Manifold/header/muffler/tail Pipe problems of the 2003 Toyota Camry

This is to report a failure on engine model #2az-fe (effects 2002-2007 Camrys, highlanders and rav4) due to stripped cylinder head bolts on the back side of the engine. There is at least one technical service bulletin issued by Toyota tsb2740 that relates to this recognized problem of steel cylinder head bolts stripping out of the aluminum engine, especially on the firewall or backside of the engine possibly due to a foam insulation piece to protect a plastic manifold part from heat. It is suggested that the foam piece allows a heat build up on the engine side. The costs to repair this problem was $2,131. And includes machining the warped head, new head gasket and bolts and a long thread insert set. I am very disappointed to learn that Toyota knew years ago of this design problem and issued a TSB; but did not recall for a solution before this led to metal failure and engine overheating. Many of these engines will fail after the warranty period of 60k has expired. If you have any suggestions as to remedies with Toyota corp for this failure, I would appreciate knowing about it. I am glad to report this as I see that many, many engine failures have been caused by this basically unaddressed design problem. Thank you.

Vibrations in the intake manifold - vehicle became sluggish and noisy due to intake manifold issue -it is broken and has to be replaced.

My wife had taken her 2003 Toyota Camry in for regular service in January, 2012 and told the dealer that she had been hearing unusual noises from the engine for some time. After inspecting the vehicle the service person said that Toyota had issued a bulletin to the dealers regarding replacement of the intake manifold dated April 15, 2008. It is curious that the bulletin stated that "this repair is covered under the Toyota federal emission warranty. This is in effect for 36 months or 36,000 mile, whichever occurs first-". The bulletin is dated April 15, 2008 and is to cover vehicles of the 2002-2004 model year Camry. This makes no sense as supposedly covering vehicles built 2002-2004 and issue a bulletin in 2008 and then say there is a 36 month warranty from the date the vehicle was put in service. We were never advised of this bulletin until 2012 and repairs were done at the cost of $ 765. 52 on March 27, 2012. We sent a letter of complaint to Toyota in torrance, California on February 28, 2014 with no response.

The contact owns a 2003 Toyota Camry. The contact stated that the vehicle rattled and vibrated as it accelerated. The contact’ss mechanic inspected the vehicle and stated that the intake manifold was failing. The contact also stated that the vehicle stalled and the check engine light illuminated. The failure mileage was 64,767 and the current mileage was 65,025.

Intake manifold noise. Documented problem. No recall available.

I have a 2003 Toyota Camry 4cyl car with 52,000 miles, that has a coolant leak from the back of the engine next to the intake manifold. . Read more...

According to Toyota's technical service bulletin t-sb-0034-08 (April 15, 2008), the intake manifold in 2002 ? 2004 Camry equipped with 2az engine may produce a loud rattle noise from the engine area, most noticeable at idle or on light acceleration. The intake manifold has been updated / modified to solve this issues on the newer vehicles. A faulty intake manifold will affect engine performance and affect emissions. Toyota USA should recall all the affected vehicles with this faulty intake manifold, but they only cover the repair to the vehicles which are under warranty. This faulty intake manifold needs to be replaced. Please investigate this serious issue.

The contact owns a 2003 Toyota Camry. The contact stated that the engine began to exhibit an abnormal gurgling from behind the dashboard. The vehicle was taken to an ase certified mechanic where the contact was informed that the head gasket bolts failed. The failure damaged the engine and manifold and the contact had to eventually replace the engine. The failure mileage was 107,914 updated 5/24/11 updated 06/06/11.

The contact owns a 2003 Toyota Camry. While the vehicle was being driven at low speeds the contact heard a vibrating noise. The vehicle was taken to a local garage and diagnostic testing located the failure at the intake manifold. The garage replaced the intake manifold. The manufacturer was contacted and they advised the contact if he wanted them to assist with the repair, he must have the dealership diagnose the failure. The failure mileage was 43,000 and the current mileage was 44,050. Updated 12/03/10.

The contact owns a 2003 Toyota Camry. The contact stated that the vehicle would exhibit loud, abnormal noises when first started. The contact took the vehicle to be inspected and was told that there was a crack in the upper intake manifold and it would need to be replaced. The VIN was unavailable. The failure mileage was 40,000 and the current mileage was 50,000.

My Camry has a blow gasket. I found out because my mechanic did the exam he pressurized the cooling system and put the car up on the lift. He immediately noticed coolant leaking from underneath the plastic intake manifold in the rear of the engine. He also noticed a large piece of foam rubber between the intake manifold and the engine block and head. This was blocking our view of the leak. We could only see that the leak was behind the foam piece. The only option to discover the source of this leak was to remove the plastic intake manifold, which I did. After this was removed, it became obvious that coolant had been leaking a minor amount for quite some time due to build up between the cylinder head and block. The only option left is to remove the head, which requires an extensive disassembly (r and r cylinder head). After loosening the bolts in sequence, he noticed the head bolts in the back of the engine were loose. From his experience in the field, he can confidently conclude that this only means one of two things: the bolts were left loose at the factory, or the bolts are stripped. ( he commonly has seen stripped bolts in the aluminum Cadillac north star block discovered through leaking coolant. )next, he removed the head and sure enough, one bolt came out with aluminum in the thread. . . Thus indicating a stripped bolt. The placement of the (insulation) foam rubber piece between the intake manifold and the engine block created an uneven dispersion of heat, creating "metal fatigue" in the aluminum block allowing the headbolt to strip. If Toyota had out an aluminum manifold instead of plastic, there would have been no need to insulate (w/ foam piece), thus eliminating the problem. The only solution to this problem is to unfortunately replace the engine. The cost to repair it otherwise would be substantial. This is an engine defect and we will be seeing more of this.

Toyota Camry 2003 4 cylinder. Rattling noise from the intake manifold. My mechanic said that this noise occurs due to plastic material of which the intake manifold was made of. My mechanic has seen this problem with other 2003 Toyota Camry and is very common.

The contact owns a 2003 Toyota Camry. Whenever the contact started the vehicle she noticed a rattling sound in the engine. The vehicle was taken to the dealership where the contact was informed that the intake manifold needed to be replaced. The vehicle was serviced for the failure. The current and failure mileages were 85000.

2003 Toyota Camry xle 4 cyl. With less than 100k overheated. Took vehicle to independent mechanic who advised me of a coolant leak at the intake manifold and to take the vehicle to the dealer. Dealer has vehicle, reports it is not the intake manifold that is leaking but 3 rear steel bolts that go into aluminum are stripped. Toyota is "unwilling to participate" in the repair with an estimate of $6900. 00 which includes purchasing a new block. This same issue is all over the Toyota forums, usually this issue appears as a probable blown head gasket. This is not the case in my vehicle. Toyota is aware of this defect but is doing nothing to stand behind their products. This is not an uncommon occurrence and as more vehicles attain approximately the same mileage, more reports are being made of this fault. This type of repair should not be the responsibility of the consumer when the manufacturer is aware of the defect. This most certainly should prompt a recall. Perhaps a class action lawsuit is in order.

2003 Camry, 4 cylinder, 2. 4l engine, xle model. Fluttering noise under light acceleration from the engine area. Dealer determined that the intake manifold needed to be replaced at a cost of $760. 00. Engine had 86,000 miles. Very disappointed with this failure which should have never happened with a car of this supposed quality. I rate this car a 2 out of 5.

My Toyota Camry 2003 became noisy a few weeks ago. Yesterday, I sent the car to Toyota dealer. The dealer told me that intake manifold should to be replaced. I spend ~$600 to replaced the manifold. Now the noise is gone. After I search internet, same problems have happened in lots of Toyota Camry 2003. Thus, I have to believe that this intake manifold problem is a deficiency from manufacture. Toyota should recall this problem.

The intake manifold of my 2003 Toyota Camry is faulty from the time the car was built. Toyota is saying that they won't cover as its not in warranty. How can a part that was faulty from the date it was installed not be covered. It is clearly a factory issue in their own admission. How can they not be responsible for fixing?.

The intake manifold was making alot of noise. Apparently Toyota was aware of the problem because they replace it for free on low mileage vehicles (within the 3 yr, 36k mile factory warranty) or on higher mileage cars up to 70k miles. My vehicle has 114k miles so it was not covered. I will be issuing a complaint with Toyota as well.

There is clattering noise in the intake manifold. The noise started about 6 months ago and has gotten continually worse. I took the car to a local dealership and was told they had no idea what the noise was. The manufacturer claims it is not a defective part.

Vehicle started making a loud rattling/vibrating noise that started around 57,000 miles. It sounded like there was no oil in the car, though oil change had been done less than 1,000 miles prior to noticing this. Sound got worse and worse over the next week or so and was usually loudest when the car was first started up in the morning or after it had been sitting all day. Heard mostly when it was idling in park and when you first started driving. Once you got going, the sound wasn't so bad. Took it back to the oil change place and they said it sounded like a lifter problem. . Read more...

I am the owner of 2003 Toyota Camry . And I would like to file a complain due to the engine defects in my vehicle . In April 2008 , I discovered the engine coolant was leaking and it was so severe that I had to take to the mechanic shop for inspection and repair. The mechanic did the pressure test cooling system test and found coolant leak coming from cylinder had by the intake manifold . The mechanic removed valve cover and found 2 head bolts loose . My vehicle was only 56000 miles at that time. I was told by the mechanic it was not safe to drive because the car could overheat any minutes. So the engine needed to be replaced . It costs me $2700 to replace the engine . So I report the incident to the Toyota manufacture /dealers in torrance . They respond to me that they were not responsible for this problem. I requested new motor vehicle board from California to help me to resolve the matter . The Toyota still insisted that they were not responsible for it .

Have a 2003 Toyota Camry, the intake manifold is broken. Toyota won't help even though it seems to be an occasional problem with the Camry.

Getting a large chatter or rattle from the plastic intake manifold, which after reviewing internet info appears to be a common problem that warrants a defective issue. This has been occurring for almost a year.

Began to hear rattling noise shortly before taking car to dealer for 90,000 mile servicing. Advised by dealer that intake manifold was broken and needed to be replaced at a cost of $600. Had manifold replaced under extended warranty.

The dealership states that the manifold has a problem causing a very lour rattling and needs to be replaced. . Read more...

Engine noise caused by intake manifold crack as diagnosed by a Toyota service dealer.

Toyota dealer advises replacement of intake manifold on 2003 Camry 4-cylinder due to loud rattling noise. Technical service bulletin addresses this issue. Many similar complaints noted.

03 Camry manifold at 45k took car to dealer with complaint of knocking/vibration coming from engine. Dealer replaced water pump under warranty and recommended tensioner be replaced, out of warranty item, to fully correct noise. Noise persisted and I learned to deal with it since it wasn't harming the engine. Progressively got more annoying and at 58k took back to dealer. Sservice rep listened to it for 2 minutes and said it was the intake manifold which would cost $591 for parts and labor. I decided not to leave car and have work done again since it was not harming the engine and more of a nuisance than anything. At 60,500k I e-mailed Toyota and asked about the emissions warranty coverage and was told the intake manifold was covered up to 60k or 5 yrs. I only have self to blame for not being proactive sooner, but Toyota should own up to this rather common problem. Please note that I was told by Toyota that "the warranty coverage for the intake manifold is 5 yrs or 60,000 which ever comes first from the vehicles date of first use. . . ".

Engine intake manifold failure. There is a TSB already for this failure, TSB-0034-08. They is very high failure rate that was caused by inadequate baffles in the intake that will break apart and possibly cause engine failure. The problem starts with a light tapping noise and gradually gets louder. This problem seems to be very widespread with Toyota owners with the 2. 4l 4 cylinder engine.

Car makes clicking noise when idle and in first gear. I got a diagnostic test by Toyota dealer and the problem is a broken airflow deflector in the intake manifold which is flapping around. This problem is reportedly common on Camrys.

: the contact stated a hissing noise was coming from the engine immediately after starting the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealership, and the problem was diagnosed as an intake manifold leak, and the intake manifold was replaced . Updated 2/7/2006 -.

Intake manifold failure on 2003 Toyota Camry 2. 4 engine (Toyota motor CO. ) will not replace. They know that they have a problem because they replaced them with a new type of intake manifold. My Camry has 65000 miles.

The intake manifold failed, causing a rattle noise from the engine area. Rattle was heard at idle speed and became louder when accelerating. Toyota replaced the intake manifold at a total cost of over $500 (part + labor) because the failure occurred just outside the warranty period. This problem is described in TSB eg018-2004.

Tailpipe on 2003 Camry to low to ground. This is a fire hazard.