NHTSA complaint: 2004 TOYOTA CAMRY — AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
I BOUGHT A 2004 CAMRY ABOUT A MONTH AGO FROM MY LOCAL TOYOTA USED CAR DEALER. A WEEK LATER I TOLD THEM FRONT-END FELT FUNNY AND NEEDED TO BE CHECKED. THEY SAID I NEEDED AN ALIGNMENT. HAD THAT DONE. CALLED THEM LAST WEEK AND SAID I STILL FEEL LIKE THERE'S SOME SORT OF FRONT-END PROBLEM. MY BRAKE PEDAL IS SPONGY AND ALMOST TO THE GROUND. SOMETIMES I'M NOT SURE IF I'M GOING TO STOP IN TIME. ALSO TOLD THEM MY STEERING WHEEL WAS SHIMMYING. I WAS TOLD THAT THE STEERING WHEEL WAS PROBABLY INDICATING A TIRE BALANCE ISSUE AND THEY WOULD CHARGE ME $50 TO BALANCE/ROTATE MY TIRES. I DECIDED TO PUT THE MONEY TOWARD NEW FRONT TIRES INSTEAD HOPING THAT WOULD ALSO REDUCE ROAD NOISE. AS FOR THE BRAKES.... I WAS TOLD THAT WAS STANDARD FOR THE CAMRY MODELS AND WAS A KNOWN DESIGN ISSUE BUT NO CORRECTIONS WERE IN PLACE THAT THEY WERE AWARE OF. LAST WEEKEND I WAS IN A CRASH. MY BRAKES FAILED! MY ABS DID NOT ENGAGE AND MY AIRBAG DID NOT DEPLOY. I WAS TRAVELING ABOUT 30-40 MPH ON A HIGHWAY WHEN THE PERSON IN FRONT HIT THEIR BRAKES. I HIT MINE AND CONTINUED TO SKID INTO THE BACK OF THEIR VEHICLE. I HAD PLENTY OF ROOM TO STOP. THERE'S NO REASON OTHER THAN BRAKE FAILURE FOR ME TO HAVE CRASHED. *TR
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — Office of Defects Investigation