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CarComplaints.com Notes: Beware of the NHTSA complaint data for the 2005 Camry. It is almost certainly misleading.

The problem with NHTSA data for the 2005 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 2005 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:
142 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
70 / 5
Average Mileage:
38,920 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.

2005 Toyota Camry engine problems

engine problem

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2005 Toyota Camry Owner Comments (Page 12 of 13)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #27

Nov 212006

Camry 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 14,600 miles

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

We were parked at the entrance to hammond elementary school, laurel, md waiting to pick up two children a few minutes before dismissal. No school busses were present at the time we parked. Several buses soon arrived, however, which prompted our decision to move to a better place away from the buses. I cautiously started to back up and, to my amazement, the engine raced at high RPM as soon as I shifted into reverse from park. Although I was pressing on the brake, the car zoomed back about 20-35 feet. The left rear corner of my car struck the left front corner of a parked school bus. At this time, still in shock, I quickly pulled the shift lever from reverse to drive, intending to get away from the bus. At that moment the car then shot forward, my foot still pressing on the brake. It went back through the parking space, over the curb, and into a playground. About 60 feet into the playground the right front wheel hit the corner of a square wooden border surrounding some playground equipment. After striking the wooden barrier, the car continued at high speed in the grassy playground probably another 100 feet before I could get it out of drive into neutral and park. This whole episode happened within a few seconds. My foot was always pressing on the brake. The auto was towed to true2form collision center in laurel, md. The repairs have been held up until an inspection has been made by NHTSA. Geico informed me today, 11/30/06, that an attorney for the driver of the school bus is claiming injury. To my knowledge he mentioned no problem to the emt personnel at the time of the accident. If the accident had occurred while children were present, it could have resulted in many injuries/deaths.

- Adelphi, MD, USA

problem #26

Nov 292006

Camry 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 33,800 miles
This may be a repeat complaint because I filled this out earlier but my computer crashed. My mother and sister had a minor accident today (11/29/2006, 12:10 P.M.)in which our 2005 Toyota Camry surged forward from it's parking space where my mother had pulled in into the opposite parking space and into a parked Ford Explorer SUV, knocking off the Explorer's front license plate completely onto the ground. My sister said she looked down to see if my mother's foot was on the accelerator and it was not, it was on the brake pedal. She heard my mother say "I can't stop!" as she stood on the brake pedal. The car surged forward into the parked Explorer on it's own acceleration. We had a Toyota in the early 1980's and had this exact problem resulting in another crash. This has been a problem for Toyota's since then. Toyota should have fixed this problem over the last 20+ years. Back then there was no internet to fill out immediately after the crash to complain.

- Riverside , CA, USA

problem #25

Oct 012006

Camry 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 21,084 miles
I pulled into a parking lot to park. While still having my foot on the brake, I was just beginning to put my car into park when the car just suddenly lunged forward. I couldn't stop the car. As hard as I braked, I couldn't stop the car. I hit a truck in front of me, proceeded though the parking lot in the midst of a lot of pedestrians who were exiting the function, miraculously missing the pedestrians. I proceeded through the parking lot and out of the parking lot and across the street and then on across the street onto a lawn. I took down a mail box and proceeded back into the street again. Still going forward rapidly, I hit another parked truck and then a wall before the car finally stopped.

- Tiverton, RI, USA

problem #24

Aug 292006

(reported on)

Camry

  • miles

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

2005 Toyota Camry lurched forward on occasions causing damage to the vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy during accident. While parking, on two separate occasions, the vehicle lurched forward while the consumer was pulling into a parting space.. each time the consumer S foot was on the brake pedal preparing to stop. During the second occurrence the consumer's husband heard the engine rev from near idle speed to very high RPM's, at or close to the maximum RPM. The vehicle hit a tree.

- Huntington, NY, USA

problem #23

Jul 312006

Camry 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 9,500 miles
: the contact stated upon initial acceleration at low speeds on a city street, the vehicle lurched forward striking another vehicle in the rear end. During the sudden acceleration, the vehicle did not respond to firm brake pressure. There were no injuries but minor damage was sustained to the vehicle. The police was not contacted and no report was taken. The vehicle was not inspected, but both the dealer and manufacturer were contacted. The vehicle was inspected on 8-17-06 by a Toyota representative, however he refused to acknowledge there was a problem with the accelerator. Updated 09/05/06.

- New York, NY, USA

problem #22

Sep 282004

Camry 4-cyl

  • 3,718 miles
While stopped at an intersection, the engine suddenly and unexpectedly began to rev uncontrollably without any input from me. Due to the high revolutions of the engine the brakes were incapable of prventing the car from moving forward even though the brake petal was fully depressed. The only way to prevent my car from hitting the car in front of me was to shut off the engine. Two subsequent attempts to re-start the engine resulted in a repeat of the over-revving situation. Only after the third attempt did the engine resume normal operation. A passenger in the car at the time verified that the accelerator was not engaged at any time during the incident. The car was immediately driven to the dealer who inspected it and found no fault with the etc system and no stored codes that would verify my complaint. The car was subsequently returned to us and was driven without incident for the next nineteen months before the problem once again presented itself. As we were pulling into a parking space while my foot was on the brake petal the engine once again began to over-rev without any input from me. Again, the passenger in the car who had witnessed the first incident immediately looked to see if the accelerator was accidentally being depressed. It was not. Again, the only means of preventing my car from striking the vehicle in front of me was to shut off the engine.

- Sugar Grove, IL, USA

problem #21

Feb 242006

Camry 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 5,200 miles

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

I was slowly turning left into a parking space at about 3:30 P.M., when my 2005 Toyota Camry suddenly, and quite rapidly, accelerated without any input from me. It jumped a curb, crossed a sidewalk, and a tree stopped the car. It felt like I had no control of the car. Also, the steering was extremely difficult. Somehow, I managed to steer the car away from the apartment building and my neighbor glass slider. The car traveled about 30 plus feet in its acceleration, when a tree stopped it. It left about 20 feet of skid marks. I was not hurt in the crash. The car sustained damage, mainly to the front bumper, coolant system, and hood, for approximately $5,400. I filed a complaint with Toyota corporation, torrance, California, and they investigated the car. They reported they could find nothing wrong with the car, and there were no design faults. The Toyota dealer where I had bought the Camry additionally tested the car computers, and also called in a Toyota factory representative to test the car. They could find nothing wrong with the car. I sold the Camry back to this dealer. The car had about 5,400 miles on it at the time of the crash. The car had been running well until this sudden, unexplained acceleration that resulted in a crash.

- Vernon Hills, IL, USA

problem #20

Mar 072005

Camry 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 6,200 miles
: the contact stated while parking the vehicle surged forward while his foot was on the brake. The vehicle went over a sidewalk, pushed over a sign and hit a fence, however no one was injured. The vehicle sustained damage to the front bumper. The vehicle was towed to the dealership for inspection; however no repairs have been made. The manufacturer was not alerted. Updated 03/22/06.

- Milpitas, CA, USA

problem #19

Dec 272005

Camry 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 10,000 miles
: the contact stated while attempting to pull in a parking space at 2 mph, the vehicle surged and suddenly accelerated without warning. The brake pedal was depressed at the time of the incident. The vehicle went through an intersection and over a public sidewalk before crashing into a fire hydrant. The contact and passenger were wearing safety restraints. The vehicle impacted the fire hydrant with such force that the fire hydrant was extracted 3 feet above ground. The vehicle was towed to the local dealership were diagnostic testing was performed. The local service dealer could not determine the cause of the accident; however the dealer additional testing will be performed before the vehicle is repaired. The police filed a report at the scene and the contact's insurance company also filed a report. There was additional property damage to the sidewalk, fire hydrant and a children's museum that was flooded by the water from the fire hydrant. Updated 2/27/2006 - the air bags also failed to deploy.

- Godfrey, IL, USA

problem #18

Sep 112005

Camry 4-cyl

  • 2,931 miles
On 9/11/05 our 2005 Toyota Camry suddenly accelerated (sa) while the driver was slowly turning into a local parking lot. Applying the brakes did not stop the auto but did leave skid marks on the pavement, as noted by the police. We turned off the ignition after several seconds but crashed into two parked cars. The car was towed to an auto body shop and later to a Toyota body shop. Toyota kept us from repairing the car for 12 days until their expert inspected the car. He reported no brake or throttle problem and disregarded the skid marks evidence.. we don't know if he checked the cruise control. A recent request for that information has given no response. Toyota reported that nothing was wrong. We sold the car back to Toyota at a $10,000 loss. After a month, the driver developed a severe right hip pain, attributed to the accident by two doctors. She recovered slowly with much therapy. We did not keep the car because we found that, in several cases at least, a repaired sa car had a second sa. The possibility of a malfunctioning cruise control linkage was possibly not investigated. See ODI 10136882.

- Teaneck,, NJ, USA

problem #17

Nov 072005

Camry 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 2,000 miles

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

Contact states vehicle surged forward, lost control and hit another vehicle. She depressed the brakes, but the vehicle would not stop. There were no injuries, and no police report was taken. The dealer informed her no other failures of this type have been reported. It was the opinion of the manufacturer that it was driver's error. Updated 12/14/2005. The vehicle was parked when it suddenly accelerated. Updated 12/01/10. Updated 12/08/10

- Sacramento, CA, USA

problem #16

Aug 312005

Camry 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
The contact stated on three separate occasions the engine raced and the vehicle lunged forward. This happened with his foot on the brake, and when shifting from park to drive. The vehicle has been to the dealership multiple times, but they could not diagnose the problem. The manufacturer has been contacted, and they recommended taking the vehicle back to the dealership. Updated evoq 10/08/10 the consumer stated the sudden acceleration occurred several times, since the fall of 2005. Updated evoq 04/19/12 the consumer stated he experienced sudden acceleration from 2005-2010. It appeared to be a problem mostly likely caused by a defective microprocessor. Updated 04/09/14

- Pelham , MA, USA

problem #15

Mar 132005

Camry 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 6,000 miles
Car surges. It has done this twice. The dealer can't find anything wrong with the car, and Toyota stands behind the dealer. Accidents were avoided both times.

- Ferdinand, IN, USA

problem #14

Sep 112005

Camry 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 2,391 miles
I was making a left turn into the garrison parking lot, teaneck, driving my 2005 Camry. I pressed very lightly on the accelerator. The car suddenly had a surge of acceleration disproportionate to my gentle tapping of the gas pedal. Pressing the brake pedal and also turning the ignition key off did not slow the car down sufficiently to prevent a crash into two parked cars. There were no occupants in the parked car. My husband, irving J. borowitz, was with me. We had no apparent injuries at that time except for left shoulder ache (grace). We were both traumatized. The Camry is at a Toyota body shop, awaiting inspection by Toyota representative tom morin on Sept. 23. our allstate insurance adjuster estimated partial cost of repairs at $5025. No repairs have been done yet. The Camry has 2391 miles. Referred to you by leonrad burchman (voice of the elderly). Car purchased Feb 26, 2005 at parkway Toyota, englwd cliffs, NJ. See ODI 10145141.

- Teaneck, NJ, USA

problem #13

Sep 042005

Camry 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 2,100 miles
After being involved in a rear end collision (with my Camry xle V6) when reversing out of a parking spot at a busy restaurant, I attempted to pull forward a foot or two and park by putting the car into drive (not pressing the accelerator). Upon pressing the brake to park the car accelerated forward uncontrollably (without application of the gas pedal) crashing into the car parked in front of me and pushing that car into the car directly across the parking lot from it. The car directly across the parking lot was pushed over the concrete parking block and into a tree. After pushing the car in front of me, I was able to steer away from other cars and was finally able to stop the car only by using the emergency brake. From the time the car accelerated forward without pressing the gas pedal the brakes did not work. After clearing the cars I looked down to make sure I was using the brake pedal, which I was, and it was not working at all. During this entire incident there was a very loud and consistent noise coming from my car. The car is currently being inspected.

- Fishers, IN, USA

problem #12

Aug 182005

Camry 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 1 miles
My one week old Toyota Camry's speedometer doesn't show the correct speed. Bell road Toyota told me there's a 10% tolerance so if it's not off by more than that they won't fix it. Mine is off by 10% and I think that's a hazard. Every time I look down at the speedometer I have to do the math to figure out how fast I'm actually going. It's distracting to me and it's a danger to other drivers when I'm going slower than all the other traffic because of the speedometer being incorrect. I think the tolerance should be lower.

- Peoria, AZ, USA

problem #11

Aug 032005

Camry

  • miles
2005 Toyota Camry SE developed a problem with building up acceleration after slowing down. When accelerating from a low speed the consumer noticed hesitation while trying to regain speed.

- Flowery Branch, GA, USA

problem #10

Jul 292005

Camry 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 1,000 miles
On July 29, 2005 when the consumer pressed the brake pedal the vehicle accelerated. This had occurred 3 times. The vehicle has a little over 1000 miles on it. The manufacturer gave the consumer a reference number to give to the dealer when he takes the vehicle to them.

- Sivlerspring , MD, USA

problem #9

Jun 272005

Camry

  • miles
2005 Toyota Camry surges forward when the brakes are depressed.** answer required***. as a result the vehicle was involved in an accident.

- Plano, TX, USA

problem #8

Jan 012005

Camry

  • miles
2005 Toyota Camry xle intermittently stalls when trying to accelerate from the stop position. The dealer explained to the consumer that the vehicle was redesigned eliminating the accelerator linkage cable and that the behavior is typical and normal for that the 2005 Camry.

- Silver Spring, MD, USA

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