1997 TOYOTA CAMRY — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 547 complaints · 4 recalls
Most-reported system: SERVICE BRAKES (88 complaints · 16.1%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 79
  • Fires 27
  • Injuries 58
  • Deaths 3
Compare with 1996 →
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 SERVICE BRAKES appears in 88 of 547 owner complaints (16.1%) in this vehicle snapshot. SERVICE BRAKES: 88 complaints, 16.1% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 88 · 16.1% · 7 crash reports ENGINE: 86 complaints, 15.7% of reports ENGINE 86 · 15.7% · 2 crash reports 12 fire reports SUSPENSION: 58 complaints, 10.6% of reports SUSPENSION 58 · 10.6% · 2 crash reports AIR BAGS: 51 complaints, 9.3% of reports AIR BAGS 51 · 9.3% · 41 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 34 complaints, 6.2% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 34 · 6.2% · 1 crash reports 11 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 28 complaints, 5.1% of reports POWER TRAIN 28 · 5.1% · 4 crash reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 27 complaints, 4.9% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 27 · 4.9% · 11 crash reports 2 fire reports SEAT BELTS: 24 complaints, 4.4% of reports SEAT BELTS 24 · 4.4% STEERING: 22 complaints, 4.0% of reports STEERING 22 · 4.0% · 5 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 392 complaints, 71.7% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 392 · 71.7% · 49 crash reports 15 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)
SERVICE BRAKES 88 16.1% 7 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 86 15.7% 2 crashes · 12 fires
SUSPENSION 58 10.6% 2 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 51 9.3% 41 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 34 6.2% 1 crashes · 11 fires
POWER TRAIN 28 5.1% 4 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 27 4.9% 11 crashes · 2 fires
SEAT BELTS 24 4.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 22 4.0% 5 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 392 71.7% 49 crashes · 15 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 Oct 1996; the first recall shown was reported in Sep 1997. 1996-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 1997-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 1997-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 1997-Q3: 15 owner reports 15 1997-Q4: 24 owner reports 24 1998-Q1: 18 owner reports 18 1998-Q2: 11 owner reports 11 1998-Q3: 18 owner reports 18 1998-Q4: 25 owner reports 25 1999-Q1: 57 owner reports 57 1999-Q2: 14 owner reports 14 1999-Q3: 23 owner reports 23 1999-Q4: 16 owner reports 16 2000-Q1: 13 owner reports 13 2000-Q2: 8 owner reports 8 2000-Q3: 12 owner reports 12 2000-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 2001-Q1: 21 owner reports 21 2001-Q2: 13 owner reports 13 2001-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2001-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 2002-Q1: 12 owner reports 12 2002-Q2: 11 owner reports 11 2002-Q3: 17 owner reports 17 2002-Q4: 9 owner reports 9 2003-Q1: 17 owner reports 17 2003-Q2: 13 owner reports 13 2003-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2003-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2004-Q1: 16 owner reports 16 2004-Q2: 11 owner reports 11 2004-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2004-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 2005-Q1: 11 owner reports 11 2005-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2005-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2008-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2008-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2009-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2010-Q1: 14 owner reports 14 2010-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2010-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2011-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2012-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2013-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2014-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2015-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Oct 1996 Apr 2024 Recall campaign 97V156000 ◆ Recall campaign 97V156000 Recall campaign 97V213000 ◆ Recall campaign 97V213000 Recall campaign 99V307000 ◆ Recall campaign 99V307000 Recall campaign 09E025000 ◆ Recall campaign 09E025000 Investigation PE97034 ● Investigation PE97034 Investigation DP02004 ● Investigation DP02004 Investigation PE02079 ● Investigation PE02079
  • Campaign 97V156000 was reported 128 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 97V213000 was reported 13 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 99V307000 was reported 930 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 09E025000 was reported 4,260 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1996-Q4 Owner reports 3
1997-Q1 Owner reports 5
1997-Q2 Owner reports 6
1997-Q3 Owner reports 15
1997-Q4 Owner reports 24
1998-Q1 Owner reports 18
1998-Q2 Owner reports 11
1998-Q3 Owner reports 18
1998-Q4 Owner reports 25
1999-Q1 Owner reports 57
1999-Q2 Owner reports 14
1999-Q3 Owner reports 23
1999-Q4 Owner reports 16
2000-Q1 Owner reports 13
2000-Q2 Owner reports 8
2000-Q3 Owner reports 12
2000-Q4 Owner reports 8
2001-Q1 Owner reports 21
2001-Q2 Owner reports 13
2001-Q3 Owner reports 7
2001-Q4 Owner reports 10
2002-Q1 Owner reports 12
2002-Q2 Owner reports 11
2002-Q3 Owner reports 17
2002-Q4 Owner reports 9
2003-Q1 Owner reports 17
2003-Q2 Owner reports 13
2003-Q3 Owner reports 4
2003-Q4 Owner reports 6
2004-Q1 Owner reports 16
2004-Q2 Owner reports 11
2004-Q3 Owner reports 6
2004-Q4 Owner reports 10
2005-Q1 Owner reports 11
2005-Q3 Owner reports 3
2005-Q4 Owner reports 1
2006-Q1 Owner reports 1
2006-Q3 Owner reports 2
2007-Q1 Owner reports 2
2007-Q2 Owner reports 2
2007-Q3 Owner reports 4
2008-Q1 Owner reports 3
2008-Q4 Owner reports 1
2009-Q1 Owner reports 2
2009-Q2 Owner reports 1
2009-Q4 Owner reports 3
2010-Q1 Owner reports 14
2010-Q2 Owner reports 2
2010-Q4 Owner reports 1
2011-Q1 Owner reports 2
2011-Q2 Owner reports 1
2011-Q4 Owner reports 2
2012-Q1 Owner reports 1
2012-Q3 Owner reports 1
2012-Q4 Owner reports 1
2013-Q2 Owner reports 2
2013-Q3 Owner reports 1
2013-Q4 Owner reports 2
2014-Q2 Owner reports 1
2014-Q3 Owner reports 6
2014-Q4 Owner reports 1
2015-Q1 Owner reports 3
2015-Q3 Owner reports 1
2016-Q1 Owner reports 1
2016-Q2 Owner reports 1
2017-Q3 Owner reports 1
2018-Q1 Owner reports 1
2018-Q4 Owner reports 1
2019-Q1 Owner reports 1
2019-Q4 Owner reports 1
2020-Q3 Owner reports 1
2023-Q3 Owner reports 1
2024-Q2 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 97V156000
Recall campaign 1 97V213000
Recall campaign 1 99V307000
Recall campaign 1 09E025000
Defect investigation 1 PE97034
Defect investigation 1 DP02004
Defect investigation 1 PE02079
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (4)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 09E025000

    Report date
    Component:
    EXTERIOR LIGHTING
    Consequence:
    DECREASED LIGHTING VISIBILITY MAY RESULT IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    DOPE, INC. WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER A FULL REFUND FOR THE NONCOMPLIANT COMBINATION LAMPS. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 28, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT DOPE, INC. AT 1-626-272-1798.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 97V156000

    Report date
    Component:
    SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
    Consequence:
    THIS CAN RESULT IN THE ELIMINATION OF VACUUM ASSIST TO THE BRAKES THAT CAN INCREASE STOPPING DISTANCES AND COULD LEAD TO A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL INSTALL A NEW DESIGN BRAKE VACUUM HOSE.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 97V213000

    Report date
    Component:
    ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
    Consequence:
    UNDER SUCH A CONDITION, SHOULD A DRIVER FAIL TO MOVE THE SHIFT LEVER TO "PARK" POSITION AND ALSO FAIL TO ACTIVATE THE PARKING BRAKE, THE VEHICLE COULD ROLL AWAY DOWN A SLOPE.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE KEY INTERLOCK SOLENOID.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  4. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 99V307000

    Report date
    Component:
    STEERING
    Consequence:
    THIS CAN RESULT IN A LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL TIGHTEN THE STEERING WHEEL SET NUT.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
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 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 547 complaints · page 1 of 22

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 2026-08-21
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