CarComplaints.com Notes: How can we give the 2006 Camry our "Seal of Awesome" when the NHTSA data shows engine problems in the triple digits & multiple deaths/injuries/crashes etc?
The problem with NHTSA data for the 2006 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.
In other words, it's our opinion that the 2 deaths & other injuries/fires/crashes reported to the NHTSA are significant, but (unfortunately) not out of the ordinary for any vehicle, once you factor in the effects of the extended national media coverage of Camry unintended acceleration issues.
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 2006 Camry, our data for the Camry is a far more statistically accurate representation of the Camry's reliability than what the NHTSA data shows.
There is an engineering design flaw in the wiring of the anti-lock brakes when a minor fender bender causes complete and total loss of control when trying to brake after the incident. Apparently, the wiring is located in the front fenders and is easily damaged on minor impact. The damage to the wiring caused the anti-lock brakes to severely malfunction resulting in the vehicle becoming unmanageable and proceeding into a sideways slide. After three attempts to use the brakes to stop and three times recovering from an out of control slide, the fourth time spun me out and into a ditch. What would have been a minor fender repair became a total loss and near death incident. The wiring apparently shorted out in the fender as the following day while recovering all my belongings from the vehicle it was so hot to touch it felt like it would ignite at any moment. As you can see in the pictures, the front fender damage from the deer was not that severe, but the roller coaster of a ride when the anti-lock brakes took on a mine of there own was severe and close to deadly. I think this wiring deserves some review in how to avoid this type of incident in the future. There needs to be some sort of protective coating or different routing to avoid damage to the wiring in an impact of this type. The impact to the ditch with the rear of the car caused it to be a total loss. I was lucky to walk away that day as I had concluded prior to the final spin out I was not going to survive this deer damage.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
click to see larger images
There is an engineering design flaw in the wiring of the anti-lock brakes when a minor fender bender causes complete and total loss of control when trying to brake after the incident. Apparently, the wiring is located in the front fenders and is easily damaged on minor impact. The damage to the wiring caused the anti-lock brakes to severely malfunction resulting in the vehicle becoming unmanageable and proceeding into a sideways slide. After three attempts to use the brakes to stop and three times recovering from an out of control slide, the fourth time spun me out and into a ditch. What would have been a minor fender repair became a total loss and near death incident. The wiring apparently shorted out in the fender as the following day while recovering all my belongings from the vehicle it was so hot to touch it felt like it would ignite at any moment. As you can see in the pictures, the front fender damage from the deer was not that severe, but the roller coaster of a ride when the anti-lock brakes took on a mine of there own was severe and close to deadly. I think this wiring deserves some review in how to avoid this type of incident in the future. There needs to be some sort of protective coating or different routing to avoid damage to the wiring in an impact of this type. The impact to the ditch with the rear of the car caused it to be a total loss. I was lucky to walk away that day as I had concluded prior to the final spin out I was not going to survive this deer damage.
- Linda R., Georgetown, SC, US