general problems of the 2005 Toyota Camry - part 2

I purchased my 2005 Toyota Camry le in August, 2005. After about 3 years, I started having issues with both front seatbelts retracting properly. When the seatbelt is initially pulled out to put it on, it does not retract to create a snug fit while wearing it. The fabric part of the seatbelt folds over and twists, preventing it from retracting. Most of the time it can be corrected with a little manipulation and much frustration. But, there have been a few incidents where I have had to take it to a mechanic to fix it. I contacted the Toyota dealership where I purchased the car and was told that this is a very common complaint for my specific year, make, & model and they said it would cost between $300-$400 per seatbelt to replace the parts or I could just wait for Toyota to issue a recall. That was 4 years ago and there has not been a recall for the problem. I think it's ridiculous that there seems to be an obvious defect in the seatbelts on this car, based on the # of complaints I've read on numerous websites regarding this exact issue. I just hope Toyota is not waiting for a serious injury or a fatality to happen before they issue a recall. I would like to get a newer car but I would need to sell this one first in order to be able to afford it. However, I don't feel comfortable selling my car to anyone with such a serious safety issue present. I don't need or want that kind of karma.

We owned a 2005 Toyota Camry. My husband was the driver and was involved in a serious accident when he was cut off while entering a state highway in baltimore, maryland. My 5 year old son was in the back seat behind the passenger seat in a booster seat with his seat belt on. During the impact, my son was unrestrained due to a failure of the seat belt. The seat belt never caught in the retracting mechanism allowing my son to be thrown forward into the passenger seat. My son had a massive head trauma and was air-lifted to johns hopkins. He was released the next morning with a serious concussion. The other passengers had very minor injuries.

2005 Toyota Camry - seat belt retractors. At about 50,000 miles, the front passenger side seat belt on my Camry would occasionally partially fold over at the retractor guide on the door post. At 75,000 miles, this now happens about 1/3 to1/2 of the time and I am starting to have the same problem with the belt on the passenger side. The belt is very difficult to straighten because the gap is too narrow to use a wooden tool and a metal tool such as a screwdriver would cut the belt. I have recently found that I can lower the movable attachment point to the lowest level, fully extend and hold the belt and then move the attachment point to its highest level. So far, this has generally removed the fold. Obviously, this is very inconvenient for me and is very difficult for my wife who has arthritis. . Read more...

I bought a certified 2005 Toyota Camry xle from autowest Honda, roseville. I was told that the car had no accidents and the car is clean per the carfax. I have had the front passenger seat belt replaced and now the driver front seat belt is going out. I received a post card for a free appraisal at 60,000 miles and I took my car into the Toyota dealership and they told me the car has been in an accident prior to me purchasing the vehicle. The front end frame is bent and parts have been replaced and the car is maybe worth $8,000 and the car should of been sold as salvage and not certified car. The front bumper is coming off and also the paint chipped off on the side of the accident. The paint is different in the front from the hood. I do not know the date of the incident date, as for it happened prior to me purchasing the car.

On Sunday September 3, 2006 I pulled into a parking space at kroger grocery store after church to shop about 10:30 or 11:00 am. As I pulled into the space to park my 2005 Toyota Camry, it did a sudden acceleration, jump the curb and crashed into the grocery store wall. The store wall was not damaged but my Camry had about $4000. 00 worth damage. When I told Toyota what had happen I was told to contact Toyota regional office. I contacted them and they told me that someone would be out to investigate my claim. They kept my vehicle for over three weeks, then they started on the body repair. Toyota claimed they could not substantiate my claim of sudden acceleration, but I know they repaired my vehicle internally as well as the body work because when I picked my car up from joseph Toyota dealership the car acceleration pedal felt so different. It felt real stiff and hard to mash. The brakes were check and fixed, because during the sudden acceleration they fail to stop the car. As I press them the seat belt choked an strap me so tight that I had a large welt across my chest. Toyota knew they had a problem with sudden acceleration at least since I reported it in 2006. They lied and made my insurance company pay all of that money, I had to struggle to come up with all of my deductible, pay for 4 weeks of car rental of about $45. 00 a day while Toyota regional office drug their feet about investigating my car. I was scare, sore and frustrated about how this whole thing was handle, but now I feel vindicated. Had Toyota regional office told the truth about the problem with my Camry and did the recall in 2006 when I reported this, they could have save a lot injuries and lives. I knew I couldn't go up against this big corporation by my self and I'm sorry people have loss their lives got injured, but glad it came out to the consumers. I feel Toyota also changed my accelerator pedal in 2006, or put that little steel chip in back of the pedal, the new 2010 fix. My car has loss value.

My 2005 Toyota Camry has caused me a lot of frustration soon after I bought it. The dealers have offered to replace it at a high cost (for me at least). Having read numerous reports this appears to be a defective design and should be repaired gratis. It takes me a lot of time to unstick it as I won't let anyone ride without it operating properly. It twists or folds under towards the rear of the slot and as you are pulling it out to put it on it jams in there hard. Please tell me a company with the reputation (for the most part) like Toyota can take care of it's customers saddled with defective parts without charging an arm and a leg for something that is Toyota's fault. Please don't make this the last Toyota I buy. That Ford fusion is looking better and better. -b-.