I have a 2002 Toyota Camry which has faulty brakes. Earlier in the year I was using this car for long distances due to school and work. I thought this car would be safer because of its larger body and smoother drive. I noticed that the brakes had a slow response time and that if I had to stop hard, I could end up hitting the car in front of me. I had to deal with the stop and go of rush hour every day and one day I was driving my friend home and there was a sudden stop in traffic and if I hadn't stopped in the emergency lane to stop, I would have ran into the car in the front of me. Later, on my graduation day from college, my father was driving the car home and there was a car turning left in the oncoming lane and due to the brakes slow response time we ending up hitting the car at a speed that could have been controlled if the brakes had worked better. Because of this accident I have injuries that bother me still to this day. We have had several tune-ups and brake checks to see if they are working correctly and have never heard once that the brakes have an issue. I looked on a blog and realized that a lot of other owners of 2002 Camry's have the same problem. They have gotten them tightened and checked and fear that an accident could occur, which in my case happened and could have been even worse if we were driving at an ever faster speed.

- Saint Petersburg, FL, USA

2002 Toyota Camry. Consumer states problem with brakes the consumer stated when he applied the brakes to slow down, there was no brake response and the vehicle continued to accelerate. Consequently, the consumer rear ended another vehicle. The consumer and his wife suffered minor injuries.

- Scarsdale, NY, USA

I was rear-ended on the highway while driving my 2002 Toyota Camry. When I tried to slow down and move into the breakdown lane, the car accelerated. I ended up going down an embankment hitting several trees. The car was eventually spun around and crashed rear end into a tree. The car was totaled. My passenger and I experienced concussion syndrome along with muscle spasms in the neck, back, and ankle. We were taken by ambulance to the new britain general hospital where we were treated and released. We are both receiving follow-up medical care.

- Natick, MA, USA

I have a 2002 Camry that I bought new at smithtown Toyota and I experienced the very same problem with my brakes from 'day one' that has now been identified on the prius & Lexus models. I had the brakes checked quite a few times by smithtown Toyota & again by riverhead Toyota when I moved to the area in August 2003 & was told that there was nothing wrong with the brakes. Since I was the one driving the car, I thought the explanation was a bit cavalier since my brakes continued to fail on uneven surfaces. I wrote to the dealership & Toyota headquarters numerous times but was ignored (I have copies of my correspondence). After all these years, I have become adept at handling the car when the brakes fail but I have had some very close calls when the car keeps moving into intersections after trying to stop. Apparently, Toyota has misdiagnosed my problem for years. I paid $700 in 2007 to have new 'brake sensors' installed but they did not fix my problem. I have been very lucky to not have had a serious accident in the last 6+ years! the brakes are still grabbing and locking on rough surfaces yet Toyota has continued to deny that there is a problem & that it is more widespread than being acknowledged.

- Riverhead, NY, USA

Last year, 2009 on Dec. 6th, 10th, and 12th, my brakes failed at very low speeds and could not stop my 2002 Camry xle purchased new at the Toyota dealership.. finally stopped by running into heavy bushes. Car never speeded up. Took to dealer with no results. Then took to a garage, entire system checked. Their diagnosis was the master cylinder. This was replaced and worked fine from 12/23/09 to 2/23/10. Then on this date I turned from the street to enter a restraint parking lot. Everything was fine as I slowed to turn straight into a parking. My speed could not have been but 3 to 4 miles per hour.the brakes did not stop the car and I ran into the side of the building. The four times this happened was twice in reverse and twice going forward. The car never accelerated at any of the four times. The speed was always under 4 to 5 mph. I was able to drive to my home and the Camry has set in my garage since then.

- Broadway, VA, USA

Sudden acceleration while backing out of driveway. Brought under control by intensive braking at the time it was thought to be an isolated incident - so no remedy was sought aprox. 5 mph. 9-26-08 sudden acceleration and brake failure when pulling out of gas station and making right hand turn within 100 feet of gas station-finally under control within 12" of home aprox. 15 mph. Diagnosis - ABS sensor failure complete braking system replaced. 5-21-09 sudden acceleration and brake failure while trying to slow down from 5 mph resulting in citation by MA state police for driving 87 mph. Court records available (I've never had a citation ever in 45 years of driving.) 8-31-09 sudden acceleration & brake failure aprox 15 mph. Brake failure - completely new brake system installed. Toyota doesn't return calls. Dealership says it's not on recall list so they refer me to Toyota. I have less than 59,000 miles on this car it is a 2002. We do not drive it much since the second incident on 9-26-08. Updated 04/28/10.

- West Roxbury, MA, USA

I was pulling into my driveway in my 2002 Toyota Camry. The driveway is about 80 feet long. I slowed down to about 5 mph and activated the garage-door opener when all of sudden the car sped up and I crashed into the brick wall at the back of my garage, demolishing it. I filed two insurance claims, under both my auto and homeowner's policy to clean up the mess. I had one of my kids in the car at the time but neither of us were hurt, though we were pretty shaken up. Nobody has ever been able to explain that accident. I have been driving more than thirty years and have an impeccable driving record. (no moving violations in a lifetime of driving.) about a month later I was with my wife and was pulling into a parking space--again at a speed of about 5mph--when the car suddenly sped up. This time I was ready for it and I put on brakes in time to avoid an accident.

- Shaker Heights, OH, USA

I had a new 2002 Toyota Camry. The brakes seemed to be very soft when the first day I drove the car home from the dealer - I needed to really press the brake down to get the car to stop. I went back to the dealer the next day, they checked and told me no problems were found. Later I also found that when braking from a slightly more elevated speed (bet 40-50 miles), the car's ABS system seemed to make the brake pump by itself and cause braking to delay. I was worried about this and went back to the dealers at least another two times but every time was told no problems. Because the brake, I had three accidents in which two times I rear-ended the vehicles that had stopped in front of me and the front end of car was badly damaged. I had not been going more than 30 miles an hour, as far as I know. But if the brakes had functioned correctly, I do not think the accidents would have occurred.

- Hatfield, Pa 19446, PA, USA

The contact owns a 2002 Toyota Camry. The contact was driving approximately 40 mph on a bumpy road surfaces. There was pressure applied to the brake pedal, followed by a sudden acceleration. The vehicle was able to slow down after several attempts; and continued in operation. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for inspection. The failure occurred whenever encountering a rough road surface, bumps and ice. The technician stated the brakes functioned properly and were unable to duplicate the failure. The failure mileage was 200. The VIN was unavailable.

- Detroit, MI, USA

The brake of my Toyota Camry was not function. The car was crashed with road side barrier.

- Troy, MI, USA

2002 Toyota Camry. Brakes have always been spongy and go to the floor. Toyota service manager said it was normal.

- Middle River, MD, USA

2002 Toyota Camry. The ABS has always let go when I brake on a road with a series of rough pot hole type pavement. Also when braking on rail road tracks. It catches again when I am over the rough spots. I had the brakes checked by a certified tech and they tell me nothing is wrong. Seems very similar to the prius problems to me.

- Menonmonee Falls, WI, USA

As I was driving my vehicle, my front brakes engaged and locked up my front tires completely and suddenly and would not disengage. II had not pushed on my brake pedal when this happened. Had to have my vehcile towed to a repair facility because it would not move forward. Smoke was pouring out of the tire well due to the heat on the brakes. The repair facility stated that the brake pads were welded to the rotars from the amount of heat generated. The repair facility stated they had corrected the problem by replacing the master cylinder. As I drove my vehicle home, the same problem occured again and I was very close to being in a serious accident. My front tires once again suddenly locked and would not turn due to the front brakes engaging and then would not disnegage. I was not pushing on the brake pedal when this occured. The mechainc at the garage stated that he watched the brakes engage themselves when he was attempting to repair my vehicle. I picked the vehicle up once again and drive 2 blocks and the brakes began locking up once again. I took it back to the repair facility who then had to take it to Toyota for repairs.

- Huntington, WV, USA

I have a 2002 Toyota Camry xle with a 4 cylinder engine. The anti lock brakes have never really engaged properly when braking even moderately on any uneven surface, such as rippled pavement, railroad tracks or smaller pavement irregularities. The pedal feel is very light and you need to really brake quite hard to get the brakes to engage. This situation cases a very long stopping distance and with a very weak and dangerous braking effect. It is almost as if there is very little braking action when trying to stop on the uneven road surface. The braking effect is better, but not as strong as it should be on normal road conditions. I have always maintained the car to the manufacturer's recommended level and have asked about this braking issue on several occasions. The dealer has said that the brakes perform properly. I think this may be a computer related system issue and needs to be examined. Please note that this is not a single instance occurrence. This has happened at least 5 or 6 times since I purchased the car new in June 2002. It is a very disconcerting feeling when trying to brake and the car just doesn't respond as it should. We have 4 other cars in our family, two Honda (Accord and Odyssey), a Toyota corolla and a Nissan Altima. None of those cars have any such braking issues. I can get you the VIN, but do not have it as I am filling out this form.

- Ada, MI, USA

I bought a brand new 2002 Toyota Camry in August 2002 and have since noticed the brake pedal is somehow softer than other cars. It takes more time to fully apply the brakes. This might have led to a rear collision in October 2008, at a time few were aware of Toyota brake problems. As Toyota recalls got more media exposure, I became more concerned about my 2002 Camry and started driving more carefully and stopping my car early and staying in more distance from other cars. However, my caution did not overcome the brake problem when I was parking the car in my garage on February 13, 2008. My foot was on the brake pedal and pressed down slowly when the car was in the garage. The time I felt I pressed the brake all the way down, the car accelerated suddenly and hit the garage wall. I had to pull the emergency brake to stop it. The airbags were not triggered. Neither my wife nor I were explicitly injured. The front bumper fell apart. I am waiting for my insurance company to exam the damages.

- Herndon, VA, USA

This is an ongoing problem with my 2002 Toyota Camry with the ABS system. The ABS system engages much too easily. This system engages on sand, leave or any loose surface. And when it engages my car essentially has no brakes. Recently I was on a wet slushy road approaching an intersection and upon applying brakes the ABS engaged. The system shuttered at a very high frequency and had no braking function. I had to turn the car into the snow bank in order to stop the vehicle before crossing the line of traffic at the intersection. I did inform the dealer of what I thought to be a weird way that an ABS should operate, but they mealy instructed that it is was operating as design. I am only recently becoming aware that this is a faulty design, especially in light of the recognition that prius and Lexus having similar problems. Since I bought the car I always thought that this is the way ABS operates and was my argument why I don't think the ABS is a good idea. But now I know it a poor design.

- Brunswick, ME, USA

I bought a brand new Toyota Camry in 2002. After 8 months (Sept 04, 2002), when I was trying to stop the car at a red light I lost control of the car. I was about 20 yard behind a car which came to a stop at the red light. When I tried to stop the car, the car continue moving and lost control; I immediately I moved my car to the left lane and tried to hit the brake again and again and when finally I managed to stop the car it was exactly parallel to the car which was ahead of me. I nearly escaped the accident. I reported the incident to burnardi Toyota (dealer) at framingham, MA and they were not listening to me. Then, I also faced similar problem while I was driving on route 9. on both cases the ground was wet (due to little rain) and on both situations, I could not stop the car and I thought it was a break defect. I reported again (2nd time) to the dealer and told them I am scared driving this car and I also told them that it may be one in a million with the defect but they were arrogant and told me that the car has no problem. With my request they gave me 1-800 number to the Toyota company to call if I have concerns. I called the Toyota company and talked to a representative. They told me there are no similar incidents reported on their model. Then, asked them to record my discussion with them. They told me any conversation is recorded. Since, I do not want any other person driving the same car model to be hurt and I think it was to nhsta (?) that I report (email) my complaints. Since Toyota company or dealer did not respond to my complaints and I was afraid for the safety of myself and my family, in June of 2004 I went to the dealer and asked them to exchange the car and they gave me an estimated price of $12000 for the Camry (almost 50% of the original price I paid) and I paid the difference for a Toyota highlander. When I get rid off the car the book value was about $16,000-17,000. May be Toyota should compensate my loss.

- Natick, MA, USA

I drive a 2002 Toyota Camry xle 4 cylinder car. Ever since we bought it, it had problems braking when over an irregular surface like potholes, manholes etc. Recent reports on Toyota prius braking issues sounds very similar to what I experience on my car. I read on blogs online that other 2002 Camry xle owners reported the same. I thought this was pretty normal at first, but not anymore. The car jerks for couple of seconds when I try to brake over irregular surfaces, the ABS kicks in and you lose control for couple of seconds. Please investigate this matter with seriousness. I think this is a very important safety issue. Thank you.

- Erie, PA, USA

I have had problems with the braking system in my 2002 Camry since purchase, but no one has been able to diagnose it. Upon sudden braking on hills, uneven ground and other conditions, occasionally, the brakes are jerky like they are not catching and it is difficult to stop. It has been difficult to reproduce the problem at the shop and so no one has been able to correct it. There is no particular date (since 2002) although I am putting in a date so I can get through the form.

- Torrance , CA, USA

I have a toyora Camry 2002 model. The problem that is currently reported with prius brakes, I have similar problem. Several times I have complained to the dealership in oakbrook, il but I was told that is the way it is designed. Whenever I go over a bump and if hit brakes, it does not engage for a few seconds and actually accelarates. Can someone look at these models that are not recalled yet. This happens periodically not just once.

- Wheaton, IL, USA