THE SEDAN WITH THE MOST SAFETY AWARDS FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS

The era of the sedan may be long gone, with SUVs being America's favorite mode of transportation for longer than most of us can remember, but the Toyota Camry remains a hot seller, holding firm in the top ten for 2024, with the Honda Civic and the Toyota Corolla not far behind. The Camry is not only the most popular car in the US, it's also one of the safest vehicles available today, holding more safety awards than any other sedan for the last five years.

The Camry nameplate has been around since the Carter administration, first launching as a four-door variant of the Celica, and seeing many redesigned generations appear over the years that have kept the car relevant, popular, and ahead of the curve when it comes to safety. Here's why the Camry is the most awarded sedan on the market right now.

Data for this overview sourced from safety organizations including the IIHS and the NHTSA was used to determine the most awarded sedans available in the US market for 2025.

The Toyota Camry Has Won The IIHS' Top Honors For Eleven Years Running

The Toyota Camry has scored a Top Safety Pick+ every single year, not just since 2021, but since 2015, upholding Toyota's general reputation for safety. Prior to that, the car won a Top Safety Pick every year from 2012 to 2014. To list the Camry's most significant safety and safety-related awards for just the last five years:

  • Insurance Institute For Highway Safety, Top Safety Pick+: 2021-2025
  • Automotive Fleet, Fleet Car Of The Year: 2024
  • US News and World Report, Best Midsize Car for Families: 2024
  • US News & World Report, Best New Car for Teens: 2024
  • US News & World Report, Best Hybrid car for the Money: 2024
  • US News & World Report, Best Midsize Hybrid Car for Families: 2024
  • Green Car Journal Award, Environmentally Positive Choice: 2025
  • Kelley Blue Book, Best Midsize Car for Resale Value: 2021

In addition to all this, the 2025 Toyota Camry won our own Car of the Year award for 2024, so you can add CarBuzz to the chorus of praise the Camry has received. The Camry has scored a number of awards that are not directly relevant to safety, including the Free Press Car of the Year award for 2024, which is mostly focused on design, but that's a discussion for another overview.

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How Did The 2025 Toyota Camry Keep Its Top Safety Pick+ Award?

The IIHS tested a 2025 Toyota Camry SE for this model year. That is to say, these scores are not a holdover from a previous model year, but the result of a fresh series of crash tests on the latest model.

Small Overlap Front

Good

Moderate Overlap Front: Updated Test

Good

Side: Updated Test

Good

Headlights

Acceptable

Crash Prevention

Good

Seat Belt Reminder

Good

Child Safety Anchors

Good

The Camry produced an almost-perfect crash-test report card, from top to bottom, with just two exceptions:

  • An Acceptable score for passenger restraints and dummy kinematics in the small overlap front test.
  • An Acceptable score for rear passenger restraints and dummy kinematics in the updated moderate overlap front test.

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As for the less-than-perfect headlights score, the issue comes down to inadequate visibility on left curves in some tests. The Camry's front crash-prevention tests were almost perfect, only failing to avoid collision in a single low-beam nighttime test, where it did manage reduce its speed from 37 mph to 3 mph before the moment of impact.

Repairs And Recalls In The Toyota Camry

Unsurprisingly, the NHTSA is in agreement with the IIHS when it comes to the Camry's crashworthiness, with their latest rating being for the 2024 model.

Overall Safety Rating

5/5 Stars

Front Impact Rating

5/5 Stars

Side Impact Rating

5/5 Stars

Rollover Rating

5/5 Stars

The 2025 Toyota Camry has yet to generate any recalls, but it has produced 13 complaints with the NHTSA, including:

  • One driver reports that "there is no way to turn off the (advanced driver assistance) features," and that a lane departure malfunction had their wheel jerking them towards the off-ramp while trying to drive straight.
  • Another driver reports the car engaging its automatic emergency braking system at highway speeds, despite having a totally clear path ahead.
  • A driver reports the airbags failing to deploy despite having been struck in a T-bone accident.

The 2024 Camry's sole recall was for an insufficient weld on the rear seat frame, affecting 4,212 units.

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What Does It Cost To Maintain A Toyota Camry?

Our primary focus here is on safety, but a safe car is a well-maintained car, so what does it cost to make sure your Camry is well-maintained? We went to RepairPal for annual estimates, and CarEdge for ten-year estimates on average maintenance costs.

Annual Maintenance Estimate

$388

Ten-Year Maintenance Estimate

$4,455

The most expensive common repairs, according to RepairPal, include the following:

  • Catalytic converter replacement $1,601 - $1,836
  • Fuel evaporative canister replacement $649 - $704
  • Airbag clockspring replacement $538 - $557

According to CarComplaints, you really can't go wrong with any used Camry from the last five years. You'll have to go all the way back to 2009 to find a really troubled model (excessive oil consumption was a pretty common issue for the 2009 Camry).

What If You Don't Want To Drive A Camry?

The Toyota Camry is the most-awarded sedan on the market today, but it's not the only sedan with a stellar reputation. The Camry's closest competitor for the last few decades, the Honda Accord, is an excellent choice, and so is the smaller Mazda 3 Sedan and the larger Genesis G80.

Honda Accord

NHTSA Overall Rating

5/5 Stars

Annual Maintenance Estimate

$400

Ten-Year Maintenance Estimate

$5,643

The Camry's closest competitor, the Honda Accord, is on a five-year Top Safety Pick+ award streak with the IIHS. The Accord's ratings for the 2025 model year are nearly perfect, but it only scored an Acceptable in front crash prevention, failing to slow in two nighttime tests.

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Mazda 3

NHTSA Overall Rating

5/5 Stars

Annual Maintenance Estimate

$433

Ten-Year Maintenance Estimate

$5,649

Representing the compact segment, the Mazda 3 sedan has earned a Top Safety Pick+ for four of the last five years, and a Top Safety Pick award for 2023. The 2025 Mazda 3 sedan holds a perfect IIHS scorecard, but only if you go with the 2.5 Turbo Premium Plus trim, which earned a Good rating for its headlights, while the other trims earned an Acceptable, owing to poor visibility on some curves.

Genesis G80

NHTSA Overall Rating

5/5 Stars

Annual Maintenance Estimate

$706

Ten-Year Maintenance Estimate

$7,066

If you're after a full-size sedan, the Genesis G80 is on a nine-year Top Safety Pick+ streak. The G80 earned a Marginal rating for seatbelt reminders, and an Acceptable for the updated moderate overlap front and child safety anchors. The car's excellent front crash prevention, avoiding impact in almost every test, made up the difference.

Sources: IIHS, RepairPal, NHTSA, CarEdge, CarComplaints.

2025-01-15T03:59:07Z