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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.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
4 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
72,953 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.

2003 Toyota Camry brakes problems

brakes problem

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2003 Toyota Camry Owner Comments

problem #15

Jul 272019

Camry

  • 240,000 miles

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

Drivers side power seat is stuck in forward. Emergency brake does not work. Engine requires 1 gallon of oil every 2 thousand miles.

- Glenwood, AL, USA

problem #14

Feb 172020

Camry

  • 139,000 miles
Almost at end of exit ramp from I264 to bardstown rd near gardiner lane intersection. Had green light. My vehicle was going approx 25 mph with no car in front of me to exit onto bardstown rd (hwy 31?). only myself, driver. I was in left hand lane to exit to westbd (?) bardstown rd. Toward downtown and a smaller car whipped right in front of me from right hand kane (two exit lanes going in same direction. Perhaps, this car wanted to cross over three lanes on bardstown rd to get to fat left turn lane at gardiner ln. This light is often backed-up. Even though I applied my brakes, they were not stopping my car in time and I hopped curb to left to smsll triangular median. Airbags deployed. I could not make wise decisions without seeing and I was hit by airbags, bruised in face, etc. I was wearing my seatbelt. I viewed that there was no traffic coming toward me as I was now perpendicular to traffic into teo lanes of bardstown rd. I could have turned right and avoided hitting any othrr vehivle if it were not for airbags blocking my view. I had not hit any object or vehicle at this point. I kept applying pressure to my brakes on which I had spent thousands in repair. The brakes still did not stop me. I never saw why I stopped. Airbag blocked view. The car I was driving finally hit something (later found out) another car in turn lane to get onto I 264 it finally stopped. My hearing aid in my right ear was ejected when airbag deployed. I found it later on passenger mat in rear. The airbags had to be defective to deploy from jumping one small curb. No airbag I am able to turn right whether brakes work or not. No accident.

- Louisville, KY, USA

problem #13

Feb 192019

Camry

  • 55,000 miles
Coming to red light car would not stop I pressed harder on brakes asb came in then the car went into high rpms, and stopped sounded like it would blow up?.. I quickly put the car in neutral, from my experience to slow rpms you press gas petal hard until the rpms slow, I do not have floor maps, never had them...

- Laguna Woods, CA, USA

problem #12

Dec 072017

Camry

  • 103,000 miles

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

On December 7,2017, I was in a parking lot in Florida. As I started going into a parking space, the car began to surge. I had a loss of steering and braking.I almost hit the car next to me. Luckily that did not happen. I kept pressing down on the brake, but it took time for the steeering wheel to respond to me. I shut off the car because it seemed like the car had a mind of its own. I had 2 witnesses in the car.who saw that my car was in drive, and that my foot was on the brake pedal. The passenger checked the floor mat, and it was lying completely flat. I do not know why I had this loss of control. This also happened to me in 2010, when I had unintended acceleration, and my car hit a tree. I am now afraid to drive my car, and willl not do so because I feel it is unsafe.

- Delray Beach, FL, USA

problem #11

Jan 302017

Camry

  • 1,206 miles
I was coming to a stop pressing the brake the car accellarate up to 70 to 100 speed and kept pressing the brakes the more I press the faster it went I had to run lights to avoid hitting cars finally it decided to stop when I swirl into a walgreens it did this 4 times that daythank god I need to know what is going on with this car that is scary it acelllarate fast and wont stop....

- Louisville, KY, USA

problem #10

Nov 102016

Camry

  • miles
I have owned my 2003 Camry since it was brand new. During all that time, I have noticed that whenever I brake as the car travels over small bumps, cracks or other imperfections in the road (especially if I brake hard), the ABS system kicks in and appears to pump the brakes (though it does not actually stop the car) and does not shut down until I lift my foot off the brake thereby preventing a proper stop and significantly lengthening the stop. Note that this occurs on dry roads. This also seems to occur if there is a need to stop hard just as I am accelerating, such as an unexpected short stop by the car in front. It has not led to any serious accidents (though a couple of light rear-ends), which I credit to my being able to compensate for the problem, until last week when the problem caused a more serious rear-end collision. All the other cars in four car chain managed to stop short, not my Camry even as I maintained my foot on the brake, as it seemed to barely slow down, causing significant damage. The car is probably better off without the ABS braking system altogether than with this defectively deploying system that doesn't really even seem to stop the car, but just lightly pumps the brakes, preventing proper braking.

- Monsey, NY, USA

problem #9

Jul 162015

Camry

  • miles

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

"takata recall" - I am experiencing a clicking noise from the steering wheel when turning the wheel to the left & right, the whole dash board shakes when the ac or heat is on, brakes pedal goes all the way to the floor & making sounds, and when you put the car in park it will move forward.

- Dorchester, MA, USA

problem #8

Jul 172015

Camry

  • 33,705 miles
The contact owns a 2003 Toyota Camry. The contact stated that when making a left or right turn, there was an abnormal noise emitting from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the lower steering shaft needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred. In addition, the contact stated that when the brake pedal was depressed, the vehicle hesitated to respond. The contact also mentioned that after switching into the park position, the vehicle independently switched in the reverse position without warning. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 33,705.

- Dorchester, MA, USA

problem #7

Sep 252015

Camry

  • 110,000 miles
Today I pulled over to drop off child at school, was already to park and car accelerated and hit the car in front of me. My foot was clearly on brake as I was already going no more than 5 miles an hour to park. It was not driver error. That feeling of the car thrusting forward when my foot was on brake was something I never felt before. I called Toyota and checked the recall list the car is not listed. I am sending it tomorrow to Toyota for service. The impact was so hard, my body is completely tense even 5 hours later. The thrust was not driver error, thank god for the car in front of me that I hit or else would have been worse. All I could do out of panic was put the car in park but I think it stopped because I hit the car in front of me.

- Wallingford, CT, USA

problem #6

Oct 212014

Camry

  • 8,989 miles
On October 21 I was return to my home my speed was 40 on a main street and when I start to slow my speed using the brake I shocked there was no brake N I tried then I used the hand brake to stop the car.all that happened in seconds.... and when I tried to go to the nearest mechanics the same things happened.... the 2 things were within 15 minutes... I still terrified what I will do if that happened and I usually pick my special needs child with me... the mechanic check the car N he did not find any series thing.... so what is going on"?"

- Salt Lake City, UT, USA

problem #5

Oct 212014

Camry 4-cyl

  • 8,269 miles

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

I was driving in mano road N E been I santi to use the brake to make a chance line bevande I attive to my appartamento I round tenere SAS no brake in seconda at thatcher time I dependance on udine hanbrake to stop the car N thai challenger erice with in 15 minutes. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Salt Lake City, UT, USA

problem #4

May 082014

Camry

  • 49,500 miles
I pulled into a parking space, stopped, and was in the process of pulling up the emergency brake, when the vehicle suddenly accelerated. The car bolted going over the parking curb and continuing on into a building, all with no momentum as the car was stopped. One witness said it was a very loud revving sound. Two others said it sounded like a truck. The person who was behind me said my brake lights were on.

- Modesto, CA, USA

problem #3

Mar 202014

Camry

  • 107,885 miles
The contact owns a 2003 Toyota Camry. The contact stated that while driving approximately 10 mph, the brakes failed when applied. The brake pedal also abnormally traveled to the floorboard. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who replaced the brake pads to but the failure continued. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 107,885.

- Brewster, MA, USA

problem #2

Jun 062012

Camry

  • 95,000 miles
The night before the incident had slight rain during. Early morning, I was driving it keeping it in mind that it has some problem.... driving at 35-40 M/hr. The car before me stops on the stop sign and try to stop following 3 seconds rule, hit the brakes all the way but heard grinding sound and didn't stop and need to go to another incoming lane on the left to avoid hitting the car infront of me. This is the third time I had the similar problem..... one in 2010 one in 2011. I went to jay wolfe Toyota of West county mo after the first incident. It was their closing time.... met with one of the maintenance manager.... explained but was told that it should be because of ABS. I told him that I had Honda 2002 and never have to scare about these type of incidents but why it is happening with Toyota. He insisted that it shouldn't be. Later during regular oil change I asked to check brakes and they didn't find any fault there. I told them the incident they didn't take it seriously.... the next time it happened again. One day was driving with fear on interstate at 60 mph. The same thing happened and I was able to change lane. After that I rarely take the car for interstate driving. If do I always scare and start using brakes before 1/4th of the mile. At this point I would like to get help from Toyota company why it is happening and fix the problem. I don't want to sue them later when something happened. If they are serious about safety of their customer, take my car and fix it.

- Ballwin, MO, USA

problem #1

Aug 042012

Camry

  • 142,740 miles
The contact owns a 2003 Toyota Camry. The contact stated that while driving 30 mph, the brake pedal became inoperable. The contact mentioned that he was able to maintain control of the vehicle by shifting into neutral until the vehicle came to a complete stop. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who was unable to diagnose the failure but replaced the master cylinder as a safety precaution. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 142,740 and the current mileage was 142,754.

- Madison, MS, USA

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