I have never owned a Foriegn car before this one. But everbody says that the Toyotas are great and will last a long time. I bought the car in 2004. We kept up with the service. But the trans would not shift when it was cold, told dont worry it will be ok. this went on for about two years. Then with no warning the transmission starts acting up (wont go in gear and could not back up) I get it to the Toyota dealer and he said the trans is toast and it will be about $3000 to repair. This makes me sick. I am not sure I am going to repair it. The car is only worth about $6000 on a good day. So I am not sure it is worth it. I thought this would be a good car for the wife and after we paid it off she could keep it a long time.

I am really upset. The dealer even says this is rare. Why my car. I am very upset. I think this is a Toyota problem but I am the one screwed! No more Toyotas for this family!!!!!!

I previously owned a used toyota tacoma 1980 - bought in 1990 for $2,000 - it lasted with minimal problems (e,g, clutch, full pump) till 2000. It had so many miles on it the speedometer stopped going around. So when I was finally able to buy a new car - there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted a toyota. I bought the 2002 camry believing this car would last me 20-40 years. It's a piace of sh*t! I had to replace the transmission with a one year warranty on the trans and it already feels like it's going out.

In Dec 2001 we purchased a brand new 2002 Toyota Camry LE, 4 cylinder. We have been servicing it regularly at DCH Toyota Simi Valley, as their records will show. In Dec 2009 we were forced to put in a brand new transmission at a cost of $4453. The mileage on the car was 72,939. We do not abuse our car or drive great distances as you can see. This is the third Toyota that we have owned. We had a 1985 Camry and a 1985 Corolla with over 150,000 mile on each with virtually no problems at the time we sold them. We chose the 2002 Toyota Camry because of it's wonderful quality and reputation.

Obviously we are extremely upset and feel there is a problem with the 2002 Toyota Camry transmission. We feel that we should be reimbursed for the obvious transmission problem. Under these conditions we would not buy a Toyota again.

My 2002 Camry is exhibiting behavior similar to the problems of the 2001-03 Rav4 ECM/transmission problems. It is having trouble shifting when around 40mph. All of a sudden the rpms go form 2000 to 4000 plus but the car doesn't go any faster. It jerks and has had trouble going into reverse a couple of times. After researching online the only thing that sounds similar is the Rav4 complaints. Those complaining are describing exactly what is happening to my Camry. The transmission shop said he's repaired this thing before with the Rav4 and a few Lexus'. I need a rebuilt tranny ($2,000) and a rebuilt ECM ($1200). The kicker is that it is a defect in the ECM that ruins the tranny and from what I read on the subject, Toyota won't do anything about it. They make a piece of crap ECM that causes damage to the tranny and I have to pay for new ones of both. How does that work? I'm 3 days into this so the fight is still strong. If anyone has suggestions on how to get corporate to help me out with this, I'm all ears.

Engine light came on. Had one bad shift on that trip. Took to dealer about engine light. Was told that my catalytic converter was going bad and cost to replace it would be around $800. Elected not to fix converter at that time. Within the next two weeks, transmission began to jerk while shifting between 20-40 mph. Took the car back to the dealer. At first they acted clueless as to what the problem was and told me they would have to call a technician at Toyota. That same day, they called me and said there were metal shavings in the pan of the tranny and a bearing was probably bad. Cost for a new transmission was $3900+. I called Toyota Customer Service and they referred me to the dealer's customer relations person. I am awaiting to hear from her. From reading all of the other posts, I am assuming that they will not do anything to remedy the problem.

Three days ago I decided to set up an appointment to have the dealer change the oil. I do this every 5,000 miles. On the way to work the check engine light came on. I asked the dealer if it was OK to drive with this warning light or should I bring it in right away. They assured me I'm current with regular maintenance and it should be fine. That evening the car shifted poorly. During my drive to work the next day the car stopped in traffic. The engine was running, but the transmission was slipping. I turned off the engine, restarted and was able to "limp" to the dealer. Today the dealer told me the transmission was shot. They can put in a new one for only $4,000. I've owned many cars including a 1964 Toyota Corona, 1968 Toyota Crown, 1985 Toyota Corolla, 1995 Toyota Camry and this 2002 Toyota Camry. I find it very interesting the only other Camry transmission problem posted is almost identical to mine. Are we starting to see a trend, Camry transmissions failing at 75,000 miles?

Would I buy another Toyota, probably not because when you add this $4,000 to the original sticker price, the car just isn't worth that much money?

My sister bought a 2002 Camry from Enterprise RentaCar. She thought she was buying a car from an automaker who was known for quality, but instead she got a LEMON! Toyota, once known for quality, knew about the transmission problems with the 2002 model year Camry and did nothing about it. They tried to make the transmission more fuel efficient, but the design was flawed. Instead of replacing the transmission, they hoped that the warranty would expire on most of the vehicles before they broke down. This left my sister without a car to get to work. They want $4850 to replace the transmission. This year Ford, once known as "Fix Or Repair Daily", has beaten out Toyota for reliability according to Car and Driver Mag. Who whoulda thunk it?

The original diagnostic code was P0770. Dealer checked and everything tested out as normal. They recommended replacing trans at that time. I didn't have the money. Approximately 30 days later transmission "decided" to continuous shift between gears while I was on the freeway. Towed car to a different dealer. Now code P0770 and P0765. Was told that transmission should be replaced for approx $3900. I intend on keeping the car for many more years so I had them replace trans with Toyota factory rebuilt.

Toyota quality? My 2002 Camry LE automatic transmission failed at 75,900 miles. With the dealer saying it will cost $3800 to repair and more than a week of getting the run-around between the dealer where the car is, the dealer who sold me the car, and Toyota Motors it is becoming clear that after buying two new Toyotas neither Toyota Motors nor their dealers care about me, their customer.

My experience of over forty-five years driving and owning many cars (some with more than double this mileage) with never a transmission failure makes me believe this is unusual. Checking owner complaint sites and independent transmission repair facilities only seems to affirm that this is not a normal failure. Even the service managers at both dealerships say this is unusual. Understandably some cars come off the assembly line with a defect or weakness not anticipated and one would expect a manufacturer to step up when there is an unusual mechanical failure.

Foolishly I expected this from Toyota and felt no need to pay extra for an extended warranty, relying on their excellent reputation.

Many manufacturers cover the drivetrain for 100,000 miles, Toyota only for 60,000. Common sense suggests if a manufacturer expected trouble free service beyond 60,00 miles they would warranty it for more than that. I relied on reputation and ignored common sense.

Toyota, the world's most profitable manufacturing company just made their last profit off me and anyone else I can influence.