Transmission Shifter Cable Broken?

My 1999 Camry with the L4 and auto trans had stopped shifting. The inside shifter still moved, but the car will not move into any other gear. I had backed out of a parking area and then tried to shift into drive when the car simply wouldn't come out of gear. I pushed the car back into the space and set the e-brake. I jacked up the car and found that the shifter cable has severely rusted and broken.
After having the car moved to my local Toyota dealership, the technician said it was somewhat common for that year Camry to have a rusted off shifter cable. He also said it will cost around $435 to have a replacement cable installed.
If, in fact that it is somewhat a common problem, wouldn't it be a recall or other safety related issue with Toyota? Has anyone had any similar experience?
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

Can't say that I'm having the same problem, but the gear shifter on my '98 Camry has started binding when trying to shift out of park...hard to get into drive at times. Just curious, were you experiencing this prior to the cable breaking? Thanks for any info....TH

Can't say that I'm having the same problem, but the gear shifter on my '98 Camry has started binding when trying to shift out of park...hard to get into drive at times. Just curious, were you experiencing this prior to the cable breaking? Thanks for any info....TH

Our cable broke an hour ago. Yes ... it started to bind first exactly as you described. I am calling around now for some quotes.

Our 2001 with Auto Trans is now shifting without engaging as well. Was working well with some slight binding that got resolved with double-clicking the stick button and then it would easily engage. Now after parking it - it slides loosely but does not engage into any gear and remains only in park. Anyway to confirm that it is indeed the shifter cable (i.e is it visible from underneath?) ... before I get towed to dealer I'd like to be a little prepared for the possible techy spiel!?

I just had the same problem. My gear selector was shifting freely without engaging. The deal wants $225 for a new shifter cable. It's a horrible quality. The connector from the cable to the bracket is made of plastic and broke. I'm trying to get one from the junkyard for $40 and hopefully that won't break anytime soon. This should be a recall item!