Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (doors, hood, frame, rust, paint and trim).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 1998 Toyota Camry owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
1998 Toyota Camry (139K miles) rear driver side tie rod break while driving. Purchased two rear tires and car alignment mid October. Two weeks later while driving on a city road, felt a problem with wheels, pulled off road, called tow truck. Tie rod had broken into two equal sized pieces. Tie rod was very rusted and corroded and missing the sleeve that covers over both ends. Part was either defective from the beginning or somehow lost the sleeve. It was impossible to align the car. However the tire place charged me for an alignment when I bought the tires. More annoying was the fact that they never informed me the tie rod was damaged/rusted and liable to break. I had no indication the tie rod was defective and have since learned that a break like that is rare. Fortunately I was driving slowly and no damage to the car or injury. …
Tl* - the contact states that in December of 2001 3 out of her 4 door handles failed. The only one that didn't fail was the passenger side door handle, since it was rarely used. Then on December 11 of 2006 the passenger rear door handle failed. The contact is concern because on 12/06/06 the front passenger door handle that she got repaired in December of 2001 failed, as well as the rear left handle door seems to be on the verge of breaking. The contact also states that once the door handle fails there isn't a way to get out the vehicle and that is definitely a safety concern for her. The contact can provide pictures, the failed door handle and or, invoices if needed.
Dt: the consumer complained about a problem with driver's side door handle. Upon pulling open the door handle it broke off. The vehicle has not been taken to an auto shop for repair. The handle was made of poor quality plastic that was very fragile. This was the first and only incident with the door handle. No repairs or corrections have been made.
The paint on the hood of my car is peeling off. It first began to bubble and then peel. The areas are very large and it looks terrible. I believe it has to be a defect in the paint job because the rest of the paint is fint.
Dear sir or madam, I have 1998 Camry le and the front suspension makes clunking and banging noise when I drive over any uneven surface or small hole, but noise gets much worse when I drive over bumps or humps. I hope you will take action to my complaint and thank you advance for taking care for us as a consumer safety.
Apparently some part or parts have failed within the door handle assembly, resulting in the inability to open doors. Often this failure results in not being able to open a door from either the inside or the outside of the vehicle. Simultaneous failures could result in being trapped inside the car.
Either the frame is out of line or something is wrong with the front end alignment parts as the front end cannot be aligned according to specs. They replaced bolts in the front end for alignment & this did not correct the problem of front end shimmy and tire wear.
Electric door locks fail at random. If you enter the car, close the door, and lock the car using the electric door lock on the drivers side, you cannot unlock the car doors unless the key is in the ignition and turned to the "on" position. This is clearly
When someone gets out of the passenger or driver side front or back of vehicle and locks the door behind them, if anyone is left inside vehicle, he could not get out from the inside, door locks, they would need keys or the transmitter.
Battery was replaced by Toyota (no cost to me ) because it was defective. But the following problem still exists since day one: electric shock when touching door on the way out after turning engine off. When turning engine off.
Body complaints in other Camry years
Frequently asked questions
How common are body problems on the 1998 Toyota Camry?
NHTSA has 35 complaints about the body & structure of the 1998 Toyota Camry, 6% of the model year's 600 complaints. The component named most often is body › door (20 mentions).
Is there a recall for 1998 Toyota Camry body problems?
No. NHTSA lists no body & structure recall for the 1998 Toyota Camry, though it has 2 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 1998 Toyota Camry body problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 100,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 0 fires and 1 injury to body & structure 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.