Two problems related to brake sensor have been reported for the 2002 Toyota Camry. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2002 Toyota Camry based on all problems reported for the 2002 Camry.
2002 Camry xle v6. . . At 138,000 miles while waiting at a traffic signal during rush hour the engine stalls and after 4 attempts finally restarts. The car continued to not idle the rest of my trip home - stalling every time I slowed down to stop or turn a corner. . . Very unsafe. . . Didn't trust the car to make it to mechanic. Car was towed, mechanic could find nothing wrong. It happened again 3 more times within a week. Same scenario, towed to mechanic, found nothing wrong because the check engine light does not come on and therefore the computer does not register any issues. Mechanic cleaned all sensors, idle valve, dealership and independent mechanic find nothing wrong. Car was fine until July 4, weekend and did the same thing twice again. Mechanic finds nothing because it so random. Same situation in November while turning car stalled because it would not idle, lost power steering and brakes and almost hit another car while turning. 3 mechanics and no one can find anything wrong. Have also experienced the issues mentioned with brakes and rotors which have been replaced 3 times.
I have a 2002 Camry that I bought new at smithtown Toyota and I experienced the very same problem with my brakes from day one that has now been identified on the prius & Lexus models. I had the brakes checked quite a few times by smithtown Toyota & again by riverhead Toyota when I moved to the area in August 2003 & was told that there was nothing wrong with the brakes. Since I was the one driving the car, I thought the explanation was a bit cavalier since my brakes continued to fail on uneven surfaces. I wrote to the dealership & Toyota headquarters numerous times but was ignored (I have copies of my correspondence). After all these years, I have become adept at handling the car when the brakes fail but I have had some very close calls when the car keeps moving into intersections after trying to stop. Apparently, Toyota has misdiagnosed my problem for years. I paid $700 in 2007 to have new brake sensors installed but they did not fix my problem. I have been very lucky to not have had a serious accident in the last 6+ years! the brakes are still grabbing and locking on rough surfaces yet Toyota has continued to deny that there is a problem & that it is more widespread than being acknowledged.