Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (accelerator pedal, throttle, sudden acceleration, cruise control).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2002 Toyota Camry owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Sudden unintend acceleration at slow speed--on December 17, 2015, when pulling slowly into a garage and nearly stopped, the car suddenly surged forward raming the car into the garage interior wall. This resulted in "totaling the car" and damage to the garage and property in the garage. This is the second time that this sudden unintend acceleration occurred with this 2002 Camry . It also occurred on January 20, 2010 with a different driver (my wife) who had her foot on the brake when pulling into a parking spot. The car suddenly surged forward about three car lengths causing damage to the underside of the vehicle. We filed a complaint with NHTSA on January 30, 2010 (seenhtsa id number 10303355). For the 2010 incidence the car was towed to a Toyota dealer where repairs where made. …
Tl* the contact owned a 2002 Toyota Camry. While driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle's speed control malfunctioned. The vehicle failed to stop accelerating while turning, even with the brake pedal depressed. The contact approached a red light and crashed into a parked vehicle. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed, but was not completed by the officer. The contact was informed that the report would become available within ten days. The contact sustained two broken arms, a fracture to the second and fifth ribs, a dislocated wrist (side unknown), a broken right ankle, and bruises to the right leg. Medical attention was required in the form of surgery (bone reset). The vehicle was destroyed and towed. The contact stated that the front end of the vehicle was smashed into the interior of the other vehicle near the passenger seat. …
My wife was backing into our garage. She pulled forward to realign car. When she placed gearshift back into reverse (autom. Xmsn) and perhaps had lightly touched the accelerator pedal, the throttle immediately went to very high setting. Car accelerated backward until stopped by firewood pile, furnace and rear wall of garage. Throttle continued at high setting for some time. Driven wheels kept spinning (as shown by skid marks on garage floor). Then throttle autonomously returned to idle. Firewood was scattered. Furnace was destroyed. Garage wall was displaced about one inch. Bumper, one rear light assembly and one quarter panel of car were damaged. (body shop inspection May reveal other damage.) my wife experienced neck discomfort, which has gone away. She is sure that she did not press accelerator pedal more than very lightly. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 Toyota Camry. While driving 5 MPH approaching a gate, the vehicle suddenly accelerated independently without warning. As a result, the vehicle went through the gate and crashed head on into another vehicle. The passenger sustained injuries to the head and leg. Also, the occupants of the other vehicle sustained unknown injuries that required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a salvage yard. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 130,000.
Driving on the freeway, check engine light came on, smoke coming out of the hood, brakes and emergency brake failed, vehicle accelerated on its own (no pedals were working), car crashed and fire engulfed the vehicle
I started the car, and I released the brake and started in reverse. After a few seconds, the car suddenly sped up to about 45 MPH in reverse. The car would not stop even as I pressed the brake, and it then hit two cars. That is when it stopped. I tried to put the car in drive to go back into the parking space, but it jolted forward and skipped two parking bumpers. At that time, I hit another car. At that point, I left the car alone seeing as there was something clearly wrong. In the end, my car sustained damaged to the front and to the back totaling $10,111.60. This does not include the damage to the three other cars, the totals of damage of which I am not aware of although they are claiming my insurance. I took the car to a local Toyota dealer having conducted research on what happened to me. …
After picking up her mail at her condo mailbox area, my mother (93 years old but in good health) started up her car, heard a loud roaring noise, thought it was an airplane flying low overhead (it was her car engine), and put the car in reverse to exit her parking space. With the throttle jammed for some reason, the car took off very fast in reverse in an uncontrolled manner, circled around several times over curbs, grassy areas, side swiped a sign pole, and came to a stop finally after backing (crashing) into anther condo unit across the street from where she lives. Obviously she was very scared after this very fast uncontrolled backward ride, but happy to find that she had not been injured, or that she had not hit another car or person. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 Toyota Camry. While driving 38 MPH, the vehicle accelerated independently and surged forward. The contact placed the gear shifter into neutral. The vehicle stalled and the check engine indicator illuminated. The vehicle was driven to the contact's residence. Later, the contact noticed a strong odor of fuel around the vehicle. The contact noticed fuel pouring out on the ground from the fuel tank. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that fuel was in the vacuum line of the engine. The vacuum canister was also filled with fuel and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. …
We purchased a new 2002 Toyota Camry 7-16-02 and the accelerator surged while backing out of the driveway 11-9-02 causing it to strike another parked vehicle and stopped 6 inches from striking a house. The total damage was almost $10,000. We told the Toyota dealership and they said it had to be an operator error because they never heard of another acceleration problem. The dealer never offered to do a diagnostic check and they told us to go to a dealer closer to our home if it happened again. In 2004 we read an article about sudden acceleration problems with the Camry and Lexus vehicles. We looked on the NHTSA web site and under speed control complaints we saw a complaint of a 2002 or 2003 Camry accident exactly like the one we experienced. We sent a letter to Toyota inc. 4-18-04 at p.o. Box 2991 in torrance, ca 90509 and Toyota never responded back. …
Driver concluded business at a drive through atm at a local shopping mall. Vehicle was shifted into 'drive' and at that instant the engine started racing at high speed and the vehicle accelerated rapidly. The driver depressed the brake pedal, but the vehicle would not stop. The engine was still racing at top speed and the vehicle was picking up momentum. The driver pumped the brakes several times, but no feedback response could be felt. The rapid, unintended acceleration caused the vehicle to travel across the centerline and into the opposite direction of traffic. With opposing traffic approaching the driver turned the vehicle sharply to the right in an effort to avoid a collision. Seeing a number of cars stopped at the approaching intersection to the main road, the driver continued to steer the car hard to the right. …
NHTSA investigations
Throttle control system
The Lexus models were the subject of defect petition (dp) 04-003.twelve odi complaints are duplicative to Toyota reports, including the two minor crashes.the v6 equipped solara models have been excluded because they do not contain the subject throttle control system.Toyota introduced electronic throttle control (etc) on the subject vehicles beginning in model year (my) 2002.odi opened the investigation to determine…
Engine surging
The petitioner owns a my 2006 Toyota camry with a 4-cylinder engine that was purchased new in January 2006. The petitioner also previously owned a my 2005 camry. He alleges that both vehicles exhibited vehicle engine surging, which he described as a short duration (1 to 2 second) increase in engine speed occurring while the accelerator pedal is not depressed.
Vehicle speed control
In a letter dated July 8, 2005, and after experiencing two incidents (and one crash) where he alleges his model year (my) 2002 camry accelerated without driver input, mr. Jordan ziprin petitioned the national highway traffic safety administration?s (NHTSA) office of defects investigation (odi) to commence a proceeding to determine the existence of a defect within the etc system in my 2002 to 2005 Toyota and Lexus…
Acceleration complaints in other Camry years
Frequently asked questions
How common are acceleration problems on the 2002 Toyota Camry?
NHTSA has 281 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 2002 Toyota Camry, 29% of the model year's 953 complaints. The component named most often is accelerator pedal (30 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2002 Toyota Camry acceleration problems?
No. NHTSA lists no speed control & acceleration recall for the 2002 Toyota Camry, though it has 4 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2002 Toyota Camry acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 39,000 miles, and 35% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 152 crashes, 3 fires and 54 injuries and 8 deaths to speed control & acceleration problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.