CarComplaints.com Notes: Beware of the NHTSA complaint data for the 2004 Camry. It is almost certainly misleading.
The problem with NHTSA data for the 2004 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 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 2004 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:
116 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
50 / 3
Average Mileage:
45,481 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.
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Camry. The contact was driving approximately 50 mph when the vehicle accelerated to 95 mph within seconds. The contact applied the brakes but to no avail. The vehicle came to a stop independently. The failure recurred and the vehicle was taken to the dealer. The dealer advised her that the failure was caused by the floor mat. The contact disagreed. The failure recurred while the contact was driving. The front wheels were spinning and the vehicle crashed into a row of stones. The contact was uninjured. A police report was available. The vehicle sustained damages to the under carriage and was towed to the dealer. The dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired for the damages. The failure recurred a third time and again, the vehicle was taken to the dealer and they were unable to duplicate the failure. The failure mileage was 43,000 and the current mileage was 44,500. Updated 12/14/2011
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Camry. While pulling into a carport with his foot on the brake, the contact stated that the vehicle suddenly accelerated. The vehicle did not stop until the vehicle went over the stopper in the parking spot. The vehicle had not been repaired. The current and failure mileages were approximately 80,000.
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Camry. The contact was driving approximately 2 mph with pressure being applied to the brake pedal when the vehicle abnormally accelerated. The contact applied heavy pressure to the brake pedal but the vehicle did not stop until after few seconds elapsed. The vehicle was not examined for the cause of failure nor was the vehicle repaired. The contact stated that the failure had occurred three times prior. The failure and current mileage was 41,000.
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Camry. While driving approximately 35 mph, the vehicle suddenly stalled. The contact coasted the vehicle to the side of the road; after several attempts, the vehicle restarted. The vehicle was taken to a local repair shop where the contact was informed that the throttle plate failed. The mechanic replaced the throttle body. The failure mileage was approximately 72,000 and the current mileage was 72,052.
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Camry. While driving 11 mph the accelerator pedal became stuck, she applied the brakes and that did not stop the vehicle or release the pedal. The vehicle drove over a steep embankment and crashed into a creek. The contact sustained injures to her back. A police report was filed. The vehicle had damages to both front and rear bumpers. The vehicle was being repaired. The failure and current mileages were 32,466.
- Sundance, WY, USA
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The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Camry. While driving in reverse 2 mph, the contact stated that the vehicle suddenly accelerated and crashed into a nearby dirt mound. There were no injuries. A police report was filed. The vehicle had not been inspected or repaired. The current and failure mileages were approximately 140,000.
I own a 2004 Toyota Camry. It has a defective throttle body which has left my wife stranded and cost $1000 to fix from the dealer. This is a common problem and a few of my friends have had to pay twice to get this fixed. The other issue is there a defective part in the steering linkage that pops when you turn. This eventually leads to slop in the steering and it cause my to go in the ditch. This accident has given me a chronic back condition and prevented me from commissioning in the military. This issue is also known to be a problem with the Camry but Toyota refuses to do anything about it.
My 2004 Toyota Camry fails to decelerate when I take my foot off of the gas peddle. It has behaved this way since I bought it in January of this year. It frightens me in lieu of the recalls made on Toyota vehicles. Now my 'needs maintenance' light is on in the dash.
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Camry. The contact stated that while driving, the vehicle would not accelerate and the check engine light illuminated. The contact turned off the vehicle and restarted it; however, it would not accelerate past 10 mph. The vehicle was taken to a repair shop where the contact was informed that the failure was caused by the throttle body; the mechanic advised her to take the vehicle to an authorized dealership. The failure occurred again while the contact was driving to the dealership. The vehicle was towed to the dealership where the contact was informed that they could offer no assistance. The contact called the manufacturer who stated that there was nothing they could do about the problem. The vehicle had not been repaired at the time of the complaint. The current mileage was approximately 106,000. The failure mileage was approximately 86,000.
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Camry. While driving 65 mph, the vehicle lost power and the check engine warning light illuminated as the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to restart the vehicle but the vehicle would not accelerate over 10 mph. The vehicle was taken to a local repair facility where it was diagnosed as a failure in the throttle body. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed as a failure at the oxygen sensor and throttle body. The manufacturer would not provide any assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 110,000.
While driving at approximately 45 miles per hour our 2004 Toyota Camry suddenly decelerated, and was only able to move forward very slowly. After pulling the car off of the travel lane and into a safe location, it was noted that the check engine light was on. The car could be driven very slowly (approximately 2-4 miles per hour) with the accelerator depressed completely. After about 45 seconds the car would accelerate to 35-40 miles per hour and stay at that speed with the accelerator completely depressed. The car was unsafe to operate with these accelerator problems. We had the car towed to a Toyota dealer who informed us that the electronic throttle control computer had failed, and that the entire electronic throttle control computer must be replaced.
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Camry. While the contact was driving approximately 55 mph, the vehicle unexpectedly accelerated. The brake pedal was applied repeatedly and the vehicle continued to accelerate. Suddenly, the vehicle began to slow down on its own. The failure occurred twice. The contact stated that the third time, the vehicle exhibited unintended acceleration while driving in a parking lot, at which time a police report was filed. There were no personal injuries or vehicle damage. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was in the dealers possession for fourteen days to perform further inspection of the acceleration failure. The contact stated that the vehicle was not repaired, and the technician was unable to determine the cause of failure. The failure mileage was approximately 43,593. Updated 08/24/10. Updated 08/25/10
My wife was pulling her 2004 Toyota Camry into a parking space, car in drive with her foot lightly on the brake with the car suddenly accelerated. The brakes were of little use and the only thing that kept her from crashing into an office building was a small retaining wall that stopped the car. The car is now at an auto body shop with over $7,000 in repairs to be made.
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Camry. The contact was parking the vehicle when the accelerator pedal became stuck causing the vehicle to crash into a building. There were no injuries. The entire front end of the vehicle was crushed and the windshield was broken. The vehicle was towed. A police report was filed. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 67,000.
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Camry. While driving 55 mph the vehicle accelerated twice as she depressed the brake pedal and the vehicle failed to slow down. The vehicle inspected by the twice dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. She did not notify the manufacturer. The failure and current mileages were 44,000.
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Camry. The contact stated that while driving at a very low speed, the vehicle suddenly accelerated when she took her foot off the accelerator pedal to brake. The vehicle went uphill and crashed into large rocks. The contact turned off the ignition but the wheels continued to spin. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealership for inspection but the dealer stated that no failure was found. The failure occurred on two more occasions. The current and failure mileages were approximately 44,000. Updated 6/19/10 updated 07/27/10
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Camry. While the contact was driving approximately 2 mph there was an unexpected increase of acceleration causing the vehicle to crash into a steel pole. The frontal airbag deployed with the level of impact. The contact sustained severe injuries to the head and neck. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer. The body damages to the vehicle was estimated at the cost of $16,000. The cause failure had not been determined at that time. In addition, the identical unintended acceleration failure occurred four years later. There were no injures in that incident. The vehicle is in the process of being repaired at the time of the complaint. The failure mileage was approximately 23,000. Updated 09/22/10. Updated 09/23/10
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Camry. The contact stated she was at a car wash. She stopped the vehicle and put it in neutral/ when the vehicle was completely washed, the green light illuminated to indicate the contact could proceed. She put the gear into drive and lightly pressed the accelerator pedal, then suddenly the vehicle accelerated two to four seconds to a speed of 30 mph. The vehicle suddenly accelerated without warning, causing the contact to crash into a nearby pole. The contact sustained injuries to the head and neck. A police report was filed accordingly. The vehicle was not diagnosed for the failure. The failure mileage was 26,190 and the current mileage is 54,000. Updated 09/22/10. The consumer stated she turned the wheel slightly to avoid hitting a concrete wall, and instead she hit a light pole. The consumer stated she had no control over the vehicle. The repairs were completed on the vehicle. Updated 09/22/10
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Camry. While driving at 5 mph, a vehicle in front stopped short so the contact used extreme force on the brake pedal to stop. However, the brakes did not engage and the vehicle suddenly accelerated, crashing into the vehicle in front. The passenger sustained neck injuries. The vehicle was inspected by an authorized dealership but the dealer could not find the cause of the acceleration. The failure occurred again but the contact was able to stop the vehicle to prevent a crash. The failure mileage was unknown. The current mileage was approximately 37,000.
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Camry. While reversing, the contact noticed sudden acceleration and crashed into a building. The contact shifted into park and had not been moved. The contact was injured and a police report was filed. The rear of the vehicle was damaged by the impact and the insurance company planned to have someone inspect the vehicle. The current and failure mileages were approximately 60,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Tewksbury, MA, USA