2015 Toyota Camry Problems

What owners report

The clearest pattern in this sample is intermittent steering behavior: owners describe the car pulling or veering to one side, or the assist feeling soft or unresponsive, often starting right after a cold start and sometimes clearing after a restart. A second cluster involves a shudder or vibration during light acceleration, which several dealers traced to the torque converter. Complaint volume for this model year is trending down.

1. 1
   Steering

   Intermittent steering pull or assist loss

   • 98 complaints (36%)
   • median 50,200 mi at 4.8 yrs old (77 state mileage)
   • 4 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2015–2025

   Owners describe the car suddenly veering or pulling to the left or right while driving at city-street or highway speeds, sometimes with the wheel feeling loose, soft, or heavy to turn, and a few mention a whining or grinding noise. Several report that shutting the engine off and restarting restores normal steering, at least temporarily. Complaints describe dealers either finding no stored codes, being unable to duplicate the symptom, or pointing to alignment, battery condition, or the steering angle sensor; some owners note their vehicle identification number was not covered by the steering campaign. Reported from a few thousand miles up to over 100,000 miles, with many complaints in the 40,000-90,000 mile range and often described as intermittent or appearing shortly after start-up.

   Recall 15V1440002 related service bulletins

   What to check: During a test drive, check whether the car tracks straight hands-off at low and highway speeds and whether the wheel returns to center after a turn. Ask whether any steering-related campaign work was performed and whether the battery is in good condition.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Car sporadically pulls to the left whether or not I am turning. After ignition is turned off and then car started, car drives normally. This has occurred 5 or 6 times within the last month. I understand there is a recall on this for an electronic steering component, but my VIN is not included in this recall. This is also stated by many other owners online..”

   NHTSA complaint #11384902, filed 2020-12, 42,000 miles

   “As I drive down a road mostly when car is first started, the steering goes very erratic. It gets a wide range of movement and feels as if I am losing control. This is happening more often as I drive it. My husband looked it up and there had been some recalls for steering in the 2015 Camry, but, no recall for my car when I put in my VIN #.”

   NHTSA complaint #11377695, filed 2020-12, 65,000 miles
2. 2
   Transmission and drivetrain

   Shudder or vibration under light acceleration

   • 31 complaints (11%)
   • median 64,650 mi at 3.7 yrs old (26 state mileage)
   • 1 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • owner-quoted repair $2,450 (median of 5 quotes)
   • filed 2016–2024

   Owners describe a shudder, vibration, or shaking felt through the pedals, steering wheel, and doors during gentle acceleration, typically in the 20-50 mph range or around 1,000-2,000 rpm, which eases when they press the accelerator harder or lift off. Some report a lag or brief loss of power when trying to accelerate, and one mentions a check engine light with a dealer recommendation to replace the transmission. Complaints describe dealers diagnosing the torque converter, with quoted repair costs, and in some cases a relearn or software procedure that did not last. Reported from roughly 30,000 miles upward, most often in the 40,000-150,000 mile range, under light throttle in mid-speed ranges.

   What to check: Test drive at steady light throttle between about 25 and 50 mph and feel for vibration or a hesitation in the drivetrain. Ask whether the transmission fluid has been serviced and whether a torque converter or relearn procedure was ever performed.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “When driving the car and accelerating, notice a slight shudder. When the torque converter is locked, the shutter goes away. It does this when accelerating frequently. When I fell the shudder, if I increase acceleration, the shudder stops. I suspect the problem is with the torque converter.”

   NHTSA complaint #11375177, filed 2020-11, 78,000 miles

   “Purchased a used 2015 Camry se shortly after purchasing the vehicle the drivability has been becoming a escalating concern. While accelerating when the car will shudder between 1000 & 2000 RPM mostly between 25-45 MPH. Have tried the relearn process 3x then when that has proven not to work (shudder starts to happen minutes after relearn). Took the vehicle in to the dealership for a diagnosis which cost $160. Diagnosed with a bad torque converter. Repair estimates $2450.46. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11327019, filed 2020-06, 113,000 miles
3. 3
   Air bags

   Airbags not deploying in a collision

   • 14 complaints (5%)
   • median 33,000 mi at 4.2 yrs old (12 state mileage)
   • 13 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2015–2024

   Several complaints describe frontal or rear impacts in which the airbags did not deploy, including a rear-end strike at a stop and a crash into a parked vehicle. Some accounts tie the impact to a reported loss of steering control beforehand. In these reports the vehicles were typically towed and sometimes declared a total loss, and complaints note that a dealer or the manufacturer had not yet inspected the vehicle. Reported across a wide mileage span, from roughly 50,000 to 66,000 miles in the sampled accounts, in collision conditions.

   What to check: Ask for the vehicle history report to see whether it has been in a reported collision and whether any airbag-related campaign applies. Have a technician confirm no airbag warning light is on and that the system has no stored fault codes.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “My mother was in an accident that cost her life. The black box on the car says that there was a malfunction in the power steering that caused the car to pull sharply to the left. This caused her to hit a concrete median at highway speeds where her airbag failed to deploy. Her spine broke in 4 places and suffered 7 broken ribs.”

   NHTSA complaint #11352352, filed 2020-08, 50,000 miles

   “The contact owned a 2015 Toyota Camry. The contact stated while her husband was driving 35 MPH, when he crashed into a parked truck. The air bags did not deploy. The driver did not sustained any injuries or seek medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was not drivable. The vehicle was towed to her residence. The insurance deemed the vehicle totaled. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired as of yet. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11397597, filed 2021-02, 50,000 miles

Buying note. Check the steering behavior carefully on a test drive and ask about any steering campaign or battery service history, since that is the most frequently reported concern here. Also drive at light throttle in the 25-50 mph range to feel for drivetrain shudder, and request maintenance records for the transmission.

Summary written with AI from a sample of 60 NHTSA complaints for this model year (picked at random, with complaints that state a mileage and recent ones taken first), then checked automatically against the source records. Where a problem shows a complaint count, every complaint for this model year was matched with fixed keyword rules (written with AI and tested against the sample), and the mileage, age and repair figures are calculated from those complaints; owners' figures are as stated, not verified. Other counts refer to the sample. The excerpts come from NHTSA's public complaint records and are unverified; capitalisation is normalised, NHTSA staff notes are removed, and shortened text ends with “…”. Something wrong? Request a correction.