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:
153 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
51 / 4
Average Mileage:
38,621 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 have experienced several incidents of sudden acceleration in my 2003 Toyota Camry. I took it into a Toyota dealer when it first happened, but they did nothing.
8/4/2000 my Toyota Camry le has sudden acceleration at oakland mall parking lot introy Michigan and I was involve in accident, tried extremely hard on brake but couldn't control the vehicle.
I pulled into my brother's driveway and was getting ready to park when my car suddenly took off as if I had the gas to the floor(which I didn't). I crashed into my brother's truck knocking it into his house, still couldn't stop the car, it acted like it was going to climb his truck. It then veered to the left and side swiped his other vehicle. When I finally got it stopped, I had both feet on the brake and the engine was still revving and trying to go. I finally got it stopped where I could turn it off with the key. The damage to my car was nearly $14,000 plus the damage to my brother's property.
The contact owns a 2003 Toyota Camry. The contact was driving approximately between 55-65 mph on normal road conditions. The transmission began to jerk excessively. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer on four separate occasions for the identical failures with replacement of the transmissions. The four transmissions failed within 45,000 miles. When at a complete stop the vehicle surged forward unexpectedly. Also, during braking there was a delayed response. The authorized dealer was unable to duplicate the failures. The failure mileage was 10,000. The current mileage was 45,000.
Driver/owner of 2003 Toyota Camry in garage. Placed veh. In reverse and experienced sudden unintended acceleration, causing driver to zoom across street and crash into a tree, sustaining serious personal injuries including but not limited to neurological injuries, partial paralysis, hematoma, fractured vertebrae in upper thoracic area, spine damage, rectum/colon damage and injuries, requiring driver to wear diapers and be fed through feeding tube. Passenger sustained chipped tooth, whiplash, and other injuries.
- Monroe Township, NJ, USA
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I am the owner of a 2003 4 cylinder Camry. I bought the car used in August, 2006. In that year and the year after, I had 2 or 3 acceleration problems when I put my foot on the brake. I thought it was my fault due to the new plastic floor mats I had installed or was due to the fact that when I put my foot on the brake pedal, my foot extended over the end of the pedal and when I pressed down, I hit the accelerator as well. I have had no incidents since.
I have a 2003 Toyota Camry 4cyl, le model. On two separate occasions while the cruise/speed control was on, the car has accelerated quickly. Both times, I was able to turn the speed control off and it went back to normal. Since the warranty had run out and it has not happened since, I did not take it in to be looked at. This happened once in 2006 and once in 2007. I do not remember the exact dates (the month/day below is just a guess), but I did want to get this included in any possible problems other were having.
I have a 2003 Toyota Camry. I frequently experience excessive engine acceleration when initially putting the car in drive. Also, on occasion, the brake and accelerator pedals engage at the same time, which may or may not be an operator issue. I brought the car in for repairs to Toyota service center last year but they said it involved the electronic controls and there was nothing they could do. Seems that the Toyota repair people knew about the problem already.
Sudden increase in rpms as I was backing up my car up to my wood pile..it rammed into my wood pile and the wheels were still spinning when I finally turned off the car. Same thing happen when I was coasting up to a stop sign Feb 2010.. both times I put all the strength I could on the brake pedal to stop the car. It never stopped in 2009 but I did get it stopped on the 2010 incident because I put the car in neutral. Some minor damage to the back end of the car on the 2009 incident from the car hitting the stack of wood.. went to the dealer and they said it was nothing they could do about it..
The contact owns a 2003 Toyota Camry. Yesterday the contact wife experienced an unintended acceleration. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked and upon putting the gear in reverse, the vehicle accelerated across the parking lot and crashed into an iron fence. The contact had the vehicle towed to an authorized dealership and the dealer has informed the contact that the vehicle was destroyed. The police were called and the contact will be obtaining a police report. The passenger hit her head but did not see a doctor. The manufacturer was not contacted as of yet. The failure mileage was 99,200 and the current mileage was 99,220. Updated 04/09/10. Updated 09/16/10
I own a 2003 Camry xle purchased new from a local dealer in carson city, nv. I have had problems with the transmission surging, lurching and hesitating since purchased. I requested the service dept to check it out many times. They always said nothing was wrong leading me to believe I was crazy. After the 4th time I printed out many other consumer complaints, they still told me "nothing was wrong" but they said Toyota is putting in a whole new transmission. That was in 2006. Wow, if nothing was wrong why would they go to that expense? now after all that has come to light with the Toyota problems, I see why. I am not comfortable with this car and know that it has the potential for sudden unintended acceleration. Updated 03/19/10
I am writing about my 2003 Toyota Camry. I have had the same gas pedal sticking problem. I was turning into a parking space and all of a sudden the car revved up and would not stop. I had to use all of my power to stop the car and it would not stop. I had to turn the key off for it to stop. I would like to know if there is any recourse for me. I contacted my local Toyota dealer and they said that my car was not part of the recall. I would not believe this problem if it had not happened to me. That has not happened again but I am very fearful now that I hear that others are having this problem.
My 2003 Toyota Camry le V6 inexplicably accelerated while I was driving into my garage on Dec 28 2006. The car struck the back of the garage wall and caused the wall to fail and partially fall into my houses den. At the time I assumed I had hit the accelerator instead of applying the brake. When I think back the car really accelerated hard and when it first hit the wall it stopped then lurched forward again. In light of all of the issues surrounding Toyota and unintentional acceleration I suspect the car actually accelerated on its own and I did not touch the accelerator accidentally. The car was repaired and is still owned by our family. I am reluctant to drive it given all of the issues surrounding Toyota acceleration problems.
On 11/10/09, while backing out of a parking lot, my vehicle suddenly accelerated colliding with a parked utility truck. My insurance company paid approximately $9800 for repairs to my vehicle. On 1/4/2010 my vehicle suddenly accelerated, coming out of a parking lot, even depressing the brake pedal as hard as I could would not stop the vehicle. I went out into the main traffic stream. Luckily there was no accident, just irate drivers. Each incident lasted only seconds then went to normal operation. I have a 2003 Toyota Camry, xle, V-6 which I purchased new and the mileage was approximately 44,000 miles. I have experienced no other problems but am wondering if I will and when. Have you had any other reports such as mine?
On August 20, 2009, started my 2003 Toyota Camry. With gear shift in "park", car engine raced as if accelerator was floored. Engine was screaming, I was afraid to shift it into "drive". shut off car and re-started, car idled fine at normal speed. Proceeded to drive car without further incident. Am sure that problem was not caused by my having my foot on the accelerator at the time.this has only occurred once in 74,000 miles and 7 years of family ownership.
I have an 2003 Camry xle which I purchased new in March 2003, I also have a problem with sudden acceleration. It usually occurs only a couple of times a year. I did not report it to the dealer because it was not a continuous problem and not a problem which could be reproduced on command. Until all the publicity the last few months I assumed it was only a problem with my car which happens infrequently.
The contact owns a 2003 Toyota Camry. The contact was driving approximately 5 mph into a parking lot. There was pressure applied to the brake pedal, followed by an unintended acceleration. The vehicle failed to slow down and crashed into an air conditioner unit outside of her residence. There were no personal injuries. The police was called to the scene. The body damage to the vehicle was repaired for $800. The vehicle has not been repaired at this time. The failure mileage was 38,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Rochester Hills, MI, USA