NHTSA Complaint #10585467 — 2007 TOYOTA CAMRY

TIMES AND MILEAGE ARE APPROXIMATE BECAUSE WE DID NOT KNOW AT THE BEGINNING THAT THIS WOULD BE A PERSISTENT PROBLEM. AROUND JANUARY 1, 2014, WHEN WE STARTED THE CAMRY AFTER LEAVING THE GROCERY STORE, FOUR DASH WARNING LIGHTS AND A MESSAGE DISPLAY WENT ON AND STAYED ON (BRAKE SYSTEM (RED), BRAKE SYSTEM (YELLOW), MASTER WARNING (RED), ANTI-LOCK BRAKE SYSTEM (YELLOW), AND "CHECK VSC SYSTEM" (IN DISPLAY)). DURING THIS TIME THE VEHICLE HAD NO POWER ASSIST BRAKES, NO ANTI-LOCK BRAKES, AND AS BEST WE CAN DETERMINE - NO VEHICLE STABILITY CONTROL SYSTEM; IT HAD ONLY MANUAL HYDRAULIC BRAKES THAT WERE HARD TO PUSH AND SLOW TO STOP THE CAR. WE DROVE THE CAR HOME CAREFULLY AND PARKED IT. WHEN WE NEXT STARTED THE CAMRY THE LIGHTS WERE NOT LIT, AND ALL SYSTEMS WORKED. WHEN THE SAME PROBLEM OCCURRED AT A LATER DATE WE TOOK THE CAR TO A LOCAL TOYOTA DEALER. THE LIGHTS WERE STILL ON WHEN WE DROPPED OFF THE CAR. THE DEALERSHIP REPORTED THAT THERE WERE NO WARNING LIGHTS LIT WHEN THEY INVESTIGATED THE PROBLEM; NO DIAGNOSTIC CODES WERE RECORDED BY THE VEHICLE'S ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. WE AGREED THAT UPON THE NEXT OCCURRENCE WE WOULD DRIVE THE CAMRY TO THE DEALER WITHOUT TURNING IT OFF. UNFORTUNATELY, AT THE NEXT OCCURRENCE THE LIGHTS ILLUMINATED, THE BRAKE ASSIST SYSTEMS WERE INACTIVE, BUT THE CONDITION REVERSED ITSELF AS WE DROVE TO THE DEALER (WITHOUT TURNING OFF ANY SYSTEMS). THE DEALER FOUND NO CODES UPON TESTING FOR THIS OCCURRENCE. WE AGREED THE DEALER WOULD COME TO THE CAR AT THE NEXT OCCURRENCE. UNFORTUNATELY THAT HAPPENED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT ON THE HIGHWAY (65 MPH) AND THE DEALER WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THIS BRINGS US CURRENT TO 4/28/14. WE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT DRIVING THE CAR WITHOUT ABS OR VSC SYSTEMS, AND WE BELIEVE THAT THE MANUFACTURER SHOULD HAVE INFORMATION ABOUT HOW THESE CONDITIONS HAVE BEEN CORRECTED IN OTHER VEHICLES EVEN WITH NO DIAGNOSTIC CODES. *JS