Radiator problems of the 2002 Toyota Camry

03/16/2021 - 2002 Toyota Camry 2. 4l my regular auto shop revealed that the engine's head bolts are stripped and is a common issue amongst this Camry year. It's going to cost $2,200 to repair albeit new radiator, and thermostat. Coolant was found in the engine block. Stripped head bolts. Mechanic says he's seen many Camry's with this issue especially the 2002-2003. The kbb value is less than that. Thinking it makes sense to sell as salvage than repair. So disappointed! long-time Toyota fan but if this is a common issue indicative of a manufacture defect then what's the hold up for a recall.

I bought my 2002 Camry new. I maintained it properly every step of the way. At 107k miles a gurgling sound began in the engine and rough idling, and the temperature went straight to h, took immediately to my experienced auto mechanic, he put in a new radiator. Within days the gurgling and rough idling began again. Once again I took it to my mechanic. After thoroughly checking the engine (he even called in another top mechanic for a second opinion) and then told me the bad news. 2002-06 Toyota Camry's have a flaw in the bolt design that causes the cylinder head to separate from the engine block resulting in the coolant leaking to the engine. When I bought the car the salesman said Camry's run for 300k miles, well he neglected to tell me that after only 107k miles because of this flaw in the engine you will have a blown head gasket and stripped head bolts so the seal is not tight -- so you need to replace the engine!!!! after looking online, I see this is far from an isolated case!!! Toyota is well aware of this engine flaw. They need to pay for these very expensive engine replacements!!!! my mechanic said Toyota used steel head bolts in an aluminum engine. Very bad! steel and aluminum expand and contract at different rates, which causes the problem!.

The engine light came on and I took it to find out why, and was told it was the catalytic converter, so I had it repaired, the light was off. I was driving on the 70 highway in st louis, mo when going around a circular off ramp the car turned off and it would not turn back on. I lift the hood but could not tell what was wrong. Mo dot (highway tow service) pushed me off of the road, and the driver said it was the engine. I called aaa and had them take it to a repair station, but it was closed. I left it there till morning and went back the next morning to check on it. It started and I let it run a few minutes till someone could look at it. I drove it to the bay and the tech ran a computer check on it ( see printout). He said take it back to the other place but it stopped on the lot. The worker lifted the hood, and it was spewing from the radiator! he said turn it off, and after looking said the problem was with the radiator, the head gasket and the engine! it would not start back up, and I was told it would cost $4,500 to repair it!!! I had it towed to another repair place and was told the same!!! before this, I had no problems, no lights had come on and no indicators of any problems!! I checked Toyota's site and found that this is a common problem with the engines and head gaskets!!! this should be repaired!!!! contact me!!! I am not in a position to purchase then repair this car that has unreported problems that you are aware of. !!!!!!! I am 63 years old with bad back issues, my Toyota sitting in my driveway, and I am stuck at home, not even close to a bus stop!!!!!!!.

After taking my car to a local mechanic because of overheating, a coolant leak, and misfiring, I brought my Camry to a certified Toyota dealership. I explained to the Toyota representative of the fore mentioned issues. After conducting an inspection, the Toyota rep. Told me I had a bad coil in cylinder #2, and found pressure leaking into #2 and #3 cylinders. After a further tear down of the engine, it was discovered that the engine had loose head bolts in these cylinders, and that the threads on the engine for these bolts was stripped. They told me that there is no fix to this problem and quoted me a new engine with 90,000 miles with an estimate cost between $5000-$6000. Furthermore, I was told replacing the coil at $227, would fix the misfiring. However this did not fix the misfiring problem, as the misfire was due because of the loose head bolts which was explained to me by the dealership as well. This conflicting information led me to believe it was safe to drive the vehicle as long as coolant was plentiful in the radiator and over flow reservoir. However, the overheating, leaking of coolant and misfiring continues. The misfiring creates dangerous random stalls.

Began noticing gurgling/water sloshing noises at approximately 100k miles. Approximately one month later, car overheated. Noticed coolant was low, so had coolant refilled. Checked out by mechanic next day and was told that a stop-leak would fix problem. Completed this procedure at personal cost. Three days later, car overheated again. Took to different mechanic, and was advised to replace radiator. Replaced radiator at personal cost. Few days later, car overheated again. Took to four different mechanics and noticed coolant leaks. Was advised by all four mechanics that it was blown head gasket, that this was a common problem with this make/model, that replacing the engine would be safest solution. One mechanic also said that simply replacing head gasket might not work because the bolt threading in this particular model was known to be defective. Cannot afford $4000 to replace engine, especially if this same problem can possibly recur. Currently refilling coolant every other day.

The contact owns a 2002 Toyota Camry. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 mph the temperature gauge increased rapidly into the red zone. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who stated that the radiator was leaking and the thermostat was defective. The vehicle was repaired. Smoke also emitted from the engine two hours after the vehicle was repaired. The vehicle was taken to both an independent mechanic and dealer for inspection. The dealer detected that the engine cylinder head bolts were striped and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 180,000. The VIN was unavailable.

Three head bolts in the engine have stripped and pulled out of the engine block. The largest consequence of this is a head gasket failure; this also caused coolant loss and overheating, which in turn ruined my radiator. When my mechanic opened up the engine to replace the head gaskets, these faulty bolts were loose and he was able to pull them out by hand without needing wrenches/tools. The total cost of the fix, which included drilling out and retapping the bolt holes, repairing/resurfacing heads, installing new head gaskets and installing a new radiator exceeded $3500; the only other option was buying a new/reconditioned engine for $7000+. Toyota refuses to admit that this line of cars has defective head bolts. My 2002 Camry xle had about 98,000 miles on it at the time, which is not a lot by Toyota standards. While searching internet forums, I have found many many other people with Toyota vehicles (especially Camrys from 2002 to 2005) that have had the same exact bolts fail on their engines, leading to blown head gaskets.

3/21/2008 car stopped running while on expressway. Towed 50 miles into dealership alamo Toyota, san antonio, TX =not where purchased 100 miles from residence. Told engine mounting bolts sheered off into the engine block which caused crack. Engine had to be replaced. Dealer found salvage engine with 37000 miles on it. Owner did not receive proof of the mileage. Dealer kept used engine $4,000. 00+. Included used longblock, oil, oil filter coolant rear main seal, fipc, radiator cleaning. Owner rented at own expense rental vehicle. Told car was repaired. Picked car up drove off lot, turned around and went back into dealership. Car was misfiring. Had to leave car again. Additional $235. 00 to replace 4 coils April 11,2008. On may 2 2008, a/c stopped cooling. Took car into champion Toyota, austin texas. $613. 00 for ac condenser, condenser assy, relay, warranty. Ac condenser leaking, probably damaged during radiator cleaning at alamo Toyota.

Terrible smell from heat/air vents,kids have asthma and can't stand the smell, Toyota dealer just sprayed vents and poured freshner in outside vent, problem kept coming back and pollen filter kept plugging, nothing done to correct it, now in 2005 my water pump went bad. I know that the smell is some kind of mildew or mold from something not being fixed, which could lead to severe health conditions!.