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2012 Toyota Camry

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2012 Toyota Camry do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 295.

About this comparison →
589Owner complaints

Model-year median: 295

2Recall campaigns

View recall details →

0Investigations

View investigation details →

How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

Other model years Selected year
1,293
2009602
2010599
2011589
2012274
2013455
2014271
2015
Compare all Camry years →

Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.

What owners reported most

Power Train
142Unknown Or Other
81Air Bags
75Vehicle Speed Control
67Electrical System
61
All reported categories
Structure
61Engine
59Steering
58Service Brakes
52Fuel/propulsion System
23Suspension
16Visibility
16Wheels
16Seat Belts
12Seats
11Electronic Stability Control (esc)
8Exterior Lighting
8Equipment
6Tires
6Engine And Engine Cooling
4Visibility/wiper
4Equipment Adaptive/mobility
3Forward Collision Avoidance
3Fuel System, Gasoline
3Latches/locks/linkages
3Service Brakes, Hydraulic
3Traction Control System
2Back Over Prevention
1Insert, Padding
1Interior Lighting
1Other/i Am Not Sure
1

Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

431 reports with mileage · 158 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Power Train. Review the 142 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Air Bags. Review the 75 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Vehicle Speed Control. Review the 67 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

84 crash reports6 fire reports44 injury reports

Power Train complaints

142 reports
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3,100 miles · Jun 7, 2012
Power TrainService Brakes

IT SOMETIMES WILL NOT SHIFT INTO NORMAL REVERSE. ON THESE OCCASIONS, WHEN YOU SHIFT INTO REVERSE ,IT WILL NOT MOVE OR CREEP SLOWLY BACK AS IT NORMALLY DOES. IT FEELS LIKE A BRAKE IS ON AND YOU MUST PUSH HARD ON THE GAS TO GET THE CAR TO BACK UP AT ALL. THE CAR THEN LUNGES BACKWARD UNTIL YOU TAKE YOUR FOOT OFF THE GAS AND IT WILL…

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IT SOMETIMES WILL NOT SHIFT INTO NORMAL REVERSE. ON THESE OCCASIONS, WHEN YOU SHIFT INTO REVERSE ,IT WILL NOT MOVE OR CREEP SLOWLY BACK AS IT NORMALLY DOES. IT FEELS LIKE A BRAKE IS ON AND YOU MUST PUSH HARD ON THE GAS TO GET THE CAR TO BACK UP AT ALL. THE CAR THEN LUNGES BACKWARD UNTIL YOU TAKE YOUR FOOT OFF THE GAS AND IT WILL JERK TO A STOP WITHOUT YOU EVEN TOUCHING THE BRAKES. THIS IS SCARY WHEN YOU ARE IN A PARKING SPACE AT A RETAIL STORE,RESTAURANT ,ETC. AND HAVE SOMEONE PARKED ON BOTH SIDES OF YOU. YOU CANT BACK UP SLOWLY,ONLY CAN LURCH OUT OF YOUR PARKING SPOT AND HOPE NO PEDESTRIANS OR VEHICLES ARE COMING BY. I FINALLY GOT THE CAR TO DO THIS AT THE DEALER LOT IN DES MOINES,BY DRIVING AND PARKING FOR 48 MINUTES. NOW THE DEALER SAW THE PROBLEM DEALER TECH BACKED THE CAR UP FOR A BLOCK WITH ONE FOOT ON THE GAS AND ONE ON THE BRAKE, AS I TOLD HIM IF HE DROVE FORWARD FOR 50 FEET IT WOULD SNAP OUT OF THE PROBLEM AND WE WOULD BE TRYING TO RECREATE IT AGAIN. NO PROBS SHOW ON SCOPE TESTS TOYOTA HAS NO IDEA WHAT IT IS. BOUGHT THE CAR 03/24/2012 DEALER HAS HAD IT TO LOOK AT OVER 18 DAYS ALREADY IN AND OUT. MY WIFE IS TERRIFIED TO DRIVE IT AS THIS HAPPENED TO HER IN THE PARKING LOT AT WORK.. *JS

NHTSA ODI #10460923

50 miles · Dec 1, 2011
Power Train

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 TOYOTA CAMRY. THE CONTACT STATED THE TRANSMISSION BECAME STUCK BETWEEN SECOND AND THIRD GEAR. WHEN THE FAILURE OCCURRED THE CONTACT HAD TO PULL OVER AND RESTART THE VEHICLE IN ORDER FOR THE TRANSMISSION TO RESPOND. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO STATED PADDLE SHIFTING ON THE STEERING WHEEL WA…

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 TOYOTA CAMRY. THE CONTACT STATED THE TRANSMISSION BECAME STUCK BETWEEN SECOND AND THIRD GEAR. WHEN THE FAILURE OCCURRED THE CONTACT HAD TO PULL OVER AND RESTART THE VEHICLE IN ORDER FOR THE TRANSMISSION TO RESPOND. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO STATED PADDLE SHIFTING ON THE STEERING WHEEL WAS DETERMINED TO HAVE CAUSED THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT DID NOT AGREE BECAUSE THE PADDLE SHIFTING WAS NEVER USED. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 50 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 1,800.

NHTSA ODI #10437950

Official recalls

2

13V442000 · Air Bags; Electrical System; Equipment:appliance:air Conditioner

Oct 17, 2013

Toyota is recalling certain model year 2012-2013 Avalon, Avalon HV, Venza, Camry, and Camry HV vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the drain hose for the air conditioning condenser may become clogged causing water to accumulate at the bottom of the air conditioning condenser unit housing. The accumulated water may then leak through a seam in the housing onto the air bag control module potentially resulting in a short circuit of the module.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A short circuit may cause the air bags to become disabled or inadvertently deploy. An inadvertent airbag deployment can increase the risk of injury or the possibility of a crash. An inoperative airbag can increase the risk of injury in a severe crash. The power steering assist could also become inoperable resulting in increased steering effort and can increase the risk of a crash at low speeds.

Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will seal the air conditioning condenser unit housing and install a protective cover on the airbag control module, free of charge. The recall began on February 5, 2014. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331.

Additional source detail variants (3)

Equipment:appliance:air Conditioner

Toyota is recalling certain model year 2012-2013 Avalon, Avalon HV, Venza, Camry, and Camry HV vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the drain hose for the air conditioning condenser may become clogged causing water to accumulate at the bottom of the air conditioning condenser unit housing. The accumulated water may then leak through a seam in the housing onto the air bag control module potentially resulting in a short circuit of the module.

Consequence: A short circuit may cause the air bags to become disabled or inadvertently deploy. An inadvertent airbag deployment can increase the risk of injury or the possibility of a crash. An inoperative airbag can increase the risk of injury in a severe crash. The power steering assist could also become inoperable resulting in increased steering effort and can increase the risk of a crash at low speeds.

Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will seal the air conditioning condenser unit housing and install a protective cover on the airbag control module, free of charge. The recall began on February 5, 2014. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331.

Air Bags

Toyota is recalling certain model year 2012-2013 Avalon, Avalon HV, Venza, Camry, and Camry HV vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the drain hose for the air conditioning condenser may become clogged causing water to accumulate at the bottom of the air conditioning condenser unit housing. The accumulated water may then leak through a seam in the housing onto the air bag control module potentially resulting in a short circuit of the module.

Consequence: A short circuit may cause the air bags to become disabled or inadvertently deploy. An inadvertent airbag deployment can increase the risk of injury or the possibility of a crash. An inoperative airbag can increase the risk of injury in a severe crash. The power steering assist could also become inoperable resulting in increased steering effort and can increase the risk of a crash at low speeds.

Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will seal the air conditioning condenser unit housing and install a protective cover on the airbag control module, free of charge. The recall began on February 5, 2014. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331.

Electrical System

Toyota is recalling certain model year 2012-2013 Avalon, Avalon HV, Venza, Camry, and Camry HV vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the drain hose for the air conditioning condenser may become clogged causing water to accumulate at the bottom of the air conditioning condenser unit housing. The accumulated water may then leak through a seam in the housing onto the air bag control module potentially resulting in a short circuit of the module.

Consequence: A short circuit may cause the air bags to become disabled or inadvertently deploy. An inadvertent airbag deployment can increase the risk of injury or the possibility of a crash. An inoperative airbag can increase the risk of injury in a severe crash. The power steering assist could also become inoperable resulting in increased steering effort and can increase the risk of a crash at low speeds.

Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will seal the air conditioning condenser unit housing and install a protective cover on the airbag control module, free of charge. The recall began on February 5, 2014. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331.

13V014000 · Air Bags:frontal:sensor/control MODULE-INACTIVE ; Seats

Jan 16, 2013

Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain models interspersed through model years 2009 through 2013 as follows: model year 2009-2012 Tacoma, 4Runner, Camry, Camry Hybrid, Prius, and RAV4; model year 2009-2010 Avalon, FJ Cruiser, and Highlander Hybrid; model year 2010-2013 model year Corolla, Sienna and Tundra; model year 2009-2013 Highlander and Venza; model year 2012 Prius V; and model year 2010-2012 Sequoia. During modification by SET to include accessories such as leather seat covers, seat heaters or headrest DVD systems, these vehicles may not have had the passenger seat occupant sensing system calibration tested. Without passing the calibration test, the occupant sensing system may not operate as designed.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: If the front passenger seat occupant sensing system is out of calibration, the front passenger airbags may not deploy or they may deploy inappropriately for the passenger's size and position. This could increase the risk of personal injury during the event of a vehicle crash necessitating airbag deployment.

Remedy: Southeast Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will test the sensitivity of the occupant detection sensors, and recalibrate them as necessary. The recall began on March 21, 2013. Owners may contact Southeast Toyota at 1-800-301-6859.

Additional source detail variants (2)

Seats

Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain models interspersed through model years 2009 through 2013 as follows: model year 2009-2012 Tacoma, 4Runner, Camry, Camry Hybrid, Prius, and RAV4; model year 2009-2010 Avalon, FJ Cruiser, and Highlander Hybrid; model year 2010-2013 model year Corolla, Sienna and Tundra; model year 2009-2013 Highlander and Venza; model year 2012 Prius V; and model year 2010-2012 Sequoia. During modification by SET to include accessories such as leather seat covers, seat heaters or headrest DVD systems, these vehicles may not have had the passenger seat occupant sensing system calibration tested. Without passing the calibration test, the occupant sensing system may not operate as designed.

Consequence: If the front passenger seat occupant sensing system is out of calibration, the front passenger airbags may not deploy or they may deploy inappropriately for the passenger's size and position. This could increase the risk of personal injury during the event of a vehicle crash necessitating airbag deployment.

Remedy: Southeast Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will test the sensitivity of the occupant detection sensors, and recalibrate them as necessary. The recall began on March 21, 2013. Owners may contact Southeast Toyota at 1-800-301-6859.

Air Bags:frontal:sensor/control MODULE-INACTIVE

Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain models interspersed through model years 2009 through 2013 as follows: model year 2009-2012 Tacoma, 4Runner, Camry, Camry Hybrid, Prius, and RAV4; model year 2009-2010 Avalon, FJ Cruiser, and Highlander Hybrid; model year 2010-2013 model year Corolla, Sienna and Tundra; model year 2009-2013 Highlander and Venza; model year 2012 Prius V; and model year 2010-2012 Sequoia. During modification by SET to include accessories such as leather seat covers, seat heaters or headrest DVD systems, these vehicles may not have had the passenger seat occupant sensing system calibration tested. Without passing the calibration test, the occupant sensing system may not operate as designed.

Consequence: If the front passenger seat occupant sensing system is out of calibration, the front passenger airbags may not deploy or they may deploy inappropriately for the passenger's size and position. This could increase the risk of personal injury during the event of a vehicle crash necessitating airbag deployment.

Remedy: Southeast Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will test the sensitivity of the occupant detection sensors, and recalibrate them as necessary. The recall began on March 21, 2013. Owners may contact Southeast Toyota at 1-800-301-6859.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.

Go deeper into Toyota Camry problems

Toyota Camry electrical problems →Toyota Camry transmission problems →