2002 Toyota Camry problems
Owners have filed 1,183 complaints with NHTSA about the 2002 Toyota Camry. Cruise control is the most reported problem area, at 24% of complaints. Next are brakes (15%) and engine (14%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 1,183 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Cruise control 24% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 324 and 24
- Injuries and deaths
- 173 and 15
- Typical mileage
- 50,000 miles 766 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 196 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 127 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 113 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 66 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 83 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 54 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 47 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 41 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 15 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 10 |
| 200k+ miles | 14 |
What the data shows
Of the 766 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 50,000 miles. For cruise control specifically, the median reported mileage is about 39,000 miles (201 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 324 complaints mention a crash; 24 complaints mention a fire; 173 injuries reported; 15 deaths reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 94% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2002 ranks 4th most-complained-about out of 35 model years of the Toyota Camry with enough data (657 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 4 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 toyota camry. She stated while driving at speeds of 40 MPH attempting to brake for a traffic stop, the vehicle abnormally accelerated. The contact was unable to stop the vehicle and crashed into another vehicle. The police arrived on scene and the vehicle was towed. A police report was available. The contacts vehicle was destroyed. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer were contacted. The failure mileage was 60,000.
I am attorney for a victim in a coma and in intensive care. Her vehicle was struck by a toyota camry 2002 driven by a 68 year old lady. Camry vehicle was parked, and then crashed into a storefront after going forward. Backed into traffic 40 feet away, struck vehicles, and went forward again killing pedestrian as well. Case under investigation. Recent accident. Previous reports of sudden acceleration. All camrys should be recalled before more loss of life. Possible power train/automatic transmission problems.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 toyota camry. While driving, smoke could be seen coming from the engine compartment. There were no warning indicators illuminated during the failure. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the valve cover failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was not contacted for diagnostic testing or repairs. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and stated that there was no recall for the failure.
Car was filled with gas on return trip and while in traffic suddenly began to decelerate with no warning. The car was pulled over and stopped. Samaritans stopped to support stranded car and when they tried to turn the car on , it would not turn over. When checked by a individual who identified himself as a mechanic, he said, he didn't understand the problem. It was clear that there was oil in the car and it was clean.