2005 Toyota Camry — Known Issues & Recalls

While driving at about 15 mph, your car suddenly accelerated on its own without you pressing the gas pedal. You had difficulty stopping the vehicle using the brakes and eventually put it in neutral to help slow it down.

Your brake pedal is stuttering during hard stops—the brakes engage, then release on their own, forcing you to pump the pedal again to actually stop. This causes your car to lurch forward several feet, making it difficult to stop predictably at traffic lights. This has been happening consistently for the last 3 months. The issue likely involves your brake system's hydraulic components or anti-lock brake system (ABS) and may require inspection and repair of the brake lines, master cylinder, or ABS module.

While stopped on an incline trying to enter the highway with your foot on the brake, your car suddenly accelerated on its own. You had to hold the brake firmly to prevent the car from moving forward, and it seemed to shift into a higher gear and try to move despite the brake being applied. You put the car in neutral and reverse to back up, then drove it home and reported the issue to Toyota.

Your sunroof is leaking water into the vehicle. This can damage interior components and potentially cause electrical issues if water reaches wiring or electronics. The sunroof seals or drainage system may need to be inspected and repaired to stop the leak.

While driving at about 40 mph, smoke came from under your hood and your check engine light turned on. You had to pull over and the car was towed to a dealer, where they determined your engine needed to be replaced. The problem occurred at around 170,000 miles.

Your engine suddenly roared and accelerated on its own while you were changing lanes on a city street, causing you to go faster than intended. When you applied the brakes, the acceleration stopped and didn't happen again. This unexpected surge in engine power could be caused by a malfunctioning throttle control system, fuel injection issue, or engine management computer error that needs diagnostic testing.

Your steering wheel airbag deployed suddenly while driving at 15 mph on a normal road with no accident, impact, or warning lights — hitting you in the face and nearly causing a crash. You sustained burns on your hand and pain in your head and neck. Toyota inspected the vehicle but declined responsibility, claiming it was not a recall issue.

Your airbag warning light on the dashboard is staying on constantly, even though you don't know what caused it. This means your airbag system isn't working properly and won't deploy in a crash. You'll need to have the airbag system scanned with a diagnostic tool to find out what's triggering the warning.

Your seat belt buckle won't lock properly, which means the seat belt may not stay fastened securely. This is a safety issue since the belt won't keep you restrained in a crash. The buckle locking mechanism will need to be replaced or repaired.

Your seat belts are folding over and becoming loose, with no tension to hold you securely. The problem keeps recurring even after the dealer has unfolded and adjusted them multiple times. The seat belts may alternate between being too loose to fasten properly and too tight to use. Fixing this will likely require the dealer to inspect the seat belt retractor mechanism and either adjust or replace the faulty components.

While slowly parking and braking, your car suddenly accelerated uncontrollably at high speed, hitting two parked cars before you could regain brake control. You suspect either a brake or accelerator malfunction, possibly related to the throttle positioning sensor, and noted that your vehicle model had previous recalls for sticky pedals and accelerator issues. A thorough inspection of your braking and acceleration systems is needed to identify what caused this sudden loss of control.

Your car's brakes locked up and stopped working while driving at 25 MPH after your brother added Prestone DOT 3 brake fluid during a repair. The brake system became contaminated, causing the failure to persist even after flushing the lines. The dealer diagnosed that the entire brake system needed to be replaced due to cross contamination.

Your brake pedal may suddenly fail to respond when pressed, causing your vehicle to continue moving unexpectedly. This happened to another owner at low speeds, and the dealer diagnosed a leaking brake master cylinder as the cause. Fixing this will require replacing the brake master cylinder.

The tread on your tires separated completely in less than two months after you bought them. This is a dangerous condition that can cause loss of control while driving. The tires will need to be replaced immediately.

While backing into a parking space, you pressed the accelerator and your car suddenly accelerated unexpectedly, causing you to hit a truck. You immediately removed your foot from the accelerator, but the car had already built up significant speed. Toyota has denied your claim for the accident, and you're asking for a review of what caused the sudden acceleration.

While driving at 65 mph, you made a slight right turn of the steering wheel and it suddenly spun out of control, causing you to lose control of your vehicle and crash into a concrete barrier. You and your passenger were injured in the crash, and the airbags only partially deployed. A manufacturer inspector later reported that the steering wheel could come loose from its connection. The repair would involve inspection and replacement of the steering column assembly and steering wheel attachment components.

While driving 70 mph on the highway and making a gentle turn, your steering wheel suddenly spun to the left, causing your car to lose control and spin across the road. Your car ended up on the right shoulder and began flipping repeatedly, but your airbags did not deploy during the accident. This suggests a potential steering system failure combined with a failure of the airbag safety system to activate during a crash.

Your car is shaking on the highway and the brakes aren't responding properly when you try to stop. This involves a Takata recall issue affecting your electrical system, brakes, and engine. You should have this inspected immediately by a dealer to address the recall and diagnose the braking and shaking problems.

You discovered that your 2005 Toyota Camry's odometer reading doesn't match its service history. When you bought the car, the odometer showed 125,647 miles, but a repair bill from January 2018 indicated 233,045 miles, and a Carfax report from March 2022 showed 248,083 miles. This suggests the odometer may have been rolled back before you purchased the vehicle. Addressing this would likely require reporting the discrepancy to your state's consumer protection agency or consulting an attorney about odometer fraud.

Your car hesitates and jerks forward when accelerating from a stop, creating a safety hazard in traffic. It also downshifts unexpectedly while driving and nearly stalled at a stop sign. The issue could be related to the transmission, engine fuel delivery, or ignition system, and should be diagnosed by a mechanic to identify the root cause.