general problems of the 2002 Toyota Camry - part 1

Toyota dealer contacted me; said my car will cost $15000 to fix. He said people at Toyota who has my exact car costed $15000 to fix! it’s known in automotive circles this year make model & engine size has this factory defect of the rear head studs stripping out and becoming loose. This causes combustion failure of the head gasket and engine block. The cylinder heads will be warped & cracked. Engine won’t hold coolant! gauge jumps to h after brief attempt at combustion. Replacing the head g. Cylinder heads or engine block is insufficient due to the factory defect . Only a total engine replacement has worked for past owners at $15000 if Toyota dies it. A mechanic said if u can fine like a 2006 lower miles engine & get mechanic to instal maybe $2000, that’s $4000. Bridgetown automotive in my area said at the very minimum in a discounted price it will be $8000. He said only a totally rebuilt engine or a new one put in will work. I’m seeking Toyota to give me a new car that doesn’t have this issue. People posting at blogs said they spent the $2200 to disassemble their engines as the auto places told them it was definitely their head gaskets causing coolant. Once opened though, it was found their head gaskets were fine. The issue was , from factory, the head studs had stripped out and were loose. This, according to engine experts is total engine failure. Only replacing everything can fix this.

The components or systems that have failed are (catalytic converter, exhaust manifold, air bag control module, engine including head gasket) my safety is at risk due to catalytic converter not functioning properly producing harmful carbon monoxide that can be smelled through air vents, air bag control module not functioning which will not able to initiate the deployment of airbag in the event of a wreck/accident could lead to fatality. Engine not functioning properly due to blown head gasket which could lead to overheating amongst other things. Vehicle has been inspected by dealership. Yes there are warning lights prior to failure (check engine light).

I was sold an bad car.

I did the texas inspection test, and my vehicle failed the test, and the report with catalyst, evap, and O2 sens was not completed. I'm wondering what is the problem and how I can fix it. I would like to have my vehicle get checked out and find the problem.

The contact owned a 2002 Toyota Camry. The contact stated while driving at approximately 65 mph the steering had seized up and the vehicle had begun to lose forward momentum. The contact heard an abnormal "popping" sound at the moment the steering had stopped functionality. The contact stated she was not aware of any warning lights. The contact pulled off of the roadway and stopped, as she placed the vehicle in park (p) she noted smoke coming from the front end. The contact stated she exited the vehicle and saw that there were flames from under the vehicle. The contact stated that after about 2 to 3 minutes the entire front end of the vehicle was engulfed in flames. The fire department arrived on scene and extinguished the flames using foam and other chemicals. The police were also on scene and wrote a report. The vehicle was towed away to an impound lot. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 180,000.

Like many other 2002 Camrys, I have a stripped threads for the head bolts in the 2. 4l engine; this repair is expensive. Toyota issued a service bulletin describing the repair. Google 'Toyota bulletin t-sb-0015-11' to read more. Toyota should be made to replace this engine.

The car is experiencing sudden acceleration it is lunging forward. The last occurrence was around 20 minutes ago, it has happened to two family members so far, while driving no extra pressure on the gas the car suddenly accelerate.

I was coming out of my mechanic driveway and I let cars go by down a busy street> my foot was clearly on the brake and suddenly I heard a wining noise and my the accelerated on it's own and went across the road and hit a car in the middle of the street. I said to myself this car is causing me to have an accident. I had my mechanic check the brakes abs and transmission no problem with that.

Tl the contact owns a 2002 Toyota Camry. The contact stated while driving, smoke could be seen coming from the engine compartment. No warning lights was illuminated during the failure. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the failure as a failed valve cover. The vehicle was not repaired. The Toyota dealer was contacted for diagnosis or repairs. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and stated there was no recall for the failure and the contact would be responsible for the cost of the repair. The failure mileage was 160,000. Hk.

Tl the contact owns a 2002 Toyota Camry. The contact stated that a bolt fractured in the engine assembly and anti-freeze was leaking. An independent mechanic diagnosed that the engine bolt may need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The dealer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000.

Two separate episodes of rapid uncontrolled acceleration on 27jan2018 and 09feb2018 resulting in vehicle moving forward and engine running rapidly. First episode occurred while moving into my garage causing car to knock down three cases of water and hitting storage area; second episode occurred while pulling out of atm area the vehicle accelerated, had to swear left not to hit another car, hitting bank stop sign. Had to place car in neutral, brakes did not slow vehicle. Second episode witnessed by passage in front seat. After first episode drove care carefully locally and it did not reoccur, until approximately two weeks later when second episode occurred at atm site. When getting car home placed car in neutral before stopping, made appointment for dealership service department to check care on 12feb2018. Able to drive to dealership, slowly and using neutral gear prior to breaking. Dealership, after examining for approximately an hour said car was fine. Not happy with this result since there is something wrong to create such a frightening acceleration. At dealership called Toyota customer service to start review process of these events. In progress now. Toyota has said car was inspected (no road test) and car is safe to drive. I do not feel car is safe to drive. I am completing this complaint to make sure the issue is addressed. I am the only owner of this car since it was new and know there is something wrong that either is undiscovered or unrevealed. Thank you for reviewing this form.

The engine will begin to jerk and then it will not idle. I have to turn it off for at least 15 minutes before it will restart then it runs well for a month or so before it happens again. I have had it to the dealer who cleaned the throttle body. That did not help. The car has 151000 miles on it has presents this problem about every 3000 miles always when the engine is at operating temperature. When this happens on the interstate, it is very dangerous to try to move out of the way of other traffic.

Like many other 2002 Camrys, I have a stripped threads for the head bolts in the 2. 4l engine; this repair is expensive. Toyota issued a service bulletin describing the repair. Google 'Toyota bulletin t-sb-0015-11' to read more. Toyota should be made to replace this engine.

Sudden unintend acceleration at slow speed--on December 17, 2015, when pulling slowly into a garage and nearly stopped, the car suddenly surged forward raming the car into the garage interior wall. This resulted in "totaling the car" and damage to the garage and property in the garage. This is the second time that this sudden unintend acceleration occurred with this 2002 Camry . It also occurred on January 20, 2010 with a different driver (my wife) who had her foot on the brake when pulling into a parking spot. The car suddenly surged forward about three car lengths causing damage to the underside of the vehicle. We filed a complaint with NHTSA on January 30, 2010 (seenhtsa id number 10303355). For the 2010 incidence the car was towed to a Toyota dealer where repairs where made. When we picked up our car from the Toyota dealer, we noted that none of the repair items on the invoice mentioned accelerations problems. Several days later after complaining to the Toyota service manager, he agreed to perform a "courtesy inspection of accelerator pedal assembley for any possible binding sticking slow return or abnormal performance. " no problems were noted. The service manager said the vehicle was safe to drive. In both incidences the surges were quick, unintended, and at very slow speeds. The incidences involved two different drivers.

Husband was driving home from playing golf on the highway. As he headed north up the hill, he pressed the gas. The car promptly jerked then completely shut down/ceized. Husband immediately looked at the temperature gauge, which read normal, as well as the gas gauge (full). As he stepped from the car to pop the hood, he could smell smoke. In opening the hood, there was a small flame that within 1-2 minutes, completely engulfed the engine/hood. Husband immediately called the fire department, as the car continued to grow in flames which spread to a brush fire. Husband was not injured and there were no other persons involved in this accident (non-collision). Both the fire department and state trooper arrived to the scene and took a full report and inspection of the accident. All parties agreed this was the result of a vehicle malfunction, as cars do not nor should they just catch fire! the car was completely destroyed and was towed.

Tl- the contact owns a 2002 Toyota Camry. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40 mph, the engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the engine valve cover needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 180,000. Djr.

The contact owns a 2002 Toyota Camry. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 60 mph, the temperature gauge started to fluctuate as hot air blew into the vehicle without warning. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the head gasket needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 141,000.

Stripped head bolts.

Engine head bolts stripped causing antifreeze loss, head had to be resurfaced, new head gasket, and a special kit was need to re-thread the loose bolts repairs cost over $3000 . Which is better than a new engine but repairs aren't guaranteed because this is a factory defect with this particular engine. Had I known this I wouldn't have purchased this particular make of car.

Harsh/hard/delayed shifting between 2nd and 3rd or 2nd and 4th (overdrive) on 1mz-fe v6 engine due to faulty engine control module failing to regulate transmission solenoids properly. This issue occured on the ecm on rav4 (same year, 2002) and resulted in settlement in which Toyota agreed to repair all.

Cylinder head bolt stripped off from engine block thread and damaged the engine.

Vehicle was stopped and putting in drive, car excelerated and crashed through garage door and brick frame on 4/19/13 at approximately 11:50am for unknown reason.

The contact owns a 2002 Toyota Camry. The contact stated that the check engine warning lamp was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the head bolts were stripped. As a result, the engine had to be either replaced or rebuilt. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was not included in any recalls. The vehicle was repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure and current mileage was 137,000.

Defective valve cover gasket refer to Chrysler valve cover recall.

2002 Toyota Camry. Consumer writes to request a full investigation against a local dealer for fraudulent and deceptive business practices related to their vehicle not starting.

My 2002 Camry had no issues until at about 211,000 miles when antifreeze started to leak from back of engine. After mechanic inspected, he said water had gotten into head gasket. When he tried to remove bolts we noticed three back bolts were loose already and thread was stripped. After having head gasket cleaned and "repaired" this repair guy said there wasn't anything wrong with head itself. All he did was inspect, clean, and sand it. He did say it is a common problem he encounters with Toyota's. The only repair he says will work is to have engine block removed and he will rethread all the holes with different material to make sure it doesn't happen again. None of this is a sure fix because it could still fail, the only sure way is to buy a new engine, but if Toyota makes defective head gaskets, this will happen again. I have always swore by Toyota cars, that is all I have ever owned but I will never buy a vehicle from them again.

The contact owns a 2002 Toyota Camry. The contact was driving 70 mph when a burning smell emitted inside the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic where the mechanic confirmed that the head gasket needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 100,000.

Blown head gasket on 2002 Toyota Camry le. Apparently this is a manufacturer defect as evidenced by all the blogs on the internet. Something should be done to compensate the consumer for this defect.

After waiting in line at a fast food outlet for about five minutes, my Toyota Camry's engine suddenly accelerated to very high rpms. Only my quick reaction to apply the brakes as hard as I could kept us from hitting the car ahead. The passenger reacted by pulling the emergency brake. Shutting off the ignition stopped the engine. It restarted normally and seemed to be fine.

The car accelerates at a high rate with little pressure on gas. It seems to happen at random times when the car is warm. I could be stopped at a red light then have it happen when the light turns and I step on the gas. It also has happened when accelerating while still moving taking a corner while slowing then stepping on the gas once I have straightened out.

Car was filled with gas on return trip and while in traffic suddenly began to decelerate with no warning. The car was pulled over and stopped. Samaritans stopped to support stranded car and when they tried to turn the car on , it would not turn over. When checked by a individual who identified himself as a mechanic, he said, he didn't understand the problem. It was clear that there was oil in the car and it was clean. Insurance company and towing service support called and $400. 00 plus dollars later the car was returned to local dealer. After conversation with dealer representative , we were informed that our obvious negligence around regular maintenance and oil changes were the cause of the oil sludge that caused the damage to our car to the tune of $4,600. Several conversations later, allowing cooler heads to prevail, we were able to gain some support from the local dealer however we were still responsible for the cost of the second hand engine because Toyota refused to cover the cost of the problem. Because we live in a small community and have been doing business with this group for years, we were able to get the part of the car that contributed to the problem. The mechanic in question reported that he had never seen anything quite like this before and he ha been working for many years at the same location. Additionally, we have access to the paperwork from our local mechanic who has routinely done the oil checks since we've had the car. Even after phone calls and letter requesting that Toyota "do the right thing" even though our situation was a few months shy of the "07 settlement, they refused to take any responsibility.

I was rear-ended on the highway while driving my 2002 Toyota Camry. When I tried to slow down and move into the breakdown lane, the car accelerated. I ended up going down an embankment hitting several trees. The car was eventually spun around and crashed rear end into a tree. The car was totaled. My passenger and I experienced concussion syndrome along with muscle spasms in the neck, back, and ankle. We were taken by ambulance to the new britain general hospital where we were treated and released . We are both receiving follow-up medical care.

2002 Toyota Camry has foul odor coming from hvac vents. Dealer has removed fan enclosure in engine and cleaned out and added disinfectant. Odor remains a problem.

I was losing coolant in my system so I took it to my mechanic. He told me that the head bolts on my engine had become stripped and that I would need a new engine put in. I paid for that repair and now two years later I am having the same symptoms. I went on the internet and found that I am not alone with this problem. It seems that stripped threads are very common in 2002-2008 Camrys. It is clearly a design defect. I cannot believe that a class action suit is not being arranged.

Vehicle started smoking (white smoke) I took vehicle to dealer he advised that the prior year vehicles had a defect of the motor sludging up but my model had been redesigned and that it was due to me not changing the oil filter my husband owns a repair shop and had done the oil changes and replaced the filters the vehicle was still under 50,000 but dealer would not take care of problem.