CarComplaints.com Notes: Beware of the NHTSA complaint data for the 2004 Camry. It is almost certainly misleading.
The problem with NHTSA data for the 2004 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 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 2004 Camry, our data for the Camry is a far more statistically accurate representation of the Camry's reliability than what the NHTSA data shows.
This was part of the accelerator pedal issue that was recalled for the 2009 - 2011 models but was clearly ignored for the years previous. Toyota refused to pay even though they knew these models had the same issue. I had the sudden acceleration occur previous to the pedal going completely out. It happened so quickly that I thought maybe I had my foot slip off the pedal. I paid it no other attention and then a few months later I drove the car and without warning it would not accelerate beyond 35 mph. I honestly didn't realize the two were connected until it was time to get it fixed.
We argued our case to the dealership as best we could. But they would not pay for it. They treated me like it was "no big deal... we have not seen any others come through with this problem in the last few years that we have been working here." It was very condescending and I didn't appreciate it. Also, I must mention that this issue can only be fixed in a dealership; no other mechanics can fix this problem so there is no way to get out any cheaper. No more Toyota's in my future- I promise!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
This was part of the accelerator pedal issue that was recalled for the 2009 - 2011 models but was clearly ignored for the years previous. Toyota refused to pay even though they knew these models had the same issue. I had the sudden acceleration occur previous to the pedal going completely out. It happened so quickly that I thought maybe I had my foot slip off the pedal. I paid it no other attention and then a few months later I drove the car and without warning it would not accelerate beyond 35 mph. I honestly didn't realize the two were connected until it was time to get it fixed.
We argued our case to the dealership as best we could. But they would not pay for it. They treated me like it was "no big deal... we have not seen any others come through with this problem in the last few years that we have been working here." It was very condescending and I didn't appreciate it. Also, I must mention that this issue can only be fixed in a dealership; no other mechanics can fix this problem so there is no way to get out any cheaper. No more Toyota's in my future- I promise!
- Alysia R., Springville, AL, US