Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (power steering, steering column, rack and pinion).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2003 Toyota Camry owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
On December 7,2017, I was in a parking lot in florida. As I started going into a parking space, the car began to surge. I had a loss of steering and braking.I almost hit the car next to me. Luckily that did not happen. I kept pressing down on the brake, but it took time for the steeering wheel to respond to me. I shut off the car because it seemed like the car had a mind of its own. I had 2 witnesses in the car.who saw that my car was in drive, and that my foot was on the brake pedal. The passenger checked the floor mat, and it was lying completely flat. I do not know why I had this loss of control. This also happened to me in 2010, when I had unintended acceleration,and my car hit a tree. I am now afraid to drive my car, and willl not do so because I feel it is unsafe.
Driving on rural highway the car heats up the coolant from the reservoir overflows. In the engine compartment affecting steering and your ability to drive because of the vapor fron the burning coolant. Repair man says head gasket is gone....this is the third time now to replace the head gasket .because the head bolts and threads all stripped due to bad engineering or improper torque by toyotas engineering department ....I been rwading about this problem and found out that this is a very common probkem with these cars from 2003-2006 ... I feel that if it was something simple to fix then Toyota would address the problem but since its seens like a new engine is the only fix for this problem so they are hush hush ...because it would be a costly recall for Toyota .
Takata inflators: every time I fix my vehicle individuals cause hate crimes damaging my vehicle as I go to sleep or when I am not viewing my vehicle they must know exactly when I go to sleep because I cant catch them even though I think I know who it is I can not prove it so this is why I am complaining I remember checking my tires in the night noticing nothing wrong with them then checked in the mourning and noticed nails nailed in the tires then I noticed dried turtle wax all over the body of the car messing up the paint wheel alignment out of line right door power window malfunction trunk open power switch broken power sun roof sliding window broken vehicle was stationary this happened on different date in combination to the damage between 06/16/06 to 04/21/17.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 Toyota Camry. The contact stated that when making a left or right turn, there was an abnormal noise emitting from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the lower steering shaft needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred. In addition, the contact stated that when the brake pedal was depressed, the vehicle hesitated to respond. The contact also mentioned that after switching into the park position, the vehicle independently switched in the reverse position without warning. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 33,705.
The steering on my 2003 Camry shakes during high speed. At times, there is a whistling noise coming from the driver front side. I thought it was related to low air pressure or unbalanced tires, but that's not the issues. Secondly, the paint on my car is peeling off, mostly the clear coating layer. I can not verify if there is a recall on this issue or not. Someone had informed me there was a recall. I am unable to locate any documented information.
The 2003 camray Toyota has a defective part at 51,000 have had to problems with steering but the dealer tells me it is defective has this been a complaint by other owners at this millage? I is been replaced at my cost today 14 May 2015 because this would be a safety issue. I have owned other cars and at that mileage there has never been this type of problem. Is this a defect. This car was purchased new.
When I turned the steering wheel left, the wheel turned sharply right instead and I lost control of the wheel. I could not turn it back. The car crossed from the left side of the freeway to past the right side (about 4 lanes), hit a railing, and flipped over.
This car pulls left and tracks poorly under most driving conditions. It is especially bad in crosswinds and on wet roadways. It was originally established by the dealership that low caster angle was to blame. The dealer was able to loosen and jiggle the engine cradle to get the caster on the minimum specification for caster, but this has done nothing to correct the poor handling. After 4 visits and much unnecessary delay, the dealership and Toyota now claim there is nothing wrong with the car. This defect represents a significant safety issue with lane driftage, and limits the use of the car. I am deeply disappointed with the dealership's and Toyota's position. I selected Toyota for their apparent good reputation for integrity and service, but my experience has shown otherwise. …
Since the car was new it has had strange sounds in the steering column. The local Toyota dealer dismissed it as normal sounds related to the weather [it is cold out or it is hot outside]. The sound progressively became worse. I had the power steering fluid changed and was told by the repair shop that it had the wrong fluid. The fluid was the product the car was delivered with. I am the original owner of the vehicle. After changing the fluid and having a wheel alignment done- the sounds (loud squeaking) persisted. I took the car recently to a different Toyota dealership and they "greased" the steering column which eliminated the squeaking, but now clunking can be heard from the steering column. The mechanic at the Toyota dealership cautioned me to "keep my eye on this" because it sounds like the steering column is bad. …
I bought my Toyota Camry 2003 le brand new from koons Toyota dealership in tysons corner, virginia back in 2003. Few months after the purchase I noticed car always pulling to the left. I went back to dealer but they claim it was just road pulling and that it was normal. I accepted that as an answer from certified Toyota dealer and went on with my life. This was my second car so I was not driving it much at the time but I had replaced tires twice and had done alignment several times in less then two years. I started driving this car more around the time my warranty expired and then realized that this problem requires me to replace my tires after each major trip...we are talking about several thousand miles. I kept on doing alignment and even tried different type of tires, different dealers, etc. …
Steering complaints in other Camry years
Frequently asked questions
How common are steering problems on the 2003 Toyota Camry?
NHTSA has 53 complaints about the steering of the 2003 Toyota Camry, 7% of the model year's 782 complaints. The component named most often is column (9 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2003 Toyota Camry steering problems?
No. NHTSA lists no steering recall for the 2003 Toyota Camry, though it has 1 recall 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 2003 Toyota Camry steering problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 37,000 miles, and 36% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 4 crashes, 0 fires and 1 injury to steering 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.