so i ask how that happens and they say the brake was stuck and pad wore out because i driving around with a brake on the left side of my car which was stuck down all the time which is why it wore at the time i brought it in it was not stuck this was my back brakes. one morning on the way to work i had to quickly go into the lane next to where i was driving because a woman who was on the phone came into the lane i was in i tried to slow down my car not to hit the person in front of me and the car was pulling toward the left which was the brake that was not working i was lucky i got control of car no accident. after being told i had a stuck brake what happened that morning made more sense to me. toyota feels this is normal one brake pad totally worn the other showing normal wear a stuck brake that is not normal. that is a defect in that brake. i have written and email toyota spoken to someone in dealership they say this is normal. i was lucky it was only one brake that stuck. toyota has to take ownership of the problem before someone gets hurt . *tr | |||
| 07/11/2012 | 23706 | ||
| I went in to do the last free oil change i had with toyota and they came in and tell me they can't let me drive my car it is not safe as one brake pad is totaly worn and the other isn't and shows normal wear and tear so i ask how that happens and they say the brake was stuck and pad wore out because i driving around with a brake on the left side of my car which was stuck down all the time which is why it wore at the time i brought it in it was not stuck this was my back brakes. one morning on the way to work i had to quickly go into the lane next to where i was driving because a woman who was on the phone came into the lane i was in i tried to slow down my car not to hit the person in front of me and the car was pulling toward the left which was the brake that was not working i was lucky i got control of car no accident. after being told i had a stuck brake what happened that morning made more sense to me. toyota feels this is normal one brake pad totaly worn the other showing normal wear a stuck brake that is not normal. that is a deffect in that brake.i have written and email toyota spoken to someone in dealership they say this is normal. i was lucky it was only one brake that stuck.toyota has to take ownership of the problem before someone gets hurt . | |||
| 07/18/2012 | 23706 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2011 toyota camry. the contact stated that the vehicle was taken for a routine oil change when the mechanic advised that the brakes were defective. the vehicle was repaired. the manufacturer was contacted. the failure mileage was 23,706 and the current mileage 24,000. | |||
| 07/18/2012 | 23706 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2011 toyota camry. the contact stated that the vehicle was taken for a routine oil change when the mechanic advised that the brakes were defective. the vehicle was repaired. the manufacturer was contacted. the failure mileage was 23,706 and the current mileage 24,000. kmj | |||
| 07/18/2012 | 23706 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2011 toyota camry. the contact stated while she was getting her oil change the mechanic stated that her brake was defected. the vehicle was repaired. the manufacturer was contacted and they stated there was nothing they could do. the failure mileage was 23,706 and the current mileage 24,000.jp | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRIC | |||
| 01/21/2011 | 4050 | ||
| In traffic driving approx 20 mph when i tried to stop, pressed the brake and car didnt stop, actually seemed to speed up. rear ended car in front. air bags did not deploy. car is currently being repaired at body shop. | |||
| 06/18/2010 | 5000 | ||
| Driver first noticed a problem when she came to a stop at a traffic light. the camry started revving the engine even though driver was depressing the brake pedal; at this point the traction light came on. five minutes later, driver approached a red light going approximately 25 mph. she depressed the brake pedal and the camry made a loud sound then jerked forward repeatedly. the brakes did not slow down the car consequently causing her to run the red light. she then attempted to get to a safe place, so she pulled into a parking lot. when driver attempted to stop by depressing the brake pedal all the way to the floor, the car did not stop or slow down nearly causing her to crash into a parking lot barrier. there was a noticeable burning smell. terrified, we took the camry to a toyota dealership. the dealership technicians recovered diagnostic trouble codes: c1249 and u0129. the technicians also drove the camry for 55 miles, but they did not make any repairs, despite the dtc codes, because they said they could not replicate the problem. this is a brand new camry, and we are terrified to drive it, but toyota won | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC | |||
| 02/11/2012 | |||
| I was returning home from the mall in pottsville, pa. i drove down the roadway next to the mall to the stop sign. i was able to stop the car at that time. i proceeded to turn to the left out the driveway of the mall. the driveway of the mall is pretty long and on a steep hill. i attempted to apply my brakes at the top of the hill. there was pressure on the break but nothing happened. the car continued to accelerate forward. i didn | |||
| 09/06/2011 | 60 | ||
| At low speed (15-39 mph), the transmission shift roughly. the car was either pulled back (1) by the engine or jumped (2,while my foot on the break pedal) during the down shift. the pulling back (1) gives the same effect as using engine breaking in the manual transmission. based on the signs that i have seen on interstates, state laws (in some states) prohibit driver to use engine breaking. the jumping (2) was very bad. the car needed approximately 3-10 feet more to stop due to the unpredicable jumping behavior. well 3-10 feet does not seem to be a lot but let say if you are 1 foot away from running over a living thing.......... this problem have happened since i bought the car new and they still be a serious problem. i have been driven about 10-20 cars (including rentals) but i have never experienced the jumping (2, while my foot on the break pedal) until i bought this camry. after reading the reviews online, this seems to be a common problem for this model. this problem needs immediate attentions. | |||
| 11/14/2011 | 9710 | ||
| This vehicle was involved in a previous accident in the home driveway of the owners of the vehicle. as the owner was turning into his driveway, a tire blew out on the vehicle's right front passenger side. as the driver/owner hit the brake the car accelerated into the side rock barrier of the driveway. according to toyota who investigated the incident, there was no issue with vehicle. but another incident has recently happened involving the car this year on the incident date listed on this form. the wife of the owner of the vehicle was in the driveway operating the toyota camry 2011 to park the vehicle. as the car was turning to park in the driveway the operator pressed on the brake to back the vehicle back when all of a sudden without warning the vehicle leaped forward hitting the an exterior door to their basement which is surrounded by the rock that covers their home. the car was severely damaged, air bags were deployed and the operator sustained some injuries which caused her to visit the hospital and have medication prescribed to her. the impact on this second accident was so severe that is shown pictures of the incident you have to wonder how such an impact could happen unless their was fault in the vehicle. this time we are awaiting response from toyota to investigate this problem. we also wanted to contact the government to make known of this recurring issue with the braking or unintended acceleration of the vehicle. | |||
| 11/19/2010 | 460 | ||
| This vehicle was involved in an accident in the home driveway of the owners of the vehicle. as the owner was turning into his driveway, a tire blew out on the vehicle's right front passenger side. as the driver/owner hit the brake the car accelerated into the side rock barrier of the driveway. according to toyota who investigated the incident, there was no issue with vehicle. but another incident has recently happened involving the car this year which will be reported on a separate form which shows us their is an unsafe issue with the vehicle that requires toyota to be investigated. | |||
| 11/14/2011 | 9710 | ||
| This vehicle was involved in a previous accident in the home driveway of the owners of the vehicle. as the owner was turning into his driveway, a tire blew out on the vehicle's right front passenger side. as the driver/owner hit the brake the car accelerated into the side rock barrier of the driveway. according to toyota who investigated the incident, there was no issue with vehicle. but another incident has recently happened involving the car this year on the incident date listed on this form. the wife of the owner of the vehicle was in the driveway operating the toyota camry 2011 to park the vehicle. as the car was turning to park in the driveway the operator pressed on the brake to back the vehicle back when all of a sudden without warning the vehicle leaped forward hitting the an exterior door to their basement which is surrounded by the rock that covers their home. the car was severely damaged, air bags were deployed and the operator sustained some injuries which caused her to visit the hospital and have medication prescribed to her. the impact on this second accident was so severe that is shown pictures of the incident you have to wonder how such an impact could happen unless their was fault in the vehicle. this time we are awaiting response from toyota to investigate this problem. we also wanted to contact the government to make known of this recurring issue with the braking or unintended acceleration of the vehicle. | |||
| 11/19/2010 | 460 | ||
| This vehicle was involved in an accident in the home driveway of the owners of the vehicle. as the owner was turning into his driveway, a tire blew out on the vehicle's right front passenger side. as the driver/owner hit the brake the car accelerated into the side rock barrier of the driveway. according to toyota who investigated the incident, there was no issue with vehicle. but another incident has recently happened involving the car this year which will be reported on a separate form which shows us their is an unsafe issue with the vehicle that requires toyota to be investigated. | |||
| 11/14/2011 | 9710 | ||
| This vehicle was involved in a previous accident in the home driveway of the owners of the vehicle. as the owner was turning into his driveway, a tire blew out on the vehicle's right front passenger side. as the driver/owner hit the brake the car accelerated into the side rock barrier of the driveway. according to toyota who investigated the incident, there was no issue with vehicle. but another incident has recently happened involving the car this year on the incident date listed on this form. the wife of the owner of the vehicle was in the driveway operating the toyota camry 2011 to park the vehicle. as the car was turning to park in the driveway the operator pressed on the brake to back the vehicle back when all of a sudden without warning the vehicle leaped forward hitting the an exterior door to their basement which is surrounded by the rock that covers their home. the car was severely damaged, air bags were deployed and the operator sustained some injuries which caused her to visit the hospital and have medication prescribed to her. the impact on this second accident was so severe that is shown pictures of the incident you have to wonder how such an impact could happen unless their was fault in the vehicle. this time we are awaiting response from toyota to investigate this problem. we also wanted to contact the government to make known of this recurring issue with the braking or unintended acceleration of the vehicle. | |||
| 11/19/2010 | 460 | ||
| This vehicle was involved in an accident in the home driveway of the owners of the vehicle. as the owner was turning into his driveway, a tire blew out on the vehicle's right front passenger side. as the driver/owner hit the brake the car accelerated into the side rock barrier of the driveway. according to toyota who investigated the incident, there was no issue with vehicle. but another incident has recently happened involving the car this year which will be reported on a separate form which shows us their is an unsafe issue with the vehicle that requires toyota to be investigated. | |||
| 11/14/2011 | 9710 | ||
| This vehicle was involved in a previous accident in the home driveway of the owners of the vehicle. as the owner was turning into his driveway, a tire blew out on the vehicle's right front passenger side. as the driver/owner hit the brake the car accelerated into the side rock barrier of the driveway. according to toyota who investigated the incident, there was no issue with vehicle. but another incident has recently happened involving the car this year on the incident date listed on this form. the wife of the owner of the vehicle was in the driveway operating the toyota camry 2011 to park the vehicle. as the car was turning to park in the driveway the operator pressed on the brake to back the vehicle back when all of a sudden without warning the vehicle leaped forward hitting the an exterior door to their basement which is surrounded by the rock that covers their home. the car was severely damaged, air bags were deployed and the operator sustained some injuries which caused her to visit the hospital and have medication prescribed to her. the impact on this second accident was so severe that is shown pictures of the incident you have to wonder how such an impact could happen unless their was fault in the vehicle. this time we are awaiting response from toyota to investigate this problem. we also wanted to contact the government to make known of this recurring issue with the braking or unintended acceleration of the vehicle. | |||
| 11/19/2010 | 460 | ||
| This vehicle was involved in an accident in the home driveway of the owners of the vehicle. as the owner was turning into his driveway, a tire blew out on the vehicle's right front passenger side. as the driver/owner hit the brake the car accelerated into the side rock barrier of the driveway. according to toyota who investigated the incident, there was no issue with vehicle. but another incident has recently happened involving the car this year which will be reported on a separate form which shows us their is an unsafe issue with the vehicle that requires toyota to be investigated. | |||
| 07/10/2011 | 2600 | ||
| Tl - the contact owns a 2011 toyota camry hybrid. the contact stated that while driving 55 mph she tried to engaged the breaks but the vehicle did not stop, as a result she rear ended another vehicle. the contact also mentioned that while she was depressing the brake pedal, she could hear a loud sound. a police report was not filed and no injuries were reported. the vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed that the failure was due to her pressing the accelerator and brake pedal at the same time. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure who decided to send an engineer to inspect the vehicle. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileage was 2,600. pm | |||
| 02/11/2011 | 6500 | ||
| In aug. of `10 i purchased a 2011 toyota camry. it has about 6500 miles on it and after driving it home from niagara falls yesterday, about 100 miles, i ran it through a car wash. i drove it home about a mile and made two stops on the way. parked in the garage i went out to get the car around noon today (19 hours after the wash). the car would not move as the wheels were all tightly locked. i could not get it to go forward or backward. finally one of the front wheels moved slightly and in so doing the back end of the car went sideways into the garage wall doing minor damage. i did not try it any more until around 24 hours after the car wash and it still is tightly locked and will not move. the temperature last night was about zero and 20 degrees today. i fear if i really force it may do damage to the brakes if it hasn't already. i have driven cars for 60 years, washed many in as cold weather and never had this happen. i have been told it is a design flaw. if i was not retired and had to go to work i would not have been able to move the car. thank you for the opportunity to report this problem. john parsons | |||
| 09/11/2010 | 600 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2011 toyota camry le. while the vehicle was stopped at a red light on a hill with his foot on the brakes, he noticed the brake pedal was going down. he stated the brake pedal was down to the floor. he took his feet off the brake and re-engaged the brake again and the failure happen again. he stated the failure was called a creeping master cylinder. the contact stated the failure was constant when stopped. the vehicle was taken to the dealer and he was advised that the failure was normal. the contact stated he called two local mechanic and was advised that the vehicle had a defective master cylinder. the failure and current mileage were 600. vwb | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - ANTILOCK | |||
| 06/19/2010 | 2 | ||
| Letter from congressman on behalf of constituent re two instances of total brake failure in 2011 toyota camry. *kb the consumer stated she noticed the engine began to rev while depressing the brake pedal and then the traction light illuminated. five minutes later, while approaching a red light, as she applied the brake to slow down, the vehicle made a loud noise then jerked forward repeatedly. the consumer had no choice, but to run the red light. as the consumer attempted to pull over, she applied the brake, but the pedal literally went all the way to the floor. the consumer stated the second time she experienced brake failure, it nearly caused her to crash into a barrier. after she brought the vehicle to a stop, the consumer smelled a burning odor. the vehicle was taken to the dealer and they were able to bring up the trouble codes. the first code, indicated an opening in the stoop light switch circuit and the second code was the abs traction actuator assembly and skid control ecu. the consumer stated despite the evidence, toyota refused to make any repairs. *jb | |||