2012 Toyota Camry problems
Owners have filed 811 complaints with NHTSA about the 2012 Toyota Camry. Drivetrain & axles is the most reported problem area, at 16% of complaints. Next are air bags (9%) and cruise control (8%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 811 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Drivetrain & axles 16% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 128 and 8
- Injuries and deaths
- 88 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 37,000 miles 589 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 | 198 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 116 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 62 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 67 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 48 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 27 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 34 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 15 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 9 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 2 |
| 200k+ miles | 11 |
What the data shows
Of the 589 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 36,000 miles. For drivetrain & axles specifically, the median reported mileage is about 82,000 miles (90 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 128 complaints mention a crash; 8 complaints mention a fire; 88 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2012 ranks 8th most-complained-about out of 35 model years of the Toyota Camry with enough data (515 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.
Front collision with a ford focus at approximately 35 MPH while driving a 2012 toyota camry le. Airbags did not deploy resulting in injuries to five passengers. Will file a formal complaint with toyota corporation. A police report was recorded of accident.
I was driving aprox 30 MPH when a ford f150 truck ran a stop sign and I t boned them. None of the airbags deployed. It hit hard enough to break the windshield.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 toyota camry. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked on a slight incline with the engine turned on. Within 3 minutes, the vehicle suddenly began to roll forward and down a hill before crashing into a tree. The air bags did not deploy. The contact indicated that the driver was injured while attempting to enter the moving vehicle and sustained a bruised lung, injured leg and multiple contusions. Two child passengers suffered bruising from the car seat straps during the incident.
While driving on any road between 20 and 40 MPH, 3rd and 4th speed, the transmission shudders and while pressing the gas, the vehicle hesitates. Sometimes it is somewhat clear to accelerate, other times it feels like you are fighting a wall that will not move. I believe from what I have read that it has to do with the ECU and a possible faulty torque converter. This should be looked into by the NHTSA proactively, and not left to the individual consumer to see if the issue resolves itself.
Torque converter problem causing the car to shudder at lower speeds. Feels like I've just run over road strips. It happens on all kinds of road surface, smooth and not so smooth.