CarComplaints.com Notes: The Camry Hybrid's first year is a mixed bag of brake actuators failing and power issues. The hybrid version even shares the same excessive oil consumption as its non-hybrid counterpart. And it hardly gets enough fuel efficiency gains to warrant the extra costs up-front or during repairs.

Toyota seemed to get their act together with later model years, so if you're looking for a used Camry Hybrid I suggest looking there.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
4 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
69,461 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.

2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid brakes problems

brakes problem

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2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #28

Jul 112015

Camry Hybrid 4-cyl

  • 80,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Camry hybrid. While reversing with the brake pedal depressed, the vehicle failed to respond and suddenly jerked to a halt without warning. After the brake pedal was released, the vehicle would independently brake. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed the brake actuator needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 80,000...updated 07/20/16 the consumer stated the dealer fixed the vehicle, under warranty. Updated 07/26/16. Updated 08/01/16. Updated 08/16/16 updated 08/22/16.

- Prairieville, LA, USA

problem #27

Mar 142014

Camry Hybrid 4-cyl

  • miles
2007 Toyota Camry. Consumer writes in regards to internal brake system issues and noises coming from under the hood. The noise coming from under the hood, was attributed to the issue with the high pressure braking system.

- Ocala, FL, USA

problem #26

Mar 272014

Camry Hybrid 4-cyl

  • 11,126 miles
Stop and go traffic on the 101 eb going 10 mph at 8:50 am. Tried to stop and brakes failed. I tried again to stop and brakes failed. Ran into the left rear of car in front of me. We were all moving slowly so damage to his car was less than mine. But the feeling of not being able to stop the car was traumatic! car is not due for service for another 1000 miles. It is serviced regularly by dealer.

- Tarzana, CA, USA

problem #25

Feb 012014

Camry Hybrid

  • 189,000 miles

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

I was driving my car when a "check vsc system" flashed across my dashboard. I suddenly had a very hard time getting the car to brake. The dealership stated it was the ABS actuator, and it cost roughly $2975 to replace. I was alarmed that anything involving the ABS system would need replacement during the lifetime of the vehicle. I was deeply concerned to see that there were about 30,000 other complaints for my same make and model. I believe this part should be inspected for a possible recall.

- Charleston, SC, USA

problem #24

Nov 062013

Camry Hybrid

  • 134,000 miles
I started my car one morning, and several warning lights came on: (emergency) brake light, red warning light, yellow warning light, traction control light and ABS light. This warning came and went intermittently for some time, and now seems to be a permanent problem. The brakes feel jagged while pressing lightly, almost like the brake pads are gone, and the rotors are uneven. A dealership in Oklahoma identified the problem to be with the "accumulator" for the ABS system. This part and the labor to put it in will run me nearly $3000, a sum far too many car owners cannot afford, including myself. Toyota has insisted that because my the part is out of 3yr/36000 mile warranty, they will not help in the cost of this repair. Meanwhile, Toyota has changed the original oem part, a tacit acceptance that the original is flawed, and needed to be re-engineered. I cannot believe the amount of people who have reported the same exact problem online with no recourse but to pay a phenomenal sum to have a part replaced that is known to have a dangerous defect.

- Edmond, OK, USA

problem #23

Dec 202011

Camry Hybrid 4-cyl

  • 61,188 miles
At multiple regular service appointments at the Toyota dealer, I reported unusual noises and a pulsing sensation that appeared to come from the brakes. The service people were not able to identify any issues. At 77000 miles, the dealer charged $400 for replacement of the master cylinder. After replacing the master cylinder, they determined that the ABS actuator was failing and needed to be replaced -- at approximately $2400. Of course, they also wanted to replace the front brake pads and water pump for another $700. I took the car to an independent (non-dealer) mechanic who confirmed the need to replace the ABS actuator. The mechanic also advised that the part costs so much because it is specific to the hybrid vehicles (as opposed to non-hybrid Camry) -- used parts are not much cheaper as they are harder to find. A major failure in the braking system is of great concern. The brakes feel like they are becoming increasingly less responsive. It is absolutely absurd that so many people are experiencing issues with the same component of the braking system for the same model and year vehicle, yet Toyota is not accepting responsibility for correcting this. Toyota should be held accountable for this serious safety issue, or at least concede that it is an issue specific to hybrids and would be covered under

- Riverview, FL, USA

problem #22

Apr 182013

Camry Hybrid 4-cyl

  • 100,000 miles

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

As I was approaching a pedestrian crossing, the ABS light and check vsc light and brake light went on in my Camry hybrid. When I tried to apply brakes to stop, I realized that the brakes completely failed. I did a sharp evasive turn and hit the curb hard in attempt not to run over pedestrians in the crossing! the lights subsequently disappeared and brakes resumed their normal function after a few minutes. The issue of brakes failing is intermittent and happened subsequently several times at various speeds. When taken to the dealer at first I was told there were no codes registered in the computer and the brakes operate standard. When I insisted after approximately 7 hours of testing the dealer told me the problem is with the brake control unit (computer). After researching online I discovered its a widespread problem!!! and yet Toyota is behaving immoral not recalling the faulty parts that in many cases can not even be diagnosed. Moreover they do not even admit that there's an issue! updated 8/22/13

- Lanham , MD, USA

problem #21

Feb 232013

Camry Hybrid 4-cyl

  • 102,000 miles
While driving my wife's 2007 Toyota Camry hybrid the "check vsc system" warning came on. Power brake system turned off and the car became difficult to stop. I pulled over and tried to reset the error by turning the car off then on again a few times. Still no luck. I felt I could get it to the dealer a couple miles away since the streets I used weren't highly trafficked. Was told by the dealer that the vsc computer had failed and that it was a $2200 repair. I did a quick search: bit.ly/vj77M5 and found this thread of this issue being a somewhat common issue and seems to be a safety concern but now recall: bit.ly/xamkaa. updated 7/31/13 the brake pedal had to be depressed almost to the floor, to stop the vehicle. However it would stop completely without slowing down. When traveling above 25 mph, it would take longer to stop.

- Fremont, CA, USA

problem #20

May 262013

Camry Hybrid 4-cyl

  • 68,057 miles
All of the warning lights came on, then up came check vsc system. Looked it up in the auto manual. Sunday, holiday weekend. On the way home, stopped into auto zone, plugged in a computer diagnostic, code C1391 comes up. Went home investigated online, found that this is common with many Camry hybrids, . not being recalled. Big money and big safety issue here. Costing consumers thousands of dollars, my first day out with this as this just happened with me at 9 am today. www.checkvscsystem.com www.toyotanation.com/forum/105-Camry-hybrid/401450-2007-tch-check-vsc-system-code-C1391.html....updated 07-29-13.... updated 08/01/13

- Englewood, FL, USA

problem #19

May 092013

Camry Hybrid 4-cyl

  • 64,240 miles
I was driving at approximately 20 miles per hour and coming to a stop when the vsc warning light, brake warning light, and tire pressure warning lights came on. The light remained on after restarting the engine and the brake pedal became more resistant to braking. The problem in my car actually began months before the warning lights came on and was not correctly diagnosed at the dealership. Early signs were excessive clicking sounds coming from the brake actuator assembly on the right front area of the engine compartment, and an intermittent hydraulic sound when the brake pedal was kept depressed. After the repair I found that this problem is common on the 2007 Camry hybrid. The repair involved replacement of the brake actuator assembly and was extremely expensive.....updated 08/01/13 there seemed to be a delay in stopping the vehicle after the warning lights came on. Prior to that, the consumer heard clicking sounds. However, before the warning lights came on, the stopping seemed normal.

- Miami, FL, USA

problem #18

Apr 172013

Camry Hybrid 4-cyl

  • 94,385 miles

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

Vehicle was brought to dealer for strange noises coming from the engine compartment. Dealer diagnosed a part failure in the anti-lock braking system actuator assembly, which could have lead to a complete loss of brakes. No warning lights on the dash ever indicated a problem with this critical safety component. Updated 07/30/13 the consumer stated the repair did not fix the problem and it soon returned a few hours after driving. The next day, all the braking issues and warning lights appeared on the dash again. The ABS brake accumulator had an internal leak. The brake accumulator was upgraded and the new unit is a different part number.

- Tallahassee, FL, USA

problem #17

Dec 122012

Camry Hybrid 4-cyl

  • 71,000 miles
ABS warning lights appear on dash, intermittent loss of braking. System reset and car was fine for couple of weeks then it happened again. System reset again - fine for another couple of weeks now the lights are on and stay on. Toyota dealer wants $2500-3,000 to repair system and tells me it is rare and haven't seen it in other vehicles of my type. Yet I find several people with the same year, make and model of my vehicle on the internet with the same problem. Coincidence?? updated 07/30/13

- Lutz, FL, USA

problem #16

Mar 092012

Camry Hybrid 4-cyl

  • 109,520 miles
My '07 Camry hybrid(ch) has started to experience brake failure while driving. The first documented incident: 03/09/12. W/O warning, the ch will shut down and the "check vsc" light appears on the dash. All of the dash lights light up as well. When this happened, there were no brakes, no warning, etc. When I put the car in "park", turned off the vehicle and restarted it, I was able to resume driving. I took it to dealer to have the car diagnosed. The diagnosis: Nothing wrong with the car, brakes, etc(inv.#227594). Over the past 9 months, it has occurred a few more times, usually when the vehicle is pulling out of the garage. When it happens, I turn off the vehicle, restart and go on. On 10/30/12 while my wife was driving 35mph, the car shut down, the "check vsc" light came on and the brakes completely failed. She caught a left turn signal and coasted into a parking lot. Obviously this was horrifying for her and our kids. I called aaa and had the car towed to Toyota. My service advisor(sa) told me they have begun to see this happening a lot and he predicted the ABS brake actuator (ba) failed. I told him about the incident in March, which he acknowledged knowing of. 2 hours later he called to confirm that it was the ba. We spoke about it being a defective part, he agreed and would call and speak to Toyota national(tn)to see if they could help out with the $2200 repair. The next day he told me that tn wouldn't help, and neither would the dealership. My online research discovered many ch have had this problem. I discussed with the sa that if the part is defective and they are seeing more and more of this, what guarantee is there a new ba wouldn't react the same way. He couldn't guarantee that it wouldn't. I declined to have the repair done, aaa towed vehicle to my home. The sa seemed certain that a recall was coming. The car is garaged, I have the repair est/document. Updated 07/30/13

- Tallahassee, FL, USA

problem #15

Sep 172012

Camry Hybrid 4-cyl

  • 123,000 miles
Vsc system, check engine, and emergency brake lights come on at the same time the brakes stopped working properly. I was braking and the brake peddle pushed back at me, releasing the brakes. When I continued to depress the brakes, the usual resistance and braking power was gone. I had to press down as hard as I could to get the car to stop. This is intermittent and tends to happen when the car is cold. Dealership could not discover a problem as the computer did not record an error. Internet research indicated other Toyota hybrid owners experienced the same problem and determined the cause was the stroke sensor. When I returned the vehicle to a different dealership, they insisted I change the tires. The problem continues to occur. Updated 07/30/13 updated 8/22/13

- Alexandria, VA, USA

problem #14

Mar 052012

Camry Hybrid

  • 57,000 miles
On four occasions when braking in city traffic, the brake system in the vehicle failed and braking was lost. On two of the occasions I had to swerve off the road onto the shoulder to avoid collision with the motorist in front of me and apply very heavy pressure to the brakes to halt the vehicle over a much longer stopping distance than normal. Conditions were: Dry road, no bumps or debris on the road, stop and go city traffic, gentle braking pressure on peddle when initially trying to stop. Vehicle is well maintained by the dealership. Indicators: Big red brakes indicator lit up, ABS light came on, check vsc system light came on, anti skid light came on, triangle with (!) light came on, orange circle with (!) light came on. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who updated the computer and returned the vehicle to me. Within three days of receiving the vehicle back, the brakes failed again with the same above conditions and indicators. The vehicle was returned to the dealership and remains there presently. The dealership asserts that they are unable to find any fault codes or reproduce the problem and are unauthorized by the extended warranty to make any repairs without proving a problem exists. I contacted Toyota usa and reported the problem to them and awaiting a response. The dealership has a record of the several times the vehicle was brought to them with this brake failure. I am terrified of and will not drive the vehicle now unless a problem is found and corrected. Can you provide assistance or advise on what can be done to force Toyota to replace the brake system in the vehicle? I note I am not the only person who has reported this failure. I am stuck with a vehicle still under warranty that is a death trap and under good conscience can not be sold to another person.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

problem #13

Nov 242011

Camry Hybrid 4-cyl

  • 125,000 miles
On 11/24/11 I was out of town with five people in the car (including me). As I approached a stop sign, it felt like the brakes went out entirely and I wound up in the middle of the intersection (thankfully nobody was coming on the cross street or I could very easily have been broadsided). "check vsc system" was displayed on the dashboard along with the red brake light, red triangle with exclamation light, orange indicator light (exclamation with circle ((!))), anti skid light and ABS light. I checked the owners manual and it basically said this was related to the ABS system and that I could still drive the car, but to be cautious. The brakes were very limited while the lights were on, but I was careful and made it to my destination. When we left that night the lights were off, but I did experience same issue sporadically the rest of the weekend. The following week I took the car to grapevine Toyota service department and left it for three days. They were not able to reproduce the problem and told me there was nothing they could do. I didn't drive the car for several days, but the next time I did I had the same issue again and then later it went off again and operated fine. I did get a call to rate my service a few days after I took it in and I told them the truth, that I was unhappy because they could not find a problem with a very dangerous issue. The service manager called me after that and said he would research with Toyota tech support to try and find the cause. I didn't get any possible fixes back from him, but I read somewhere a bad battery might be the cause so I took it back to dealership to have it checked on 2/21/12. They said battery was good, but the issue did occur while they had it and still could not determine problem. It is now 2/26/12 and I have had this happen many times, several in dangerous situations and still no resolution.

- Flower Mound, TX, USA

problem #12

Jan 122012

Camry Hybrid 4-cyl

  • 41,700 miles
I have owned my 2007 Camry hybrid for 1 year 6 months. In snowy and slick conditions, the brakes stopped functioning normally. ABS stopped functioning. The regenerative brakes stopped functioning. Hydraulic brakes functioned, but the pedal had to be depressed to the floor before they engaged and then the brakes engaged very sharply and uncontrollably (I have read this is the "fail-safe" behavior when a communication issue occurs in the system). At the same time, the "check vsc system" notification came on. The red brake light, ABS indicator light, skid indicator light, tire pressure light, orange circle with exclamation light (brake failure indicator, it looks like ((!)) ) all lit. All warning lights remained lit and the brakes continued to behave badly for the following week under a variety of weather and temperature conditions. Brakes were difficult to control and stopping was unsafe (a lot like a new driver struggling to learn to drive a stick shift...except the car is an automatic and the unpredictable jolting was due to the brake behavior, as opposed to a driver unfamiliar with using the clutch). When the car was taken for service, the technician found many failure/error codes had been recorded in the computer as a result of the incident. So many errors that the recommendation was to clear them and recalibrate the computer to see if the failure recurred. The computer was 'recalibrated' and the car was extensively driven by the technician. Nothing recoded. The brakes now behaved normally. Effectively the brakes failed because the computer "went haywire". recalibrating the computer seems to have resolved the issue. So there was a major brake issue that happened suddenly, was not related to a component failure, that apparently can recur at any time.

- Ballwin, MO, USA

problem #11

Dec 142011

Camry Hybrid 4-cyl

  • 73,118 miles
Minutes after leaving home while traveling 10 mph in the neighborhood, all of the warning lights on the dash illuminated - brake, vsc, tire, etc. The car lost acceleration, the steering became "gummy", and the brakes became "mushy". it took constant, complete depression of the brake pedal to stop the car over a length of about 25 feet. I took the car to 355 Toyota in rockville, md where it was hooked to a computer, but no problem was detected. The problem occurred a second and third time, once minutes after startup and once while traveling at 30 mph not far from my destination, thankfully. After parking the car for 2 hours, the car drove normally. The fourth time this problem occurred, I had just left the capital beltway and was in the process of braking in order to safely round a cloverleaf onto river road. The brakes were barely responsive, and I narrowly missed crashing into the cars in front of me. I took the car back to 355 Toyota on December 27. The car was kept for 24 hours. The mechanics could find nothing wrong with it. I was told this was the very first time a problem such as mine has been reported to 355 Toyota. A google query proved that this problem is more pervasive than the dealership knows or is willing to admit knowing. Updated 7/31/13 the consumer experienced another episode and the vehicle was left at the dealer, where the tech experienced the problem himself. The technician added brake fluid. Since the brake fluid was added, the vehicle has performed perfectly.

- Rockville, MD, USA

problem #10

Mar 042011

Camry Hybrid

  • 25,000 miles
Driver reported unintended acceleration, causing car to mount curb, strike and knock over lamppost, striking masonry steps and a concrete post. After striking concrete post, car rebounded approx. 6 feet. Airbags did not deploy. Drivers floor mat was secured to it's retaining pegs, not impinging the accelerator in any way.

- Hillsdale , NJ, USA

problem #9

Feb 062011

Camry Hybrid

  • 27,217 miles
The contact owns a 2007 Camry hybrid. The contact was driving 65 mph when the brake warning, vehicle stability control warning and system control warning lights illuminated, causing an abnormal increase in stopping distance. The contact brought the vehicle to a stop for a few moments and as he resumed driving, the warning lights were no longer illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where a diagnostic test was performed but did not produce any failure codes. The dealer also test drove the vehicle, but was unable to duplicate the failure. The failure mileage was 27,217 and the current mileage was 27,300.

- Saint Gabriel , LA, USA

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