2000 Toyota Camry LE from North America - All Comments

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.

Sorry about your bad experience with the Camry, but I don't believe the problems are limited to the 2000 model. I owned a 2004 that had a whole host of problems. I have owned six cars in my life and the Camry was by far the worst!

Well, I've owned a lot more than 6 cars; more like 12, and the 3 Toyota's were all tied for 1st place considering that I've yet to ever put a part in any of them with roughly a combined total of 275,000 miles. Far better than anything else made anywhere, except maybe for Honda's.

A COMBINED TOTAL of 275,000 miles??? That calculates to under 92,000 miles per car. Modern domestic WARRANTIES are longer than that!

Try looking at the October 2007 issue of Consumer Reports for REAL mileage. The featured vehicle in their article on "How to get 200,000 miles out of a vehicle" is a FORD RANGER with just under HALF A MILLION trouble free miles. The Honda Civic featured in the same article made less than HALF that mileage.

I don't consider a car properly broken in until it has 100,000 miles on it. Of course I'm spoiled. I drive domestics.

That's a good point. I had a single car, which was a Dodge, that had 260,000 miles on it when I sold it to somebody who's still using it as a plow truck. Apparently it takes three Toyotas to equal one Dodge. Sounds right to me. I have yet to own a Ford, Mercury, Chevy, Cadillac, or Dodge that DIDN'T pass 200,000 miles.

Huh. Funny how in anonymous print all of these domestics can get such high mileage. Well, it isn't that way in reality. I've owned many domestics; before I was smart enough to start buying Toyota's, and only one of probably 6 of them got anywhere close to 100,000, or even 80,000, before needed major repairs or at least several minor ones. All of the Toyota's however were literally perfect. No repairs. Maybe I just had 5 lemons in a row, right?

Gosh, isn't in funny how in anonymous posts import fans NEVER get over 40,000 miles out of a domestic without replacing 6 engines, but all their Toyotas go 6 million miles without a battery replaced?? I wonder who is REALLY doing the exaggerating.

No domestic of mine has EVER required even a minor repair in 100,000 miles. It's also hard to believe that anyone who ever actually owned a domestic would trade it for an import.

A large number of import owners (mostly Camry owners) are rushing to trade for a new Fusion or Buick LaCrosse.

A VERY LARGE number of Fusion trade-ins are Camrys less than 6 years old.

Also, one might consider checking out the Camry reviews just to see how "thrilled" Camry owners REALLY ARE.

Comment 08:31 sounds strange. You say you owned "probably 6" of them (domestics) You don't even KNOW how many you owned?? Also the comment none of them got even "close to 100,000 or even 80,000 miles" before having problems. Which IS it 80,000, or 100,000.

You accuse others of "exaggerating", but can't remember HOW MANY cars you've owned or remember if there was a problem at 80,000 or 100,000 miles??

Sorry, but such vague and indecisive comments leave a far less convincing impression than concise and clear statements such as comment 09:41.

Wow. I have owned Camrys since the 90's. No problem. My current Camry has 130,000 on it. I am surprised because only until recently have I replaced any parts. I changed the battery a couple of months ago as a precaution. I've done two sets of front brakes and never did the rear ones. I am on my third set of tires. Gosh, the only "special" things I've done is the resistor that provides speed control for the interior fan ($35). Right now I am researching the engine light issue that just came on ($150 so far for O2 sensors). That's it man. On the other two Camrys I replaced only the tires on one.

I also own a 2000 Camry LE. Yes, my check engine light is on but, the dealer replaced this under warranty at 115,000 miles. It was evident with the white smoke and I guess because Toyota is taking care of the problem.

However, I still have a check engine light that is on. From what I can tell; I either need to replace the charcoal canister, VSV solenoid, oxygen sensor, catalytic converter, or just don't fill the tank up to full. Who knows... Anyway, I am determined to solve this as my wife can't stand the light being on.

Here's another view.

2000 on is when my major issues started to really occur with imports. I went to domestics in 2004. If you find a low mileage older used import mid nineties or older, I agree they were better. If you are looking for a new or newer car post 2000, I would go with a domestic with the long warranty.

I am saving a lot of money of repairs leaving imports in 2004. My last 2004 GM I sold with 85000 miles with only tires, brakes and fluid changes. I also only go to the dealer during warranty periods, and I did that for years with all the imports we owned till lately.

What someone use to have does not mean they are an unequivocal authority on the present. The best way is to be disgusted; buy a couple new models import or domestic, and see how they hold up under heavy driving. I drive a lot, do not buy strictly on price and although disgusted with fuel pricing, I still enjoy driving a lot. I know how I have my vehicles maintained, and am not a big fan of bickering in dealer service shops as well as time spent.

Do your homework and remember car companies do not buy our vehicles for us. I would rather read about mechanical engine trans etc major complaints on here that coincide with many owners than maybe some lone individual perhaps disenchanted with the government and unrelated issues.

What sickens me is taking very good care of a new vehicle, and major issues such as sludging, engine failures occur or premature trans failures due to poor design.

The older imports I had, the best being Legends, were never back very well constructed... so why are the new models not anywhere as good is my comment? My new GM's are like the import quality we once experienced however, and not in the shop.

Our 2 GM's are now 8 years old and 5 years old. Neither of them has had any problems of any kind, even small problems like light bulbs. The 5 year old still has the original tires and brakes. I just replaced the original front brake pads on the 8 year old one a few weeks ago (the back ones are still good). Both look, feel and run like brand new. I'm totally sold on GM quality.

I bought one Honda after another after another did not even look at domestics for years. Even if the next Accord did not change much but that was what you wanted throughout the 80's-90's another trouble free car. That changed recently and we also started with GM as well. Mechanical issues will make you look around and we did and have zero regrets with our new GM's.

I too own a 2000 Toyota Camry... but I have had no problems with it and it has 180,000 miles on it.. The check engine light is on but it's only because of my air filter lid sensor... other than that it drives like it's new still... I like the car personally...It's an import, can't go wrong with them...

"...It's an import, can't go wrong with them..." The commenter obviously has not read the reviews on the 2002-2008 Camry, or the host of articles in recent automotive news stories regarding Toyota's lapses in quality (thousands of engines replaced, more vehicles recalled than were sold in 2006, the Camry rated WORST in 2006 in a 4-car comparo with the Accord, Fusion, and Hyundai Sonata).

The Car of the Year and American Car of the Year are both GM, and the most reliable car ever reviewed by Consumer Reports is a Ford.

You CAN go wrong with imports. We DID... 3 times... NEVER AGAIN. No more imports for this family.

So many domestics fanboys so-called 'reviews' on this site, its not even funny.

I am a Canadian driver (some of the worst driving conditions on earth, I live in northern Quebec) and I'm on my 12th import (mostly Toyota) and never had a single problem with them.

I've had several Camrys and Corollas, and they lasted very long with no problems at all. My 2001 Camry and 2002 Corolla are ultra-reliable, don't believe those angry American fanboys, in my province, American cars are ridiculed for their lack of durability, quality and resale value.

Imported cars rule (Toyota and Honda).