What ownership is like, what breaks at what mileage, what the repairs cost, and what to check before you buy one.
← All Toyota Camry generations
A quieter ownership story than Gen 6. Owner complaints centre on a torque-converter shudder in 2012-2014 cars, and mold or musty smells from the A/C on 2012-2014. NHTSA complaints per listing decline from 2.0 (2012) to 0.7 (2017). A note on our own data: NHTSA files 2014 Camry complaints under two names, 'CAMRY' and 'CAMRY HV'; we combine them (480 complaints) so the 2014 rate isn't understated.
| Miles | Item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| about 50K-75K miles (owner-reported: 53K, 72K) | Torque-converter shudder / transmission hesitation, 2012-2014 | $1,900-2,500 for the converter job at independent and some dealer prices (Bogleheads $2,057 with fluid; CarComplaints $1,900 at 72K; ToyotaNation $2,500); other owners report quotes of $2,800 to $5,000, and one was quoted almost $6,000 for a full transmission swap | Symptom owners describe is a shudder when accelerating. Owner-reported prices span a wide range, so get two quotes. CarComplaints also has a 2012 owner reporting transmission failure at 53K miles for $5,200. |
| age driven | A/C musty or moldy smell, 2012-2014 | $100 (a 2014 owner-reported musty-A/C fix at 15K miles) to a $1,200 compressor at 56K miles (2014) | CarComplaints lists a foul A/C smell for 2012 and mold for 2013, and CoPilot reports a class action over A/C mold. Toyota's recall 13V442000 (2012-2013) is a separate A/C condenser drain hose problem that can wet the airbag module; confirm by VIN it was done. |
| any | Recalls on specific years | Free at a Toyota dealer when the recall is open | 13V505000 (2013-2014 wiper switch), 14V576000 (2014 fuel delivery pipe leak), 14V715000 (2014 front lower control arm, 16/17-inch wheels), 15V144000 (2015 electric power steering ECU), 16V215000 (2016 occupant classification), 16V906000 (2017 knee airbag). Confirm by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. |
No year in this generation was flagged. A year is flagged by our rule only when all three hold: (1) its NHTSA complaints per catalog listing is at least 2.0x the median for its generation, (2) the share of ads that mention a problem is above the generation median, and (3) we track at least 30 listings for that year. The cutoff was fixed before we looked. Ad mentions are not failures, and a flag is a reason to inspect harder, not a verdict on any one car.
| Year | Complaints | Top components | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 645 | Power Train, Unknown Or Other, Air Bags | |
| 2013 | 301 | Power Train, Unknown Or Other, Air Bags | |
| 2014 | 480 | Power Train, Unknown Or Other, Electrical System | |
| 2015 | 271 | Steering, Service Brakes, Power Train | |
| 2016 | 189 | Air Bags, Unknown Or Other, Steering | |
| 2017 | 148 | Unknown Or Other, Air Bags, Vehicle Speed Control |
source: NHTSA complaints database (api.nhtsa.gov). Complaints are owner reports, not confirmed failures.
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We don't tell you to skip a year; we flag it by a fixed rule (see 'Years flagged' under each generation), and no Camry year trips it. Two come close on the first test and fail the second. 2007: 3,616 NHTSA complaints across 412 catalog listings (8.78 per listing against a Gen 6 median of 3.99, 2.2x), but ads mention a problem in 28 of 277 cases (10.1% vs a 12.5% median). 2018: 3.04 complaints per listing against 1.31 (2.3x), and 5 of 198 ads (2.5% vs 3.2%). Owners' reports still concentrate in two places: the 2007-2009 four-cylinder's oil consumption, and early 8-speed shifting in 2018-2019. Check those on any year in range.
It depends on the generation. Gen 5 (2002-2006): head-bolt thread pull-out on the 2.4L and the V6 timing belt. Gen 6 (2007-2011): 2.4L oil consumption in 2007-2009, dashboards that go sticky, and the hybrid battery on Hybrids. Gen 7 (2012-2017): a torque-converter shudder on 2012-2014 cars and musty A/C. Gen 8 (2018-2024): rough shifting from the 8-speed on 2018-2021 gas cars. Each is priced, with sources, in the generation sections above.
The 2007-2009 four-cylinder (2AZ-FE) does. Toyota's bulletin T-SB-0094-11 says the piston assembly was changed to reduce oil consumption, and T-SB-0030-15 lists the fix as replacing the piston and ring set with the engine out. Owner-reported repair costs run $1,200 (2009) to $2,700 (2008) on CarComplaints, with one service-manager quote near $2,000. Our own ad data shows oil consumption mentioned in 7 of 3,912 enriched Camry ads; ad mentions are not failure counts.
The 3.0L V6 (1MZ-FE; the 1994-1996 and 2002-2004 cars covered above) has a belt; Toyota's 2005 maintenance log lists 90,000 miles or 108 months. YourMechanic puts the job at about $628 ($208 parts, $420 labor) and RepairPal at $633-$1,081. The 2AZ-FE four-cylinder uses a chain (JDM Engine's guide). For the 3.3L and 3.5L V6s we have no sourced answer, so check the owner's manual.
For a 2007-2011 Camry Hybrid: from about $1,600 installed for a remanufactured pack (HybridRestoration), or $1,599 reman and $3,599 new OEM at one Illinois shop. Greentec says Camry Hybrid batteries typically last 8-12 years. Prices are from shop listings, not a quote for your car.
Early 8-speed (UA80) cars hesitate and shift roughly at low speed. Toyota issued bulletins T-SB-0330-17 and TSB-0043-19 and several sources say the software update fixes most cases. Owner-reported failures exist ($4,900 at 50K miles on a 2018, $9,400 total failure at 119K on a 2019) but they are individual reports, not a rate. Ask the seller whether the update was applied.