1996 Toyota Camry: problems, recalls and reliability
7 recalls and 417 owner complaints on record; the weakest area is engine and engine cooling (15% of complaints).
Data updated weekly · latest recall May 2009
All counts are reports filed with NHTSA in the United States - US market only, not worldwide totals.
Common problems
Computed from 417 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for this exact model year.
“Both the driver side window and front passenger window have stopped working on occasion. Presently the passenger side window may go down, but will not go up. The next day it may go up. I don't put it down because I don't want to leave it down in rain or overnight. My previous camry also had electrical window problems.”Owner report · Electrical System · Oct 2015
“I had driven the car for about 15 minutes when the gas pedal seemed to be sucked to the floor. The car suddenly accelerated to 50 and I could barely get it to stop. I had it towed to a repair shop; but they could not find anything wrong. I'm not crazy. This is the 2nd time in 2 weeks that this has happened. What is wrong?”Owner report · Unknown Or Other · Aug 2015
“Tl* the contact owns a 1996 toyota camry. The contact stated that when attempting to turn the vehicle, the steering wheel would seize in the turned position without warning. The contact stated that excessive force was required in order to maneuver the vehicle when it seized. In addition, the speedometer failed to provide accurate reading levels. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 140,000.”Owner report · Steering · Aug 2015
Show 7 more owner reports
“Driver and passenger airbags deployed, braking windshield and bruising driver when car barely moving forward. Tapped another cars bumper, no other damage to either vehicle.”Owner report · Air Bags · Jul 2015
“Tl* the contact owns a 1996 toyota camry. While driving the vehicle, it independently accelerated. The contact engaged the brake pedal and shifted into neutral to bring the vehicle to a stop. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The VIN was not available. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 165,000. Updated 10/06/16*lj *tr”Owner report · Vehicle Speed Control · Jan 2015
“On september 19, 2014, when my wife was driving a 96 toyota camry car home, all of the sudden, the vehicle automatically accelerated, she hit the brake hard but the vehicle still went 40 mph. She almost hit several vehicles before she managed to shift it to the parking mode and stop the vehicle in the up-slope driveway. At this time, the vehicle was still roaring and smoke came out and she turned off the engine. We felt this is a very serious safety issue and is similar to accident happened several years ago. We would like to report it to NHTSA and wish you start a swift investigation. Thank you. *tr”Owner report · Vehicle Speed Control · Sep 2014
“96 toyota camry with 185k miles accelerated to a high speed for unknown reasons. Trying to halt the car, a landscaping tree was hit, the wheel blew out, eventually stopping the car. Vehicle did not respond to gear, pedal or shut off of vehicle from commands given. Instead, after hitting landscaping tree runover, near miss pedestrians, tire blowout, then halted. Police tested (on police report verified) turn on of vehicle in which car resumed high speed revving. *tr”Owner report · Vehicle Speed Control · Jul 2014
“Was involved in a traffic accident where vehicle was at a complete stop waiting to exit freeway: backup on freeway exit, was rear ended at high speed by another vehicle. Causing chain reaction crash, vehicle was sandwiched between two vehicles. Vehicle flooring became deformed which may have contributed to driver's seat collapsing and most importantly for the seat belt to fail causing me to bang my face into the steering wheel. I found the seat belt was unbuckled after the crash. Airbags did deploy. *tr”Owner report · Seats · May 2014
“Tl* the contact owns a 1996 toyota camry. The contact stated while driving 5 mph making a left turn, another vehicle crashed into both the drivers side front and rear door while driving 40 mph. The air bags failed to deploy. A police report was filed and the contact sustained whiplash. The vehicle was towed to a salvage yard. The vehicle was destroyed. The dealer was notified of the crash. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 117,000.”Owner report · Air Bags · Apr 2014
“This event occurred twice: I was driving at approximately 30-40 mph w/out the cruise control engaged. When I took my foot of the gas pedal to apply the brakes the vehicle accelerated. I had to depress the brake pedal as hard as I could to stop the vehicle. In the second incident I had to take the car out of gear which caused the rpm to jump significantly. Once the car was turned off and restarted the car functioned normally. I took the vehicle to the dealer who could not find any open recalls nor could the dealer identify any problems with the vehicle. I also took the vehicle to a mechanic who was unable to identify any problems. *tr”Owner report · Vehicle Speed Control · Jun 2013
When filing, owners marked a crash in 56 of these complaints and injuries in 58 - self-reported to NHTSA, not verified accident statistics.
Recalls - 7 campaigns
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. THE STEERING WHEEL SET NUT MAY NOT HAVE BEEN SUFFICIENTLY TIGHTENED CAUSING STEERING VIBRATION AND LOOSENESS.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL TIGHTEN THE STEERING WHEEL SET NUT.
DOPE, INC. IS RECALLING 42,540 COMBINATION CORNER AND BUMPER LAMP ASSEMBLIES OF VARIOUS PART NUMBERS SOLD FOR USE AS AFTERMARKET EQUIPMENT FOR VARIOUS PASSENGER VEHICLES. THESE HEADLAMPS FAIL TO CONFORM TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 108, "LAMPS, REFLECTIVE DEVICES, AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT." THESE LAMPS DO NOT CONTAIN THE REQUIRED AMBER SIDE REFLECTORS.
Remedy: DOPE, INC. WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER A FULL REFUND FOR THE NONCOMPLIANT COMBINATION LAMPS. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 28, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT DOPE, INC. AT 1-626-272-1798.
CERTAIN CK MOTORSPORTS COMBINATION HEADLIGHTS, CLEAR CORNER, BUMPER, AND SIDE MARKER LIGHTS SOLD AS REPLACEMENT LAMPS FOR USE ON THE PASSENGER VEHICLES LISTED ABOVE. SOME COMBINATION LAMPS THAT ARE NOT EQUIPPED WITH AMBER SIDE REFLECTORS FAIL TO CONFORM TO FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 108, LAMPS, REFLECTIVE DEVICES, AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT.
Remedy: CK MOTORSPORT WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE NONCOMPLIANT LAMPS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 1, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT CK MOTORSPORT AT 1-909-610-7211.
CERTAIN PRO-A MOTORS CORNER LAMPS, TURN SIGNALS, AND HEADLIGHTS SOLD AS REPLACEMENT LAMPS FOR USE ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES LISTED ABOVE. SOME COMBINATION LAMPS THAT ARE NOT EQUIPPED WITH AMBER SIDE REFLECTORS FAIL TO CONFORM TO FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 108, LAMPS, REFLECTIVE DEVICES, AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT.
Remedy: PRO-A MOTORS WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER TO REPURCHASE THE LAMPS. THE RECALL BEGAN ON APRIL 3, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT PRO-A MOTORS AT 323-838-2988.
THESE CRUISE CONTROL SYSTEMS FAIL TO HOLD THE SPEED SET BY THE DRIVER AND CAN ACCELERATE ABOVE THE INTENDED SET SPEED.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL REPLACE THESE CRUISE CONTROL ASSEMBLIES.
THE PLASTIC MATERIAL OF THE BULB HOLDERS OF THE REAR TAIL LIGHT ASSEMBLY DOES NOT HAVE SUFFICIENT HEAT RESISTANCE. WHEN THE BULB IS ILLUMINATED, THE RESULTING HIGH TEMPERATURE CAN CAUSE THE BULB HOLDER TO DEFORM.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE REAR COMBINATION LAMP BULB HOLDER TO SEE IF IT IS THE DEFECTIVE MATERIAL. THE DEFECTIVE BULB HOLDER TOGETHER WITH THE WIRING HARNESS WILL BE REPLACED WITH A CORRECT BULB HOLDER AND HARNESS.
K2 MOTOR IS RECALLING 1,921 AFTERMARKET HEADLAMPS OF VARIOUS MODELS SOLD FOR USE ON THE ABOVE LISTED VEHICLES. THESE HEADLAMPS ARE MISSING THE AMBER SIDE REFLEX REFLECTOR WHICH FAILS TO CONFORM WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 108, "LAMPS, REFLECTIVE DEVICES, AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT."
Remedy: K2 MOTOR WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER A FULL REFUND. THE RECALL BEGAN ON DECEMEBER 17, 2008. OWNERS MAY CONTACT K2 MOTOR AT 1-909-839-2992.
Specifications
Factory options offered for the 1996 model year, decoded from the NHTSA vPIC database. Individual vehicles have one of each.
How other years compare
Check your exact Camry by VIN
Recalls and equipment differ between individual vehicles. Decode your VIN to see what applies to yours.
Open VIN decoderFrequently asked questions
Is the 1996 Toyota Camry reliable?
NHTSA has 417 owner complaints and 7 recall campaigns on record for the 1996 Toyota Camry. The most complained-about area is engine and engine cooling (15% of complaints).
At what mileage do 1996 Toyota Camry problems usually appear?
Half of the complaints that mention mileage were filed at 98,929 miles or less.
Does the 1996 Toyota Camry have open recalls?
7 recall campaigns have been issued, the latest concerning steering: steering wheel/handle bar. Check your specific vehicle by VIN - recall repairs are free at franchised dealers.
Source: NHTSA recall campaigns and owner complaints (public domain). Counts reflect reports on file and are not a defect rate.