2002 Toyota Camry: engine overheating

Filed Jun 27, 2024 · Airbags, Electrical · MS

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)

Filed Apr 18, 2018 · Engine · 107,000 miles · FL

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!

Filed Feb 3, 2017 · Engine · 110,000 miles · FL

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 toyota camry. While driving 30 MPH, the check engine indicator illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle did not stall, but there was a knocking noise coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was driven to the contact's residence and a tow truck service was requested. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the cylinder head bolts were defective and caused the engine to overheat. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 110,000.

Filed Jul 15, 2014 · Engine · 108,105 miles · CA

Coolant leak due to apparent stripped head bolts due to manufacturer defect.

Filed Mar 18, 2014 · Engine · 100,000 miles · CA

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.

Filed Feb 3, 2014 · Engine · 125,000 miles · CA

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 toyota camry. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH, the engine overheated as the temperature warning indicator. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnosis. The engine cylinder head blot was stripped and replaced with a new one however, the transmission failed. The vehicle was not repaired for the most recent failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 125,000.

Filed Jan 16, 2014 · Engine · IN

The coolant started leaking from behind the motor. My mechanic looked at it and said that the foam insulation was saturated with coolant and it was leaking from there, between the head and the cylinder. When I researched about it online in many toyota forums, the common thing that I have come across is that there is a problem with the head bolts stripping and the coolant leaking from that area. My mechanic said that I either need a new engine or do a fix the stripped head bolts with a heli-coil or a time-sert. This is very disappointing with toyota, that they are not acknowledging the defect with there 5th gen 4 cyl 2az-fe engines and are refusing to do anything about. The solution that they are giving is a very expensive one of getting a new engine for $5000. This needs to be addressed by toyota or someone needs to make them take notice of this issue.

Filed Oct 17, 2013 · Engine · 143,000 miles · IL

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.

Filed Mar 25, 2013 · Engine · 109,000 miles · CA

Car was overheating and we didn't know why. The reservoir was full of coolant so we took it into a mechanic to see what the problem was with the cooling system. We were told we needed a new head gasket. We left the car with the mechanic and he found that 3 bolts for the engine block were loose (he could easily pull them out with his hands and the threading came with them). He had never seen this before so he looked online and found this was a common problem. The car had about 109k miles on it. Looking on this site shows that toyota has a service bulletin on it.

Filed Jul 11, 2012 · Engine · 81,000 miles · AZ

I bought this car new in 2002 and have maintained it meticulously. The car overheated for the first time since I bought it on 7/9/12. When I took it to the shop on 7/11/12 for evaluation of the problem, I was told that the cylinder head bolts were defective, causing the car to lose coolant resulting in the overheating incident. The auto shop also told me that this is a design or manufacturing defect that is well known, but toyota refuses to recall these vehicles for repair. The cost of repair is approximately $2200.00 to $2400.00, if it can be repaired. If it cannot be repaired, the engine will have to be replaced at a much higher cost. I went on line to carcomplaints.com and found many other complaints of this same exact problem from other 2002 camry owners around the USA.

Filed Jan 19, 2012 · Engine · 135,000 miles · MA

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 toyota camry. The contact stated that the vehicle was overheating. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic for diagnosis when the contact was informed that the engine was leaking coolant and needed to be replaced. The dealer did not offer any assistance and the manufacturer had not been notified of the failure. The vehicle had not been repaired. The current and the failure mileages were 135,000.

Filed Sep 8, 2011 · Engine · 98,000 miles · LA

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.