2003 Toyota Camry: jerking or lurching

Filed Mar 25, 2013 · Acceleration, Body · 114,000 miles · GA · crash

I was slowing down to make a signaled left turn into a paking space at cvs pharmacy. As I braked and turned, the car lurched forward hitting a stacked stone pillar and came to a crashed stop. The air bag did not deploy and I had a scrape on my scalp from the sun visor.

Filed Mar 3, 2013 · Acceleration · 175,938 miles · TN · crash

In parking lot. Reversing to back out of spot and front wheel touched curb, so put car in drive to straighten out the car wheels before continuing to back out. When the car was placed into drive, the car suddenly lurched forward at high acceleration, jumping a grassy median, all the while was trying to brake, to no avail. Hit another car in front at other parking space. No one was hurt, but if anyone had walked in front of the car, they would have been run over as there was no way to stop the car. Even after the car hit the other vehicle, it continued to succeed to push the other vehicle a good 6 or 7 feet backwards before it finally stopped... Have owned the car ten years and bought it new, and now at 175,938 miles this has happened to toyota camry 2003.

Filed Sep 27, 2010 · Acceleration · 29,000 miles · CA · crash

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 toyota camry. The contact was entering a parking space and accelerating slightly when the vehicle abnormally lurched forward and then accelerated. The contact attempted to abruptly apply the brakes and shifted into park yet the vehicle crashed into a concrete slab which stopped the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer and a diagnostic was performed. The dealer advised that a failure was not located within the vehicle to cause unintended acceleration but did advise that the brakes failed. The contact was awaiting repairs to the body damage. The failure mileage was approximately 29,000.

Filed Aug 18, 2010 · Acceleration · 128,000 miles · GA · crash

Only owner of 2003 camry, after pulling into covered parking deck into normal parking space which happens to be on an incline (ramp going up to next level) I felt sudden acceleration in the gas pedal and the vehicle lurched forward. I immediately tried to brake in time, but not before the car jumped over the concrete stopper in the spot and made impact with the concrete ledge ahead. Damage to front fender, hood and left front quarter. No physical injury was sustained. Contacted personal insurance and filed case with toyota. Toyota will inspect the vehicle and respond within 30 business days. Meanwhile I am responsible for my $1000 deductible and left driving a vehicle that I do not feel safe in.

Filed Mar 4, 2010 · Acceleration, Transmission · 10,000 miles · FL

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 toyota camry. The contact was driving approximately between 55-65 MPH on normal road conditions. The transmission began to jerk excessively. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer on four separate occasions for the identical failures with replacement of the transmissions. The four transmissions failed within 45,000 miles. When at a complete stop the vehicle surged forward unexpectedly. Also, during braking there was a delayed response. The authorized dealer was unable to duplicate the failures. The failure mileage was 10,000. The current mileage was 45,000.

Filed Feb 24, 2010 · Acceleration · 33,692 miles · 00 · crash

My 2003 toyota camry le v6 inexplicably accelerated while I was driving into my garage on dec 28 2006. The car struck the back of the garage wall and caused the wall to fail and partially fall into my houses den. At the time I assumed I had hit the accelerator instead of applying the brake. When I think back the car really accelerated hard and when it first hit the wall it stopped then lurched forward again. In light of all of the issues surrounding toyotas and unintentional acceleration I suspect the car actually accelerated on its own and I did not touch the accelerator accidentally. The car was repaired and is still owned by our family. I am reluctant to drive it given all of the issues surrounding toyota acceleration problems.

Filed Feb 24, 2010 · Acceleration, Transmission · 200 miles · NV

I own a 2003 camry xle purchased new from a local dealer in carson city, nv. I have had problems with the transmission surging, lurching and hesitating since purchased. I requested the service dept to check it out many times. They always said nothing was wrong leading me to believe I was crazy. After the 4th time I printed out many other consumer complaints, they still told me "nothing was wrong" but they said toyota is putting in a whole new transmission. That was in 2006. Wow, if nothing was wrong why would they go to that expense? Now after all that has come to light with the toyota problems, I see why. I am not comfortable with this car and know that it has the potential for sudden unintended acceleration. Updated 03/19/10

Filed Feb 23, 2010 · Transmission · 15,000 miles · IL

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 toyota camry. The contact stated that when driving low speeds, the transmission does not engaged. I took two to three seconds before the transmission would shift in gear. The dealer replaced the computer chip and upgraded the transmission which only minimally corrected the failure. A complaint was filed with the toyota manufacturer for the failure. The failure mileage was 15,000 the current mileage is 87,000. Updated 03/11/10 *bf the consumer stated the transmission seemed to hesitate for a couple of seconds when pressing the accelerator pedal. When the transmission did engage, the vehicle lurched forward. Updated 05/05/10.

Filed Feb 3, 2010 · Acceleration · 81,957 miles · NM

I have a 2003 camry. On nov. 8, 2009 I had a very big problem with the accelerator. When stepping on the gas pedal I couldn't get any gas, and then the car would jerk forward at a rapid rate so that I had to apply the brakes. It was totally undrivable. The mechanic replaced the gas pedal assembly, and I have the old part in my possession. The part was $428.01 plus the labor cost. My old camry I drove for 12 years without any problems. I feel the part was defective and that toyota should reimburse me for the cost of replacement. Would your agency please look into this for me? *tr updated 11/16/10*bf the mechanic replaced the accelerator pedal assembly the pedal position sensor. Updated 11/19/10 updated 11/24/10*jb updated 01/06/11 *bf updated 04/12/11

Filed Dec 11, 2006 · Steering · 40,000 miles · SC

At about 40,000 miles, a knocking sound began to be audible when turning the vehicle in both directions. It is most noticeable when turning the wheels several degrees at low speeds such as in parking. The knock appears to be associated with a slight vibration of the same frequency as the knock and a slight looseness in the steering. The noise and slight jerk in the steering wheel gradually worsened with time, and the car was just beyond the general warranty period when the problem was reported to the dealer. The diagnosis by the dealer was "bad steering column; needs to be replaced". As it was not considered a drive train component, there was no warranty coverage. The cost would have been about $1000 at the time. No repair has yet been done. The knock has continued and at about 80,000 miles a squeaking noise began to accompany the knock. No difficulty steering at normal speed (e.g. Drifting) has been experienced and no abnormal tire wear. The incidence date is the date the squeaking noise was first noticed.

Filed Jul 3, 2006 · Steering · 40,000 miles · SC

At about 40,000 miles, a knocking sound began to be audible when turning the vehicle in both directions. I am not aware of any precipitating incident; no collisions or hard contact with curbing, pot holes, etc.. The knock could also be felt as a slight jerk in the steering wheel. There was (and still is) no noticeable difficulty controlling the car. The noise and slight jerk in the steering wheel gradually worsened with time, and the car was just beyond the general warranty period when the problem was reported to the dealer. Diagnosis by the dealer was "bad steering column; needs to be replaced". As it was not considered a drive train component, there was no warranty coverage. The cost would have been about $1000 at the time. No repair has yet been done.

Filed Jul 8, 2005 · Transmission · NY

Dt: toyota camry 2003. The consumers car hesitates when trying to accelerate. It actually slows down by 10-20 MPH. *ak the vehicle would lurch forward after hesitating. The problem occurred when turning corners or when attempting to drive onto the highway from a rolling start. *sc