1996 Toyota Camry problems
Owners have filed 567 complaints with NHTSA about the 1996 Toyota Camry. Engine is the most reported problem area, at 15% of complaints. Next are brakes (10%) and cruise control (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 567 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 15% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 69 and 9
- Injuries and deaths
- 72 and 6
- Typical mileage
- 87,000 miles 130 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 10 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 11 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 9 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 29 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 11 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 20 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 12 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 9 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 3 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 7 |
| 200k+ miles | 9 |
What the data shows
Of the 130 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 87,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 76,000 miles (32 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 69 complaints mention a crash; 9 complaints mention a fire; 72 injuries reported; 6 deaths reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 83% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1996 ranks 21st most-complained-about out of 35 model years of the Toyota Camry with enough data (287 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 2 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Re: inspection of 1996 toyota camry involved in 2006 fatal crash, 1996 toyota camry 4 door, model lxs (minnesota vehicle license kjl 696) state of minnesota v. Koua fang lee(criminal vehicular homicide). *twx updated 9/29/11 the driver of the toyota was convicted in 2007 of criminal vehicular homicide-gross negligence which killed three people and severely injured two others. The defendants attorney has raised concerns that a sudden acceleration defect in the toyota camry may have caused the crash.
1996 camry was stopped at a red light then surged forward into the intersection where it was struck by a motorcycle and pick-up truck. Camry and motorcycle both totaled. Airbags in camry didn't deploy on impact but had a delay. Police involved with case. Camry driver cited for failure to yield to a red light which driver was stopped at initially. No further investigation. With toyota in the news, found reports of other 1996 camry's with sudden acceleration so filed this complaint.
Original engine valve seals failed prematurely at 38k miles are were repaired by dealer under warranty. After another 40k miles the seals failed again. Dealer estimate for second prematuer valve seal repair is $1,000.
Tl*the contact owns a 1996 toyota camry. The contact went to his insurance company after hail damaged his vehicle. The insurance representative discovered NHTSA campaign id number's 96v037000 (exterior lighting:tail light) and 99v307000 (steering wheel and handle bar); however, the dealer stated that his VIN was not included in the recalls. The current and failure mileages were 104,800. Updated 09/15/08 updated 09/17/08.