Affected Years: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 Toyota Camry. Our law firm is also investigating 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 Toyota Camry for the same issues.
These issues seem to arise from defects in the Transmission Assembly.
Most new car purchasers will have the opportunity to perform a test drive before buying a new vehicle. While you never get to drive it long enough to do more than form an opinion on the cabin visibility, and perhaps the handling, braking, and power, it is still worth doing. It will give you something to compare to the day you drive your vehicle off the lot for the 1st time. Vehicles make many unique sounds, and this is often the 1st time you hear something strange that makes you start to investigate.
After some time, you might notice the Toyota Camry behaving in some odd and interesting ways. You might detect some vibrations that you don’t think were there originally, or some changes in the handling that seem excessive for the mileage you have put on your pickup. You decide to swing by and test drive a new one just to compare them. Then you hear some odd sounds, and the next thing you do is make an appointment at your local Toyota dealership to have it evaluated. There are many different things on new vehicles that will need lubrication. There are many different things that wear down or break on today’s vehicles. The new vehicle warranty is one of the top reasons given by buyers in post-purchase surveys for purchasing a new vehicle. You don’t appreciate the importance of the warranty until you suddenly find your new Camry at the dealer’s repeatedly for failures of the same things, like transmission issues, rough shifts, or loud noises.
If you are having an issue with your Toyota Camry and have been to the dealership service department 3 or 4 times, you may start to wonder if you have a lemon on your hands. If you are worried, Guardian Lemon Law is ready to take your call. We will schedule a review of your case and see if your vehicle and its problems will actually qualify under California Lemon Law, and more importantly, for how long.
If it does qualify, it clears the way for us to sue Toyota for selling you a defective, lemon Toyota Camry and to provide you with an experienced Toyota Camry lemon law attorney to do so. We provide our clients with a Zero-Fee Guarantee when they hire us. More on that below.
Lemon Law In The State Of California
The Song-Beverly Act was signed into law in 1971, and its purpose was to provide consumer protection when dealing with manufacturers and their express warranties, ensuring that consumers had recourse if the manufacturer was unable to meet their warranty promises. It remains the foundation for California Lemon Law today.
The basics of qualifying under Lemon Law in California begin with a Guardian Lemon Law attorney performing an evaluation to determine the answer to the qualification question. There are 3 parts to this process. The 1st starts with verifying your vehicle qualifies under the law. The 2nd part focuses on examining the issue itself to verify that it meets the criteria for a Lemon Law claim. The 3rd part is to verify that you are within the time limits defined by the Lemon Law to file a claim or lawsuit. What comes next is to determine the desired remedy.
The options available to you are either a vehicle buyback, which is comparable to a refund of what you paid for the Toyota Camry, plus fees, or a vehicle replacement of equal value or the same make and model, if available. When you need a Toyota Camry automatic transmission issues lemon lawyer, Guardian Lemon Law is ready and able to take you on as a client.
What Are The Qualifiers Of A Vehicle Under California Lemon Law?
There are two parts to the qualification list. The first part is specific to the vehicle and the cause of the issue. The first three items listed below must all be met to qualify.
- Your vehicle must remain covered under the manufacturer’s new car warranty or a certified pre-owned warranty when the issue started and when all the repairs were attempted
- The issue being worked on cannot be caused or created by improper use or abuse of the vehicle prior to the first repair effort or during any follow-up efforts
- A reasonable number of attempts to repair your issue have been made, with reasonable being defined as at least two attempts for significant safety issues, and at least four attempts for any defect that is not safety-related
Under the Lemon Law in California, you must provide the manufacturer or their representative the opportunity to make the needed repair. If either of the two items below is met, what is called a presumption of the vehicle being a lemon may be created.
- Any efforts to repair the issue have totaled more than 30 days of out of service time on the vehicle, meaning it has been unavailable to you for use
- The issue being experienced is affecting the safe operation, the actual use, or the value of the vehicle to its owner
When you need a lemon lawyer to sue Toyota for automatic transmission issues, the last qualification is that the time limit set by the Statute of Limitations cannot be exceeded.
The Time Limit For Lemon Law Claims And Lawsuits In California
The Statute of Limitations in the State of California for filing a Lemon Law claim or lawsuit was updated on January 1, 2025. The two limits set under the law say within one year of the expiration of your vehicle’s factory warranty, or six years from the date you took delivery of your Toyota Camry. The date that applies to the time limit is the earlier of the two. The Guardian Lemon Law team can provide more information on this during your case evaluation, and make sure the Toyota Camry automatic transmission issues lemon law lawsuit gets filed in time to qualify under the Statute of Limitations.
The Symptoms And Causes Of The 2018-2021 Toyota Camry Transmission Issues
The Camry transmission feels as though it is rough shifting or slipping gears, indicating that you might experience a complete transmission failure, and during this time, you notice excessive vibration at different speeds. These are the common symptoms noted from the cabin.
The common symptoms are:
- There is a vibration and shaking, or a sensation of driving over a rumble strip, often happening during light acceleration or at speeds between 25 and 50 mph
- The transmission is shifting frequently, particularly on inclines or at highway speeds
- These issues are widespread enough that they are often discussed in 3rd Gen Camry forums and considered a characteristic of the 3.5L powertrain, which some dealers may call normal behavior
- The root causes vary, but have been found to be:
- The torque converter clutch (TCC) may be slipping, sometimes being exacerbated by degraded or contaminated transmission fluid. Camrys have been found to be underfilled from the factory, and this contributes to the issue at the very beginning
- The Camry transmission control unit is programmed to prioritize fuel economy, which has been known to cause excessive gear hunting to meet this programming
When you need a lawyer experienced in Toyota Camry automatic transmission issues and lemon law cases, we want you to know you can hire Guardian Lemon Law.
Guardian Lemon Law And Our Zero-Fee Guarantee
Let’s begin by stating that we will not charge a client up front before taking on their case. Your initial consultation is free, as is a 2nd opinion on a case you already have in progress with another firm.
There is no easy part to going through a Lemon Law issue with a vehicle you paid a lot of money for. It is not pleasant when you have to spend your own time and energy getting your Camry fixed. It is even less fun when it looks like you are going to have to file a claim and retain legal counsel. Here is where Guardian Lemon Law is ready and able to help you. Our Zero-Fee Guarantee says that if we don’t win your case, there will be no fees at all.
Please call Guardian Lemon Law when you start thinking about a Toyota Camry defective automatic transmission issues, lemon lawsuit, or claim. We are ready to take on a company like Toyota to ensure you receive a fair settlement for your lemon law claim or lawsuit.
