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.
2.0
hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
79,100 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.
I purchased a new Toyota Camry in 2003. Approximately two years later the driver's electric seat failed. The gears lowering and raising the back part of the seat were grinding and could not position the seat back in a comfortable position. Toyota of manhattan beach repaired the seat in under warranty instead of replacing it as I had requested. Approximately two years later the chair failed again in the same manner. Toyota of pasadena repaired it under warranty in 7/07 instead of replacing the seat as I had requested. However, they failed to fix the root cause of the problem. In September/09 the seat failed yet a third time in the same manner. (it is hard to tell when exactly the seat actually failed since I exercise the controls no more than once or twice a year). I brought it in to Toyota of pasadena for inspection. They told me they would look into having Toyota repair it under warranty but never called back. After complaining to Toyota corporate Toyota of pasadena's customer service manager called back and told me they only warrant their work for one year. I told her that the seat was a lemon and should be replaced under the original warranty. I also pointed out to her that it was a safety issue if the seat became stuck in the wrong position but she didn't want to do anything more.
The car was stolen and the interior was soaked in gas. The insurance company wanted to clean the seats, but owner feared that this could cause a fire safety issue.
When a bump was hit in the road, the seat made a loud noise. The seat was loose and made a loud vibrating noise especially when hitting a bump. Dealer tried to fix two times. However seat will not remain firm.
- Tyler, TX, USA
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- Glenwood, AL, USA