Faults:
The right headlight had a short in it. I replaced it countless times.
The gas gauge was never completely correct. It would go from empty to full to half to full to empty to half again in a matter of minutes.
The trunk was almost impossible to close.
The airbags were faulty (see below).
General Comments:
Generally, I liked my Camry.
My previous car was a Subaru GL 4WD. It only got 19 MPG, so I wanted something more fuel effecient (the Camry was barely better at 21 MPG).
The cloth seats were comfortable (my XLE did not have leather, surprisingly).
The controls were logically placed.
The radio was acceptable.
The brakes were the worst I have put up with.
It took forever for the window defrosters to defrost the windows.
However, one day, I was with my son in the Camry on an icy back road. I will never forget this day. Because all that I had previously had to this car were AWDs, I was taking particularly more caution driving. I was going 15 MILES PER HOUR, and the Camry slid out of control. It hit another car (I think it was a Ford Taurus) with the back left quarter panel, then, I had put it into Park, and the thing rolled down a grassy hill and broke through a guard rail at 45 MILES PER HOUR!! To top it off, the air bags did not deploy. My son and I were lucky to leave the scene without a scratch, but the air bags should have deployed. A passerby called an ambulance, which we didn't need, and the ambulance was a Ford! There were also two police cars, both Fords! I understand every make and model has its lemons, but this was unreal! I will NEVER drive another Toyota as long as I live! I went on a vacation, and they offered my a Toyota as a rental, and I said, "No! Give me the keys to the Ford!"
13th Aug 2009, 14:08
Yep, your experience with an "older" Camry is typical. They just seem to run and run. The cars made in Japan seem to be the most dependable. I have a 1999 V6 Camry with 220K miles and it still runs great. No problems, just normal maintenance. The 2007 and later Camrys have some quality control problems and transmission issues. The 3.5 Toyota engine is one of the best.