Toyota Camry Reliability by YearBest & worst years, problems & recalls — NHTSA data

My Toyota vehicle has a recurring HVAC/air conditioning odor problem that produces a strong vinegar-like or mildew smell from the air vents whenever warmer weather returns and the air conditioning system is used again. The odor is extremely unpleasant and affects the air quality inside the vehicle cabin. The condition repeatedly returns seasonally despite attempts to clean the system. I brought the vehicle to an authorized Toyota dealership for inspection and was told that this issue is “common with Toyotas.” The dealership did not provide a permanent repair and instead recommended spraying a cleaning product into the HVAC system. The cleaner did not resolve the issue, and the odor continues to return. The problem appears related to moisture retention, microbial growth, or contamination within the HVAC evaporator or drainage system. I am concerned about prolonged exposure to contaminated air inside the passenger compartment, especially during regular use of the air conditioning system. Toyota should investigate this recurring HVAC odor condition and determine whether a design or manufacturing defect exists involving the evaporator, condensate drainage, or ventilation system. Owners should not be expected to repeatedly mask the odor with temporary spray products when the underlying issue remains unresolved.

Driver door actuator is failing. If you search this, it is a well known problem with the year and model of Toyota. It poses significant safety hazards to occupants and security of the vehicle. Yet Toyota has not addressed or corrected the issue. I am not sure if this is electrical or the actuator itself, as the passenger door was doing the same thing, but now appears operational. Driver side still not working properly. With press of button on door handle all doors will lock, with exception of driver side. Sometimes if you lock it manually, you can turn it get back in the car at all, without going to the passenger side and going through that side. While I do understand my car is a 2022, it does not make sense it would occur on both driver and passenger side, the problem appears to be widely known, but Toyota refuses to take in the safety in potential emergency situation of their customers.

Vin was not located on the rear camera recall, rear camera does not activate when trans is placed in reverse, first started reverse camera screen would go blank, now screen remains on home and doesnt acknowledge camera , blind spot not active, rear collision detection system not active

the pedal sinks while I hold it for while.....and there are no visible leaks outside the car

I heard a noise thought it was my brakes, my mechanic said it was a transmission. Now it stalls when take off and at lower speeds very loud

Front driver side door lock would not lock or unlock with the key fab or door lock button of door panel. Dealership diagnosis problem as a failed actuator. This can result in safety concern if your unable to lock or unlock the door in an emergency. Also a security concerns for thief if door isn't locking properly.

Front passenger side door lock would not lock or unlock with the key fab or door lock button of door panel. Dealership diagnosis problem as a failed actuator. This can result in safety concern if your unable to lock or unlock the door in an emergency, also to note the passenger door does not have an exterior physical key entry making the safety concern even worse. Also, security concerns for thief if door isn't locking properly.

Without warning, the connecting rod broke while the vehicle was in motion in traffic. Catastrophic engine damage caused engine failure and loss of power. Created a safety hazard to guide the vehicle from travel lanes to soft shoulder of the roadway using only the remaining kinetic energy of the vehicle while it had power.

I turned into a restaurant’s parking lot, found a spot and slowly drove into the lot, I eased off the gas pedal and gently applying the brake as the lot has a slight downward slope. When I reach the chunk (the parking block), I added more force to the brake, but I felt the brake pedal just sank, and the car lurched ahead, jumped over the chunk, and stopped at the curb which startled me. After I recovered, I put the car in reverse to return it to the right position (back up from the overrun chunk), everything seemed back to normal condition after that. Luckily, all occupants were unhurt, airbag was not deployed. I inspected the car after parking properly, there didn’t seem any visible damage to the vehicle, although I couldn’t see the chassis system which I believed must had a few scratches on the underside. The technician failed to update/recalibrate the on-board warning system since last time I had the serviced at dealer, mainly for oil change on 3/14/2025. So, every time I turned on the engine, there is a warning message displayed as: "Maintenance Required Visit Your Dealer". This happened since the day after oil change. I thought it was the carelessness or absent- mindedness of the technician, so, I just ignored it. But don't know that has anything to do with this incident.

The menu display for stereo does not work. There is a recall on the 12.5 inch display which a representative from Toyota stated it could cause the menu options and stereo not to work, but when I took my vehicle to be serviced, it was not part of the recall. Someone needs to look into Toyota about this situation.

My wife was on the interstate and was caught in a storm. She turned on the wipers and slowed down to a crawl. The wipers barely worked in a thunderstorm and they were on high. She couldn't see anything and I had to pull off because visibility was zero. The wipers were very slow on high and it can cause a serious accident especially on a interstate and ur in traffic and going speed limit. The car was just bought brand new and only in my possession and 2 months. Be careful out there.

The auxillary for the music has a short in it and Everytime a bump is hit it knocks it loose and it shuts off the whole thing. The screen and maps and music. The screen also freezes and my maps and route stopped working. I had to pull off the road to turn my car off to reset it. I have to do this multiple times if I'm using my screen for directions/maps. It's frustrating and annoying when u expect a brand new vehicle to work properly. It started a few weeks after I took it off the dealership. It also wouldn't connect to Bluetooth very well that's why I had to use the cord. I keep my phone and cord stationary.With the Bluetooth it would just disconnect completely or have static or breaks in whatever I'm listening to. When I hit a bump and the whole system gets turned off sometimes and it doesn't want to come back on when I touch the button. It seems that the whole system is glitching and if u depend on maps/directions to travel it makes things difficult. The next issue i had is with the seatbelt. I couldn't get it to release so I can put it on. The car was started but we hadn't pulled out or put it in any gear and the break was not pushed in. We had to turn it completely off again and wait a few minutes and restart it again. This is dangerous. I hope that the company looks at these complaints and fixes them because they r very scary. U expect a brand new vehicle to not have any issues especially at the prices we pay for them. We bought our vehicle in 2022 and had to wait over 6 weeks for it to arrive because it was ordered. Right now it 08/2025 and we r just now hitting the 30,000 mile marker on our vehicle. We don't drive it much but when we do it's long distances because we live out in the country and it's 45-60 minutes to town and these things can't be happening. Also I use my maps often because these r curvy small back roads where I live and not well marked if I'm going to a new location and I need my auxillary system to work right.

Heated steering wheel so hot on the left side. Almost caught on fire. It cause a little smoke, burning smell and burned marks.