Steering column or shaft failure on the 2002 Toyota Camry
Only 7 reports for this mode came with an odometer reading, which is too few for percentiles to mean anything. The page is here because someone linked to it; treat the figures as anecdotes, and see the full report for this year instead.
When steering column or shaft failure gets reported
There are 8 reports of steering column or shaft failure on the 2002 Toyota Camry, 7 with a mileage attached. That is too few to place the failure on the odometer with any confidence.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 85,000 miles. It is the 25th most-reported problem on this model year.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | 112,000 miles | — | — |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $600–$2,500 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
This mode is classified as critical, which means a failure can leave the car unable to stop, steer, or stay out of the way of traffic. It is weighted accordingly in the risk score.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 13 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2008, at a median of 30,000 miles, and latest on the 1997 at 150,000 miles.
By volume the 2005 carries the most reports, with 28; the 2002 has 8. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
I purchased a 2002 toyota camry le, carfax one owner, steering lose hard to turn took to shop that's been in operation since 1972 told I had acracked steering column the same as the toyota trucks and SUV mid 2000 models. The shop said it would be 750.00 dollars should take to toyota as they have seen this problem before in toyota cars and trucks. Called toyota they said car was to old even though other wise car in perfect mechanical condition. I'm sure I am not the only consumer out their with this problem. There is no excuse for cracks in any vehicle's steering column since this is one of the most component on any vehicle, the big 3 never had this problem, even though they had scores of others. Every one knows this is unacceptable, faulty steering cracks on a -1 used car because of a design flaw, not usage. *tr
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 toyota camry. The contact was driving 20 MPH when the steering failed and became extremely resistant. The dealer inspected the vehicle and advised the contact that the steering column would need replacing. The vehicle was repaired by the dealer. The failure and current mileage was 90,000.
I purchased a 2002 toyota camry 3 years ago at 115,000 miles. I now have 205,000 as of the date of this letter. Last spring, the power steering failed in cold weather and there was a sqeaking noise behind or around my steering wheel so I replaced the pump. It warmed up, so I couldn't test the result. This winter, the problem is much worse and unsafe, so it wasn't that. After nearly hitting a car because I could hardly come out of my turn, I took it to the toyota dealership on 1/17/12. They kept it overnight to experience the problem. They said they would start by replacing the steering column u-joint for $510, but would not guarantee it. I asked 5 other mechanics who said that it can't be that if it only occurs in cold weather, so I told them not to do anything. I'm bringing it back to my town to have others look at it and fix it. Most of them feel it is the rack, or, just goo'd up power steering fluid, which they will start with, at a cost of only $50 to drain and refill. I have had rack quotes of $880. This car has always been well maintained and I plan to keep it for 500,000 miles. *tt
Also reported on the 2002 Toyota Camry
Other speed control problem
Other brake problem
Other engine problem
Other body or interior problem
Other powertrain problem
Other wheel or tire problem
How far this goes
This page is kept out of search results because 8 reports is not enough to publish percentiles from. It stays reachable because somebody looking at this exact car would rather see the reports than be told there are none.
Complaints are voluntary, so 8 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does steering column or shaft failure happen on the 2002 Toyota Camry?
Across 7 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 110,000 miles. A quarter were filed before — and a quarter after —. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is steering column or shaft failure on the 2002 Toyota Camry?
8 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.2 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed