The Only Toyota Camry Model Years You Should Never Buy
Toyota is famous for the safety and reliability of its cars. But while Toyota has earned that reputation, it doesn’t mean that every model year of every one of Toyota’s models is safe and reliable. This is especially true for two model years of the Toyota Camry. Here’s why you should never buy a Toyota Camry from these years.
The 2007 Toyota Camry
This model year of the Camry was simply plagued by issues, according to Car Complaints. The most serious of these issues led to a massive recall campaign, where over 6,000,000 cars were affected. Essentially, the Camry in this model year suffered severely from vehicle speed control issues. The pedal would sometimes get stuck, and that caused the Camry to accelerate out of control.
Unfortunately, these problems with speed control were so common that many people were injured from it, and some were even killed as a result. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Institute, or the NHTSA, over 100 crashes were caused by this problem. On top of that, 61 people were injured as a result of these crashes, and three were killed.
The Camry’s engine was also another problematic area. Car Complaints reported hundreds of complaints about the 2007 Camry’s engine, and the NHTSA also reported several crashes and injuries as a result of these issues.
That said, these issues weren’t as severe and dire as the Camry’s speed control problem was. The NHTSA says that about three crashes and three injuries were a result of these engine issues.
Further adding to the safety issues of the Camry was the fact that the 2007 Camry’s brakes were troubled as well. The NHTSA says that about 16 crashes and 12 injuries were a result of these problems. That said, these brake issues largely affected Camrys that had a lot of miles on them, while the engine and speed control issues were common in the newer ones.
Another common issue that the 2007 Camry had was that it ate up oil. This was not a dangerous issue, but it was a costly and common issue. Car Complaints says that the average owner had to pay about $2,400 to fix this problem.
The 2009 Toyota Camry
This model year of the Camry had similar issues as the 2007 model year did. The 2009 Camry suffered from a lot of speed control issues as well as engine and braking issues. But overall, the 2009 Camry was less problematic than the 2007 Camry was. That said, both of these model years were extremely problematic compared to other model years of the Camry.
For instance, that same pedal problem happened with the 2009 Camry. The NHTSA says that the 2007 Camry was responsible for 63 crashes, 23 injuries, and two deaths. This is a similar story for the 2009 Camry’s engine and brakes. They were responsible for a handful of crashes and injuries, but less than what the 2007 Camry was responsible for.
Similar to the 2007 Camry, the 2009 Camry also ate up oil. This was once again a common problem, but notably, it did cost less to fix on average. Car Complaints says that the average owner paid about $1,400 to fix this problem, which is $1,000 less than what 2007 Camry owners had to pay on average.
Toyota has learned its lesson
While these two model years of the Camry were extremely problematic as well as dangerous, Toyota’s learned its lesson. The more recent model years of the Camry have far less complaints and are, as far as anyone can tell, very safe cars to own.
That said, while the newest models may be safe to own, you should never buy a 2007 or 2009 Toyota Camry.
