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.
1.4
hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
118,956 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 contact owns a 2004 Toyota Camry. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who informed the contact that the catalytic convertor needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 193,868.
Acceleration on my 2004 Toyota Camry began to fluctuate wildly while I was driving down the road. Car would suddenly accelerate, then decelerate almost non-stop. I shut engine off, called Toyota and had the car towed in. I was told that the engine control module (ECM) was defective and would be replaced under a federally mandated warranty - car had 76,000 miles, and warranty was good to 80,000 miles. However they also told me that the accelerator pedal assembly had simultaneously failed. That would cost me $681. Toyota's own technician said that the ECM failure caused the accelerator pedal assembly to fail. Toyota corporate, however, told me that the two incidents were unrelated. After reading about the "accelerator pedal sticking" problem in the news lately, I wonder if my problem is not part of a much larger problem involving the ECM on Toyota cars. If I was not wise enough to shut off my engine when the problem occurred, a serious accident could easily have occurred. Please continue to investigate the ECM problem, as I believe that Toyota is not forthcoming with the full story here. The consumer also stated there weas an engine knock coming from the vehicle. The dealer repalced the tensioner, and belt. The water pump was wearing prematurely, there was a noise coming from the steering column when turning the wheel. The dealer replaced the intermediate steering shaft. The check engine light was on all the time. The dealer replaced the catalytic converter. The ECM and accelerator pedal were replaced. Updated IVOQ 04/15/11
: the contact stated the check engine light illuminated when the engine was started. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who determined the catalytic converter needed to be replaced.
- Winchester, VA, USA
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- Austin, TX, USA