Toyota Camry Solara 2008

Model Camry Solara made in 2008 by Toyota got 36 consumer complains as well as 6 service bulletins. Consumer complaints with reference, among others things, to electrical system and engine and engine cooling. Technical service bulletines regarding digital instrument panel and electrical system. The car has 2 modeles with engines 2.4 and 3.3.

Model 2008

Engine [L]CylindersTransmissionDriveEstimate MPG (city/highway/combined)Unadjusted MPG (city/highway/combined)FuelFuel costClassRelease date
2.4 4Semiautomatic, 5 gearsF22/31/2527.4415/43.9239/33.0168Regular1680COMPACT CARS5-Jul-07
2.4 4Manual, 5 gearsF21/31/2527/43.1/32.4557Regular1680COMPACT CARS5-Jul-07
3.3 6Semiautomatic, 5 gearsF18/27/2122.8/37.8/27.7565Regular1999COMPACT CARS5-Jul-07

Bulletins


BulletinBulletin dateReplacement BulletinItem no.SummaryAdded
DIGITAL INSTRUMENT PANEL
TSB-0177-0906/12/200910032712Toyota: 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]) am04/30/2010
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - STARTER ASSEMBLY - RELAY
TSB-0177-0906/12/200910032712Toyota: 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]) am04/30/2010
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING
TSB-0177-0906/12/200910032712Toyota: 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]) am04/30/2010
(PWS)
TSB-0192-1210/15/201210050819Toyota: intake camshaft gear assembly was improved to prevent condition of engine exhibiting intermittent mil on. model 2006-2012 camry, camry hv, corolla, matrix, rav4, solara. *pe02/11/2013
STEERING - LINKAGES - ROD - RELAY - CONNECTING
TSB-0177-0906/12/200910032712Toyota: 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]) am04/30/2010
SUSPENSION - FRONT
TSB-0106-0806/11/200810025856Toyota: front suspension- some 2007-2008 model year avalon, camry, camry hv, and solara vehicles may exhibit a steering wheel flutter and/or a body vibration (floor or seats) at highway speeds (approx. 65-75 mph [105-121 km/h]). *pe09/10/2008

Consumer Complaints


Fail datemilesoccurencesPurchase date
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING - INTERIOR/UNDER DASH
04/20/20083500112/01/2007
 Tl*the contact owns a 2008 toyota camry solara. after being parked in the garage for eight hours, the vehicle caught fire. the fire destroyed the laundry room, the garage, and the vehicle. the fire caused $200,000 worth of damage to the home. a fire report was filed and the contact has pictures available. the investigators stated that the fire originated in the dashboard. the current and failure mileages were 3,500. updated 09/15/08 *bf updated 09/17/08. *jb
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
06/16/2009240001
 Was told a rock put hole in condenser causing unit to expel antifreeze. repair estimate >800. this is happening far to often for others as well. this has to be a design flaw that encompasses many models and needs to be addressed. *tr
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
01/26/2013370001
 This 2008 toyota camry solara, ~37k miles, uses the same headlight bulb types as the 2008 toyota avalon, 9011 for high beams and i had both high beams go out on a winding road in back country of wisconsin with many deer and other moving night creatures. both high beam bulbs shattered during this trip, leaving glass fragments inside the lens assembly and it also left a white discoloration (tungsten deposition?) on the inside plastic lenses of one headlight, which seems to reduce the low beam visibility. nhtsa reference # 10037591 tsb reference # sb-0044-10 rev 1 description: toyota: on some 2008-2010 avalon vehicles, the high beam light bulbs may not work or shatter. this 2008 solara was put into service in april of 2008 and should be covered by the 72k mile, 5 year warranty extension, just like the 2008 avalon recall. how come only the avalon was covered? i believe this should also apply to the 2008 solara model also as it uses a very similar headlight assembly and suffers from the same issue. *tr
01/26/201337000
 This 2008 toyota camry solara, ~37k miles, uses the same headlight bulb types as the 2008 toyota avalon, 9011 for high beams and i had both high beams go out on a winding road in back country of wisconsin with many deer and other moving night creatures. both high beam bulbs shattered during this trip, leaving glass fragments inside the lens assembly and it also left a white discoloration (tungsten deposition?) on the inside plastic lenses of one headlight, which seems to reduce the low beam visibility. nhtsa reference # 10037591 tsb reference # sb-0044-10 rev 1 description: toyota: on some 2008-2010 avalon vehicles, the high beam light bulbs may not work or shatter. this 2008 solara was put into service in april of 2008 and should be covered by the 72k mile, 5 year warranty extension, just like the 2008 avalon recall. how come only the avalon was covered? i believe this should also apply to the 2008 solara model also as it uses a very similar headlight assembly and suffers from the same issue.
11/12/2009105/25/2009
 2008 toyota solara convertible. consumer states problems with rear window defogger, map light and jerking *tgw the consumer stated the rear widow defogger was not working and would not clear fog or frost from the rear window. also, the map light was intermittent and would not always come on when opening the door locks. in addition, the vehicle would jerk when attempting to accelerate. the dealer stated the rear defogger was inspected and check and everything was fine. they also stated the defogger was designed only to remove for from the inside of the window and not frost or snow from the outside of the window. the consumer was then informed the entire roof would have to replaced to correct the problem with the defogger. after the roof was replaced the problem with the rear defogger had been resolved, regarding the jerking problem, the dealer stated that toyota transmission were recently modified and the jerking at slow speeds. was normal. *jb updated 05/12/10.*jb
POWER TRAIN
12/18/201127750
 Was reversing out of a parking space in my 2008 solara and when i went to shift into drive, the car lurched several times and then accelerated. when the car took off, i was unable to stop it accelerating using the brakes. a passenger pulled up on the parking brake, launching us into a series of tight spins and colliding with concrete bumpers in the lot. we were about to head out into a major roadway when they did so. once out of the spins, the car had come to enough of a halt that i could shift into park and turn the car off. it was only when the car was turned off that the front wheels (fwd) stopped trying to turn. when we examined the car, the accelerator was stuck in a depressed position. the weather has been fine and dry for several days previously, so the pavement was not wet. as the incident happened over ~15 seconds, we cannot give an approximate mph that the car sped up to, but it was at least 30mph. amazingly, my passengers and i walked away without a scratch and so did everyone else in the parking lot. however, the solara needs extensive body work beyond the obvious accelerator issue due to the collusions. toyota has sent an engineer out to look at the car, but has not given any support otherwise. the engineer informed me that he found nothing wrong with the car, but he did not examine the powertrain in detail. toyota has informed me that it will be 30 days before they give me an official report. while the solaras were not initially included in the recalls for the accelerator issue, 2008 camrys were and a solara is basically a 2-door camry. the recall should be looked at for the solaras as well. i do not want to be driving a car that can endanger me or anyone else on the road. this incident, as frightening as it was, luckily took place when i was not already at a higher speed and was in a parking lot. it had the potential to be much worse.
11/12/2009105/25/2009
 2008 toyota solara convertible. consumer states problems with rear window defogger, map light and jerking *tgw the consumer stated the rear widow defogger was not working and would not clear fog or frost from the rear window. also, the map light was intermittent and would not always come on when opening the door locks. in addition, the vehicle would jerk when attempting to accelerate. the dealer stated the rear defogger was inspected and check and everything was fine. they also stated the defogger was designed only to remove for from the inside of the window and not frost or snow from the outside of the window. the consumer was then informed the entire roof would have to replaced to correct the problem with the defogger. after the roof was replaced the problem with the rear defogger had been resolved, regarding the jerking problem, the dealer stated that toyota transmission were recently modified and the jerking at slow speeds. was normal. *jb updated 05/12/10.*jb
POWER TRAIN - MANUAL TRANSMISSION
02/10/2008350301/19/2008
 Purchased a new 2008 toyota solara from coleman toyota in bethesda, md. on 1/19/08. from day 1, transmission is jerky, hesitates, has not power when needed. car stalls when waiting to turn and floods. took it back to the dealer 2x. *tr
SEATS
01/15/2009100
 Tl*the contact owns a 2008 toyota camry solara. the contact stated that there was no padding in the front arm rest of the vehicle. he experienced extreme discomfort. in addition, the automatic dimming mirrors dim in low-light situations. he cannot manually adjust the component. on one occasion, while driving at an unknown speed in rainy weather conditions, the mirrors auto-dimmed. visibility was reduced and the contact crashed into another vehicle. there were no injuries. the dealer would not assist. the manufacturer referred him to a dealer. the failures have not been remedied. the failure mileage was 100 and current mileage was 3,000.
STRUCTURE - BODY - ROOF AND PILLARS
01/30/200820005011/18/2007
 Tl*the contact owns a 2008 toyota camry solara. when the convertible top is retracted and the cover is placed over it, the contact experiences difficulty seeing objects behind the vehicle. the blind spot is caused by the roof cover, also known as boot, and makes visibility difficult. the dealer was unable to offer a repair, but stated that they were aware of the failure. the current and failure mileages were 2,000. updated 02-19-08 *bf updated 02/19/08 *tr
SUSPENSION
09/21/201230124
 Tl-the contact owns a 2008 toyota camry solara. the contact stated that while driving 30 mph over a road bump, the wheel abnormally struck the wheel well. the contact took the vehicle to vehicle to the dealer for a diagnostic test. the dealer stated that the front end struts failed and needed to be replaced. the contact did not have the struts replaced. the failure mileage was 30,124. kmj
09/21/201230124
 Tl-the contact owns a 2008 toyota solara. the contact stated while driving 30 mph over a bump in the road the wheel will hit the wheel well. the contact took the vehicle to vehicle to the dealer for diagnostic test. the dealer stated the front end struts failed and needed to be replaced. the contact did not replace the struts. the failure mileage was 30,124. jo
TIRES
03/14/201157750
 Hankook ventus v4 es 215/55/zr17 installed on a 2008 toyota solara sle convertible with approximately 10,000 miles exhibited a large bubble in sidewall of tire. before complainant was able to replace the tire, the tire blew out at the sidewall.
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
02/25/2009135001
 Driving in at a parking lot, driven at 5 not even 10 mph the car - camry solara convertible 2008, touch the brake to park and in 20 feet of distance the car speed by itself crashing in parking bar. the air bags explode and i got injuries on my shoulders after the impact with the seat belt. *tr
02/16/20091
 Hello, i have a 2008 solara. i just bought this car a little over a year ago. i had reported some problems with the acceleration. toyota has told me they received no complaints and that i don't have a problem and make sure that i don't just push the pedal to hard in other words he said don't gun it. this all happened before any recall was done. they told me that there is no problems with my car unless i can duplicate the problem. i drive in washington dc and when you stop and go and sometimes when it goes it picks up acceleration and i have to keep hitting my brakes to slow down or hit for a hard stop. this doesn't happen alot but still i have concerns, since at one point there used to be a problem with this. this was not due to floor mats and as i stated this was well before recall. no one has been hurt and now i have to keep a great distance to make sure i don't hit the person in front of me since i never know when it will kick in. this is an ongoing issue with my car. the date i am clicking on below is a guess since i am working and have my papers at home. the date below also is the beginning of all this. *tr thank you
VISIBILITY - DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER SYSTEM - REAR WINDOW
05/02/20111
 2008 toyota solara convertible. consumer states problems with rear defroster *tgw the dealer replaced the roof. however, the consumer stated when looked out the rear window, the upper portion of the glass was distorted, which was not the case before the roof was replaced. the consumer contacted the dealer and was informed that all the vehicles exhibited the same condition and it was considered normal. *jb
11/12/2009105/25/2009
 2008 toyota solara convertible. consumer states problems with rear window defogger, map light and jerking *tgw the consumer stated the rear widow defogger was not working and would not clear fog or frost from the rear window. also, the map light was intermittent and would not always come on when opening the door locks. in addition, the vehicle would jerk when attempting to accelerate. the dealer stated the rear defogger was inspected and check and everything was fine. they also stated the defogger was designed only to remove for from the inside of the window and not frost or snow from the outside of the window. the consumer was then informed the entire roof would have to replaced to correct the problem with the defogger. after the roof was replaced the problem with the rear defogger had been resolved, regarding the jerking problem, the dealer stated that toyota transmission were recently modified and the jerking at slow speeds. was normal. *jb updated 05/12/10.*jb
VISIBILITY - REARVIEW MIRRORS/DEVICES
01/15/2009100
 Tl*the contact owns a 2008 toyota camry solara. the contact stated that there was no padding in the front arm rest of the vehicle. he experienced extreme discomfort. in addition, the automatic dimming mirrors dim in low-light situations. he cannot manually adjust the component. on one occasion, while driving at an unknown speed in rainy weather conditions, the mirrors auto-dimmed. visibility was reduced and the contact crashed into another vehicle. there were no injuries. the dealer would not assist. the manufacturer referred him to a dealer. the failures have not been remedied. the failure mileage was 100 and current mileage was 3,000.
VISIBILITY - REARVIEW MIRRORS/DEVICES - INTERIOR
01/01/19011
 2008 toyota solara defective dimming rearview mirror. consumer states that the dimming mirror will go in and out of dimming. the headlights from the cars behind are very bright through the mirror and he had to cover the mirror with his hand. *kb the consumer stated after performing a series of tests, he concluded that the auto-dimming mirror was defective. *jb

Car dealers selling


StateCityZipNamePhone
AREl Dorado71730JEFF TEAGUE CHEVROLET-GEO, INC.8622900
CACity Of Industry91745PUENTE HILLS IMPORTS964-7100
CAFremont94538FREMONT AUTO. DEALERSHIP, LLC.252-5100
CAMILPITAS95035PIERCEY NORTH, INC.240-1400
CANapa94559VTOYNAPA, INC9274466
CANORTH HOLLYWOOD91602TNH MOTORS, INC.508-2900
CAPETALUMA94952HANSEL MOTORS, INC.769-2333
CAVisalia93292GROPETTI LTD., INC.6274777
CTNEW LONDON6320CAR SERVICE, INC.447-3141
IADes Moines50310CHARLES GABUS MOTORS, INC.
ILElmhurst60126ELMHURST AUTO GROUP, INC.
ILLombard60148RON POSTMA AUTO SALES, INC.6293900
ILSchaumburg60194SCHAUMBURG TOYOTA, INC.882-1800
ILSPRINGFIELD62791GREEN FAMILY STORES, INC.6983100
ILWaukegan60085CLASSIC AUTOMOTIVE, INC.336-4300
INBloomington47401ROYAL MOTORS, INC.3311100
KYCorbin40701GAMBREL AUTOMOTIVE, INC.
LASHREVEPORT71105YOKEM MOTORS, INC.798-3773
MIAnn Arbor48103DUNNING MOTORS, INC.997-7600
MICANTON48188CAPPO MANAGEMENT XVII INC495-3500
MImuskegon49444MY AUTO IMPORT CENTER LLC7997100
MISaginaw48603DRAPER CHEVROLET COMPANY790-0800
MISOUTHFIELD48033PAGE IMPORTS, INC.3528580
MNBloomington55437WALSER BLOOMINGTON VEH SALES LLC.9943710
MNBrooklyn Park55443BROOKLYN PARK MOTORS, INC.566-0060
MNBurnsville55306BURNSVILLE AUTOMOTIVE, INC.4358200
MNVirginia55792IRON TRAIL MOTORS, LLC741-2355
NDFARGO58103Corwin Auto, LLC
NVHENDERSON89011FINDLAY AUTO. OF NEVADA, LLC.5662000
OHCHILLICOTHE45601NOURSE FAM OF DLRSPS-CHILLICOTHE, INC.
OHCincinnati45249KINGS TOYOTA, INC.683-5440
SDSIOUX FALLS57106BILLION T, INC.367-8503
TNCLINTON37716FOX MOTOR COMPANY, INC.494-0228
VAChester23831PRIORITY IMPORTS RICHMOND, INC.796-1800
WIRhinelander54501RHINELANDER MOTOR COMPANY365-8100
MAHAVER HILLJAFFARIAN TOYOTA
MDBETHESDA20817COLEMAN TOYOTA301 469-7100
PAPLEASANT HILLS15236DAY TOYOTA412-469-3000
TXTYLER75701CLASSIC TOYOTA9035810600