Two problems related to driveshaft have been reported for the 2003 Toyota Highlander. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2003 Toyota Highlander based on all problems reported for the 2003 Highlander.
2003 v6 awd Toyota Highlander front to rear drive shaft failure (propeller shaft).
2003 Toyota Highlander, 4 cyl , auto trans. Between 25 and 45 mph, when you apply the brake on the auto and then press the gas to resume your forward travel, there is a kick (like a looseness in the transmission and drive shaft) followed by the motor revving as it should and the transmission down shifting. I went to the dealer who told me yes, there is a looseness caused by the fact that there is a lot of rubber connectors holding the differential and drive shaft assembly to the vehicle frame. Over time they had fatigued (31000 miles). The dealer took no action. I have a registered a complaint with Toyota (200508090110). A final end result would be the differential and attached drive shaft falling off the auto while it is in motion causing a serious injury or fatal crash.