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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.

2.2

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
70,811 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 lights problems

lights problem

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2003 Toyota Camry Owner Comments

problem #4

Jul 162014

Camry 4-cyl

  • 117,000 miles

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

While driving the car, the engine and electrical components suddenly shut off. The first few times this happened, I was able to simply re-start the car with everything working again. I then brought the car to 3 different mechanics who could not find anything wrong with the battery or alternator (or anything else). The problem was erratic so it never occurred with the mechanics. Now the problem occurs occasionally when I turn the headlights or brights of the car on. The last time it happened (10/11/14) was while I was driving about 60 mph. The engine shut out, the dash lights went off (as well as all the other electrical things: Gps, ac, radio, etc). Even the flashers would not turn on. Then, in a matter of moments, everything turned on again. The car's engine did not even need to be restarted. I was able to keep driving without incident for 20+ miles. This incident has happened a total of about 3-4 times in the past, however, it was not triggered in the past by turning the lights on. There was no apparent trigger at all. The problem is erratic and does not happen all the time.

- Milledgeville, GA, USA

problem #3

Sep 232014

Camry

  • miles
The low beam headlights don't work as they should. Have adjusted them, installed new bulbs as well as installed the brightest bulbs available with no success at getting them to illuminate the highway at night as they should. I have also polished the lenses to verify if that was the issue as well, but with no improvement. They are very low intensity and not safe at all the Toyota dealer said there was nothing they could do and the repair manager said his venza has the same issue. I must use the bright beams to drive at night. On another note, I was not aware of this website until recently, or I would have reported this a lot sooner.

- Oak Hills, CA, USA

problem #2

Mar 182012

Camry 6-cyl

  • 106,244 miles
I bought this 2003 Camry from Toyota sunnyale (898 w el camino real, sunnyvale, ca 94087) on 3/18. I negotiated the price based on their description of the vehicle on website before I went in. However, when I went in, I found out that the passenger side rear brake lamp case was broken. I indicated that water leak will cause issue. However, the dealer refused to fix it and told me there won't be such issue. I took my kid to driving test today (4/16) with this vehicle. Only then that I found out from the driving examiner that brake light is not working and he refused to let my kid proceed with her driving test citing safety issue. This is definitely very frustrating not to mention the few hours wasted in dmv. What happened was that there have been heavy rain on and off over the 2 weeks after I bought that car. The water did indeed go into the lamp case and cause the hot light bulb to burst. I brought the car to wheel works to fix this issue today and the mechanics confirmed the above explanation. I have been driving this car on freeway to work everyday with a broken brake light and without knowing that. I could have been issued a ticket, or someone could have run into me on freeway because of the failed brake light. After driving 20 years of Toyota vehicle, I am completely shocked that Toyota dealer cheated me on safety issue. Simply speaking, Toyota traded his best customers' life for few hundred dollars. The dealer though willing to pay for the bulb (which is a cheap $5) and waive the labor cost, simply refuse the responsibility of bearing the cost of the lamp case. This is unacceptable. It is hard to believe that Toyota does not see this as a safety issue and had this issue fixed to begin with before delivering the car to customer. I do ask that Toyota reimburse me the same full part and labor cost that they were to charge this repair to customers.

- San Jose, CA, USA

problem #1

Jun 302006

Camry

  • 60,000 miles
The contact owns a 2003 Toyota Camry. While driving approximately 35 mph the contact noticed the headlights looked extremely dim. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the technicians stated the plastic cover on the side of the headlights needed to be replaced because they fog up making the headlights seem dim. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 60,000.

- Manchester, MD, USA

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