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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.

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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

Unknown Or Other complaints

81 reports
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32,500 miles · Aug 3, 2019
Unknown Or Other

AIR-CONDITIONING UNIT MALFUNCTIONS CAUSING WATER TO DRIP INSIDE THE CABIN UNDER THE FRONT SEATS. AS A RESULT, THE CARPET UNDER THE FRONT SEATS GETS WET AND MOLDY, CREATING A FOUL SMELL IN THE CABIN AND MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO BREATHE NORMALLY. THE FAULT IN THE AIR-CONDITIONING SYSTEM CAUSES HEALTH PROBLEMS. THIS IS A KNOWN AND…

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AIR-CONDITIONING UNIT MALFUNCTIONS CAUSING WATER TO DRIP INSIDE THE CABIN UNDER THE FRONT SEATS. AS A RESULT, THE CARPET UNDER THE FRONT SEATS GETS WET AND MOLDY, CREATING A FOUL SMELL IN THE CABIN AND MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO BREATHE NORMALLY. THE FAULT IN THE AIR-CONDITIONING SYSTEM CAUSES HEALTH PROBLEMS. THIS IS A KNOWN AND LONG-STANDING DEFECT AND IS MENTIONED ON DISCUSSION WEBSITES, SUCH AS CAR.COMPLAINTS.COM. TOYOTA STATES THAT MY CAR WAS RECALLED IN 2013 FOR AN AIR-CONDITIONING PROBLEM AND WAS REPAIRED. AS A CONSUMER, IT IS DIFFICULT TO KNOW, WHETHER THIS CURRENT ISSUE IS CAUSED BY THE SAME MECHANICAL DEFECT THAT THEY REPAIRED IN 2013. BUT AS IT IS NOW, IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO DRIVE THIS CAR BECAUSE I FEAR FOR MY LONG-TERM HEALTH.

NHTSA ODI #11241455

172,000 miles · Jul 22, 2019
Power TrainUnknown Or Other

WHILE DRIVING THE CAMRY IN AUTOMATIC THE TRANSMISSION APPEARS TO DOWNSHIFT SLOWLY AND DRAG

NHTSA ODI #11233958

143,000 miles · Jul 22, 2019
Unknown Or Other

THE TRANSMISSION FILLS LIKE IT IS SLIPPING WHEN I GET BETWEEN 25 -50 MPH. AND IT IS GETTING WORSE

NHTSA ODI #11233850

144,000 miles · Jul 21, 2019
Unknown Or Other

WHILE DRIVING AND RUNNING MY VEHICLE AC, I BEGAN HEARING A "LIQUID SWISHING" NOISE, OFTEN WHEN TURNING OR COMING TO A STOP. LATER, WHEN PARKED, I NOTICED THE MAT/CARPET UNDER THE DRIVERS SEAT WAS WET. UPON FURTHER INSPECTION A FEW DAYS LATER, THE MAT WAS STILL SOAKED AND THERE WAS STANDING WATER THERE, AS WELL SOAKED CARPET BEHI…

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WHILE DRIVING AND RUNNING MY VEHICLE AC, I BEGAN HEARING A "LIQUID SWISHING" NOISE, OFTEN WHEN TURNING OR COMING TO A STOP. LATER, WHEN PARKED, I NOTICED THE MAT/CARPET UNDER THE DRIVERS SEAT WAS WET. UPON FURTHER INSPECTION A FEW DAYS LATER, THE MAT WAS STILL SOAKED AND THERE WAS STANDING WATER THERE, AS WELL SOAKED CARPET BEHIND THE PASSENGER SEAT. FROM RESEARCH, THIS APPEARS TO BE A MORE COMMON ISSUE WITH THE 2012 CAMRY IF THE AC COMES LOOSE OR BECOMES CLOGGED.

NHTSA ODI #11233667

56,240 miles · Jul 5, 2019
Electrical SystemUnknown Or Other

TAKATA RECALL THE DRIVER DOOR IS NOT LOCKING OR UNLOCKING WHEN BUTTON IS PUSHED ON THE REMOTE OR ANY BUTTONS IN THE CAR AT ANY TIME. THE ONLY WAY TO LOCK OR UNLOCK IS TO USE THE KEY IN THE DOOR OR TO MANUALLY LOCK AND UNLOCK ACTUAL LOCK. IT'S NOT SAFE AS THE CAR SOUNDS AS IF IT'S LOCKING BUT THE DRIVERS DOOR IS NOT AND GIVES THE…

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TAKATA RECALL THE DRIVER DOOR IS NOT LOCKING OR UNLOCKING WHEN BUTTON IS PUSHED ON THE REMOTE OR ANY BUTTONS IN THE CAR AT ANY TIME. THE ONLY WAY TO LOCK OR UNLOCK IS TO USE THE KEY IN THE DOOR OR TO MANUALLY LOCK AND UNLOCK ACTUAL LOCK. IT'S NOT SAFE AS THE CAR SOUNDS AS IF IT'S LOCKING BUT THE DRIVERS DOOR IS NOT AND GIVES THE OPPORTUNITY FOR SOMEONE TO GET IN MY CAR THAT IS NOT TO BE IN MY CAR. HAS BEEN ON AND OFF SINCE ABOUT JANUARY 2019 BUT STOPPED WORKING 6/3/2019.

NHTSA ODI #11229608

40 miles · Feb 13, 2019
Unknown Or Other

CUANDO EL VEHCULO EST EN MOVIMIENTO TIENE UN RUIDO DENTRO DEL PANEL DE INSTRUMENTO COMO SI UN METAL ESTUVIERA GOLPEANDO OTRO METAL NO SE LO QUE ES

NHTSA ODI #11179840

Mileage unknown · Feb 7, 2019
Unknown Or Other

THE AUDIO SYSTEM WHEN CONNECTED TO USB DON'T RESPOND SOME TIMES. TOUCH SCREEN IS SOO CHEAP. IN BUILT GPS RESPONDS VERY SLOWLY.EX: WHILE TAKING EXIT IT SAYS JUST BEFORE THE EXIT COMES. THE SCREEN SOME TIMES FLICKERS WHEN WE CHANGE TO REVERSE WHEN THE REVERSE CAMERA DISPLAYS. TOTALLY NOT SATISFIED WITH AUDIO AND GPS SYSTEM. I…

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THE AUDIO SYSTEM WHEN CONNECTED TO USB DON'T RESPOND SOME TIMES. TOUCH SCREEN IS SOO CHEAP. IN BUILT GPS RESPONDS VERY SLOWLY.EX: WHILE TAKING EXIT IT SAYS JUST BEFORE THE EXIT COMES. THE SCREEN SOME TIMES FLICKERS WHEN WE CHANGE TO REVERSE WHEN THE REVERSE CAMERA DISPLAYS. TOTALLY NOT SATISFIED WITH AUDIO AND GPS SYSTEM. IT'S EVEN MORE COSTLY. 90% COSTUMES DON'T USE THE GPS IN THE CAR FOR REAL DUE TO BAD MAPS AND SOFTWARE.

NHTSA ODI #11175110

Mileage unknown · Dec 11, 2018
Unknown Or Other

MY 2012 CAMRY WITH ONLY 60,123 MILES IS FAILING THE TORQUE CONVERTER SO THAT IS MEAN LIKE TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS

NHTSA ODI #11160790

50,000 miles · Dec 7, 2018
Unknown Or Other

TRUNK FALL ON YOUR HEAD.

NHTSA ODI #11156800

77,000 miles · Sep 3, 2018
Unknown Or Other

I JUST PURCHASED MY 2012 TOYOTA CAMRY WITH 77,000 MILES ON THE SPEDOMETER. ABOUT A WEEK LATER AFTER DRIVING THIS VEHICLE. I NOTICE THE TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT, ABS LIGHT, AND BRAKE LIGHT ALL CAME ON AT THE SAME TIME. THE LIGHTS WILL NOT GO OUT UNTIL YOU TURN OFF THE VEHICLE. SOMETIMES WHEN YOU START THE VEHICLE, THESE LIGHTS COM…

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I JUST PURCHASED MY 2012 TOYOTA CAMRY WITH 77,000 MILES ON THE SPEDOMETER. ABOUT A WEEK LATER AFTER DRIVING THIS VEHICLE. I NOTICE THE TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT, ABS LIGHT, AND BRAKE LIGHT ALL CAME ON AT THE SAME TIME. THE LIGHTS WILL NOT GO OUT UNTIL YOU TURN OFF THE VEHICLE. SOMETIMES WHEN YOU START THE VEHICLE, THESE LIGHTS COME ON AND IT WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO TAKE THE VEHICLE OUT OF PARK. THIS VEHICLE ALSO FEELS LIKE YOU ABOUT TO HYDROPLANE WHILE DRIVING AROUND 25 MPH, WHICH FEELS UNSAFE. I'VE TAKEN THIS VEHICLE BAKE TO THE DEALER, AND THEY STATED THAT THEY NEEDED TO REPLACE A BRAKE ASSEMBLY SWITCH. I HAVE DONE SOME RESEARCH ON THIS SAME VEHICLE, AND FOUND OUT THAT THE BRAKE ASSEMBLY SWITCH WAS CHANGE AND THEY STILL HAD THE SAME PROBLEM. THE TRACTION CONTROL, ABS LIGHT, AND BRAKE LIGHT ONLY COMES ON WHEN YOU APPLY THE BRAKES AT LOW SPEED.

NHTSA ODI #11124132

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