2012 Toyota CAMRY - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

"the 2012 camry has a known problem with its torque converter. at low throttle (less than 1500 rpm), the torque converter exhibits a shudder while changing gears, most often going from 4th to 5th gear. toyota initially released a service advisory in 2017 and attempted to fix the problem with a software update. a few years later, toyota released an extended warranty covering the defect for 8 years of first use or 150,000 miles; whichever came first. toyota claims that this defect may eventually result in transmission failure. my car exhibited this problem in 2016. a local toyota dealership confirmed the problem and performed the software update. this temporarily resolved the torque converter shudder. in early 2022, the shudder returned. by this time, the extended warranty period had expired and toyota refused to repair the defect since more than 8 years had passed since first use. the issue persists, and this defect should be placed under a recall instead of a time-limited warranty."

"2012 toyota camry has torque converter shudder issues and they knew about it. they also ran the warranty enhancement program but failed to notify its owners. i never received about this warranty from them. i had this wired noise for brief seconds when driving at a speed of 50-65mph and told the toyota authorized repair and maintenance center about it when i took my car for regular maintenance. they checked my car and also failed to update me on this extended warranty and could not find the issue. they knew that this was an ongoing issue but did not bother to correctly update me on this. i only happen to know about this when my transmission started to slip and was searching if there was any recall and found about their warranty enhancement program as mentioned https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2018/mc-10129984-9999.pdf but it was too late. i also called the toyota engagement center to discuss this but they said they can't do anything as the program expired. the car now slows down itself when driving either in 20-25mph or 55-60mph and this could lead to unforeseen situations and could be a safety issue for the roads and highways i would like nhtsa to step in and make this a safety recall. it looks like almost all 2012 camry are affected by this issue."

"car gears are sluggish when accelerating in between 15 to 25 mph. it does not accelerate and there is lag when accelerating stop to go."

"the car shudders when shifting gears , this is due to the torque converter. toyota knows about this issue . i called and they said the recall was sent to the previous owner but they didn't get it fixed. toyota needs to recall all of these 2012 thru 2014 camrys and fix these cars when people call."

"as a background, we bought the car in 2012 brand new. my background is mechanical engineering, and hence maintained the car very well. apart from this issue on torque convertor rest is all good. the car has about 94,000 miles on it. around few weeks back, the car started to hesitate when it is shifting between 20-25 mph. sometimes this can be dangerous as you are expecting the car to pick up the speed esp. when joining the freeway etc. and always worried about being rammed in the rear by the traffic. anyway, i took it to the dealer who said there was a “warranty enhancement” program that expired after 10 years. i am not sure why toyota is permitted to have this warranty enhancement program when they full well know this should be a recall. this is widely discussed on all the toyota forums. the repair is expensive about $2200 (the work is detailed in the warranty enhancement program ze5) and requires software update to be done which the dealers control. with the cost of new cars and also lack of supply i had no good choice but to pay for this repair. i tried to get toyota headquarters to see if they honor the “warranty enhancement”, but they refused to even though some of this period coincides with pandemic. we have bought several of the toyota products including camry, sienna & tacoma and never been more disappointed in them than this handling of the issue. i am still at a loss on why nhtsa would let toyota do this warranty enhancement, and not a full recall. this is putting lives of drivers at risk where one day where it might either lock up or hesitate to pick up full speed when needed. more importantly, the warranty enhancement clearly states that it will only be fixed during that period if the transmission shudder shows. it is bound to show some time, so if they know this is a mechanical and software issue why not do a recall to fix this instead of putting people’s lives in danger? nhtsa please help investigate this safety issue. update 06/16/2023: this is a brand new design introduced by toyota in its transmission in my 2012. so with this defect, what investigation has nhtsa conducted and what was its outcome on this issue? if no investigation is done even with over 1.5 million vehicles impacted, then why not? please help provide some insight into your department's analysis of this safety issue."

"the contact owns a 2012 toyota camry. the contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle was shaking abnormally. there was no warning light illuminated. the contact stated that while driving above 50 mph, the shaking ceased. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where a diagnostic test showed that the torque converter needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired and remained in the possession of the dealer. the failure mileage was approximately 88,000."

"ever since i purchased vehicle back may 2016 with 24k miles on it (currently has 107k miles on it) the car has been vibrating between 35mph - 45mph. i took it to the dealer over 3 times within 30 days of purchase and they couldn’t figure it and replaced tires. they said it vibrates because roads are uneven. didn’t feel like dealing with dealership and left it at that. last year in 2021 i decided to research it and found out it’s a known issue (torque converter) needs to be replaced. toyota would always email me but for the “ warranty repair” they sent it to my old address. i took it to a toyota dealer to have it inspected now say that if i want it repaired, i have to pay $2500. i even reached out to corporate july 2021 to see if they would ear 50% of costs and declined. toyota needs to take care of this properly!"

"the contact owns a 2012 toyota camry. the contact stated while driving 20 mph, while the transmission was upshifting, the vehicle started shaking abnormally. the vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. the contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was contacted, and a case was filed. the failure mileage was 130,000."

"the transmission slips while accelerating through the gears. i understand it is a torque converter issue. the car jerks through each gear, feels like the engine is falling out. it has not been fixed yet as i understand it is about half the value of the vehicle to get it fixed, and i hear the fix can cause other problems with the transmission parts that are not replaced. no warning lights. as this is my only vehicle i'm worried about being in an accident before i can get it fixed. i'm not made of money, and i have to save up first."

"-toyota motors manufactured 2012-2014 certain camry models with faulty torque converters(ref- https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2018/mc-10129984-9999.pdf). -car is available for inspection. -shudder makes the car weaker and unstable. also delaying throttle response. babies feel scared when the car shudders and ultra risky while passing another car. risk for transmission lock up etc. -the problem has been reconfirmed by toyota dealers and independent service centers. you can ask any reputed mechanic shop as well about this well known problem. -there was never a warning light and still no warning light. please see- toyota motors is making a fortune by selling a few faulty cars- also, the above warranty plan was only applicable if the car had symptoms of torque converter failure. but toyota evaded liability to replace torque converter by blaming software issue initially (https://techinfo.toyota.com/techinfoportal/staticcontent/en/techinfo/html/prelogin/docs/cp/e03tofaq.pdf) and limiting the extended warranty to 8 years, knowing that most faulty cars will not display failure symptoms during that time (average failure time is 70-100k miles) now, they are selling the revised torque converter with installation for over $3000. but, it is not even the fix. the faulty torque converter also damages the transmission, leading to its failure within a few hundred miles after torque converter replacement. all those faulty torque converters are bound to fail by 100k miles. toyota is pocketing $7-10k for those repairs, making the car worthless and owner broke. if you read reports, this extends far beyond 2012-2014 models. since it is allowing toyota and its dealers to sell the most expensive repair a vehicle can have...making bank for toyota motors and their dealers. they are also able to avoid the limelight on this issue...since it does not affect all the camry models of the same year. i wrote toyota to fix it or provide reimbursement, but they denied. please help!!!!!"