Automatic Transmission problems of the 2002 Toyota Camry

We have a 2002 Toyota Camry with a 2. 4 liter engine with a 38, 900 miles in the odometer. And on March 4, 2010 my wife came home from a the grocery store asked me to check the car because of the check engine light iis on. I drove the car for a test drive around our neighborhood for five minutes with the speed of 10 miles to 15 miles an hour. Before I came to the stop sign, the engine start racing, rpm is up the red line, I could hear the engine roar. I step on the brake hard, shift the gear hard into park and turn off the ignition. I was so lucky, I was driving in the right place and the right time with no traffic and kids playing on the street. If my wife would be driving at that moment especially she is an elderly like me, it could be big accident. It's a terrifying experience. I suggest that 2002 Camry should be included in the recall. Before somebody gets hurt. That same day I called Toyota dealership for service appointment.

My 2002 Toyota Camry accelerated suddenly as I was turning into a parking lot causing me to hit a parked car. . The car that was hit was totaled & my car had 3400. 00 worth of damage. At the time of the incident in sept. 2009 I did not know that Toyota's were having a problem. Now in light of the recent recalls I believe my car has an acceleration problem.

Twice on start-up I had the engine race, sounding like a jet revving up. Last time was as I parked in the garage after using the car it revved up sounding again like a jet starting up. I thought someone or some thing had come up behind me in driveway. Dates were approximately oct. 2008 and Nov. 2009. Car has under 45,000 actual miles on it.

My 2002 Toyota Camry got stuck in reverse and accelerated causing a 5 car accident in a parking lot.

At low speeds, when the gears switches it makes the noise. Have taken to dealer several times and still no proper fix. Been this way form at least two years.

Last year my dad's Toyota was going into reverse on the 710 freeway (eastbound to paramount, CA, to work) without touching the gear shift. This really frightened us. He took my car in to have them thoroughly inspect this problem. They told him nothing was wrong that they could see. He tried to drive it again and it was just a short time that my dad's Toyota was going into reverse on the 710 freeway (eastbound to paramount, CA, to work)without touching the gear shift. Again, I was told there was nothing wrong with my car!! frightened at the thoughts of this happening again and serious threat to my dad's life, he traded in his 2002 Camry and bought a 2009 corolla last year - to save his life!! this is an absolutely inappropriate response to my dad's problem. He loved the Camry compared to the corolla and would never, ever have sold his car if he weren't in fear of his life on los angeles freeways. We watched the testifying of a lady in front of the committee in washington, d. C. , saying she couldn't stop her car for 500 ft. This could have happened to our dad and only by circumstance, it didn't. However, he had to buy a new car which should have been totally unnecessary. He is on ss and medicare and this was a horrifying and very appalling experience and expense that should have not been in his life.

2002 Toyota Camry. Car will not accelerate in temperatures 40 degrees or less. I have spoke with the dealer who says that they have numerous complaints about this issue. I offered to send articles from consumer magazines and they state that they already have been sent info. From at least 10 times different customers.

2nd time in a year that my 2002 Toyota Camry accelerated and jumped the curb. This time the car his another vehicle. Fortunately no one was injured.

Contact states the speedometer fluctuated while driving and the rpm gauge fluctuated on its own. The first three times this happened the car slowed down . Consumer felt the shift change while she was driving. This last time the speedometer gauge went up to 60 mph while she stopped in traffic, and when she accelerated the speedometer shot up to 80 mph. She took vehicle to a dealership 4 times, and they told her that nothing was wrong. She tried to contact the manufacturer, but has not been able to reach them. This happened since June 2004. They changed the transmission, and the speed sensor in June -2004 after the first 3 times this happened. Currently, they told her nothing was wrong with the car.

(1) I have a 2002 Toyota Camry se v6 with 30500 miles. The morning of July 26, 2004, while slowing down to less than 5 mph to drive head-first into a parking spot at work, the car surged forward and impacted squarely the concrete wall in front. After the car had come to a rest as a result of the impact with the wall, I looked down and saw that my right foot was still pressing on the brake pedal. When I attempted to put the transmission into 'park', I noticed that it was already in the 'neutral' position. I was fairly certain that I did not accidentally step onto the gas pedal causing the surge, since to do so would require me to reposition my foot from the brake pedal with the concrete wall coming up to me. (2) the impact caused damage across the front end of the vehicle. No broken lights; the hood was very slightly raised. I estimate the car surged 3 to 4 feet before impacting the wall at maybe 10 mph. (3) I had taken the car to the Toyota dealership for inspection. The technician and shop foreman kept it for a day, test drove it but could not duplicate the problem. They also found no codes with the scan tool inspection. They suggested that I report the problem to the Toyota customer assistance center.

My Toyota Camry 2002 se v6 everyday is making a loud squealing sound when I turn the wheel and a clunking sound when I shift into drive from park. Now the main problem is when I'm driving my car it accelerates and then it just goes into "neutral" at whatever speed I'm going at and then kicks back with a punch (that jerks my head back) into gear. It does it evry day since I had the car. I talked to Toyota and of course, they blame me. I baby my car . Change the oil every 2000 miles and nothing but mobil gas. I'm scared to take my car in because I don't want the dealer saying I owe a billion dollars to get it fix and use some excuse to avoid the warranty. I have talked to a couple of the repair guys at Toyota and they know about this problem and even have told me almost every 1st generation Toyota(like mine) have this problem. And that Toyota refuses to do a recall. Please help. I;m taking my car in because I'm about to approach the warranty limit. I din't get the extended warranty. I mean jezz it's a Camry , who needs a warranty . I didn't have one for my old Camry 1993.

I am attorney for a victim in a coma and in intensive care. Her vehicle was struck by a Toyota Camry 2002 driven by a 68 year old lady. Camry vehicle was parked, and then crashed into a storefront after going forward. Backed into traffic 40 feet away, struck vehicles, and went forward again killing pedestrian as well. Case under investigation. Recent accident. Previous reports of sudden acceleration. All Camrys should be recalled before more loss of life. Possible power train/automatic transmission problems. Updated 03/05/10.

While switching from park to drive consumer touched the gas pedal and vehicle suddenly accelerated on its own, consumer pressed brakes pedal to stop, but vehicle did not stop until hitting a wall. Mechanic tested vehicle and found that gear selector on transmission moved by itself from drive to neutral.

(in reference to your open investigation pe04021) I have a 2002 Toyota Camry, recently I took the car to the dealership (15,000 miles), my complaint was that the car has sudden and short surges of exceleration while at a full stop. I have been able to avoid accident or injury to others by keeping my foot completely and firmly depressed on the brake petal. This situation has happened in both drive and reverse. The dealer was unable to address this problem because they could not re-create the condition. Dealer stated that they had no procedure to diagnose this problem and that if it continued they would have to contract Toyota headquarters for advise. I requested that this be documented on the cars history. After hearing of the NHTSA investigation, I contacted Toyota customer relations to open a case to get this problem resolve. The dealership customer ralations manager (colleen) is to contact me by the end of the week.

While pulling into a parking space and while in slow traffic the car has surged forward. Also when you are sitting at a light you can feel it surge forward.

2002 Toyota Camry 2. 4l, automatic sudden engine racing, once at 17,000 mls. And again at 18,030. The first time ,my foot was on the brake ,I shifted out of park into d , when I let off the brake ,the engine raced past 5000 rpms. The car jumped forward ,but because my foot was still over the brake pedal I only had to pushed hard as possible on the brake. The engine raced on ,the car was straining to collide with the car parked in front of me. I slammed the shifter into park. The car stopped moving but the engine went to redline, I turned the car off. I checked which pedal my foot was on and it was still pressed firmly on the brakes. I turned the car back on,the car behaved normally. I think when shifting out of park the drive-by-wire computer is malfuntioning. Recall them before someone dies and or gets hurt. I think Toyota knows about the problem and how to fix it. I pity the person who rents a Camry an is unaware of the defect and doesn't have there foot ready on the brake and prepared to shut of the ignition safely.

I was in "reverse" and backed into a concrete pole in my office parking garage. I applied the brakes to stop the vehicle. The car jumped into "drive," and rapidly accelerated, and would not respond to my efforts to brake. I then hit a concrete pole head on, which totaled my vehicle. On a prior occasion that happened in February 2003, the consumer was driving for several minutes with the cruise control set to 60-65 mph. Without input, the vehicle speed increased rapidly to 80-85 mph. The consumer cancelled the cruise by applying the brakes, then turned off the cruise master switch.

I saw an article today on. . Read more...

The transmission was not working properly. The vehicle would shift harshly into drive when the engine was cold but when warmed up the vehicle drove smoothly. The steering wheel hummed when turned while driving 45 mph. It was later determined that a bushing for the steering shaft needed to be lubricated. The upper and lower belt molding around the driver's door came off. A faulty charcoal canister caused the check engine light to illuminate.

On four occasions when the gear shift was in drive vehicle surged forward. On one occasion vehicle was put in drive and it surged forward and collided with another vehicle. Dealer examined vehicle, but could not find the cause of the problem.

When traveling at a speed of about 50 mph when you let off on the accelerator, the car downshifts or hesitates with a noticible clunk. This happens intermittently. The dealer couldn't duplicate the problem so nothing has been done.

We have a brand new 2002 Camry xle. When the vehicle is cold it "jumps" into drive when shifting from reverse. When the vehicle has warmed up there is usually no problem.

When driving my Camry at a maintained speed the transmission appears to abruptly downshift and then upshift causing the car to bounce forward and then backwards. This problem usually occurs while driving down hills but will sometimes happen on level roads. The car will somtimes do this up to 6 times before going back to driving like normal. This problem happens with the car in either over-drive or drive. Toyota corporate and the dealership where the car was purchased are unwilling to do anything further to alleviate this problem because they feel it is a "normal characteristic" of the vehicle.

Unreliable throttle response from stopped or slightly rolling. . Sometimes responds smartly, most of the time hesitates and/or responds then hesitates. Sometimes letting you linger for a second or two partially across two lanes(infrequent) but you never know when this thing is going to do it to you!. Events are continuous. Dealer says nothing wrong. Of course they also said my driver power seat does not move or slip. Found the sb on that, will provide them a copy next time in for sservice.

I bought a 2002 Toyota solora in may of 2002. I have had 3 new transmissions in the car. It needs another. I will be filing lemon law on my car.

In Jan. 2002 I bought a 2002 v6 Toyota Camry with auto transmission. I noted that on level surfaces at a constant speed of +/- 50 mph it would shift randomly between 3rd and 4th. On slick road surfaces there was a momentary loss of control. I reported to my Toyota dealer who for months denied the problem. Then Toyota announced a reprogramming of the computer. I got this, but it made no improvement. I reported to Toyota USA, and to NHTSA, but there was no action.

Vehicle pulsating between 38 to 40 mph when applying gear, vehicle makes a loud clunknig noise. Dealership is aware of problem.

Vehicle goes into overdrive when driving at a steady speed, causing vehicle to lag, going too slowly in the appropriate gear causes the vehicle to sustain a foward and backward rocking motion, consumer was informed that the vehicles early lock up into overdrive is a characteristic, the dealership advised consumer to remove the vehicle from overdrive at that speed and then put the vehicle back into overdrive when speed increases, therefore putting it into 3rd gear increases the engine noise, increases the rpms and reduces the vehicles fuel economy, however the owners manual states always drive the vehicle with overdrive on for better fuel economy.

I also have another issue with my new Camry that has been happening. While decending down a hill ( between 40 and 45) and when I apply the brakes the car will down shift very (can even hear/feel a cluck) hard. This has been happening quite often and is not normal.

I have just purchased a 2002 Camry le v6 automatic (with overdrive). I have 450 miles on the vehicle at this time. I am not very happy with the way the car shifts when left in overdrive. I travel 25 miles one way on back roads at which I can maintain speeds between 40 and 55. Moving along between these speeds I feel the car intermittently holding back and letting go (I can see the rpm's drop by 500 rpm and then go back up again when this happens). This is very annoying to me. This does this quite often on my commute to and from work. The owners manual says to leave the car in overdrive and I only need to take it out when climbing hills at lower speeds and when hauling a trailer. I feel that this should not be doing this in the manner I am driving the car. I have a 1999 Toyota corolla with overdrive which I leave in overdrive all the time and do not notice this type of problem.

Consumer complained about a steering column problem. Also, vehicle had a tough time engaging into gear. Dealership said that they could not duplicate customer's concern.

When the vehicle was stopped at a traffic light on an incline the vehicle would roll backwards after the brake pedal was released and before the gas pedal was pressed. The consumer reported this problem to the dealer who stated that others reported similar concerns. The dealer also indicated that this problem was caused by a lack of lock on the transmission.