# 2000 Toyota Camry- 4 cyc- Is it a very difficult job to change the heater core?

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/2000-toyota-camry-4-cyc-is-it-a-very-difficult-job-to-change-the-heater-core/82177>\
**Category:** General Discussion\
**Created:** [November 10, 2013, 7:56am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2000-toyota-camry-4-cyc-is-it-a-very-difficult-job-to-change-the-heater-core/82177 "2013-11-10T07:56:52Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![ypli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e9c0ed/32.png) [@ypli](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ypli)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2013, 7:56am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2000-toyota-camry-4-cyc-is-it-a-very-difficult-job-to-change-the-heater-core/82177/1 "2013-11-10T07:56:52Z")

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Is replacing the heater core on a Toyota Camry a job for professional mechanics only? Where can I get some repair videos on the removal of the heater core? Is $800 reasonable for a garage to do it?

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**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\
**Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 5:16am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2000-toyota-camry-4-cyc-is-it-a-very-difficult-job-to-change-the-heater-core/82177/2 "2013-11-11T05:16:01Z")

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I’ve never done this, and don’t look forward to ever having to do it. But I expect most anybody with good diy skills, along with plenty of patience, the shop manual description of the procedure, and plenty of time, and no worries about getting a stiff neck could do it. Did you try Googling “Camry heater core replacement”? There may be some u-tube vdos out there.

$800? Depends on how many billing hours to do the job. But it seems maybe a tad high. $600-$700 is what I’d have guessed. Let me put it this way. If $800 was between me and a working heater core, I’d live with a cold car. But remember I live in San Jose California.

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**Author:** ![keith](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/keith/32/5518_2.png) [@keith](https://community.cartalk.com/u/keith)\
**Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 10:40am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2000-toyota-camry-4-cyc-is-it-a-very-difficult-job-to-change-the-heater-core/82177/3 "2013-11-11T10:40:44Z")

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I don’t know about the Camry, but on the Corolla, someone held up a heater core and they built a car around it, so it is very costly to get replaced. The AC has to be put on a recovery machine to discharge it to get to the heater core, so yes, it does have to be done in a shop by a licensed professional.

are you absolutely sure you need a new heater core, what are the symptoms?

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**Author:** ![missileman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/missileman/32/1366_2.png) [@missileman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/missileman)\
**Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 8:32pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2000-toyota-camry-4-cyc-is-it-a-very-difficult-job-to-change-the-heater-core/82177/4 "2013-11-12T20:32:03Z")

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@keith…I love the line: " but on the Corolla, someone held up a heater core and they built a car around it." I have changed a few heaters cores and luckily they were accessed from under the hood with a few bolts on the firewall. I did have one heater core in a Jeep Cherokee that I just disconnected (connected both heater hoses together) when I read the remove and replace instructions. I was living in Arizona at the time so it was no big deal.