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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:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
18,249 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.

2004 Toyota Camry suspension problems

suspension problem

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2004 Toyota Camry Owner Comments

problem #14

May 092018

Camry

  • 114,990 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

While driving on a city street at about 40 mph I heard a loud bang under the car, like something hit the underside of the car. Then I heard rattling when I rode over bumps in the road. Took it to a service center right away and they found a broken coil spring on the front suspension. Fortunately, the spring broke close to an end of the spring, so the height of the car did not drop noticeably. If the break were in the middle of the spring, then the vehicle would have dropped significantly, perhaps resulting in a crash. The car's mileage was 114,990. The repair costs for two spring/strut assemblies, two stabilizer links and a wheel alignment was $920.

- Greendale, WI, USA

problem #13

Oct 232010

Camry 6-cyl

  • 54,564 miles
Power train: Automatic transmission-I have owned this Toyota Camry for approximately five months. The transmission has a mind of its own. Occasionally it slips into the wrong gear. The worse problem I encountered was five weeks ago when I placed the vehicle into reverse and the vehicle wanted to go forward. I nearly hit the car parked in front of me. I am glad nobody was walking in front of the car when I placed the vehicle into the reverse gear. This car is dangerous and if I could I would return it back to the dealer. Suspension-when is raining the car is difficult to maneuver above 50mph. The rear of the car want to go right making the front of the car go left. The same thing happens when the car hits bumps on the road. Again, the car is unsafe and should be taken off the road.

- Frederick, MD, USA

problem #12

May 102008

Camry

  • 50,000 miles
I bought a 2004 Camry about a month ago from my local Toyota used car dealer. A week later I told them front-end felt funny and needed to be checked. They said I needed an alignment. Had that done. Called them last week and said I still feel like there's some sort of front-end problem. My brake pedal is spongy and almost to the ground. Sometimes I'm not sure if I'm going to stop in time. Also told them my steering wheel was shimmying. I was told that the steering wheel was probably indicating a tire balance issue and they would charge me $50 to balance/rotate my tires. I decided to put the money toward new front tires instead hoping that would also reduce road noise. As for the brakes.... I was told that was standard for the Camry models and was a known design issue but no corrections were in place that they were aware of. Last weekend I was in a crash. My brakes failed! my ABS did not engage and my airbag did not deploy. I was traveling about 30-40 mph on a highway when the person in front hit their brakes. I hit mine and continued to skid into the back of their vehicle. I had plenty of room to stop. There's no reason other than brake failure for me to have crashed.

- Fort Worth, TX, USA

problem #11

Sep 252003

Camry 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 15 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I purchased a 2004 Toyota Camry limited edition. This car handles poorly, like driving in a windstorm. It has been back to 2 different dealers that haven't been able to fix it. The Toyota reps have looked at it and told me that there is nothing wrong. I filed for arbitration in 10/05. The arbitrator agreed that there is a problem and ordered Toyota to correct it. The Toyota reps have not yet been able to fix it. I am now seeking arbitration to have Toyota buy the car back.

- Merrimack, NH, USA

problem #10

Sep 222004

Camry 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 10,524 miles
Car continuously pulls to the lift. This causes the car to want to turn accross the center line into the face of oncoming traffic. Toyota motors and Toyota service keeps staggering the tire pressure (2 1/2 pounds less on one side of the car then the other). This has me very concerned about my safety and the safety of others on the road.

- Tulsa, OK, USA

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problem #9

Oct 192004

Camry 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 21,713 miles
When driving, the steering wheel pulled to the left/right intermittently. The vehicle had been serviced six times but the problem still exists. Two sets of tires had been worn out. The tires were out of alignment.

- Alpharetta, GA, USA

problem #8

Aug 092004

Camry 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

While driving at any speed front tires pulled to the left side, and vehicle vibrated. Dealership inspected vehicle several times, and could not duplicate the problem. The dealer has now satisfactorily corrected the problem.

- Lincoln, CA, USA

problem #7

Apr 122004

Camry

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
When driving at any speed consumer noticed that the vehicle pulled towards the left. Consumer took vehicle to the dealership for inspection. However, the mechanic was not able to duplicate the problem.

- Lincoln, CA, USA

problem #6

Jan 102004

Camry

  • 70 miles
Vehicle vibrated when driven on a freeway or over a rough road. Vehicle was test driven by 3 factory representatives before the third service representative indicated that vibration was normal for the vehicle because of the way the suspension system was designed, and could not be corrected.

- West Covina, CA, USA

problem #5

Mar 292004

Camry 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 500 miles
Car consistently pulls to the left into oncoming traffic.

- Portland, OR, USA

problem #4

Mar 042004

Camry 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 3,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I bought this car on 1/1/04. When I took it back a week later to have leather put on the seats, I told them it was pulling to the left. Supposedly they aligned the front end but they didn't put anything in the computer about it. They have rotated the tires, switched the tires, aligned the front end, put a new rack on it etc. Etc. The last time they told me there was nothing wrong with it and I should read the owners manual on how to operate it. I have dealt with this for 3 months and no satisfaction. I took it back to them and told them I wanted another car. They gave me one to see if I liked it and then pulled mine in to work on it again after I had told them no more. They called me today to tell me it was fixed. Right!!! I have called my lawyer.

- Richmond, KY, USA

problem #3

Nov 182003

Camry 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 50 miles
While driving at any speed, the vehicle pulled to the left. The dealer examined the vehicle, but could not find the cause of the problem. The dealer adjusted the alignment and currently all the tires were worn out on the outside.

- Alpharetta, GA, USA

problem #2

Nov 202003

Camry 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 10 miles
I purchased my 2004 Toyota Camry limited edition in November of 2003. I began to notice that the car pulls to the left while I'm driving - especially at highway speeds. In addition the car is very sensetive to the road crown and wind. It is actually difficult to keep it in a straight line while on the highway at speeds of 65 mph. It feels like you are constantly in some type of strong crosswind. The left pull is so noticeable that I consider it a safety issue. I'm surprised someone hasn't wrecked as a result of this. The dealership advises me that there is a flaw in the engineering of the automobile and that they get this complaint quite often. I consider this an unacceptable response thus I am filing this complaint.

- Covington, KY, USA

problem #1

Nov 242003

Camry 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 50 miles
I just bought a 2004 Camry le that pulls to the left, and I have to keep a right pull on the steering wheel all the time to make the car running straight.

- Sterling Heights, MI, USA

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