10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 4 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 2 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 69,461 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
« Read the previous 20 complaints
On April 17, 2010 I was driving my 2007 Camry hybrid. When I tried to apply my brakes, the brakes would not work. When I pushed the pedal more, the car locked down. I looked at the information center on the dash and it had a warning "check vsc system." I immediately took the car to the Toyota dealership in spartanburg, SC. The gave me a rental and told me they had to do further diagnostics. After 12 days, my car is ready but they can give me no reason why the system failed. They replaced a sensor, but told me this issue never happens. I called Toyota and they are not helping me with this matter at all. I am afraid to drive the car. I could have crashed. My daughter used the car about a month ago on a trip and she would have crashed if this had happened.
- Spartanburg, SC, USA
I own a 2007 Toyota Camry hybrid, after ownership of the vehicle for approximately 8-10 months the cars brakes would momentarily release while braking. This occured at low speed 20-25 mph, slowing down gradually and crossing uneven pavement. It occured once and I thought it was a fluke incident and gave it no thought, however, it was unusual. I now have over 35,000 miles on the car and this has occured at least four times over the last 12 months. It is during gradual stops with low braking pressure and going over a small bump. I travel the same route to work and my 2005 Dodge Ram and 2006 Toyota 4runner have not had any similiar problems or occurences in this area. The condition occurs when going over a small undulation in the pavement and lightly apply the brakes to begin slowing the vehicle, the brakes release for a fraction of a second even with consitent brake pedal pressure. I took my car to our local Toyota dealership yesterday, 3-25-2010 and I advised them of this condition, they advised it was a tire leaving contact with the pavement and it was the anti lock brake system. I advised them the speed and pavement condition did not warrant that and something else was occuring, the antlock brake indicator does not come on during this occurence. The documentation from the dealership shows under comments 16toz brakes, than deleted operations. I noticed a second sheet and I requested a copy, it has the notes from the service tech who checked pad thickness, brake rotors and fluid, however nothing about checking the anti-lock braking system. The dealership did not document my complaint, nor did they evaluate the potential area of problem, the anti lock braking system. I believe this is an attempt by the dealership to avoid having to report this type of incident to the department of transportation, due to the recent circumstances of Toyota. If this happened to me, what about the hundreds of other dealerships across the nation if they do the same.
- Lawrence, KS, USA
On March 19th, 2009 I was driving my 2007 Toyota Camry hybrid and it would not stop. I went through a four way stop and crashed into a ditch. The car was damaged and I ended up going to the hospital and having the car towed. It caused a lot of pain and suffering and expense.
- Hagerstown, IN, USA
I called Toyota's customer assistance line. I was hung up on twice because according to the recorded message they had too many calls so I would have to call back.. I then called again and got put on hold for 2 hours and 8 minutes. I was calling because I had just come from the dealership for the accelerator pedal and floor mat recall. They told me that my 2007 Camry with just 29,700 mile on it had bad break pads and rotors and I need to spend over $900 to have the breaks repaired. I told the dealership I need to talk with someone at Toyota. They gave me the customer assistance number to call. After I reached a representative I was told they would look into it and get back to me tomorrow. Because I did not receive a call back I went on the web and found a Toyota technical service bulletin saying that the 2007 Camry had bad break pads that would cause premature wear. It said do not tell the customers about this unless they complain. I called Toyota again; this time waited 1 hr for someone to answer. They said that the customer service bulletin T-BR007-07 was not for me but for the dealerships. I said well is says that the break pads installed in my car we defective and should be replaced, she said, that is only if you complain. I said, well I am complaining. Then I asked to talk with a supervisor. She said that was impossible today I would have to wait till Monday. I said, I have a car that is dangerous to drive, and I want to resolve the issue today. She said that is impossible. I said I will call back and ask to speak to a supervisor, she said no one will let you talk to a supervisor. To say I am upset is an understatement. The car company has an internal document stating that my break pads are defective, but never tells me. I was just lucky that the service technician looked at the breaks when rotating my tires and discovered the problem. I and I and my family could have been injured or killed. We could have killed.
- Kent New York, NY, USA
I have experienced sudden lack of braking effort when traveling over uneven road surface or striking a hole with my 2007 Toyota Camry hybrid. Very much like the current 2010 prius issue.
- Clarence Center, NY, USA
I live in tempe, Arizona and own a 2007 Toyota Camry hybrid. In Jan 2010, I was driving at about 45 mph in fair weather when there was an apparent brake malfunction. Alarm chimes went off and warning lights came on for the brake system and vsc system and possibly others (it happened rather quickly). The brakes had almost no effect when pressed so I downshifted and pulled to the side of the road. After pumping the brakes for several seconds, they appeared to be functioning again. I took the car into a Toyota dealer who checked it out, including an extensive test drive, but could not reproduce the problem.
- Tempe, AZ, USA
I was driving my 2007 Toyota Camry hybrid home in a light snow storm. At slight inclines where there were stoplights, the car's traction control system will kill all power and I was unable to move the vehicle more than 1 mph, a scary situation since I was sitting in the middle of a very busy, truck-filled intersection with no way to get out. This situation repeated itself 6 - 7 times over a 3 hour period. Finally, I had a friend with a tow truck come and plow directly ahead of me and spread sand so I could get to my driveway. I reread the owner's manual to be sure that there wasn't an override button for the vtc but no there is not one, at least on this model. I called my Toyota service center who said that they could not help me. I contacted Toyota's consumer aid group and they said my dealer should check it out. I had the car looked at a week earlier with no issue. There appears to be a lot of similar complaints about this issue.....see www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/01/prius_winter.html I am a professional sales engineer driving in all weather types for many many years. I don't get scared. I was terrified with the lack of control I had on this car. In normal weather, this vehicle is a dream-come-true. But, I won't drive it again if there is a chance of snow in the forecast. Someone has probably already died because there is no way to override this traction control system.
- Thompson, CT, USA
- Colton, CA, USA