IllustrationSince I purchased the vehicle I have been smelling a weird smell as if the AC unit is leaking. It has been brought in to Toyota multiple times and they could not find the issue, but I still smell it.
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 →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Camry years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
1500–25K
9325–50K
6150–75K
4875–100K
60100–150K
19150K+
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
What owners actually said
589 reportsbrake booster brake failed to stop car and cause accident yes accident on Nov. 12, 2016
Car started “studdering” or “vibrating” at 20 mph then 40mph then 50-60mph. Every time the automatic car would shift gears it studdered very bad. Like it wasnt goin to excelerate. I am a single mom. Trying to work and go to college to support my children. The car needs fixed very badly. I am afraid it is goin to cause me to wrec…
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Car started “studdering” or “vibrating” at 20 mph then 40mph then 50-60mph. Every time the automatic car would shift gears it studdered very bad. Like it wasnt goin to excelerate. I am a single mom. Trying to work and go to college to support my children. The car needs fixed very badly. I am afraid it is goin to cause me to wreck. I have contacted toyota and they will not honor the recall. The car has a recall on the torque converter( i took it to a toyota dealer) that is causing the problem. I am still driving the car. It is all i have.
My car has a problem shifting into first gear and is jerking so bad I was driving and it actually was going super slow and going and secure and I almost got hit from behind it is stuttering and hesitating going into the lower gears it also keeps showing the traction light off and on and when it's on it causes It 2 sway a lot
The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Camry. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would occasionally lose motive power. The contact would release the accelerator pedal and the vehicle would regain normal functionality; however, the failure would reoccur. The contact stated there were no warning lights il…
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The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Camry. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would occasionally lose motive power. The contact would release the accelerator pedal and the vehicle would regain normal functionality; however, the failure would reoccur. The contact stated there were no warning lights illuminated. The local dealer was not made aware of the failure. The manufacturer was contacted and informed the contact failure might be due to the torque convertor however, the vehicle was not under recall for the failure. The contact was informed that the vehicle had to be repaired out of pocket. The approximate failure mileage was 106,000.
The drain hose for the AC Condenser may be clogged. Water has leaked from the seam of the airbag compartment on the driver's side near between the window and windshield. My safety and the safety of others are at risk because the water accumulation may cause an electrical issue and the car may not be safe to drive. My vehicle…
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The drain hose for the AC Condenser may be clogged. Water has leaked from the seam of the airbag compartment on the driver's side near between the window and windshield. My safety and the safety of others are at risk because the water accumulation may cause an electrical issue and the car may not be safe to drive. My vehicle will undergo state inspection on Wednesday, February 9, 2022. I noticed this problem in January 2022.
I was driving about 70 mph on interstate 95 and all of a sudden my car shut off while going 70 mph my check engine light and the traction control light came on the car came back on while still going 70 mph picked up where it left off it was a bit Scary
The vehicle was taken to J & J Auto Service for normal maintenance, in addition to the airbag warning light being on. When picking up the car, the owner was informed that a pin/screw was missing from the airbag located in the steering column. Owner was advised that the airbag could deploy at any time and cause injury or death …
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The vehicle was taken to J & J Auto Service for normal maintenance, in addition to the airbag warning light being on. When picking up the car, the owner was informed that a pin/screw was missing from the airbag located in the steering column. Owner was advised that the airbag could deploy at any time and cause injury or death to the driver. The cost for repair - $900.00. or could be higher. Owner followed up by checking for recalls on this manufacturing flaw, but saw no recall for this problem.
The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Camry. The contact stated after recently having an oil change performed on the vehicle; after approximately 2,000 miles while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact heard an abnormal knocking noise coming from the engine. No warning light was illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the…
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The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Camry. The contact stated after recently having an oil change performed on the vehicle; after approximately 2,000 miles while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact heard an abnormal knocking noise coming from the engine. No warning light was illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the road and checked engine oil and noticed there was no oil in the engine. The contact added oil to the engine and continued drive to her destination however, the failure persisted. The contact took the vehicle to a local dealer who diagnosed the failure as an oil consumption failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 145,000.
I bought this car used from a dealership. within 4 days and less than 40 driving miles on the first cold morning (42°f) the 6 speed automatic transmission slipped. the engine revved as i was backing out of my carport then in less than 50 yards i went to pull up on the street. again the engine revved and car was barely moving. it…
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I bought this car used from a dealership. within 4 days and less than 40 driving miles on the first cold morning (42°f) the 6 speed automatic transmission slipped. the engine revved as i was backing out of my carport then in less than 50 yards i went to pull up on the street. again the engine revved and car was barely moving. it did catch as i cleared that intersection and behaved normally till the next cold early morning. i have spoken to used car salesman and the sales manager. i have an appointment to take it in for evaluation soon!
Official recalls
213V442000 · 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
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.