AI Damage2008 Toyota Camry Solara: common problems
Owners of the 2008 Toyota Camry Solara filed 83 complaints with NHTSA, most often about structure and vehicle speed control. Details by component below, with sources.
Key figures
- Owner complaints
- 83
- involving a crash
- 9
What fails most often
- 1 Structure 31% of all complaints
- 2 Vehicle speed control 13% of all complaints
- 3 Visibility 13% of all complaints
- 4 Exterior lighting 10% of all complaints
- 5 Electrical system 6% of all complaints
- 6 Engine and cooling 5% of all complaints
- 7 Powertrain 5% of all complaints
- 8 Steering 5% of all complaints
- Structure: 26 complaints (31% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Vehicle speed control: 11 complaints (13% of all), 5 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Visibility: 11 complaints (13% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Exterior lighting: 8 complaints (10% of all).
- Electrical system: 5 complaints (6% of all).
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 83 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 | 26 | 1 | 0 |
| Vehicle speed control | 11 | 5 | 0 |
| Visibility | 11 | 1 | 0 |
| Exterior lighting | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical system | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine and cooling | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Powertrain | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Steering | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Seats | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Air bags | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Electronic stability control | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Equipment | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel/propulsion system | 1 | 1 | 0 |
What owners report
Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.
When backing out of a parking spot as the gear shift was put in reverse, the engine sped up rapidly, out of control and the car ended up about 200' to the rear through the parking lot, over 3 concrete bumps and ended up on a grassy area. No one was hurt - luckily.
Was reversing out of a parking space in my 2008 solara and when I went to shift into drive, the car lurched several times and then accelerated. When the car took off, I was unable to stop it accelerating using the brakes.
My air bag did not deploy even though my vehicle sustained heavy front end damage. Fortunately my seat belt was fastened and prevented serious injury.
While driving in reverse at a very low speed the vehicle surged backwards resulting in a crash. A police report was filed. The contact was injured. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer and has not been examined for the cause of failure. The contact was informed that the vehicle was now drivable.
The air bags explode and I got injuries on my shoulders after the impact with the seat belt.
While releasing the parking brake at a stop light, the vehicle accelerated without intention. As a consequence he rear-ended another vehicle. In order to stop the vehicle from surging forward he had to shift into the neutral gear, and then remove the key from the ignition. The current and failure mileages were 11900.
There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and the contact was informed about a recall and referred to the NHTSA Hotline. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.
The driver seat has a tear in it and there are only 120,000 miles on the car. It torn on a crack in the leather on the seat. Also - the dash has cracks all through it but we heard that there was a recall on it. Is that true? The dash surface is sticky and hard to clean.
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 3,991 of 36,656 model years in the NHTSA data (top 11% most complained about).
On average one model year of the Camry Solara has 79 complaints (11 years in the data). This year has 83, about average.
What to check before buying
- Structure. Rails, pillars, panel gaps, signs of pulling or welding.
- Vehicle speed control. Accelerator pedal, cruise control, throttle codes.
- Visibility. Wipers, mirrors, defrosters, cracked glass.
- Exterior lighting. Headlamps, leveling, sensors and mounts after a frontal hit.
Other years of this model
Questions and answers
What are the most common problems with the 2008 Toyota Camry Solara?
Owner complaints to NHTSA most often mention: structure, vehicle speed control, visibility. Total complaints: 83. The most frequent symptoms in complaint texts: headlights and tail lights (10%), jerking, harsh shifts (5%), unintended acceleration (5%).
How many service bulletins (TSB) were issued for the 2008 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 2008 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 2008 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.