AI Damage2001 Toyota Camry Solara: common problems
Owners of the 2001 Toyota Camry Solara filed 53 complaints with NHTSA, most often about air bags and vehicle speed control. Details by component below, with sources.
Key figures
- Owner complaints
- 53
- involving a crash
- 17
What fails most often
- 1 Air bags 25% of all complaints
- 2 Vehicle speed control 17% of all complaints
- 3 Seat belts 15% of all complaints
- 4 Service brakes 11% of all complaints
- 5 Engine and cooling 8% of all complaints
- 6 Suspension 8% of all complaints
- 7 Seats 6% of all complaints
- 8 Structure 6% of all complaints
- Air bags: 13 complaints (25% of all), 9 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Vehicle speed control: 9 complaints (17% of all), 7 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Seat belts: 8 complaints (15% of all), 2 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Service brakes: 6 complaints (11% of all), 3 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Engine and cooling: 4 complaints (8% of all).
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 53 NHTSA complaints mention each symptom (automatic count from complaint text; one complaint can mention several).
Components owners complain about
| Component | Owner complaints | involving a crash | Technical service bulletins (TSB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air bags | 13 | 9 | 0 |
| Vehicle speed control | 9 | 7 | 0 |
| Seat belts | 8 | 2 | 0 |
| Service brakes | 6 | 3 | 0 |
| Engine and cooling | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Suspension | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Seats | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Structure | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Engine | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Equipment | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel system | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Parking brake | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Steering | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Electronic stability control | 1 | 0 | 0 |
What owners report
Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.
I was exciting a freeway. As I usually do, I disengaged the clutch expecting the cruise control to also disengage and coast to the stop sign with the assistance of my brake. Instead, as soon as I disengaged the clutch, the car accelerated as if someone had put their foot all the way to the floor.
City that the accident token place was oakland california. Local report number, [xxx]. This, accident happened in alameda county on the time frame of monday. 300 feet west of mcaurthur blv. I did never back up my car hitting v2 or p2.
On 5/10/2006 while driving my 2001 camry solara on a rural road I couldn't slow the car down, braking didn't help. I kept bearing to the right off the road because I was having a hard time controlling the car, car wanted to go towards the cars traveling in the opposite direction.
The vehicle flipped over and the air bags did not deploy. The contact kicked the door open and crawled out of the vehicle. The contact sustained a lot of injuries and was transported via ambulance to the hospital. The police contacted the insurance company and filed a report.
The air bags failed to deploy. The contact suffered from strained chest muscles and cracked ribs, which required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 178,000.
Passenger was driving approx 50mph and collided with a deer with the front end of the car. Extensive front end damage, however neither the drivers or passengers airbags deployed. Car is considered a total loss.
Upon impact, the air bags never deployed. The contact stated that the police came to the scene and filed a report. The contact called the manufacturer about the air bags not deploying and they told him that they would look at the pictures that were taken by his insurance company from the crash site to try and…
Consumer had parked vehicle on an up hill with emergency parking brake applied. The emergency hand brake was fully extended and was in lock position. After the driver got out of the vehicle, the car started to roll down the hill hitting a mailbox. Vehicle door damaged.
When owners complained
NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.
Comparison
By complaint count this model year ranks 5,181 of 36,659 model years in the NHTSA data (top 14% most complained about).
On average one model year of the Camry Solara has 79 complaints (11 years in the data). This year has 53, below average.
What to check before buying
- Air bags. Check the SRS light, stored codes and airbag/curtain status after any impact.
- Vehicle speed control. Accelerator pedal, cruise control, throttle codes.
- Seat belts. Belt pretensioners after airbag deployment, SRS codes.
- Service brakes. Pedal feel, ABS operation, leaks, discs and hoses.
Other years of this model
Questions and answers
What are the most common problems with the 2001 Toyota Camry Solara?
Owner complaints to NHTSA most often mention: air bags, vehicle speed control, seat belts. Total complaints: 53. The most frequent symptoms in complaint texts: seat belts (17%), airbags did not deploy (13%), smoke, burning smell, fire (8%).
How many service bulletins (TSB) were issued for the 2001 Toyota Camry Solara?
NHTSA lists 0 manufacturer service bulletins for this year. A bulletin tells dealers how to diagnose or fix a known issue; it is not a recall.
Should I buy a 2001 Toyota Camry Solara from a US auction?
Owner complaints describe defects, not crash damage. Before bidding, check the components listed above and review the lot photos: VinWind builds a report of visible and hidden damage by VIN.
Other 2001 models
Read also
Sources: public NHTSA data (USA): service bulletins and owner complaints; YouTube: links to videos credited to their authors. Complaints are owner statements not verified by NHTSA, and describe defects rather than crash damage. Data updated 2026-11-06.