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.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
18,048 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The vehicle shuddered between gears when shifting, dealer stated tsb out on this problem, second to third gear only. When slowing down vehicle lurched forward. Both problems happened intermittently. Dealer repaired vehicle, however the problem was not rectified. The vehicle was taken to dealer 5 times, unable to repair.
Shortly after purchasing the vehicle we began feeling a "bucking" sensation in the engine/transmission when our new 2003 Camry would shift from over drive into a lower gear. It only happens in a narrow range of speed and engine RPM but when it happens - there is no mistaking the "stutter". this "narrow range" is right at 38-40 mph / ~1200 RPM which is the speed we commonly travel on the secondary roads.
- Ruckersville, VA, USA
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Oak Harbor, WA, USA