AI Damage2004 Toyota Camry Solara: common problems
Owners of the 2004 Toyota Camry Solara filed 161 complaints with NHTSA, most often about structure and steering. Details by component below, with sources.
Key figures
- Owner complaints
- 161
- involving a crash
- 24
What fails most often
- 1 Structure 22% of all complaints
- 2 Steering 19% of all complaints
- 3 Vehicle speed control 17% of all complaints
- 4 Air bags 12% of all complaints
- 5 Powertrain 8% of all complaints
- 6 Service brakes 7% of all complaints
- 7 Seats 6% of all complaints
- 8 Visibility 6% of all complaints
- Structure: 36 complaints (22% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Steering: 30 complaints (19% of all), 4 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Vehicle speed control: 27 complaints (17% of all), 16 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Air bags: 19 complaints (12% of all), 10 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Powertrain: 13 complaints (8% of all), 2 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 161 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Structure | 36 | 1 | 0 |
| Steering | 30 | 4 | 0 |
| Vehicle speed control | 27 | 16 | 0 |
| Air bags | 19 | 10 | 0 |
| Powertrain | 13 | 2 | 0 |
| Service brakes | 12 | 4 | 0 |
| Seats | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| Suspension | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| Electrical system | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| Tires | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine and cooling | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Latches, locks, linkages | 4 | 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.
Pulling into a disabled retail parking space at very low speed, car lurched forward and hit the metal parking pole, damaging the front bumper and hood. Eyewitness to collision incident confirms this. Car was barely in motion and my foot was on the brake.
Main st., grass valley, ca, turned right into a parking space and as the brake was applied, the car surged forward, jumping a cement curb, the fender grazing a tree on the left, coming to an abrupt stop when it hit the cement base of a light pole.
Car freezes, steering & brakes lock, car lurches forward and keeps much higher speed. With both arms, I pulled car from head-on with utility pole to very high palm tree. Head-on ith tree, airbag releases, white smoke coming from hood. I turned car off, took keys, car engine continues as did horn blowing & white smoke.
The steering wheel locked and caused the vehicle to go over an embankment and into the water. The front passenger suffered injuries to the back and neck. The contact stated that this was the second crash caused by the steering wheel. The dealer replaced the rack and pinion, but the failure was not corrected.
Engine surges. Floor mats no issue. First [ref] or 09, I had pulled into a parking lot. Vehicle surged, jumped a curb & into a ravine. Engine was still surging (while down in the ravine!) until ignition was turned off.
The consumer was involved in an accident due to sudden acceleration. The consumer stated the vehicle accelerated as she was applying the brake and crashed through a storefront window. The consumer also noted the air bags did not deploy.
2004 toyota solara drivers side airbag did not deploy upon impact this was a certified used car from fremont toyota of fremont california. Found out later that no side airbags of that year or any new toyota are rated.
At first everything was good then the tire pressure light came on and would never turn off. That has been going on for like 4 months now. The big incident/problem is I was driving 10mph and the car started to drift to the right.
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 2,490 of 36,656 model years in the NHTSA data (top 7% most complained about).
On average one model year of the Camry Solara has 79 complaints (11 years in the data). This year has 161, above average.
What to check before buying
- Structure. Rails, pillars, panel gaps, signs of pulling or welding.
- Steering. Steering play, power assist, rack and tie rods after a wheel impact.
- Vehicle speed control. Accelerator pedal, cruise control, throttle codes.
- Air bags. Check the SRS light, stored codes and airbag/curtain status after any impact.
Other years of this model
Questions and answers
What are the most common problems with the 2004 Toyota Camry Solara?
Owner complaints to NHTSA most often mention: structure, steering, vehicle speed control. Total complaints: 161. The most frequent symptoms in complaint texts: windows, sunroof (8%), hesitation when accelerating (6%), unintended acceleration (6%).
How many service bulletins (TSB) were issued for the 2004 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 2004 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 2004 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 2026-11-05.