Owners have filed 594 complaints on the Toyota Camry Solara, covering 1999–2008. The system named most often is Structure (104 reports). Worst years by volume: 2004, 2007, 2006; cleanest: 2003, 2001, 2000. 112 reports describe a crash, 9 a fire, 3 a death. On average the car was 6.3 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Toyota Camry Solara
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 594 Camry Solara complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Structure 104 Read
My name is [xxx] I didn't back up my car at all. City that the accident token place was oakland california. Local report number, [xxx]. This, accident happened in alameda county on the time frame of monday. 300 feet west of mcaurthur blv. I did never back up my car hitting v2 or p2. My v1 and p1 car, was leaving after…
December 21, 2013. I was pulling into a parking place from a large parking lot, foot on the brake almost stopped; engine roared and I catapulted over the parking curb into and through some bushes and out the other side of the bushes angling right and into the street. I was able to bring the car to a stop and park at…
The contact owns a 2008 toyota camry solara. When the convertible top is retracted and the cover is placed over it, the contact experiences difficulty seeing objects behind the vehicle. The blind spot is caused by the roof cover, also known as boot, and makes visibility difficult. The dealer was unable to offer a…
Air Bags 87 Read
On april 2011 I was involved in an auto accident my toyota solara 2008 struck another vehicle my speed was 45 mph and the vehicle that I hit was at a full stop. My air bag did not deploy even though my vehicle sustained heavy front end damage. Fortunately my seat belt was fastened and prevented serious injury
My two sons were involved in a car accident to where my car ended up being totaled and what is disturbing to me is that the air bags did not deploy at time of impact. The brunt of the damage was on the passenger side which is where my 13 year old was sitting
The contact owns a 2007 toyota camry solara. While driving 30 mph, the contact crashed into another vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. A police report was filed and there were no injuries. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The fender, front bumper, and passenger side headlamp were repaired. The…
Vehicle Speed Control 65 Read
The contact owns a 2008 toyota solara. While releasing the parking brake at a stop light, the vehicle accelerated without intention. As a consequence he rear-ended another vehicle. In order to stop the vehicle from surging forward he had to shift into the neutral gear, and then remove the key from the ignition. The…
Driving in at a parking lot, driven at 5 not even 10 mph the car - camry solara convertible 2008, touch the brake to park and in 20 feet of distance the car speed by itself crashing in parking bar. The air bags explode and I got injuries on my shoulders after the impact with the seat belt
The contact owns a 2008 toyota camry solara. While driving in reverse at a very low speed the vehicle surged backwards resulting in a crash. A police report was filed. The contact was injured. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer and has not been examined for the cause of failure. The contact was informed…
Steering 37 Read
The contact owns a 2007 toyota solara. While driving at speeds of 25 mph, the power steering failed. As a result, the contact was unable to maintain accurate control of the vehicle and crashed into a tree. The vehicle was destroyed. The current and failure mileages were 24,000
The contact owns a 2004 toyota camry solara. The contact stated that while turning right at approximately 35 mph. The steering wheel locked and caused the vehicle to go over an embankment and into the water. The front passenger suffered injuries to the back and neck. The contact stated that this was the second crash…
The contact owned a 2004 toyota camry solara. While driving 25 mph, the steering wheel seized and the vehicle accelerated at a high rate of speed. As a result, the contact cashed into a palm tree. The air bags deployed. The contact was not injured and a police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a dealer…
Engine And Engine Cooling 32 Read
2006 solara was driven by my son who was found dead in a canal on 1/28/08 by a passerby. The car had the tendency to have the floor mat on the drivers side ride up, which I was used to as it was my car. Therefore, I suspect the floor mat rode up onto accelerator pedal causing car to be unable to stop without turning…
The entire muffler had turned black. Consumer lost control of vehicle and jumped out before car went over an embankment. Doctor diagnosed consumer with carbon monoxide poisoning. Ph
I would like to report my son's fatal 2000 toyota solara crash. His car went into full speed and hit the trees with speed close to 100 mph on a residential street with 20 mph limit. Updated 03/10/10 *bf *tr updated 9/21/2011*cw updated 09/23/10
Power Train 28 Read
Was reversing out of a parking space in my 2008 solara and when I went to shift into drive, the car lurched several times and then accelerated. When the car took off, I was unable to stop it accelerating using the brakes. A passenger pulled up on the parking brake, launching us into a series of tight spins and…
You have this. Additional research about the cause of the crashes. None of this was published by Toyota as a potential disastrous problem
- the contact stated that was in reverse on the morning of 12/22/06 at 5 mph when the vehicle continued to go in reverse and wouldn't stop. While the vehicle was going in reverse there was a screeching noise coming from the vehicle. It hit a curb and to put the vehicle in park while it was still going in reverse to…
Exterior Lighting 28 Read
Car was being driven in the city of chicago at a slow speed...brakes went to the floor... Avoided hitting another car and pedestrian and then hit a tree near a home. Car was towed by aaa to a aaa service shop.... Marathon- western/toughy who inspected the vehicle and determined both brake lines failed... Rusted…
This 2008 toyota camry solara, ~37k miles, uses the same headlight bulb types as the 2008 toyota avalon, 9011 for high beams and I had both high beams go out on a winding road in back country of wisconsin with many deer and other moving night creatures. Both high beam bulbs shattered during this trip, leaving glass…
The contact owns a 2008 toyota camry solara. The contact stated that the headlights turned off intermittently. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who was unable to diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 90,000
Service Brakes 27 Read
NHSTA SAFETY COMPLAINT TEXT Safety defect and Incident Chronology: I am reporting a catastrophic, recurring sudden unintended acceleration (SUA) defect originating strictly from a forward idle state, culminating in a severe bidirectional runaway and property damage crash. This vehicle utilizes an Electronic Throttle…
Previous report filed 07/02/2026
I was driving on the freeway when, while changing lanes to the slow lane, the accelerator pedal stuck, I lost control, and the car careened off the freeway and down and embankment. The car was severely damaged but I was not injured
Camry Solara years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Air Bags | 9 | 1 | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | 10 | 1 | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 16 | 3 | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 21 | 2 | |
| 2003 | Air Bags | 10 | — | |
| 2002 | Air Bags | 15 | — | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | 14 | 1 | |
| 2000 | Air Bags | 6 | — | |
| 1999 | Air Bags | 11 | 1 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 256 |
| Average complaints per series | 2.3 |
| Worst single series | 10 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 6.3 years |
A model average of 2.3 hides a worst series at 10. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
- No ads, on every page
- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Camry Solara?
By complaint volume, 2004, 2007, 2006 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Camry Solara years are the cleanest?
2003, 2001, 2000 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Toyota Camry Solara have?
594 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1999–2008. Of those, 112 describe a crash and 9 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.