The term reliability is almost reminiscent of the brand Toyota, as their cars have proven to last longer and are easy to maintain. The Toyota Camry is their midsize sedan that has entered its 7th generation in the year 2015 with a sales figure of over 429,000 units, which is a massive number but only 10,000 units more than what was achieved in the previous year. The 2015 Toyota Camry is reported to have multiple battery-related issues while the car has managed to report just 235 complaints and 1 recall on NHTSA, which states that the occurrence of those issues is fairly low in numbers. The cars seen to be worthy alternatives to the Camry are the Hyundai Sonata, the Honda Accord, and the Chevrolet Malibu.
User complaints and problems
Electrical Problems
- Wiring harness – The warning lights were reported to turn on for no reason and go away. This issue recurred multiple times and the users got the vehicle inspected only to find out that the wiring harness was chewed up by rodents. This was said to happen because of a soy-based wiring harness coating.
- Battery – It was stated that the start button wouldn’t crank the engine up at times with the majority of the electrical functions like the infotainment and cluster lights not working. Dealers diagnosed the issue and found a dead battery cell which resulted in a complete battery replacement to fix the problem.
- Power steering – The users found it hard to maneuver the car as the steering wheel felt completely loose. There were also cases where the steering was hard, which required the users to shut the car off and back on to start driving again. The dealers informed that this was a known issue among owners and is related to a faulty power steering control unit.
Mechanical Problems
- Engine – The users found the car to lunge forward and hesitated to accelerate while depressing the gas pedal. There were also oil stains underneath the car that was noticed, which the dealers found to be the cause of the issue. It was stated that wear on the gasket led to the oil leak and replacing the part fixed the problem.
- Fuel system – The car was reported to lose power while trying to accelerate with a jerky movement. It was also stated that the engine completely cut off power and stalled abruptly. The dealers claimed this to be happening because of a clogged fuel filter as the error codes matched with the issue which needed some repair work to get the car running as intended.
- Powertrain – Users complained that the car would shudder when trying to accelerate with a drastic loss of power. It was also found that the transmission would slip between gears which the dealers stated to be caused by a faulty torque converter.
Safety Problems
- Airbags – Users reported seeing the airbag warning always on even when there was an occupant on the passenger seat. Dealers stated there were no issues with the module connectors but they had to reprogram the airbag control module to fix the error.
Exterior Problems
- Headlights – Users when driving at night often missing road signs as they were only visible when the vehicle approached very close to the signboard. This was due to a poor reach of the low beam light that only covered the immediate area in front of the car. Dealers were contacted but they stated that the headlights operated as designed.
Structural Problems
- Sunroof – There was a jittery noise that was noticed to come from the sunroof unit which was said to be normal as the tiny gaps between various components let them vibrate when driving over a bump.
2015 Toyota Camry recalls
|
S. No. |
Date |
NHTSA ID |
Issues Noticed |
Additional Remarks |
Remedy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
13 March 2015 |
15V144000 |
Possible loss of electric power steering. |
A component of the electric power steering electronic control unit may have been damaged during the manufacturing process. Over time, this damage may result in a failure of the electric power steering system. |
Toyota will notify owners, and the dealers will inspect the serial number of the EPS ECU or the steering column assembly. The affected units will be replaced. |
Should you buy the 2015 Toyota Camry?
It’s evident from the complaints and NHTSA’s report that the 2015 Toyota Camry is a very reliable sedan. The Camry definitely has the upper hand in terms of the number of recalls and complaints compared to its rivals but the key area where Toyota needs work is in terms of the dead battery which was seen to be common and also a faulty torque converter that has been causing a drastic power loss. However, the fact that the number of complaints is low compared to the sales figure is a valid signal stating this car to be very reliable. We recommend picking the Toyota Camry over its rivals as this car would make you visit the mechanics less frequently in comparison.
