UsedScore

2013 Toyota Camry: Solid

Owners filed 165 complaints with NHTSA about the 2013 Toyota Camry in its first five years on the road, about 41 for every 100,000 sold: 0.7× the rate of a typical Camry year. That's close to a typical year.

The biggest problem area, counting serious complaints more, is the air bags (15% of complaints, median 10,000 miles).

Complaint index
0.7×
per vehicle sold, vs. a typical Camry year
Rank
6th of 14
1st = fewest complaints
Complaints
165
first five years; 41 per 100,000 sold
Recalls
2
campaigns
7th generation, 2012–2017 · Updated September 24, 2026 · How we rate
2012 Toyota Camry XLE

Photo: 2012 Toyota Camry XLE · IFCAR, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Problem areas

Ranked by severity-weighted complaints · share · median miles
  1. Air bags15% · 24 complaints · median 10,000 miles
  2. Speed control16% · 27 complaints · median 10,000 miles
  3. Steering15% · 24 complaints · median 3,000 miles
  4. Powertrain19% · 32 complaints · median 12,000 miles
  5. Brakes13% · 21 complaints · median 16,000 miles
  6. Body and structure12% · 19 complaints · median 6,000 miles
  7. Electrical12% · 19 complaints · median 9,000 miles
  8. Engine12% · 19 complaints · median 10,000 miles
  9. Seats and belts4% · 6 complaints · median 3,000 miles
  10. Fuel and propulsion5% · 9 complaints · median 10,000 miles

Bars rank problem areas by complaints weighted for severity (crashes, fires, injuries and deaths count more). A complaint can name more than one area. Mileage is reported on about half of complaints.

What owners describe

Air bags

Many owners of this Camry report that their air bags did not deploy during a collision, sometimes resulting in injuries, and a few mention warning lights or unexplained deployment. Dealers frequently could not find a cause, though some owners mention a recall related to the air bag system.

Warning signs:
Some owners noticed the air bag warning light illuminated, a rough or hard-to-turn steering wheel, or abnormal noises before or during the incident.
What shops did:
Dealers and independent shops often could not diagnose or replicate the air bag failure, sometimes calling the vehicle operable as designed; some owners had recall repairs performed or parts placed on backorder.
Mileage:
most between 5,000 and 55,000 miles, among 28 complaints that give it

“The air bags failed to deploy”

“We hit a guardrail spun and flipped over 4 times 75 feet over an embankment not one airbag deployed”

Speed control

Owners describe two recurring speed control problems: sudden unintended acceleration, sometimes while parking or backing up and leading to crashes, and hesitation or stalling when trying to accelerate from a stop. Dealers frequently could not reproduce the issue, and some fixes like software updates or recall work didn't fully solve it for owners.

Warning signs:
Owners describe a brief pause or idle after pressing the gas, RPM dropping or surging, shuddering, or a warning light before the car lunges forward or fails to respond to the pedal.
What shops did:
Dealers often could not duplicate or diagnose the problem; some performed software updates, torque converter TSB work, or recall service, which owners say did not always resolve the issue.
Mileage:
most between 5,000 and 70,000 miles, among 31 complaints that give it

“The vehicle will sometimes move about 10 feet and then hesitate for about 1 to 2 seconds. It will then accelerate normally”

“Vehicle would not accelerate past 15 MPH and would hesitate and stumble to the point of engine stall when pressure on gas peddle increased”

Steering

Many owners of this model year describe the car wandering or drifting in its lane at highway speed, requiring constant steering correction just to stay centered. A number of others describe the steering suddenly seizing or becoming very heavy or hard to turn, sometimes with warning lights, and dealers often could not duplicate or fix the problem.

Warning signs:
Many owners notice constant side-to-side wandering requiring continuous correction at highway speed; some report a dashboard warning tone, dash lights, or a stiffening steering wheel before power steering was lost.
What shops did:
Some dealers inflated or replaced tires, or said they could not duplicate or find any wandering problem; a few report the power steering unit or wiring was replaced without lasting success.
Mileage:
most between 0 and 75,000 miles, among 26 complaints that give it

“It wanders all over the road on its own. It behaves like you are driving in a severe cross wind though there is no wind present.”

“The steering was locked and the steering warning sign with the beep noise for a second came on. I panicked I couldn't not turn the steering at all.”

Summaries are written with AI from the owner complaints shown on NHTSA's site and checked against them; quotes are word for word.

Recalls (2)

Check a VIN on NHTSA ›
  • NHTSA 13V442000October 2013802,769 vehicles

    Equipment: appliance: air conditioner · Air bags · Electrical system

    Toyota is recalling certain model year 2012-2013 Avalon, Avalon HV, Venza, Camry, and Camry HV vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the drain hose for the air conditioning condenser may become clogged causing water to accumulate at the bottom of the air conditioning condenser unit housing. The accumulated water may then leak through a seam in the housing onto the air bag control module potentially resulting in a short circuit of the module.

    Risk: A short circuit may cause the air bags to become disabled or inadvertently deploy. An inadvertent airbag deployment can increase the risk of injury or the possibility of a crash. An inoperative airbag can increase the risk of injury in a severe crash. The power steering assist could also become inoperable resulting in increased steering effort and can increase the risk of a crash at low speeds.

    Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will seal the air conditioning condenser unit housing and install a protective cover on the airbag control module, free of charge.

  • NHTSA 13V505000October 20139,795 vehicles

    Visibility: windshield wiper/washer: switch/wiring

    Toyota Motor Engineering & manufacturing North America, Inc. (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Camry and Camry HV, model year 2013 Avalon and Avalon HV and model year 2014 Corolla vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the windshield wiper switch assembly may short circuit. As such, these vehicles fail to conform to the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard, No. 104, "Windshield Wiping and Washing Systems."

    Risk: A short circuit could cause inoperative windshield wipers, reducing driver visibility and increasing the risk of a crash.

    Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the wiper switch assembly, free of charge.

A recall only helps if the repair was done. Enter the vehicle's 17-character VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup before you buy.

Service bulletins

Toyota sent NHTSA 559 service bulletins and other notices to dealers covering the 2013 Camry. These are repair instructions, not recalls. Warranty extensions and bulletins about its top problem areas:

  • TSB003220 · August 2023TSB: Replacement certification labels (the vinyl label installed on the driver door or door post) and VIN plates (the metal plate riveted to dashboard) (see Figure 1) for most 1979 ?
  • T-SB-0094-21 Rev · November 2022TSB: Some 2005 ?
  • Toyota Safety Re · March 2021Toyota Safety Recall and Service Campaign - Technician Certification Requirements
  • T-TT-0578-19 Rev · October 2020TT: Some customers may encounter Bluetooth® connectivity concerns such as: ?Difficulty to pair the phone.
  • T-TT-0578-19 · October 2019TT: Some customers may encounter Bluetooth® connectivity concerns such as: ?
  • F0B_Expired_Deal · January 2018Dealer Package: January 8, 2018 A watermark has been added to the Dealer Letter to indicate that F0B expired on December 31, 2017 LSC Expired on December 31, 2017.
  • T-SB-0218-17_Rev · July 2017TSB: REVISION NOTICE July 20, 2017 Rev1: Applicability has been updated to exclude 2007 ?
  • F0B_LSC_Phase 2_ · April 2015DL: The front passenger seat assembly is equipped with sensors for the occupant classification system which are used to control the operation of supplemental restraint systems (SRS), including the…

All 2013 Camry bulletins on NHTSA ›

Questions owners ask

Is the 2013 Toyota Camry reliable?
Owners filed 165 complaints with NHTSA about the 2013 Toyota Camry in its first five years on the road, about 41 for every 100,000 sold: 0.7× the rate of a typical Camry year. That's close to a typical year. Ratings compare Camry years with each other using complaints filed with NHTSA; they don't measure every problem owners have.
What are the most common 2013 Camry problems?
Owners' complaints most often involve the air bags (15%), speed control (16%) and the steering (15%). A complaint can name more than one area.
Has the 2013 Toyota Camry been recalled?
Yes. NHTSA lists 2 recall campaigns for the 2013 Toyota Camry, the most recent in October 2013 (equipment). Enter the vehicle's VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup to see whether the repairs were done.

Sources

Owner complaints, recalls and manufacturer communications from NHTSA's public data files, as of September 24, 2026. Complaints are counted once each, over the model year's first 60 months on the road. UsedScore is not affiliated with NHTSA or Toyota. The 2013 Toyota Camry on NHTSA.gov · How we rate