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2004 Toyota Camry engine complaints

Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 55, newest first, as owners wrote them.

See the summary of 2004 Toyota Camry engine problems: which part fails, at what mileage and related recalls.

Filed Mar 25, 2016 · Engine · 124,000 miles · PA

Oil started to leak from manifold, my mechanic said it was a stripped botl. He tried to fix it with silicone and replace the bolt but it is still leaking all over the engine. He informed me this coud cause a fire. Can I hold toyota responsible for this problem?

Filed Feb 11, 2016 · Electrical, Engine · 85,000 miles · IL · fire

2004 camry se car sitting for two days. Car caught fire. Fire department stated that it seemed no foul play involved. To me it look like the origin of the fire started by the battery and wiring was the issue. Interior in good shape no windows busted.

Filed Jun 25, 2015 · Electrical, Engine · 157,000 miles · FL

I was driving down the road from my home when my car stopped working. It died on me. It just stopped working completely without any notice whatsoever. I was able to maintain control of the steering wheel and I pulled over to the side of the road. At the time I was driving approximately 45 miles an hour (when the car engine stopped working). I turned the key in the ignition to the off position. When I turned the key in the ignition to start the car, the car started up immediately.

Filed Apr 30, 2015 · Engine · FL

Engine light continues to turn on and off. When the mechanic checks it he can't find the problem as diagnostic comes back clear. It is agitating bc if the engine light comes on I won't know if it is serious or not.

Filed Feb 26, 2015 · Engine, Fuel system · 56,000 miles · NJ · crash

Car accelerated by itself when parking and wound up on sidewalk. Could not brake. Car was put in park while moving and then stopped while still applying brakes.

Filed Oct 25, 2014 · Airbags, Engine · 88,000 miles · IL

.......just need to ask a question, in light of the stories on air bag,the light on my dashboard says..."passenger air bag off"......I called toyota and they asked if I were nearby and could I come in when I called (about 4 pm).... I said I was nearby and drove directly there (67th western, chicago. One of the tech's looked at the light and said "oh that light will go off when some one sits in the passenger seat ( knew it wouldn't)....he immediately went to the passenger side, sat down and the light didn't go off.....then he said oh, ur airbag light is on (behind the steering wheel) . He then said since ur car is not on the re-call list, we have to conduct an inspection..about $110 dollars, and then if we find something, the $110 will be applied to the charges. I said like what, he said it might be a sensor, it might be something else we don't know until we inspect it............................so, my question to you is how do you know that 2004 camry's are not included, and whether or not,toyota just wants to charge me for something that they should have covered.... Secondly, 2 items on your recall list, I don't believe were done a) the federal safety agency #11v539000, nov. 9, 2011..........................and b)the federal safety agency#04v346000, july 13, 2004.......................thank you for your assistance and advice.

Filed Aug 9, 2014 · Body, Engine · 257,755 miles · AZ

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.

Filed Mar 24, 2014 · Engine · 90,000 miles · HI

We first noticed coolant leaking on our garage floor after our 20yr mechanic and trusted friend replaced our water pump. We took the car in to have him look at the problem and he told us we had a "pulled" head gasket. He said he could not do that type of work and referred us to another mechanic who pressure tested and ran other diagnostics before hoisting the car on the racks. Upon inspection he saw coolant dripping from the intake manifold and proceeded to remove and inspect that part of the engine. Eventually, the head and other parts to reveal the loose bolts with stripped threads. We believe this is a manufacturers defect and feel some compensation and restitution must be levied. Upon further research from different forums we have documented pages of similar complaints from across the nation. Please make our concerns heard. We currently have no car to drive and $ 0 money to purchase another vehicle.

Filed Feb 25, 2014 · Engine, Steering · 45,453 miles · CA

When I was driving my car from parking lot to go home, I heard loud noise from front of my car and felt stiffness of control of my car. I tried to drive back to parking to take a look, but the car lost of power steering assist. The car was towed to toyota dealer. The dealer found out the power steering pulley had broken off and the drive belt came off. I was lucky it happened in parking lot, or I may get to a car accident. I have contacted to toyota, but they said it was not in recall of failed crankshaft pulley because the VIN number does not in the range of recall. But my car has exactly same issue the recall the federal safety agency campaign id number: 11v539000 has. The car is 2004 camry.

Filed Dec 25, 2013 · Engine, Transmission · 63,700 miles · NY

On my 2004 toyota camry le, at the exact moment I applied the brakes at idle speed, there was an extremely loud and high revolution racing sound. This condition was extreme. I changed gear selector from "drive" to "park" and there was no change in racing sound or noise level. However, car did not surge forward and no additional brake pressure was required. I turned engine off and car restarted normally. A mechanic checked out my car and found nothing wrong. A similar incident occurred about 2-3 months earlier while backing up at idle speed. Not sure if it is possible for engine to disengage from transmission, which might explain why car did not surge forward (and backward respectively). This same car in march of 2010 experienced unintended acceleration (parked under a cell tower) which was much worse than described above-I filed a complaint in 2010 for this.

Filed Jul 9, 2013 · Engine · 77,981 miles · NJ

17th june 2013 - water splash sound from engine on the right side of car with misfire and engine light on. Took the car to dealer and replaced spark plugs and ignition coils for two cylinders. Flush coolant system. I got the car back on 19th june 2013. After running 10 miles engine light came on again and engine was shivering while starting the car. Next day morning car towed to dealer. Dealer informed that engine blew up and it is beyond repair which needs a replacement.

Filed Jul 2, 2013 · Acceleration, Engine · TN

Purchased car from local toyota dealer with just over 100k miles. Gas pedal stopped working. Car would not accelerate. Found out it was a failure of the throttle body. It costs over $1000 to fix. There are numerous complaints for this exact part on toyota camry's. When is it going to be recalled! Obvious design flaw!

Filed Mar 4, 2013 · Acceleration, Engine · 65,000 miles · MA · crash

I was driving, took a corner and my car turned off without warning or signal, and I lost power steering and hit another parked vehicle. I proceeded to turn my car back on, drive ten feet and the engine shut off again without warning. I went to the auto body shop and they stated it was a code 2112 throttle issue. I researched on the internet and saw several other consumer complaints about this same issue with the same make/model/year and around the same mileage as my car has. Toyota is not recalling or providing free service on the parts and I was given an estimate of over 1300.00 to fix. Seeing that this is normal wear and tear - I didnt do a thing to cause this to happen, and it's a safety issue, I believe they should be replacing and or recalling these vehicles.

Filed Feb 11, 2013 · Acceleration, Engine · 108,000 miles · IL · crash

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota camry. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 MPH downhill. The engine surged at a much higher rate of speed. The brakes failed and the contact was unable to control the steering. The contact was unable to stop the vehicle until she crashed into an embankment. The contact was not injured. The vehicle was later towed to an independent mechanic but was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure and current mileages were approximately 108,000. Updated 3/14/13 *cn the consumer stated she had not control over the vehicle. It continued approximately 3/4 of a mile all over the road and surrounding areas, until it finally hit an embankment and the front end of the vehicle went into the ground. And then stopped.

Filed Jan 21, 2013 · Acceleration, Electrical · 51,284 miles · UT · crash

After entering a parking lot my mother-in-law was turning into a spot when the car suddenly accelerated thru the spot and was heading for the concrete wall. She was able to turn it to the left, run over the curb and in to a snow bank. She was unable to back the car out and had to be towed out. There was damage to the front end, but the airbags did not deploy. The tow truck driver said that she could drive it home and she managed to do so, but she was scared to do so. It is now sitting in the driveway and will not be driven until we are satisfied with the repairs to the acceleration problem. I am still waiting to hear from the dealer?.

Filed Nov 2, 2012 · Engine · 104,000 miles · FL

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota camry. The contact stated that there was an abnormal splashing water noise sound coming from under the hood area. The check engine warning light was illuminated and the vehicle began to overheat. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was advised that the engine bolts were stripped, which allowed fluids to mix with the engine. The dealer advised the contact that the engine would have to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and the current mileages were 104,000. Updated 12/14/12*lj the consumer stated the mechanic the bolts could be retreaded, engine rebuilt, or to trade the vehicle in. None of the repairs are guaranteed to repair the vehicle. Updated 12/17/2012

Filed Oct 29, 2012 · Engine · 103,000 miles · FL

On oct 18, 2012, my car started to overheat. We had it towed to our mechanic. On friday, oct 19, 2012 our mechanic stated he could not fix it and looks like it is an engine coolant leak. He further stated we needed to take it to the dealership that we bought it from to confirm the engine was none repairable. On monday, oct 22, 2012, the service department called us and confirmed the bad news. Our 2004 camry 2.4l engine is leaking coolant inside the engine and the engine bolts are stripped. They gave us some options. The dealer could try to repair the bolts by retreading them (no guarantee it world work). Replace the engine (rebuilt and not guarantee it wouldn?t happen again). And finally, trade in the car (not enough to pay off my loan). After further research, this issue has been happening to camry since 2002. One post stated it was fixed with the 2004 models, but in 2004 the same engine is in the highlander and the camry. The highlander also has several posts to the same issue. When will toyota take responsibility for this problem and fix it without coming after the consumer! I have contacted toyota at 800‑331‑4331 and filed a complaint and was told the same thing the dealer told me, not their fault. I am really hoping the government takes these complaints and forces toyota to recall these cars and fix the issues.

Filed Oct 14, 2012 · Engine · 114,563 miles · CA

I noticed that white smoke was coming from my exhaust pipe, therefore, I took it to a mechanic to get it checked out. The mechanic simply told me it was due to a bad head gasket. Later on, in the middle of the fix, he told me that the engine was unrepairable, that I needed a new engine. I asked him, "why?" he told me that the bolts that keeps the engine in place can no longer be tighten. The engine can no longer be held in place. He called it, "stripped head bolts." according to the mechanic and his colleagues, it is a design flaw by toyota. The mechanics went on stating that, "even under normal driving conditions, these bolts will come loose causing coolant to leak in. Which caused the white smoke coming from tail pipe. So, I called up toyota to see if they can correct their problem. They told me that I needed to replace the engine. If toyota can't fix it, how would a mechanic fix it? I asked toyota if there were a recall for this, they simply said, "no." the government needs to step in and take care of this awful problem. It turns out that every 2003-200? Camry owners have or will have this awful problem. Is not just a reliability problem, but is also polluting our home planet. There are thousands of camrys on the road ranging from these years and all of them are or soon will be spewing out foreign smoke. No mechanic out there can fix the problem. All they can do is replace it with the same engine that will soon have the same exact issue. Please step in and make toyota fix this awful issues with the "stripped head bolt." [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed Jul 30, 2012 · Engine · 140,000 miles · SC

Head gasket screws are stripped. Engine lost coolant but no leak was evident. After numerous repairs to cooling system, eventually head gasket blew and had to replace the engine with a rebuilt one. Coolant loss continued with second engine. Radiator was replaced. Coolant loss continues with new radiator. Now we know that the head gasket screws are stripped, the original and only source of the leak. Design flaw causes stripped head bolts in this model.

Filed Apr 20, 2012 · Engine · 79,000 miles · FL · crash · 10 injuries

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota camry. While driving 5 MPH, the contact attempted to brake and noticed that the vehicle had suddenly accelerated uncontrollably. As a result, the contact crashed into a grocery store and injured ten people. A police report was filed for the incident and the contact was not injured during the crash. The vehicle had not been diagnosed and no repairs had been performed on the vehicle. The failure and current mileages were 79,000.

Filed Feb 18, 2012 · Engine · 155,000 miles · KY

Our 2004 camry 2.4 engine has just been diagnosed with the stripped head bolts at 155,000 miles and is currently in the shop. They are telling me it may need a new engine due to this common faulty toyota defect on this particular engine. I am outraged to know that I'm gonna be charged almost 6000 dollars to replace a faulty engine. Why isn't toyota doing something about this?! How much can they get away with for crying out loud.

Filed Nov 7, 2011 · Engine, Fuel system · 74,000 miles · FL

While driving on a busy city highway, the throttle body assemble stuck wide open. The car's computer shut it down, causing the car to stop in heavy traffic. The engine would not restart, as the stuck open throttle body made the engine race and the computer shut it down. As this was a know factory design defect, the newly redesigned replacement throttle body fixed the problem but toyota charges about $1000 for the replacement part. With the many reported failures of this part and the decision to make a redesign to cure the problem, it appears that the customer absorbs the corporate responsibility. There was no help from the local dealer etc! Ergo my initiation of a complaint! With the large number of complaints over a long period, it is hard to understand why no recall was ever initiated nor was there a satisfactory investigation!

Filed Mar 24, 2011 · Engine · 100,000 miles · MA

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota camry. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact mentioned that the failure recurred sporadically several times and usually, the vehicle would restart immediately however on the last occurrence, the vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was then towed to a local shop who diagnosed that the throttle body would need to be replaced because it was fractured and water was leaking in. As a result, the engine was corroded. The manufacturer was not contacted and the vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure and current mileage was 100,000.

Filed Nov 1, 2010 · Engine · 136,950 miles · CA

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 toyota camry. The contact stated that the check engine light illuminated and the temperature gauge indicated that the vehicle was very hot. The contact had the oil changed and the check engine light turned off. The vehicle was driven the next day and the same failure occurred. The vehicle was taken to a repair shop where the contact was informed that the bolts on the intake manifold were stripped and the engine needed to be replaced. The contact also noticed a leak. The contact called the dealership who verified that because of the bolts, the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The contact called the manufacturer who stated that there were no related recalls. The current mileage was approximately 137,000. The failure mileage was approximately 136,950.

Filed Oct 12, 2010 · Engine · 60,000 miles · VA

Engine failed. Car stalled while traveling on busy road. Dealership identified as throttle body. Required $ 1,100 replacement. Research indicates extensive problem for toyota.

Filed Sep 17, 2010 · Engine · 75,000 miles · MA

Intake manifold defect, 2004 toyota camry. Ticking sound from inside the manifold.

Filed Jul 21, 2010 · Electrical, Engine · 35,000 miles · OK

While driving the vehicle it would suddenly accelerate and then slow down almost to a stop without driver pressure on the accelerator pedal changing. This problem occurred each time the vehicle was driven. The service department where the vehicle was purchased strongly recommended the vehicle not be driven before repairs could be made. The vehicle was left at the service department where they diagnosed the problem as a defective throttle pedal control, p/n 78010-33010. I am waiting on the service department to repair the problem.

Filed Apr 23, 2010 · Acceleration, Engine · 138,000 miles · NH

While exiting ez-pass toll my vehicle's engine revved up out of control, as if the accelerator was being floored when I was just barely touching it. I released the accelerator and was able to shift into neutral, apply the foot brake, and pull over safely. Check engine light came on. Took the car in to the dealership and I'm waiting to hear back from them.

Filed Feb 21, 2010 · Acceleration, Engine · 42,393 miles · CA

On april 15,2008 my wife was driving our 2004 toyota camry down our street when all of a sudden the car went into idle and wouldn't accelerate. I had a extended warranty still in effect since the car only had 42,393 miles on the car so I called my local toyota dealer and they replaced the accelerator pedal sensor. We haven't had a problem since but I am afraid that the replaced sensor may be defective and could cause unwanted acceleration/deceleration since it was replaced in 2008. I am concerned that the newly replaced accelerator sensor may not be safe either considering all the recent reports. Please use your power and get toyota to add the 2004 toyota camry to their recall list before other serious problems occur. Thanks for your serious consideration on this matter. Please let me know what you decide.

Filed Feb 10, 2010 · Engine · 32,743 miles · KS

The vehicle shut off (died) while driving two times. Once on railroad tracks and once on a highway off ramp. Took it to the dealership. The test found a code p2112 indicating throttle stuck closed. Mechanic said throttle body motor was the cause. Throttle body assembly with motor was replaced. Mechanic reported that the car was unsafe to drive because the throttle might get stuck open causing a runaway. Car mileage was 32,743. Old part is not available.

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