general problems of the 2004 Toyota Camry

Car sitting at idle position suddenly launched forward. Vehicle was going 2-3 mph when it suddenly launched forward and smashed into a wall at a top donut drive thru.

I have a 2004 Toyota Camry le equipped with the 2az fe i4. At first I started hearing water sloshing from underneath the dashboard every time I stopped. On 1/30/2014 while stopping for a few minutes in a parking lot the cars temperature gauge started to rise. I immediately shut the car off, and opened up the hood to find coolant had been pushed out the overflow container, then I subsequently brought it to a mechanic. The mechanic stated the head gasket was blown. After a few days the mechanic got back to me, telling me the head bolts had stripped and the engine was unrepairable. I would need to replace the engine. This is a major problem, especially if it gave away when going down the freeway. Toyota needs to step up and fix this issue that is now becoming a very big problem. Toyota did release a TSB for dealers about this but it says to use timeserts or replace the block.

I was driving and without warning the gas petal was no longer working. Then the check engine light came on. Fortunately I was on a side street and was able to pull over. Got it towed and was told that the throttle body was broken and it was a pretty common problem for Camry's.

On August 4, 2012, I was driving on the highway when the throttle actuator control on my 2004 Camry broke. My car came to a complete and sudden stop, which I am very fortunate to have not been hit by another vehicle. I was not able to move the car and many cars were forced to swerve around me to avoid an accident. All of the lights on my dashboard were flashing. When I turned the car off and tried to restart it, the engine light stayed on. I was finally able to move the car after approximately 10 minutes, but was only able to drive at 10 mph. My mechanic checked the engine code & found the problem to be the throttle body actuator control. The price for the part was $900, not including labor. I purchased the car from lia Toyota of northampton, whom I have contacted & they will not assume any responsibility. I have also contacted the Toyota manufacturing of north America office in kentucky and am waiting for a response. This problem needs to be addressed as it is extremely dangerous.

Started the vehicle on Saturday 10/29/2011, put it in reverse and the engine light came on. Backed out of the driveway onto the street and put it on drive. I stepped on the accelerator and the vehicle moved forward about 30feet and stalled out. I tried several times to started and it would not. After I completely turned off the ignition, I was able to restarted it. I took it to get it checked out and I was told it was the throttle body actuator stuck on the closed position. I looked it up on line and found many, many incidents of the same nature. On Monday, I called the Toyota dealer, and I was told that they had never heard of that problem and it's not a recall. The defective factory installed part costs $1000 plus about $300 for labor. I contacted Toyota USA, but they have not acknowledged me, so far. This is a safety issue. When we took it to get it checked out it stalled in the middle of the road as we were crossing oncoming traffic. We could have been killed. And, I guess, this is not a concern for Toyota.

Moved vehicle forward to position it to back it into the garage; when ready to put my foot on the brake to engage the reverse, heard a "click" under the hood and the car took off at high speed, applied brake, car would not stop, went into the neighbor's front lawn, damaged the grass and cracked the front bumper in the car. The manufacturer contracted an engineer to inspect the car and the engineer pronounced the car safe and sound.

I have experienced sudden acceleration in my 2004 Toyota Camry and Toyota does not have a plan to correct the problem because this model has not been recalled. One incident happened in early December 2009 and th e last incident occurred on January 15, 2010. Please help. This is too dangerous. I have tried desperately to avoid accidents and do not want to hurt myself or others while Toyota wait on enough problems to recall the 2004 Camry le. Please mandate that they repair my car and others that are experiencing the problem.

The key in my Toyota special edition 2004 Camry is designed to be removed only when the gear shift is in the park position. However, mine can be removed regardless of the position of the gear shift. Once the car is stopped and shut off and should it still be in the drive position, the key can be removed. This should not be. . As a result , I had an accident as the car rolled down an incline and struck another vehicle. . No one was in the car at the time, but a child could have been in a car seat in the rear and I would not have been able to stop the car. I t has happened at least three times while under warranty, but I thought it was my fault for not placing the car in the park position before exiting the vehicle. Didn't realize it until the accident that it was not designed that way. Notified the corporate office of Toyota and they responded with the fact that the vehicle was no longer under warranty and would not acknowledge any safety problem. World Toyota in atlanta will repair the problem for approximately $424. 00, but I feel it should be Toyota's responsibility and definitely a safety issue.

On Thursday October 9,2008 I was driving home on I-95 when my 2004 Toyota Camry solara suddenly began to surge in speed, as I was able to cautiously get over in the median lane when it then shut off, I was able to crank it back up with no problem but as soon as I accelerated it slowed down and I then turned it off, waited a few minutes an turned it back on with no problem. Since I was close to my exit and lipton Toyotas dealership was right there I took the car in to get checked out, well much to my surprise I am in need of a throttle body a $931. 17 part and $13. ?? gasket along with $85. 00 per hour service fee. Now even though my factory warranty ended on the 4 of this month, this viable component is not covered under the extended warranty that I purchased when I bought the car. I have about 42,500 miles on my car and I don't drive it everyday. I am very angry that I have to replace a part that is so costly in such a short period of time, Toyota is supposed to be one of the best cars on the road but at this point I feel like I will never purchase another. This is not my first one it is my 3rd one purchased brand new, and my concern is this is the first time ever having a problem like this. So I want to ask you to please look in to this as a defective part issue because when I called Toyotas corporate office I spoke with someone who seemed as if she had an attitude like I have some nerve to call and complain about their top notch vehicles. . Read more...

Throttle lag at low speed and from stop is inconsistent and has been the cause for several close calls when pulling into traffic. Manufacturer was informed; dealer investigated; reloaded software and problem still exists. Toyota states this is normal and nothing can be done. " some instances have been several seconds before actual throttle response. Driver has to use harder acceleration to compensate when this happens. This is a safety issue that Toyota is aware of but declines to admit it is a problem. Driver is very concerned that this issue will be cause of an accident. Every time car is taken to dealership problem is re-addresses but no fix has been made.

Problem: 2004 Toyota Camry shift gear from overdrive to neutral without pressing gear button. Over the weekend, I was driving the car going uphill with left turn, the passenger at front was trying to reach napkin box at the back seat, he accidentally hit the gear with his elbow, even though very lightly, the shift gear suddenly shifted from overdrive to neutral gear while I was making left turn uphill and suddenly lost power. I have Ford taurus that does not have such problem. It always requires pressing the gear button to shift gear. I sincerely request Toyota manufacturer to fix current design flaw to prevent future accidents.