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.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
49,820 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 while the vehicle was idling there was an abnormal fuel odor detected. The contact stated that there was also a grinding sound while applying the brakes. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and diagnosed with a fuel leak and ABS sensor failure. The vehicle was repaired. Additionally, the tank was rusted and was also replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 78,000.
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Camry. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked at the residence, there was an abnormally strong fuel odor detected. The vehicle was taken to an unknown dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was made aware of a fuel leak. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 79,000.
At a stop sign, a warning light came on. From that point, the vehicle at speeds under ca. 40 mph surged faster then slower in a jerky sort of fashion. At speeds above 50 it seemed to drive normally. The dealer said the vehicle was undriveable until the accelerator pedal assembly was replaced. It was replaced at my expense. Toyota has repeatedly refused reimbursement.
On I-5, in the fast lane outside portland, Oregon without warning the car lost all power. I was able to drift to the side of the road but was still in traffic. When I reached a repair shop they diagnosed the problem as a chip failure in the gas pedal. This could have happened anywhere, without gas the car just stops, and the result could be far more serious.
Purchased car from local Toyota dealer with just over 100K miles. Gas pedal stopped working. Car would not accelerate. Found out it was a failure of the throttle body. It costs over $1000 to fix. There are numerous complaints for this exact part on Toyota Camry's. when is it going to be recalled! obvious design flaw!
- Paris, TN, USA
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While driving on a busy city highway, the throttle body assemble stuck wide open. The car's computer shut it down, causing the car to stop in heavy traffic. The engine would not restart, as the stuck open throttle body made the engine race and the computer shut it down. As this was a know factory design defect, the newly redesigned replacement throttle body fixed the problem but Toyota charges about $1000 for the replacement part. With the many reported failures of this part and the decision to make a redesign to cure the problem, it appears that the customer absorbs the corporate responsibility. There was no help from the local dealer etc! ergo my initiation of a complaint! with the large number of complaints over a long period, it is hard to understand why no recall was ever initiated nor was there a satisfactory investigation!
I own a 2004 Toyota Camry. It has a defective throttle body which has left my wife stranded and cost $1000 to fix from the dealer. This is a common problem and a few of my friends have had to pay twice to get this fixed. The other issue is there a defective part in the steering linkage that pops when you turn. This eventually leads to slop in the steering and it cause my to go in the ditch. This accident has given me a chronic back condition and prevented me from commissioning in the military. This issue is also known to be a problem with the Camry but Toyota refuses to do anything about it.
On 8/0/10 vehicle in parking lot. Backed up vehicle. Put vehicle in drive. Vehicle engine revved up and crashed into two vehicles. Attempted to hit brake. Distance between brake and gas pedal is 3 1/2 inches. Vehicle involved was a Toyota. Engineer is inspecting vehicle on 8/27/10.
Toyota Camry 2004. I purchase Toyota Camry 2004 new and I have experience acceleration of car for two occasions. While I was driving the car around March 2005 in the morning and gas paddle went down by itself for a 30 sec or so. I did not had the control of the gas paddle. This happened twice around 2005. This happened for few seconds only (30-45 sec). I experience little increase in the speed for that brief period. I haven't shown the problem to dealer. This happened for a brief period so I thought something is my fault but now it seems like some other issue.
My 2004 Toyota Camry xle (6 cylinder) has a sticking gas pedal problem. When accelerating from a stationary position, the gas pedal is difficult to depress from the "up" position. It takes a fair amount of pressure when pressing down on the gas pedal to get it to release from the stuck position and allow the pedal to further depress for proper acceleration. When the gas pedal finally does release after applying pressure, the motor has revved up causing the car to, in essence, pop a wheelie, spin its wheels, and accelerates in a potentially dangerous manner. This Toyota model has not yet been included in the current recall, but I am concerned that it should be recalled since it is exhibiting similar symptoms as those included in the recall. I am becoming increasingly concerned that this car poses a risk profile and should not be driven without being fixed.
Throttle body failure on a 2004 Toyota Camry, four cylinder automatic with about 62,000 miles. Engine shutsdown when foot lifted from accelerator, power steering and power brakes did not work. Very dangerous situation since steering and braking both became very difficult in traffic. There was no indication that failure was imminent. Had to have car towed to dealer. Very expensive repair. Reportedly (on internet web sites) this is happening with many Toyota Camry's, manufactured from 2002 to 2006. Dealer said they were able to get the last throttle body available in houston which might indicate the problem is widespread.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Acton, MA, USA