Blown Head Gasket Problems of Toyota Camry

Engine overheated and head gasket blown due to head bolt threads being stripped. This is a safety issue since the vehicle cannot be driven when this happens and there is a good chance of being stuck on a dangerous road or left to walk alone in a dangerous situation. Toyota should repair this.

See all problems of the 2003 Toyota Camry 🔎.

I must saddly add my name to the list of deeply disappointed Toyota owners with the head gasket/ stripped bolts problem. My 2003 Camry has 105k miles and has been well maintained when the head gasket blew last week during normal usage. I have done enough research now to realize that the car was poorly engineered and the stripped bolts are pervasive with this make, model and year of car. I now require a new engine, which is a cost prohibitive repair. I was driving on the freeway and happened to be looking at the dashboard and when the temperature gauge went from normal to the the hottest possible. I immediately pulled over, let the engine cool, added oil and then waited a bit longer to ensure it had cooled sufficiently. I restarted the car, put in in drive and went about 20 ft before the temperature shot back up again. I parked it immediately, called a tow truck and had it towed to a mechanic. The repair requires replacing the engine and will cost is equivalent to the car's value. I have been told by two mechanics that replacement rebuilt engines are hard to find because this issue is so common with this car. And, that the because the replacement will have the same engineering flaw it is bound to happen again. Both mechanics, along with many owners who have contributed to the forums and blogs I have read have told me the car is useless now so I plan to donate it to charity tomorrow.

The contact owns a 2002 Toyota Camry. While operating the vehicle, smoke appeared coming from the exhaust pipe. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the head gasket had blown due to the head gasket bolt stripping from the engine block. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 140,000.

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I have a 2004 Toyota Camry le equipped with the 2az fe i4. At first I started hearing water sloshing from underneath the dashboard every time I stopped. On 1/30/2014 while stopping for a few minutes in a parking lot the cars temperature gauge started to rise. I immediately shut the car off, and opened up the hood to find coolant had been pushed out the overflow container, then I subsequently brought it to a mechanic. The mechanic stated the head gasket was blown. After a few days the mechanic got back to me, telling me the head bolts had stripped and the engine was unrepairable. I would need to replace the engine. This is a major problem, especially if it gave away when going down the freeway. Toyota needs to step up and fix this issue that is now becoming a very big problem. Toyota did release a TSB for dealers about this but it says to use timeserts or replace the block.

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The contact owns a 2002 Toyota Camry. The contact stated the check engine light illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the contact was informed the engine coolant was low and the temperature gauge needed to be replaced. The mechanic replaced the temperature gauge and added more coolant to the vehicle. Approximately 100 miles after being repaired the head gasket blew out. The vehicle was taken to another independent mechanic where the contact was informed the engine needed to be replaced. While repairing the engine, the mechaniced noticed the bolts which mounted the engine were stripped. As a result, the engine was previously mounted out of position, preventing the engine coolant from properly entering the engine. The contact was informed that due to this failure, the engine ran at a low temperature and the head gasket failed. The failure mileage was 90,000.

2003 Camry with 120,000 mi. Check engine light came on and overnight found lots of antifreeze on garage floor. Brought to mechanic. Headgasket blown. Went to replace headgasket only to find that engine bolts were loose and had stripped thread from the aluminum block. Only choice is to replace engine - $3,800 for a used engine with 50,000 mi. Toyota has not responded. Have heard this has become a common problem. Very disappointed with Toyota.

My Toyota Camry 2003 head gasket is blown. My auto mechanic informed me that Toyota bolted the heads in a faulty way and the leak can only be fixed temporarily.

Heard gurgling in the dashboard and soon after the engine overheated. Took it in to the automotive repair shop where they discovered a blown head gasket and when they started removing the head bolts, they discovered the bolts had pulled through the aluminum block which caused the head gasket to blow.

It began with the rushing sound of fluid (coolant) somewhere in the dash. When I took it in because I was smelling coolant and noticed some smoke, it was determined that the head gasket blew. This is the second time in 12 months that this has occurred, I fully repaired the vehicle for the identical problem in may 2008. . . Clearly a defect somewhere in the design.

I own a 2002 Toyota Camry purchased new from dealership and regularly maintained. The check engine light came on while my daughter was driving the car and so I took it to our mechanic who said it was a faulty sensor which he replaced. The next day the check engine light came on again while she was driving and she was just able to make it back to the mechanic's shop with the car running roughly. The mechanic advised that the engine (136,000 miles) had suffered a "blown" head gasket. He recommended replacing the head gasket but warned me that because of the aluminum casting of the engine that there was a good chance that when he removed the steel bolts they would strip out the aluminum threads and then I would be looking at a new engine. Unfortunately that is what happened - total cost to put in a reasonably "new" used engine (from a 2009 scion) was $5,800. I understand that things can happen and am not unduly upset that the head gasket was blown however, something as basic as knowing that you should not use steel bolts in an aluminum thread should be remedied by Toyota. When a repair such as mine is undertaken there is a high probability of the bolts stripping out the aluminum threads. When that happens the cost of repair goes from approximately 1600 to replace a blown head gasket to 5800 to replace an entire engine. This is really a design flaw that should be obvious to any engineer and should be remedied by Toyota.

It began with the rushing sound of fluid (coolant) somewhere in the dash. Shortly thereafter the engine overheated and it was determined that the head gasket blew. The dealer said the bolts in the engine were stripped out and they replaced the short block. It was replaced and within a year this is occurring again.

Engine head gasket blewout. Heard strange sound coming from front end of vehicle. Took vehicle to dealer. Rod had blown, and block was cracked. Please provide vehicle identification number, and any further information.

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