CarComplaints.com Notes: Beware of the NHTSA complaint data for the 2003 Camry. It is almost certainly misleading.
The problem with NHTSA data for the 2003 Camry is that for months on end, the news media repeatedly told the public that several Toyota models had an unintended acceleration defect, & to go to safercar.gov (the NHTSA's website) to file a complaint.
So, the NHTSA received a disproportionate number of complaints about Toyota unintended acceleration issues because of the national news media attention, to the point where their data is unreliable taken in context with any other vehicle that did not receive national news attention.
CarComplaints.com typically receives more complaints per day about vehicles than the NHTSA does, but the news media did not repeatedly say "go to CarComplaints.com to report your Camry acceleration problems" like they did about the NHTSA -- so although we have less complaint data than the NHTSA for the 2003 Camry, our data for the Camry is a far more statistically accurate representation of the Camry's reliability than what the NHTSA data shows.
I purchased a 2003 Camry in Canada but later found it to be Japanese made. In 2012 it would not pass the safety inspection because of rust holes in the rocker panels on both sides. It was patched to pass the test. UGGLY.
I have passed it on to family. Over the last 2 years I have checked every 2003 Camry I can find in parking lots but none are rusted. I checked their Vin # and all are made in North America. I expect that the N.A cars have a better quality steel in the under body parts to handle the winter salt problem in N.A. If you have a 2003 and its Vin # starts with "J" then it is a Japanese made car. Get the rockers checked before its too late!!!!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
I purchased a 2003 Camry in Canada but later found it to be Japanese made. In 2012 it would not pass the safety inspection because of rust holes in the rocker panels on both sides. It was patched to pass the test. UGGLY.
I have passed it on to family. Over the last 2 years I have checked every 2003 Camry I can find in parking lots but none are rusted. I checked their Vin # and all are made in North America. I expect that the N.A cars have a better quality steel in the under body parts to handle the winter salt problem in N.A. If you have a 2003 and its Vin # starts with "J" then it is a Japanese made car. Get the rockers checked before its too late!!!!
- Nick C., Halifax, N.S, Canada