1989 TOYOTA CAMRY — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 110 complaints · 0 recalls

Verdict & Safety Summary

Most-reported system: SEAT BELTS (19 complaints · 17.3%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 13
  • Fires 4
  • Injuries 9
  • Deaths 1
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution SEAT BELTS appears in 19 of 110 owner complaints (17.3%) in this vehicle snapshot. SEAT BELTS: 19 complaints, 17.3% of reports SEAT BELTS 19 · 17.3% · 3 crash reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 14 complaints, 12.7% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 14 · 12.7% · 7 crash reports FUEL SYSTEM: 12 complaints, 10.9% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 12 · 10.9% ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 10 complaints, 9.1% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 10 · 9.1% · 2 fire reports ENGINE: 8 complaints, 7.3% of reports ENGINE 8 · 7.3% · 1 fire reports STRUCTURE: 7 complaints, 6.4% of reports STRUCTURE 7 · 6.4% POWER TRAIN: 6 complaints, 5.5% of reports POWER TRAIN 6 · 5.5% SERVICE BRAKES: 6 complaints, 5.5% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 6 · 5.5% · 1 crash reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 3 complaints, 2.7% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 3 · 2.7% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 75 complaints, 68.2% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 75 · 68.2% · 6 crash reports 3 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
SEAT BELTS 19 17.3% 3 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 14 12.7% 7 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 12 10.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 10 9.1% 0 crashes · 2 fires
ENGINE 8 7.3% 0 crashes · 1 fires
STRUCTURE 7 6.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 6 5.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 6 5.5% 1 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 3 2.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 75 68.2% 6 crashes · 3 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jan 1995. 1995-Q1: 8 owner reports 8 1995-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 1995-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 1995-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 1996-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 1996-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 1996-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 1996-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 1997-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 1997-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 1997-Q3: 17 owner reports 17 1997-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 1998-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 1998-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2000-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2000-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2000-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2001-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2001-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2002-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2002-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2016-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Dec 1989 Jul 2023 Investigation PE90027 ● Investigation PE90027 Investigation EA90028 ● Investigation EA90028 Investigation EA92013 ● Investigation EA92013 Investigation PE92065 ● Investigation PE92065 Investigation EA92044 ● Investigation EA92044 Investigation PE97003 ● Investigation PE97003 Investigation EA97008 ● Investigation EA97008
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q1 Owner reports 8
1995-Q2 Owner reports 5
1995-Q3 Owner reports 8
1995-Q4 Owner reports 5
1996-Q1 Owner reports 4
1996-Q2 Owner reports 2
1996-Q3 Owner reports 4
1996-Q4 Owner reports 2
1997-Q1 Owner reports 5
1997-Q2 Owner reports 4
1997-Q3 Owner reports 17
1997-Q4 Owner reports 6
1998-Q1 Owner reports 2
1998-Q2 Owner reports 1
1998-Q3 Owner reports 1
1998-Q4 Owner reports 1
1999-Q3 Owner reports 1
1999-Q4 Owner reports 1
2000-Q1 Owner reports 2
2000-Q2 Owner reports 1
2000-Q3 Owner reports 3
2001-Q1 Owner reports 4
2001-Q3 Owner reports 3
2002-Q2 Owner reports 4
2002-Q3 Owner reports 1
2004-Q1 Owner reports 1
2004-Q2 Owner reports 1
2006-Q1 Owner reports 1
2009-Q3 Owner reports 1
2010-Q2 Owner reports 1
2011-Q3 Owner reports 1
2013-Q2 Owner reports 1
2014-Q2 Owner reports 1
2014-Q4 Owner reports 2
2016-Q3 Owner reports 1
2017-Q4 Owner reports 1
2018-Q1 Owner reports 1
2019-Q1 Owner reports 1
2023-Q3 Owner reports 1
Defect investigation 1 PE90027
Defect investigation 1 EA90028
Defect investigation 1 EA92013
Defect investigation 1 PE92065
Defect investigation 1 EA92044
Defect investigation 1 PE97003
Defect investigation 1 EA97008
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (0)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

Zero safety recalls recorded for this model year in official NHTSA records.

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 110 complaints · page 1 of 5

No complaints match the current filters.

EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources