Latches/locks/linkage Problems of Toyota Camry - part 2

The door handle lock release on the driver's side had broken when I proceeded to open the door of the vehicle to get out. Had this been an emergency situation such as a vehicle immersion and if there was no power to the power windows, I would not have been able to open the driver's side window to reach out and release the door lock from the outside.

See all problems of the 2002 Toyota Camry 🔎.

Experiencing this problem on 1999 Toyota Camry component: structure:door assembly:latches and locks power door lock system can failed, causing the contacts to "weld", and resulting in door lock solenoid damage, with failure of the door to lock or unlock, even under manual operation. Consequence: if the door fails to open after ecu failure, vehicle occupants would have increased difficulty exiting the vehicle in an emergency.

See all problems of the 1999 Toyota Camry 🔎.

I also have experienced the plastic outer portion of the door handle on my 2000 Toyota Camry breaking off - in my case, on both driver and passenger front side, as well as the inside plastic portion of the back passenger side.

See all problems of the 2000 Toyota Camry 🔎.

In the spring of 2008 the front drivers side door lock on our 2003 Toyota Camry "froze" in the locked position. The door could not be unlocked by any means including the electronic keyless entry, the key in the door or manually from the inside. There was no "warning" that this was about to happen it just couldn't be unlocked. Fortunately we were not in the car when this occurred. The vehicle had to be towed to the dealership for them to see what was wrong with the lock. It was determined that the "actuator" had gone out and had to be replaced, at a cost to me of approx. $380. 00 which I paid. The same thing happened again in 9-09 only this time on the passenger side and again with no "warning". This time we were in the vehicle and didn't realize it had happened again until we parked and tried to exit. Again the vehicle was taken in ( to an independent garage) and the actuator on the passenger side had to be replaced, again at a cost of approx $350. My concern is that with no "warning of when this is going to occur there is a possibility that it could happen while the vehicle is being driven and if there were an accident and the door was unable to be unlocked this could pose a serious safety hazard if a person was unable to get out of their vehicle due to this failure. I asked both the dealership and the main offices of Toyota if this was a common problem in these vehicles and was told that there had been no reports of this sort of problem. I have a hard time believing that I have the only 2003 Toyota Camry in the entire country that has had this problem. I feel this bears investigating for the safety of all consumers who own a vehicle that this problem may occur in.

See all problems of the 2003 Toyota Camry 🔎.

While driving south on us75 in florida the leather cover (known as tonneau or boot) that covers the convertible top when it is in the down position just flew off the car. I watched it go under a tractor trailer and the car behind the trailer had to swerve to avoid it almost causing a serious accident. I got off the next exit and went back to recover it but it was gone. It may have been dragged away under a tractor trailer. Prior to this I inspected the cover attachment each time I stopped for gas or food because at times I did see it flutter while I was driving and felt uncomfortable about it. The leather cover is held in place by u shaped hooks that can easily come off when pressure is exerted on the cover. On very windy days when driving at high speeds the cover flutters and can and did come off the car. The cover is a large object about 4 ft. By 2 ft. And when it becomes airborne it can and almost did cause a serious and possibly fatal accident. I was recently in a Toyota dealership and saw that the new solara convertible now has safety straps attached to the cover. This safety improvement leads me to believe that Toyota realized the very dangerous condition that existed. This realization may have been prompted by solara convertible owners reporting incidents similar to mine. Unfortunately the cover on all Toyota solara convertibles prior to this safety improvement can still unintentionally come off and cause very serious and possibly fatal accidents. Toyota has not addressed this issue and will probably try to avoid it due to the cost involved to correct the very dangerous condition. I request that the national highway traffic safety administration or the appropriate government agency deem this a recall condition and compel Toyota to correct this very dangerous condition.

See all problems of the 2004 Toyota Camry 🔎.

2002 Camry. Powered door locks randomly stop working. Remote keyless or keyed entry will not unlock affected doors. Power lock/unlock button inside vehicle will not lock/unlock the affected door. Doors have to be manually locked/unlocked from within the vehicle. This is a safety issue because 1) affected doors do not lock when car is put in drive. And 2) the door may not unlock if airbags are deployed. This is a problem that is well documented on the internet Toyota Camry 2002-through 2007 and has not been addressed by the manufacturer.

Power locks - beginning in 2005, the power locks in my 2003 Toyota Camry began to fail. The driver's door was the first to malfunction, followed by the right rear passenger door and, most recently, the left rear passenger door. The failure begins with intermittent functioning of the locks - the doors will lock/unlock unpredictably. I have replaced 2 of the 3 mechanisms at significant cost. Now the third is failing. I consider this to be a safety issue for a couple of reasons - children in the car and the risk of theft from a car that failed to lock.

The contact owns a 1990 Toyota Camry. The contact stated that while attempting to enter the vehicle through the front driver's side door, the door failed to unlock with the key and the contact had to enter through the front passenger's side door. The failure recurred on several occasions. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with a bent lock mechanism. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 54,310.

The contact owns a 2000 Toyota Camry. The contact got into the vehicle with the doors locked and the alarm began to sound. When the contact attempted to exit the vehicle he was unable to unlock the door and get out of the vehicle from the inside. The vehicle had not been inspected or repaired. The current and failure mileages were approximately 52,000.

Toyota has long ignored safety in favor of show. Our 1999 Camry has a key fob with three buttons, only one working. The problem is that the 'security' system (1) keeps the engine from starting and, (2) more ominously, locks us out of the car. My daughter, with her baby, started the car, stepped out to let it cool in the phoenix summer, and was locked out. Fortunately, I was close and, fortunately, she took her baby out with her. Over the years, I've asked Toyota to fix its security mess. Nothing but mild apologies. This endangerment has plagued me and my family for 10 years. Toyota's recklessness and aloofness should be punished severely and the company must begin to produce nothing but reliable cars that don't endanger its customers.