general problems of the 2003 Toyota Highlander

Automatically disengage the transmission stopped the road icalled my husband myhusband came and together we got the car to a safe place. Then icame home with my husband and he called the insurance company and had the car towed. Ifound a place to fix the car and they said the transmission was broken and it cost about 6500 dollars. Icontacted the insurance company said they couldn’t help. The car was towed home and is not available.

2003 Toyota Highlander 4 cyl. Service bulliton from them #310436. Head bolts coming undone inside motor causing catastrophic failure of motor. Bolts not holding down mfgr knows about this. Was a manufacturing process that did not work. On carcomplaints. Com this is a rampant problem reported. Reads almost like a play book on how the motor overheats and fails, told headgasket, after opening up the motor it is found that the head bolts backed out. Toyota is normally a great car. I still owe money on this car and Toyota is basically not taking care of their customers and leaving us out to dry. Please issue a recall on this. Vehicle was driving and quickly overheated. This happened twice in a short distance. Easily can leave one stranded. No steam out the tailpipe and water gushed out side of motor. Dealer left motor apart when I went to pick it up after being dragged about. They promised to fix it at first as they dug into the motor they backed out of their word.

Head bolts stripped in engine , 66k miles - coolant loss - all mechanics prefer to swap engine - Toyota service shop by me quoted me 5,000 for an engine and 1 year warranty. The car is worth 8,000 tops. Heartbroken by this - will have to find a way to make repairs on my own and hope to drive again.

Needed to have a total engine rebuild due to faulty head bolts that stripped and allowed coolant to enter the engine and burn. Lucky-I guess-that I acted quickly so as to avert catalytic converter issues or sensors getting damaged by burning coolant. I also avoided the total loss of antifreeze and the resulting damage &/or inconvenience that thousands of others had. Still, a huge inconvenience and huge $5425. 82 cost due to manufacturer's defect: weak metal that couldn't withstand the torque/pull on them. . . Perhaps the threading played a part. I only know that 1000s upon 1000s of people suffered the same issue from Toyota on this engine in several years/models. There should be a recall. There should be compensation.

I've had my Toyota Highlander for about 11 years now. I got it as brand new car and I am the single owner and well maintained car. At about 138,000 miles the temperature gauge started going up , almost to red. It would go up and then down to normal and repeat. Turned out I blew a head gasket. While it was at the shop being repaired they found that the head bolts were stripped which is a known problem with this year ,make and type of engine my Highlander has. Now they can it will cost me $4500 to rebuild the engine. Real Toyota design problem, need action and support from Toyota.

I was backing my car from across the street. After shifting to drive, my car jumped back in reversed full speed crash in to my garage. I had my foot on the brake but wouldn't stop till it hit my garage wall.

On 7-11-13, going at highway speed on route 52 in north carolina, the throttle became stuck “wide open” causing my car to accelerate beyond my control. I slowed down to get off on the side of the highway, but I could not stop the car, only slow it down, to approximately 10-15mph. Got back on the road and took the next exit. Again I could not stop the car, and though I slowed again to about 10-15mph, I drifted through the intersection at the stop sign, with traffic approaching from both left and right! I turned sharply left, got off to the side of the road, and turned the key off to stop the car. God was watching, because no collision occurred. When I started the engine again, it “roared” like I’ve never heard it before. Somehow, I don’t remember how, I got the car about 100 yards down the road to a marathon gas station, to get completely off the road and out of the way. A man stopped and walked over to me, telling me that my throttle was stuck because of a faulty tps (throttle position sensor). He introduced himself as a mechanic, who formerly worked at a Toyota dealership, and said that was a “known” problem with Toyotas. He towed me to his house, replaced the tps, and we tested the car, to the satisfaction of both of us. It ran just fine, so I followed him to the pnc bank to get money to pay him. While there, the lady helping me, in response to my story, told me that her Toyota parked outside had the very same problem! except it cost her a lot more than my tow & repair did. My incident was most definitely a “part failure”, not an “operator error”, or a problem due to floor mats, as is alleged in the pending “unintended acceleration” litigation against Toyota, and my 2003 Highlander is not specifically listed in that litigation information on-line. I am sending a letter to Toyota, the ntsb and our local dealership where we purchased the car.

The contact owns a 2003 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 mph, the temperature gauge fluctuated then increased to max. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. The mechanic stated that the engine had to be replaced because the bolts were stripped. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 140,000.

Tl- the contact owns a 2003 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50 mph the vehicles temperature increased. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnosis. The mechanic stated the engine block bolts had stripped. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 140,000. Da.

Tl- the contact owns a 2003 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while driving 50 mph, the temperature hand on the instrument panel began to move to hot. The contact stated that she did not see any steam or smoke. The contact pulled the vehicle over and let it cool down. The vehicle was towed to a mechanic for inspection and they stated that there were stripped engine bolts and it was causing the failure. The contact also stated that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified and they stated that they could not provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 145,000. Ap.

The contact owns a 2003 Toyota Highlander. The contact was traveling between 65 and 70 mph when the air conditioner stopped emitting cool air and started emitting hot air. The vehicle was taken to a local repair shop. The repair shop stated that the engine needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 115,000. Updated 08/16/lj the consumer would like to have the complaint deleted. Updated 08/21/12.

While driving on the highway, the temperature gauge went above the half way mark and within 15 minutes of stopping and starting it approached the red but never actually went into the red zone. No dashboard lights ever went on to alert me to an engine problem. When stopped, it went above the half way mark and when driving it went down to the halfway mark. I got home ( 20 minutes later), I parked the car and drove it the next day to the Toyota dealer ( 8 minutes away from my house). It did not go above the halfway mark at this time. Fyi, all maintenance and check ups have always been on time and done at this dealer. The dealer called later that day and informed me that the head gasket was bad and in order to see what else may be damaged, it would cost $550. Just to investigate into to head cylinder and the engine. The $550. Would be applied to any repairs. The next business day, the dealer called to tell me that the bolts of the head cylinder were stripped and the threads were in the block. I would need a new short block at the cost of $6,375. 00 plus tax. All due to the overheating incident, which had never happened before.

I saw a small pool of a red-brown liquid on the garage floor, under the engine. I drove it to my mechanic and he thought it was a head gasket problem. The mechanic called the next day to say the head bolts in the engine block were stripped and the car was undriveable. This required an engine replacement. My mechanic stated that this never should have happened. The mechanic had checked online and called his engine friends and it appears to be a defect with this year and model. . Read more...

The contact owns a 2003 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that the head bolt detached from the engine block while driving 65 mph. The vehicle began running hot and water was leaking from the back of the engine. The vehicle was taken to a mechanic who inspected the vehicle and advised that the head bolt was stripped from the engine block. The mechanic advised the contact to take the vehicle to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not yet taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 189,000.

I have a 2003 Toyota Highlander with a @azfe motor in it. There is a major problem with these motors stripping out the headboltsin the back of the motor. I am now in a predicament as I have to get a block when I know it will mess up again and Toyota has as of yet to do anything about it.

My car engine is filled with sludge and the manufacturer (Toyota motor corp. ) will not honor the warranty.

Faulty electronic computer module on 2003 Toyota Highlander throws multiple error codes to indicate a number of problems with emission components. Error codes call out oxygen sensors, (there is four sensors on 2003 (4) cylinder Highlanders). Fix one sensor and another pops up bad according to the error codes. Another $400 repair bill ! Toyota will replace the module on cars with warranty, no problem. However, they deny there is any problems with the module when no warranty is involved. Codes at times also show a faulty catalytic converter ($1000 repair bill ). If you visit the Toyota nation web site you will see many reports of the component at issue. This is on the same vehicles as the one I own. Some people have reported Toyota charges unsuspecting customers $1600 to repair these four sensors. ( not my words, taken off the Toyota nation forums). Please demand Toyota replace the modules on these vehicles. Thank you !.

2003 Toyota Highlander 4. 0 heater has gone out in this vehicle and only the a/c now works this happened right after the purchase of this vehicle and the cost to fix this is very high and should be dealt with per Toyota since it seems alot of others are also having the problem due to a faulty knob becoming loose and breaking a tiny wire.

Two months after buying my new 2003 Highlander it developed a loud ticking in the engine. Toyota told me that this was common after 3000 miles or so but that there was nothing wrong with it, nor could it be fixed. I think this significantly reduces the value of the vehicle since I have had passengers ask me what was wrong with my car.