Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (power windows, windshield, wipers, mirrors, sunroof).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2008 Toyota Camry Hybrid owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The dashboard pad has deteriorated within the last two years. It is gooey. When I have brought the vehicle in for service at the local dealership and mentioned it, it was not addressed. I called Toyota headquarters twice and they said that there was a notification but it has expired. So, they will not honor a request to replace the pad. I never received the notifications they allege they sent. The pad is really dangerous since it reflects off the windshield and is blinding when driving on the highway or city streets. The part itself costs over $1,000; I do not know what labor and tax costs are. I am the original owner of this car and have maintained it through tofficial oyota service.
This vehicle was subject to a customer satisfaction program because driver-side sun visors would stop staying up and drop down without warning. We had our highlander visor replaced under this late 2012 program. It was an extreme safety hazard. Now the Camry which is our cream puff has the problem and Toyota said the csp has expired. They treated it as a cosmetic annoyance but it's a huge safety issue for drivers 6' tall or more. This happens in many situations but is most dangerous on the highway. Note there are 70 others griping about this on facebook. Www.facebook.com/Toyota/posts/[VIN]
I was driving on I-94 highway, tried to open my passenger side front window using my driver side door window switch. The switch did not work. About 30 seconds later my car filled with smoke and I saw the smoke coming out of the driver side door panel. I pulled over and after a couple minutes the smoke stopped. The window switch for the passenger side window does not work now.
I had several incidents for my Camry Hybrid in the past years which are related to safety 1) on 11/28/10, while driving in rainy situation on local street at low speed, the driver side wiper stopped working causing bad visibility. I pull over to street side and rain stopped after a while. I drove the car to a nearby Toyota dealer. Diagnosis is "wiper arm slipped splines" 2) on 4/16/10, while driving on street at low speed (30 MPH) heavy smoke came out of driver side window switch. After I pulled over and turned off the engine, the smoke stopped. Car was towed to a nearby Toyota dealer and diagnostic was switch locked on "on" position. I believe this is one of the Toyota "recall" case. 3) about 11/2013, while driving on freeway the tire air pressure light went on. I drove back to Toyota dealer and was told it was because of cold weather. No fix was performed. …
2008 Toyota Camry Hybrid, 58,000 miles. Faulty driver's side sun visor. Entered vehicle in the morning, noticed that sun visor was hanging down approximately 2 inches from ceiling "closed position". Drove to work with no noticeable change. Approximately nine hours later, reentered vehicle and saw that sunvisor was now hanging straight down. Attempted to push visor to closed position to no avail. Attempted to position sunvisor so that it was not blocking my vision but because it was hanging without any noticeable friction retention (flapping loosely), I ended up having to hold it out of the way with one hand while driving with the other. Upon returning home, I utilized a piece of twine to hold it out of my sight-line. I contacted Toyota this morning and was told that they had not received enough complaints to warrant any action. …
My car was parked outdoors in the rain. The inside of the car windows were dripping with moisture. When I decided to go to for a drive, I reached behind my seat to the rear floor for my paper towel roll and cloth towels to wipe off the windows and they were soaked with water. I took the car to the dealer ship to fix the problem. The four sunroof drains had no hose clamps on them the right rear hose had come loose causing a flood in my rear seat area. I had to have all carpets replaced and hose clamps added to prevent any further damage. It cost $2467.57 to repair the damage because Toyota did not require hose clamps on the 4 drain hoses from the sunroof. I asked Toyota if they were going to notify other Toyota owners of the potential problem and they indicated an answer of, no! I think they should be forced to let other Toyota owners of the potential problem. …
I recently purchased a 2008 Toyota Camry Hybrid and found that the sun visor was rotated downward and would not go back to its original position. I contacted the Toyota dealership in irvine, ca and was told that the sun visor assembly and sun visor bracket have an extended warranty on certain 2007-2011 models and that my model was on the list. However, when I came to pick up the car I was told that it was not covered because the car VIN shows that the car was made in Japan and that the extended warranty is only applicable to cars from the united states. The sun visor not rotating back to its right position is a safety hazard as I cannot fully see ahead while driving and do not have a clear view. If there is already a recall on this specific part for these specific cars and the product is made by Toyota it should be covered no matter where the car was made. …
There is a growing trend on the internet of 2008/2009 camrys with faulty sun visors. They fail without warning, and block the driver's ability to see. This happens on both frequently used, and infrequently used visors. Our passenger side visor failed first, just outside the bumper to bumper warranty. This visor was hardly ever used as my wife drives the car, and rarely has front seat passengers. Extended warranty refused to cover it (it's considered trim). 6 months later, the driver's side failed. Now, my passenger side visor has failed again (March 2012). Both original replacements were new, from the dealer. The parts guy at one of the local dealerships told me they see quite a few camrys with broken or missing visors. See this link for other people with this issue. This is only one example of many websites were people complain about the failures. …
The sun visor on both sides have failed. The metal bracket inside the visor that provides friction to hold the visor up when not needed is held in place inside a glued plastic framework. The framework eventually suffers from fatigue and separates, causing the visor to drop down and block the driver's vision. Once it fails it will not stay up and is constantly causing a visual distraction for the driver. The same problem has been happening on several of the Toyota models for the last ten years. It has happened onmy car twice, once at 43,000 miles and again at 57,000 miles.
My drivers side sun visor broke about six months ago. I went to the Toyota dealer and they told me it was not under warranty and I would have to purchase it. It was about $160 to get the part and installed. I bought it on ebay for under $100 and installed it myself. It wasn't difficult and took under 5 minutes to do. Now, the passenger side broke in the same spot the other visor did. How can this happen? I had my last car for 10 years and the visors never broke and my husband has a Toyota from 2007 and it hasn't broken. This is defective equipment.
Related recalls
Visibility › Power window devices and controls
Toyota is recalling certain model year 2007-2009 Camry, Camry Hybrid, RAV4, Corolla, Corolla Matrix, Tundra, Sequoia, Highlander, Highlander Hybrid, Yaris, Scion xB, Scion xD and Pontiac Vibe vehicles.
Remedy: Toyota will notify its owners, and dealers will inspect the switch and apply a special grease that inhibits heat build up or replace any switch damaged by the defect, free of charge.
Window & Wiper complaints in other Camry Hybrid years
Frequently asked questions
How common are window & wiper problems on the 2008 Toyota Camry Hybrid?
NHTSA has 29 complaints about the windows, wipers & sunroof of the 2008 Toyota Camry Hybrid, 18% of the model year's 162 complaints. The component named most often is power window devices and controls (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2008 Toyota Camry Hybrid window & wiper problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 12V-491 (power window devices and controls, Oct 10, 2012). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2008 Toyota Camry Hybrid window & wiper problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 55,000 miles, and 12% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 0 crashes, 1 fire and 0 injuries to windows, wipers & sunroof problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.