The 1990 Toyota Camry has 2 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 562,659 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 160 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the latches/locks/linkages. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
SEATS16V3960002016-06-027,749 affected
Defect
Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain 2005-2011 4Runner, Highlander, Sequoia, and Sienna, 2005-2010 Avalon and Tundra, 2006-2008 Camry Solara, 2006-2010 Highlander hybrid, 2006-2011 Rav4 and Tacoma, 2007-2010 FJ Cruiser, 2007-2011 Camry hybrid, 2009-2010 Venza, 2010-2012 Prius, 1988-1990 and…
Consequence
If damaged, the copper strand heating element may short circuit, increasing the risk of a fire.
Remedy
SET will notify owners, and dealers will disconnect the seat heaters, free of charge, and refund the purchase price of the seat heater accessory. The recall began on July 14, 2016. Owners may contact SET customer service at 1-866-405-4226. SET number for this recall is SET16B.
THE ELECTRONIC CONTROL UNIT (ECU) FOR THE POWER DOOR LOCK SYSTEM CAN FAIL, CAUSING THE CONTACTS TO "WELD", AND RESULTING IN DOOR LOCK SOLENOID DAMAGE, WITH FAILURE OF THE DOOR TO LOCK OR UNLOCK, EVEN UNDER MANUAL OPERATION.
Consequence
IF THE DOOR FAILS TO OPEN AFTER ECU FAILURE, VEHICLEOCCUPANTS WOULD HAVE INCREASED DIFFICULTY EXITING THE VEHICLE IN AN EMERGENCY.
Remedy
INSTALL AN ADDITIONAL SUBCIRCUIT RELAY CONTROL TO PREVENT MALFUNCTION OF ORIGINAL RELAYS IN THE ECU.
Complaints by component
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH
20
1injuries
SEAT BELTS
16
1crashes2injuries
STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR
16
1fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
8
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:ACCELERATOR PEDAL
8
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
7
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY
7
1fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION
5
VISIBILITY:POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS
5
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE
4
Total complaints160
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“My husband was a passenger in this car when a dump truck smashed into the drivers side door, the impact caused the passenger side door to open which unlocked the seat belt which allowed my husband to be ejected from the car. He suffered broken back, crushed tibia, broken ribs....all because the…”
“Tire tread failure separated. Bought tires used nov/dec 2009. Tire=general ameri g4s I have pictures. *tr”
“1990 toyota camry. Consumer states automatic door lock failure. *tgw the consumer stated the automatic door locks completely failed and she was unable to unlock any of the doors manually or with the key. This occurred during freezing temperatures, so at first she thought the locks were frozen. She…”
“Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6) while driving, my dad's car suddenly accelerated. He said that he had to drive with both feet on the accelerator. Later, he took the car to the dealership to have them look at it. The dealership said they…”
“My report is essentially identical to case #10153732 except we live in the midwest near chicago. We replaced the brake lines for the rear and now, several months later the front lines need to be replaced because of the same problem. *tr”
“Toyota camry - situation where the rear brake lines (covered and cannot be seen) have corroded through. My camry recently had one of the lines fail (both brake lines and 3 fuel lines have severe corrosion under the shield) and I'm lucky I was able to stop without hitting anything or anybody. This…”
“Dt*: the contact stated intermittently the front driver side door lock fails to unlock. There is a nhtsa recall, # 92v135000, regarding the door locks. The vehicle has the same problems as indicated in the recall; however it is not included in the recall due to the vin. The rear windows failed to…”
“While driving slowly out of parking the vehicle acclerated at full speed and crashed into telephone pole. The driver did not cause this”
Defect investigations
InvestigationEA90028 Opened 1990-05-29 · closed 1992-02-28
PASSIVE SAFETY BELT FAILS
===
InvestigationEA91027 Opened 1991-06-06 · closed 1992-05-29
ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRES
There is no summary currently available
InvestigationEA92013 Opened 1992-05-08 · closed 1993-05-12
STUCK POWER DOOR LOCKS
There is no summary currently available
InvestigationEA93032 Opened 1993-12-27 · closed 1994-11-30
ALLEGED BATTERY EXPLOSIONS
There is no summary currently available
InvestigationEA97008 Opened 1997-04-23 · closed 1998-04-22
LEAKING FUEL TANK
CRACKS IN THE SOLDER JOINT OF THE FUEL FILL OR INLET PIPE IN THE FUEL TANK ALLOWS LIQUID FUEL TO LEAK FROM THE TANK
InvestigationPE90027 Opened 1989-12-15 · closed 1990-05-29
PASSIVE SAFETY BELT WARNIN
===
InvestigationPE91042 Opened 1991-02-07 · closed 1991-06-06
ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRES
There is no summary currently available
InvestigationPE93074 Opened 1993-08-27 · closed 1993-12-27
ALLEGED BATTERY FAILURES
There is no summary currently available
InvestigationPE97003 Opened 1997-01-21 · closed 1997-04-23
LEAKING FUEL TANK
CRACKS IN THE SOLDER JOINT OF THE FUEL FILL OR INLET PIPE IN THE FUEL TANK ALLOWS LIQUID FUEL TO LEAK FROM THE TANK.
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1990 Toyota Camry as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.