Toyota Camry fire or smoke problems

Filed Sep 6, 2026 · Body, Electrical · TX · fire

I woke up to my car on fire and Toyota is saying they don’t know what happened but they’re also saying it wasn’t their fault I’ve never seen a brand new car just randomly set on fire and then nobody really look for any answers I just put brand new tires on the car the day before it burnt up I’m currently behind on my car payments because of the financial strain this whole situation put me in because on top of a divorce I wasn’t prepared to go and buy another car I’ve just stopped living in my current car and got an apartment because of the financial strain that this is caused and I wasn’t given any kind of reimbursement or assistance even with the tires that I just bought I feel like Toyota knows something that they’re not telling me and I deserve to be compensated

Filed Jul 12, 2026 · WA · fire

On July 10, 2026, my vehicle was parked, turned off, and unattended. The front windows were partially rolled down because the outside temperature was approximately 80°F. I had been away from the vehicle for about one hour. Approximately 20 minutes before discovering the incident, I heard fire trucks nearby but did not initially realize they were responding to my vehicle. When I returned, I discovered that the vehicle had caught fire and that the fire department had already extinguished it. I do not know what component or system failed or where the fire originated. Before parking the vehicle, I did not observe any warning lights, dashboard messages, smoke, unusual odors, overheating, electrical issues, mechanical problems, or other symptoms that would have indicated a possible fire or malfunction. Because the vehicle caught fire while parked and turned off, the incident created a serious safety risk to nearby people, surrounding vehicles, homes, and other property. Fortunately, I am not aware of anyone being inside or immediately next to the vehicle when the fire began. A fire marshal is currently investigating the incident and the cause remains unknown. The issue has not been reproduced or confirmed by a dealership, manufacturer, or independent repair facility. That I am aware of. The firemarshalle said it appears to be manufactured defects. The vehicle has not yet been inspected by the manufacturer to my knowledge. The damaged vehicle and affected components should be available for inspection upon request, subject to the requirements of the fire investigation.

Filed May 28, 2026 · Transmission · FL

I own a 2018 Toyota Camry equipped with the UA80 8-speed automatic transmission. I have experienced the following symptoms: burning smell coming from the transmission, hesitation and jerking during acceleration, and previously noticed a knocking/clunking noise that eventually stopped on its own. These symptoms are consistent with the known UA80 transmission defect involving excessive heat buildup, premature fluid degradation, and torque converter failure. I am aware that Toyota has known about this defect since at least 2016 and has issued multiple Technical Service Bulletins without offering a permanent fix or recall. The transmission has not yet been inspected by a dealer. I am filing this complaint to add to the public record and support a formal the federal safety agency investigation.

Filed May 26, 2026 · CA · crash · 1 injury

On Friday, December 5, 2025, I was coming out of the driveway at the Jack In The Box on the corner of El Camino & Nobili Avenue in Santa Clara. My foot was on the break as I was going to stop at the end of the driveway to check to see if there was any traffic coming down Nobili before I exited the Jack In The Box driveway. All of a sudden before I even hit the end of the driveway while I had my foot on the brake, the car started to speed up (unintentional acceleration)and I continued to press my foot down harder on the brake, but nothing could stop it. A lot of black smoke came up out of the steering wheel area where it attached to the dashboard & all of the air bags around the car deployed. Then my car completely turned itself around and the front of my car was now facing the driveway that I had just come out of. This torque of acceleration and braking is why my car spun around 180 degrees. The vehicle had sustained damage to the front end, the hood, front bumper cover, right front head lamp was cracked, and the Toyota emblem was missing. (See attached photos taken at the time of the accident) Since all of the air bags in the whole car had completely deployed, I found that the only way I could get out of the car was to slide myself under the air bag that surrounded the driver side door. As I got out of the car, the rib that is directly under my right breast began to hurt very badly and it was hard for me to take a breath with the pain from that rib. I also had a bad headache, too. Plus, the top of my left hand was all red and felt like something had scratched the whole back of my hand. It hurt to touch it. I was also light-headed.The car, I was told, looked like I had hit a wall. The whole left front side of the car was severely mangled - the hood, the fender, and the tire was flat. The shocking thing was that I had not had an encounter with any car, nor had they hit me, to account for this damage.The Police & Fire Dept.& EMT's were called.

Filed Apr 28, 2026 · Engine · MA

My 2007 Toyota Camry was manufactured with faulty piston rings that Toyota acknowledges that causes the engine to burn oil. I need to put 1/4 of quart of oil per week to avoid the engine from burning and up risking it from catching on fire. Toyota offered to fix this issue from 2008-2010, but I was not notified nor was I aware of this issue. It wasn't until 2020 when my car got about 70k miles that I started to notice the oil burning. It now has 92k miles and the issue has worsened and Toyota will not fix their defect.

Filed Apr 9, 2026 · Electrical · 142,000 miles · KY · fire

The contact owned a 2005 Toyota Camry. The contact stated that his daughter's vehicle caught on fire while parked in a residential area. The vehicle was unoccupied during the fire; the contact was alerted by the fire department. The fire originated from the engine, it was reported that the cause of the fire was faulty wiring. There were 2 vehicles next to the vehicle that was damaged in the event of the fire. The fire was extinguished by the fire department. A police report was filed. The vehicle was totaled. No injuries were reported. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 142,000.

Filed Apr 9, 2026 · Body, Electrical · VA · fire

car caught on fire in apartment complex over night. whole car was destroyed

Filed Nov 23, 2025 · Electrical, Steering · CA · crash · fire

My 2018 Toyota Camry (VIN [XXX] ) crashed and burned completely on Nov 16, 2025. while driving on the Freeway the vehicle stopped suddenly without any notice on dashboard all electrical turned off steering wheel locked and lost control hit left fwy barrier which caused car to spun couple times and when it came to a complete stop was not able to turn car or even turn emergency lights on and couple seconds later was rear ended by another vehicle which caused vehicle to catch on fire and vehicle was fully in flames after reviewing history of vehicle I never received notification of Toyota Recall 18V‑200, which addresses defective pistons that can cause engine stalling, rough running, loss of power, or sudden failure. Based on VIN and production date, my car likely falls within the recall. Police and fire reports are available. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Oct 15, 2025 · Steering · KY · fire

Upon driving the vehicle the steering wheel fluid light came on, the car instantly shut off and restarted 3 times repeatedly. Once it cut back on the 4th time the car began smoking from the interior. Once I exited the vehicle and popped the trunk looking for where the smoke was coming from. The car engulfed into flames. It is so badly burnt up you can’t see what started the fire.

Filed Aug 18, 2025 · Electrical, Steering · WA

Heated steering wheel so hot on the left side. Almost caught on fire. It cause a little smoke, burning smell and burned marks.