2000 Toyota Camry LE review from North America

Brakes don't last long.

Alternator went out at 60000 and 100000 miles (should last over 100k).

Automatic transmission slips and gurgles.

Lemon issue -- car has a circuit board to tell you when the rear lights are out; the board has a hot spot that burns out, that part is over $350, a $350 part to tell you that $10 worth of light bulbs are out. By the way, this part fails on over 80% of the cars, and almost 100% with time.

The EGR system had 2 valves fail at around 120K miles, both of these are around $150 to $300 for the parts, this is probably due to the recall motor that cooks oil, thus junking up the EGR system with soot.

Then we have the ol' EVAP problem, where the owners first see the check engine light, and the dealers/shops tell them to replace the gas caps, WRONG. Then they tell you the charcoal canister and associated valves have to be replaced (P0446), they rather replace all the parts than trouble shoot. The problem here is probably a result of a negative pressure system being located lower than the gas tank, so the canister fills up with gas over time instead of being purged properly. By the way, the system is designed to collect those fumes emitted while filling the tank, but when it fails it spits about a gallon of gas out on the driveway, Go Figure. I had mine diagnosed, and all components passed, and I am still driving. I believe the canister just needs long drives to purge properly. Try keeping less than a full tank, maybe will help. Oh, this is a $600 replacement.

Then we have the popcorn noises in the front suspension when driving through a bumping parking lot. This is allegedly failure of strut supports, that apparently fail every 60k. Go figure, a suspension part only lasting 60k, just in time to buy a new car if you follow the dealer mentality.

Oh yeah, I had to replace a rear left bearing; I was able to take mine to a machine shop and did the repair for under a $100, but the dealer sells you an "assembly" for over $300. That will get rid of any whining noises in the rear, "sounds like road noise".

Oh, don't forget the motor that cooks oil, causing sludging problems. The sludge blocks pores designed for oil to flow through and lube the motor properly. This sludge problem causes owners to change oil every 3000 miles instead of 6000, causes oil breakdown, cause premature motor failure, causing the engine emission problems.

The 2000 Camry is the lemon of Toyotas and other cars.

The 2000 Camry is the lemon of all Toyotas; no wonder they were redesigned shortly there after, and again in 2006.