2005 Toyota Camry LE from North America - All Comments

The steering wheel was making knocking noise even when the mileage was less than 36000 miles. When I pointed out to the dealership, I was told that I should service the steering wheel column and it won't be covered under the warranty as it is a regular maintenance issue. I did not have that service done back then. Now when it is 43000 miles, I took it to the same dealership and I was told that the steering wheel connecting shaft should be replace and it cost me $450. They didn't even recollect what they said and I had no written proof. I did not expect this from a relatively new Camry.

Toyota is a media hyped name. It's performance and reliability as well as dealer service has deteriorated. I had a Honda Civic which I drove for 50,000 miles and it performed much better that the Camry that I have. My Camry is turning out to be a pet elephant.

So are you saying that you tried to save a few bucks by not "servicing" the steering wheel, and now it's come back to cost you $450.??? Just how would they have serviced the wheel? Would they have found the worn-out part & replaced it under warranty?

I think Toyotas are as good as they get (no I don't own one), so I can't agree with your sentiments about the make.

Sorry you had to find out the hard way that Japanese cars are not all the ad hype says they are. We've had imports, and none were as good as our domestics. Hopefully you can unload your piece of garbage without taking too big a beating and get something reliable, like the new Fusion (which, incidentally, is rated HIGHER in reliability than Camry OR Accord).

To the individual who commented on 1/30/2007 @ 12:42...

I find it amusing that you Camry/Accord/other import fans love to bash the Ford Fusion, when that car is in fact built on the same platform as the (drum roll, please)...Mazda 6, a car you probably think is just swell because it's an "import!!!"

To the individual from 4th Nov 2007, 18:54.

FYI

Mazda and Ford use mainly same engines, ie. Mazda3 & Focus, Ford Edge & Mazda CX7.

We who "bash" the Fusion aren't necessarily bashing the car for the model, but rather making a point that while all those who rally behind the Fusion as a sort of Apple-Pie American car that's out to beat the Camry, the car is not remotely close to being a domestic product. As correctly pointed out, it is built on a Mazda 6 platform and uses a Mazda engine. But the engine itself uses a Crank forged in India, with the car manufactured in Mexico.

The Irony here is that the Camry is made in Lexington KY using American workers and over 50% domestic produced parts. If the sole reason as to why domestic-happy people hate 'imports' is because they aren't 'American'-hence built by Americans, then using the Fusion as an example is a poor choice.

A V-4 engine! Wow, that must be a very rare Camry!!!

It seems a bit of a stretch to be this detailed and on an anonymous forum to fabricate ownership. I relish complaints as they are more realistic. What amazes me if the defenseness that hardly seems necessary when all one has to do is present facts on the durability of a new import they own. I'd rather see a specific model battered with all its faults and step aside or be better prepared negotiating a price on a late model I am interested in.

Looking at the reviews, it would appear that the Camry's major critics are the people who actually got stuck owning one.

"stuck owning one" huh? How about check out a vast majority of the reviews for most Ford cars and then come back and tell me who at least appears to be more dissatisfied.

The heading on the first review sums up my experiences exactly. "No longer reliable!"

I keep seeing comments such as "check the Ford reviews if you want to see bad reviews". Well, I just did. I checked the reviews on 4-year-old Ford Taurus, Chevrolet Impala, Pontiac Grand Prix and Toyota Camry.

The best reviews? The Pontiac Grand Prix (which is no surprise, as it was J.D. Power's winner in its class, beating out all competitors including the Toyota Avalon).

The worst? None other than the "quality" Camry, which was really really BAD. Thank you to commenter 12:32 for encouraging us to look at the reviews and compare. I did. Camry is the WORST by far.

Just checked the Ford Fusion reviews like the previous poster recommended, as the Fusion is the competition for the Camry and there are quite a lot of yellow circles and few blue ones, which means satisfaction seems pretty high on them.

I think the Camry has the most blue circles of any car on this site, which would lead me to believe their quality has suffered over the years and people won't be buying them for much longer at the rate they currently are.

Oh, the public apologies by Toyota for their quality problems may lead me to believe that too. The American brands won't get a chance to pounce much better than this to gain new buyers from Toyota. I hope they capitalize on it.