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Transmission and drivetrainPart report

2002 Toyota Camry Solara Transmission and drivetrain Problems

Complaints
5about this part
Share
8%of 60 total for the year
Median mileage
14,000miles
Trend
Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.

NHTSA recorded 5 complaints about the transmission and drivetrain of the 2002 Toyota Camry Solara, 8% of the 60 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 14,000 miles. 1 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers.

Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“At just over 17,000 miles on the spedometer, the check engine light illuminated. I took it to my dealership, which informed me that the problem was a shift solenoid. Upon replacing the shift solenoid, the check engine light continued to illuminate, and I was told that the problem may be the torque converter on the transmission, but the technical expert was contacting Toyota becuase he could not definitively pinpoint the problem. …”

NHTSA complaint #10061905, filed 2004-03, 17,183 miles

“I was in reverse and backed into a concrete pole in my office parking garage. I applied the brakes to stop the vehicle. The car jumped into drive, and rapidly accelerated, and would not respond to my efforts to brake. I then hit a concrete pole head on, which totaled my vehicle. On a prior occasion that happened in february 2003, the consumer was driving for several minutes with the cruise control set to 60-65 MPH. Without input, the vehicle speed increased rapidly to 80-85 MPH. The consumer cancelled the cruise by applying the brakes, then turned off the cruise master switch. Updated 7/3/12”

NHTSA complaint #10056537, filed 2004-02, 14,000 miles

“Transmission linkage problems. When slowing at traffic lights or while in motion, upon acceleration, transmission downshifts and then upshifts abruptly in a very disturbing abnormal way. It happens constantly during normal city driving. You must be very careful to be gentle when accelerating after slowing down. This will be my very last Toyota.”

NHTSA complaint #10007847, filed 2003-02, 10 miles

Related service bulletins

Transmission and drivetrain: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
200845%
200776%
200676%
20051617%
2004138%
200314%
200258%
200069%
199945%

Other parts of the 2002 Toyota Camry Solara

Vehicle speed control
14 complaintsAir bags
12 complaintsSeat belts
8 complaintsBrakes
7 complaintsEngine cooling
4 complaintsSeats
3 complaintsTires
3 complaintsFuel system
2 complaintsSteering
2 complaintsElectrical system
1 complaintsEngine
1 complaintsEquipment
1 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2002 Toyota Camry Solara

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 31, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology