NHTSA has received 165 owner complaints about the 2021 Toyota Camry, or 28.5 per year on the road — fewer complaints than typical (complaint index 0.71, where 1.00 is the average of all tracked vehicles). Among the 85 model-year 2021 vehicles we track, it ranks #51 of 85 by complaints per year (#1 = fewest). Against other Toyota models its rate is 17% lower; against other Midsize sedans it is 25% lower.
Counts are normalized by time on the road, not by sales volume: a popular model generates more reports than a rare one, and complaints are not verified individually. How we count
Complaints filed between 2021-07-11 and 2026-09-24. Median delay from incident to filing: 18 days.
165Complaints
28.5Complaints per year on the road
0.71Complaint index vs. all tracked vehicles
1Recalls
13.3%Share involving a crash or fire
32Last 12 months
Analysis
The previous model year (2020) drew 41.8 complaints per year, more than this one. The following model year (2022) drew 13.4 per year, fewer than this one. In its first two years on the road the 2021 model collected 30 complaints, 51% lower than the average vehicle of the same model year.
The most common problem area is Airbags & seat belts (50.9% of complaints), followed by Brakes (7.9%) and Unspecified or other (7.9%). Airbags & seat belts complaints are 13.4 times as common here as across all tracked vehicles. 22 reports (13.3%) describe a crash or fire; owners mention 16 injuries and 1 death.
Half of the reported incidents happened within 39 months of the model year's start; the busiest period was years three to five (51% of incidents). In the last 12 months 32 new complaints were filed, versus 49 in the 12 months before — down 35%.
NHTSA lists 1 safety recall for this model year. 1 NHTSA investigation covers this model year; the most recent is “Pedestrian alert sounds” (defect petition, opened 2023-01-27, closed 2023-08-07).
Complaint index
vs. all tracked vehicles0.71
vs. other Toyota models0.83
vs. other 2021 models0.74
vs. other Midsize sedans0.75
Complaints in first 2 years on the road · vs. same-year average (30)0.49
The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Camry. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40 MPH, a second vehicle T-boned the vehicle while driving approximately 60 MPH and crashed into the driver’s side of the vehicle.
I was 165 mph and someone hit me and threw me into a sign that had big huge poles on it all the ones in California do I went right through it got banged all around I have to say the car is a tank because it got me home but it never deployed airbags when I…
I took it to a repair shop for a transmission issue, the technician noted the transmission fluid degraded or burnt fluid or And it is causing the torque converter shudder and transmission rpm to slip
Transmission / powertrain · 2026-09-24 · ODI 11766822
Power loss, had to pull off road. multiple fault codes on this event. 2 broken plastic parts in intake duct, one stuck in throttle body butterfly. cleared plastic parts from intake to get home.
Engine · 2026-09-12 · ODI 11763848
Component failed: Falken tire size 235/40R19. The tire was manually over-inflated to a life-threatening 91 PSI by the service facility.
Wheels, tires & suspension · 2026-07-07 · ODI 11748945
Excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length. The ODI number is NHTSA's record identifier.
AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION Campaign 23V865000 · 2023-12-20
Summary: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Avalon, Avalon Hybrid, Corolla, Highlander, Highlander Hybrid, RAV4, RAV4 Hybrid, Lexus ES350, Lexus RX350, Lexus RX450H, 2021 Sienna Hybrid, Lexus ES250, 2020-2022 Camry, Camry Hybrid, and ES300H vehicles. A short circuit may develop in the Occupant Classification System (OCS) sensor, preventing the front passenger air bag from deploying.
Risk: An air bag that does not deploy during a crash increases the risk of injury.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the sensor as necessary, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed in February 2024. Some final remedy owner letters were mailed October 31, 2024. Letters will continue to be mailed in phases through January 2026. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is 23TB15/23TA15 Lexus 23LB03/23LA03.
DP22005 · defect petition · ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM · Opened 2023-01-27 · Closed 2023-08-07 · Campaign 22V063000 · Model years: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022
NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and ele…
