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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
4 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
6 / 0
Average Mileage:
28,018 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.

2012 Toyota Camry steering problems

steering problem

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2012 Toyota Camry Owner Comments (Page 2 of 3)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #34

Mar 092016

Camry

  • 35,000 miles

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

In spite of new brakes, 2 alignments and 2 different sets of tires the car, purchased as a certified Toyota in Dec 2015, continues to wander all over the road/track poorly and will pull quickly to the right when I brake especially when traveling at freeway speeds. I have had two close calls of near hitting the car in the lane next to me due to the force of the pull. This car was in tended for my teenager but in all good conscious the issue is of such concern I do not feel it would be safe for her to drive. I have the toytota dealer I purchased from that my only recourse is to trade it in and another Toyota dealer stating that it is inherent to the vehicle.

- Tacoma, WA, USA

problem #33

Jan 122016

Camry 4-cyl

  • 72,560 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Camry. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the steering wheel seized. The contact mentioned the steering wheel was able to function after the interior lights shut off. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 72,560. Updated 03/10/16

- Barstow, CA, USA

problem #32

Sep 142015

Camry

  • 29,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Camry. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 mph, the steering wheel seized as the electric power steering warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact mentioned that the failure recurred after the vehicle was serviced under an unknown manufacturers recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 29,000. Updated 02/12/16; 4/27/18

- Oakland Park, FL, USA

problem #31

Sep 142015

Camry

  • 52,000 miles

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

While driving on a city street and turning, the steering suddenly "froze" (power assist failed) and a steering wheel warning light came on. Car was driven home and then towed to Toyota dealership for investigation. After investigating, it was found that the pig voltage was low (11 volts) and fluctuated while turning. Upon removal of lower dash and steering column, found no bolt in ground wire from emps ECU. Installed a bolt and resecured ground wire to instrument panel safety bar, and then voltage was normal and steering was normal during road test. Could not locate original ground bolt.

- Palo Alto, CA, USA

problem #30

Oct 022015

Camry

  • 70,000 miles
First, the transmission is really jerk when accelerate at stop light. It also jerk really hard when down shift. It feels like the transmission is delay. Second, the electric steering wheel. The radio just shut off by itself and the steering wheel light came on at the same time, and then the light came off and the radio restarted by itself again. I feel like the electric has some problem.

- Blaine, MN, USA

problem #29

Aug 132015

Camry

  • 37,000 miles
When I was backing out of my garage I noticed the steering got hard to handle and hard to turn.

- Tuscaloosa, AL, USA

problem #28

Jul 262015

Camry

  • 33,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Camry. While driving at an unknown speed, the power steering failed and the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 33,000. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 33,000.

- Ponchatoula, LA, USA

problem #27

Jun 282015

Camry

  • 64,000 miles
The steering wheel just got hard driving on the highway car report

- Memphis, TN, USA

problem #26

Mar 062015

Camry

  • 39,521 miles
The tire pressure tends to fluctuate often requiring weekly air check to maintain the proper psi. The driver front tire psi cold will read 36, front pass 34, rear drive R35, rear pass at 36, when the tires heat up after appx. 38 mile out and you check the psi it will read 39, 39. 36,37, or at time you may get 39,37.39.F you have to come to a stop light, sudden stop, or a stop at night on a non familiar road like I had to in the rain on a uneven road the vehicles tail end tends to slide to the left and the front end feels as if you hit a pot hole do to slight wear and tear groves in the road that don't become apparent until your on that 1 to 2 feet section in the road. Is this a common complaint with any others or am I over being over concerned with the drive performance on uneven pavement or roads. My concern is the abuse on the brake components, the steering, the tires, fuel consumption and keeping control of your vehicle. Is it a computer problem, wheel component, tires, or me or all of the above. I purchased my Toyota for durability, efficacy, and my family safety on the road.

- Sacramento, CA, USA

problem #25

Jan 222015

Camry 4-cyl

  • 46,403 miles
I was driving along at 30 mph when I herd a pop and the steering light came on the dash. The power steering quit I was in a lot of traffic with only arm strong steering. I got off the road as soon as I could and called the Toyota dealer I was able to drive carefully to get there. The dealer told me this was the first time they had seen this problem this could have caused a serious accident I would been going 65 or 70 and had this happen...updated 11/12/15 the consumer has since sold the vehicle. Updated 11/18/15.

- Monticello, UT, USA

problem #24

Dec 112014

Camry 4-cyl

  • 18,765 miles

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

Another vehicle made hit my vehicle from rear side but air bags did not deployed and child safety airbag was not also activated across him and sterling also got locked while engine was on.

- Peoria, IL, USA

problem #23

Jul 152014

Camry

  • 45,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Camry. The contact stated that the steering warning light illuminated and the power steering failed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure and current mileage was 45,000.

- Middletown, DE, USA

problem #22

Sep 272012

Camry

  • 3,000 miles
The car wanders: It will drift to the right, I will correct with a little turn to the left. It then drifts to the left and I need to correct by steering to the right. At no time can I get the car to drive straight. Furthermore, there is no feeling in the steering wheel. It's like driving in a video game with only visual feedback.. this makes driving tiring and dangerous. If I take a second to look in the mirrors, when I look back to the road I'm either drifting to the right or left. I've taken it to the dealer and after 3 hours all they could find was the tire pressure being 2 lbs low and the toe alignment was a little off. Their conclusion was that it was the electrical power system and that there was nothing they could do about it. I should just get used to it.

- Phoenix, AZ, USA

problem #21

Apr 272013

Camry

  • 5,049 miles
Power steering make grinding when turning, brakes squeaking when backing, A/.C have bad smell when I turn off the A/C leak lots of water, when I stop and took off the car skid and a light ABS light on the panel.I spoke to the mgr and he toll me was normal when A/C off open the outside air to the smell go away. And for the steering he sad the car has electronic power steering and for brakes cause dirty and out of adjustment.on Feb 16 I took the car again for brakes then nothing wrong stillmaking the clicking noise then a month after I get a letter for the recall but same problems still there I just want know if any recalls on this issues that I write in this letter for my concerns and safe which I don't feel safe driving this car it has 18,000 miles.

- Anaheim, CA, USA

problem #20

Apr 012014

Camry

  • miles
2012 Toyota Camry. Consumer writes in regards to electric power steering problems. The consumer stated with the electric power steering, the vehicle would drift to the left and right in and out of lane he was trying to stay in. The vehicle seemed to have a mind of its own, and it would take its own course down the road. The consumer stated it was very dangerous at 60 mph, and the curves were even worse, as the consumer needed to correct the steering a lot more. When he turned onto a curve, the electric power steering would over react and continued turning the vehicle after he stopped turning the wheel, at that point he had to turn the wheel the other way to correct the over steering.

- Hoyt Lakes, MN, USA

problem #19

Jan 022014

Camry 4-cyl

  • miles
I received a recall notice for the HVAC assembly. I called my dealer and verified my VIN and scheduled an appointment to have the assembly replaced on 1/2/2014. When I arrived at the dealership I was told that they did not have the part and the asst svc mgr [xxx] told me he would get the part and call me. I have not heard from him and when I call he is on vacation. I called the service mgr and left my info and have not received a call back. I need to have this replaced as it is an extreme safety issue and I need this car for school. The dealership is Toyota of hollywood, 1841 N state rd 7, hollywood, fl 33021. Phone 954-893-4667. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Miramar, FL, USA

problem #18

Dec 182013

Camry

  • miles
As soon I got the safety recall for the Toyota Camry, I immediately called up bingham Toyota. The guy whom I spoke with said, "he asked for then name of the car and phone number, next give me a sec to look it up and then told me that the part is a special one which required a special order, " I asked how long will that take he said, "one week." Now its 2014 and I still haven't heard a call yet, as I was told that once the parts came in I would be notify by the number I gave him.

- Fresno, CA, USA

problem #17

Nov 162012

Camry

  • miles
P/O response ltr to Toyota Corp. Re 2012 camrydate: December 26, 2013 -...furthermore, my brother and I have stressed to everyone we have spoken with since our first contact on dec16, 2013 with Toyota regarding these dangerous mechanical problems I.e., the unintended acceleration, steering pulling to the right as well as the offensive odor that occurs when the ac is turned on....no one will assist us until January 6, 2014...we cannot imagine that CEO [xxx]... would find it acceptable to wait three (3) weeks - until January 6, 2014- to first begin an investigation while being left with a defective and damaged Toyota Camry. [xxx]. did not respond to our phone call either. We located Nov 16 2012 details and fwd to Toyota Corp: Nov 16, 2012- at approximately 11:15pm on the 405S, all traffic was stopped by the police North of the skirball. We were standing still for about 10 minutes. Suddenly, our car lunged forward due to unintended acceleration. As the car veered to the right, I managed, with great effort, to steer the car as we went into the lane to the right of us. After traveling more than 100 feet, I was finally able to get the car to come to a stop. Thankfully, we did not hit and were not hit by passing police and fire vehicles. We also smelled something burning in our car for a couple of minutes. On November 17, 2012, we went into Toyota service to report what had occurred the night before. We wanted Toyota to know what had happened because it was very frightening and we were concerned about our safety. We also wanted to know how many other people had experienced this problem and how Toyota had resolved this dangerous, safety problem. Toyota service checked and responded that there was no recall for this unintended acceleration in the 2012 Camry. Unfortunately, we accepted that this was an isolated incident experienced only by us. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Sacramento, CA, USA

problem #16

Aug 062012

Camry

  • miles
At highway speeds the car constantly wanders to the left and/or right requiring constant steering corrections. It is difficult to keep the car driving in a straight line at speed. Initially I thought it the cause was cross-winds but the problem happens all the time even on calm days with no wind. I have also discarded road surface imperfections/angle as the problem occurs while driving on different roads. It takes a lot of concentration and constant movement of the steering to prevent the car from crossing into adjacent lanes. This is a safety hazard and should be investigated. Thanks.

- Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

problem #15

Sep 052013

Camry 6-cyl

  • 4,000 miles
I recently purchased this car as a certified Toyota used car with 3675 miles. At speeds above 50 mph the car constantly wanders from right to left requiring constant steering correction. This is very tedious to the driver and creates a dangerous situation in attempting to keep the vehicle within the designated lane of traffic. All tires are inflated to factory specifications and the car is properly aligned. This is a new vehicle. There are numerous complaints on line related to this topic and vehicle. I contacted both a Toyota dealer and Toyota U.S.a. and both had no records of complaints and or recommended actions to repair this issue. The cause of this is most likely associated with the eps (electronic power steering) which Toyota started to install into the Camry in 2012. Eps has been documented as having a numb feeling and in some cases wandering steering. Unfortunately, I was unaware of this when acquiring this 2012 Camry. Previous to this car I leased a 2011 Camry which did not have eps and no such wandering steering. I believe this is a "very unsafe" vehicle at highway speeds and ask that the NHTSA investigate this complaint further. I thank you for allowing the public to post such issues to your Agency.

- Springfield, PA, USA

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