2002 Toyota Camry: engine stalls while driving

Filed Feb 16, 2020 · Engine · 52,500 miles · CA

Bough the car from a toyota dealer 8/2013 with 36k miles. Yes, very low mileage, 36,000 miles. On 11/2015 on my way to work while I was in the free way, I've noticed my temperature gauge was starting to go up, I was lucky enough to exit out of the freeway and was able to take it to one of the mechanic I usually use after I was able to add water. The mechanic did not even looked at the car after I told him what happen, his response was you need a new engine. The car has 52.5k miles on the original engine. Had a blown head gasket issue from strip head bolts. The problems that could have created an unsafe condition is if I did not noticed my temperature gauge and the car suddenly stall while I was on the freeway, I could have gotten hit by another vehicle. I did a research about the 2.4l 2azfe engines and found out this was a very common problems with this engines. I've called the dealer and even toyota corporate office to see if they could help me out, I am pretty much out of my luck. My mom car was a 06 scion tc with same engine, 136k, 1/18, blown head gasket due to strip head bolts. I ended up buying rebuilt engines for both cars and I did not buy it from the dealer. I had a 92 camry, 2.2l I was able to get the car to almost 300k with original engine.

Filed Oct 2, 2019 · Electrical, Engine · 23,800 miles · AR

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 toyota camry. While driving 40 MPH, the vehicle hesitated to drive, the gauges start to go crazy, and the vehicle lunged and then stalled. The contact was able to coast the vehicle and push it over to the side of the road with assistance from another person. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the alternator failed and needed to be replaced along with the battery cable. The vehicle was repaired. Afterwards, while reversing the vehicle, it stalled. The technician replaced the alternator a second time. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that after driving the vehicle 30 miles from the independent mechanic, the failure recurred. The vehicle was towed back to the independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the ground wires needed to be replaced and the battery cable. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that two weeks later, the vehicle was rattling and failed to start. The contact stated that the vehicle restarted the following day. The contact stated that a new battery was installed two days ago, but the failure continued. The contact also stated that the vehicle ran out of oil and three quarts had to be added. The oil had to be changed every 700 miles. The contact also stated that the valve cover gasket and the catalytic convertor failed. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer and was not repaired. The contact stated that the vehicle was consuming too much oil and shook when driving more than 50 MPH. The manufacturer was made aware of the failures and provided case number: 1909271661. The approximate failure mileage was 23,800.

Filed Jun 29, 2017 · Acceleration, Fuel system · 78,000 miles · CA

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 toyota camry. While driving 38 MPH, the vehicle accelerated independently and surged forward. The contact placed the gear shifter into neutral. The vehicle stalled and the check engine indicator illuminated. The vehicle was driven to the contact's residence. Later, the contact noticed a strong odor of fuel around the vehicle. The contact noticed fuel pouring out on the ground from the fuel tank. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that fuel was in the vacuum line of the engine. The vacuum canister was also filled with fuel and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact called hanlees davis toyota dealer (located on 4202 chiles rd, davis, ca 95616), elk grove toyota dealer (located on 9640 w stockton blvd, elk grove, ca 95757), and maita toyota of sacramento (2500 auburn blvd, sacramento, ca 95821) all three dealers stated that the vehicle did not qualify for free repairs due to its age and the fact that there was no open recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that the vehicle was too old to qualify for free repairs. The approximate failure mileage was 78,000.

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 Sep 13, 2015 · Engine · 53,500 miles · CA

02 camry 2.4l 5 spd: bought the car from a bay area toyota dealer 2 yrs ago, aug 2013. Car did have 36k miles on day of purchase and does have 53.5k on it when engine issue occurred. Used the car as a back up or weekend car. Work car is a 92 camry 4 cyc with 279k (original motor). Decide to use 02 camry for work and temp gauge went to hot, check coolant level and it was empty, although 2 days prior to the engine issue, my car's coolant was good. Added water to cooling system and noticed severe leak of water from the back of the engine. Spoke to two mechanics I usually go to and they did not even check the car, they already knew the problem. Decide to call a toyota tech mechanic I know to check the car, he had informed me of stip head bolts, same issue the other two mechanic had mention to me. Did went to the dealer next day and inform of this issue, they recommend time sert which cost about $4500. They had also told me to call customer care, but I doubt customer care will be able to help me with this issue because I've seen people post online who had contact customer care re: this issue and did not do anything. Been a die hard toyota guy, with this issue, been disappointed with toyota's craftsmanship on the 2.4l engines.. In fact the toyota tech I spoke to had mention this is common issue with this engine model and had also informed me the newer engine model, 2.5l has also a defect, piston ring issue which dealer had been replacing those engine. At this time there is no recall for this strip head bolt. I guess toyota is waiting for some one to get hurt from this issue before they start act; such as car stalling in the middle of the freeway due to blow head gasket and getting hit by another motorist. I was just lucky enough to see my temperature gauge went to hot and was able to park the car to safety.

Filed Aug 17, 2015 · Electrical, Fuel system · 45,000 miles · NY

The car now has approximately 80,000 miles on it - for at least the last 35,000 miles, it's had a problem with either stalling or not restarting after the engine's turned off (often, several incidents will occur in rapid succession, after which the car will function properly for months). Stalling tends to occur when the car is decelerating and coming to a stop - if adequate speed can be maintained, the engine will sputter but won't shut down. In my opinion the stalling and failure to restart problems are connected and I've read of other camry owners who've been confronted with this issue. Unfortunately, after an incident nothing registers on the car's computer, so mechanics really don't where to start in diagnosing the problem and formulating a possible fix. My car's been meticulously cared for and I've put a lot of money into trying to solve this problem, but nothing has worked so far - the car has been taken to a toyota dealer and to an independent mechanic. I've contacted toyota headquarters about the problem, but they're unwilling to address it, even though I've told them my online searches have revealed other owners with the same problem. I've also told toyota that were I to explore trading-in the vehicle (with full disclosure), I have no doubt a dealer would accept it and pass it on to an unsuspecting buyer. I'm convinced there's a fairly widespread problem toyota's unwilling to address.

Filed Mar 13, 2015 · Acceleration, Brakes · 118 miles · CT

While driving on highway car ride is jerky . At any left exit the car shuts off on exit ramp on left turn. Steering tightens and lock-up. The car shuts done while still in drive mode. The engine goes quite and dies.the gas pedal stop producing power. The car shuts off completely with key in ignition and still in drive . Also going down hill the car becomes immobile and stall. On other occasions car stall at lights on local roads shortly after making left turns and stop light. I took the vehicle into toyota superstore weston st hartford ct. On three occasions. They kept it for a day, two days, a week and there is still no solution. . Nothing has been done to stop the condition. I took it to local mechanics, auto zone. They see the car act up but there are no codes and no system error activity summary. Dealership offer no solution . Always there are 3 light that comes on. Check engine light, check battery light and check fuel light . Triple a toll this cat on 3 occasions. On one occasion during the snow it had check traction light came on. Please someone help me. I took my car in to the dealership always to get the necessary oil change because I have lifetime oil and lube. They are the ones servicing the car so if any parts go wrong they are the ones changing them.. They want me to buy a new car. I told them I cannot afford one. I wonder if they are sabotaging my car. In hopes that I will purchase a new one. Please help me! I learned that the car stops and starts up again after you shut it down take the key out of the ignition for a while so this is how I am surviving. This is very scary! Help!

Filed Sep 4, 2014 · Transmission · IL

Car was having problems with acceleration(sluggish) and would die when car came to a stop. Mostly happened when exiting highways, then happened during normal driving. The car would idle very roughly and die if gas pedal wasn't depressed. If car sat for a while, then it would start up and run just fine. Had it into the shop several times, but unless the problem was currently happening, it couldn't be diagnosed. The problem is the idol throttle body(seems like there are many many complaints about this part). The cost of the part was $1014.45(ridiculous). Labor $68. What's going on? Toyota is failing to provide a good quality product and I have lost confidence in their product. Look into this matter. People's lives are at stake, especially if people don't realize you are stalled and run into you. I've been scared for my life several times.

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 Aug 22, 2012 · Engine · 110,000 miles · CA

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 toyota camry le. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 MPH, a clicking noise occurred when the accelerator pedal was depressed and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was no longer under warranty. The approximate failure was 110,000.

Filed Aug 7, 2012 · Engine · 175,000 miles · TX · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 toyota camry. The contact was driving 65 MPH when smoked was emitted from the engine compartment and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who diagnosed that the cylinder head developed a cracked. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure and the current mileage was 175,000.

Filed Aug 13, 2011 · 50,000 miles · MD · crash

For the last 2 years of its life, the camry had a stalling problem. It would ride ok for a few weeks and then for several days it would stall out frequently. On the highway, the car would sometimes hesitate. Stalling occurred mostly when stopping at a stop sign or red light after coming off a highway. The car would start again, and then stall repeatedly at every red light or other event that involved slowing down or stopping. After enduring the stalling problem for many months, on 6/19/09 we took the car to our mechanic. They said the stalling might be caused by a sticking valve or the idle control motor, but they could not fix it. We brought the car to the mechanic again 8/20/09 and they replaced the throttle body assembly, which seemed to help. By spring 2010 the problem was back. We brought the car to the mechanic 5/21/10 and this time they cleaned out egr assembly and checked all vacuum lines. Car still stalled so 6/26/10 we took it to toyota dealer. Dealer was unable to reproduce the stalling problem and said that next time it happened, we should bring it directly to their service center. On 7/20/10, our son was driving the camry. As before, when he was driving at a higher, steadier speed, the car was ok. When he slowed down to park in a parking garage, the stalling problem recurred. Trying to get the car to restart, he stepped on the gas and the engine engaged. The car lurched forward and slammed into a wall inside the parking garage. It was totaled. We believe there was a fundamental manufacturing flaw in our camry that resulted in the repeated stalling. We note other toyota products being recalled for stalling problems, as well as recalls for unintended acceleration. We contacted toyota but they took no responsibility. They said there was nothing they could do without examining the vehicle directly, but by that time the car had been sent to a salvage yard.