There are 13 owner-reported powertrain & transmission complaints for the 1996 Toyota Camryin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
CONSUMER'S VEHICLE RPMS WENT TO THE RED ZONE. CONSUMER PULLED OVER AND PARKED, AND DRIVER'S SIDE WINDOW WOULD NOT GO UP. AAA ARRIVED, AND VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER, WHO STATED THAT TRANSMISSION WAS DEFECTIVE IT WAS REPAIRED AT CONSUMER'S EXPENSE. CONSUMER FOUND SIMILAR COMPLAINTS ON THE WEBSITE.*AK THE VEHICLE SPUN IN A 360 DEGREE TURN ON THREE SEPARATE OCCASIONS BEFORE IT REACHED 24,000 MILES. CONSUMER CHANGED TIRES FROM THE TIRES TOYOTA PROVIDED TO A MICHELIN TIRE AND THE SPINNING STOPPED. ON JULY 12, 2004 THE TRANSMISSION WAS SLIPPING AND HAD TO GO IN FOR SERVICE. . IN 2002 THE REAR SEATBELT ON THE PASSENGER SIDE WAS STUCK. THE CONSUMER HAD IT REPAIRED AT HER EXPENSE. THE CUSTOMER WOULD LIKE TOYOTA TO REIMBURSE HER FOR THEIR SHARE OF THE EXPENSES OCCURRED DUE TO THIS PRE-MATURE DEFECT. * TC
1996TOYOTA CAMRY, 5-SPEED MANUAL TRANS,PROBLEM #1, THERE IS AN ODD GRINDING NOISE COMING FROM THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT, TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALER, SAID IT WAS TRANSAXLE BUT THAT THE PROBLEM COULDN'T BE PINPOINTED UNTIL THEY TOOK IT APART. TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A TRANMISSION PLACE FOR SECOND OPINION AND WAS TOLD THAT THERE WAS NO PROBLEM AT ALL. I HAD THE CLUTCH REPLACED AND THE NOISE WENT AWAY FOR A DAY OR TWO BUT CAME BACK. I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THIS NOISE COULD BE.
TRANSMISSION SLIPS WHEN APPLYING GEAR. ALSO, CONSUMER HAD TRANSMISSION FLUID CHECKED, AND PROBLEM IS STILL THERE. *AK THE FAILURE ALWAYS OCCURS AFTER HALF HOUR OF STOP AND GO IN TOWN DRIVING. *YH
BELIEVE MANUFACTURER MADE DEFECTIVE PARTS ENCLOSED IN WHEEL BEARING ASSEMBLY-LEFT REAR WHEEL MAKING NOISE FROM BEARING, BOTH ARE LEAKING GREASE-PREMATURE FAILURE. *AK
AFTER DEPRESSING RELEASE BUTTON FOR GEAR SHIFT, BRAKES FAIL.
THERE'S A NOISE IN THE TRANSMISSION ABOVE 63 MPH. *AK
AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION HAS HAD TO BE REPLACED TWICE BECAUSE IT FAILED. TRANSMISSION FAILS TO SHIFT AUTOMATICALLY SHIFT GEARS PROPERLY. ENGINE MOUNT BROKE AND HAD TO BE REPLACED.
TRANSMISSION BLEW, CAUSING TORQUE CONVERTER BURNT/CLUTCHES MELTED.
TRANSMISSION FLUID LEAK.
VEHICLE BUCKS WHILE DRIVING.
THE SHIFTING OF GEARS IS EXTREMELY EASY, WHILE DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY AT HIGH SPEEDS AN ACCIDENTAL MOVEMENT WOULD READILY CAUSE A CHANGE IN GEARS, (FROM DRIVE TO NEUTRAL). THIS CONDITION IS EXPLAINED AS BEING NORMAL FOR THIS VEHICLE.
WHILE DRIVING AT APPROX. 65-70MPH, WHEN REACHING ACROSS, CONSOLE SHIFT GEAR SLIGHTLY TOUCHED OR BUMPED AGAINST IT, WILL MOVE LEVER FROM DRIVE INTO NEUTRAL. *AK
SHIFT SOLENOID FAILED TWO TIMES.
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026