Three problems related to gas recirculation valve (egr valve) 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.
Bad threads on engine block. Engine leaking coolant. Mechanic determined head gasket bad. Toyota certified mechanic tore apart engine and on reassembly found the threads on the lower engine block were stripped and this was the cause of the head gasket failure. New engine/rebuild required at $5200. Failure caused by faulty threads/engine block at manufacturing end. Simply driving vehicle causes threads to disintegrate and catastrophic engine failure.
Radiator/oil cooler copper nipple disintegrated causing loss of oil. Part that failed is original part of vehicle. The nut holding the nipple rusted and crumbled causing the oil cooler hose to separate from the oil cooler. Car has never had front end or any other damage.
There is a strong sulfur/rotten egg smell emitted by the vehicle whether I drive for along time or not. Service folks over phone indicated that it was just a "new car" syndrome and would go away shortly. 11,000 miles later it has not gone away. I live in atlanta where we have low sulfur content fuel and it should not be the cause of the problem. On short trips, the entire outside around the car stinks like a sewer when I stop. At traffic lights, the smell is really bad. I can not use the fresh air circulation because of the smell. Seems like the pcv system may not be working right, but there are no mils on indicating a problem. If there is a circulation problem which includes the exhaust system there could be a significant CO issue that we wouldn't be aware of until it is too late. Please help get to the bottom of this.