general problems of the 2009 Toyota Highlander

Engine oil filler cap had interior motor part , melt through while driving , almost hurling all the way through , 2 inch cylindrical part viewed when opening hood to inspect damage . Braking , trac and vsc engaged and motor failed almost dieing , abs allowed brake pedal to go to floor with vehicle just stopping enough to move from traffic . No injuries and no collisions happened due to violent engine combusting or braking disabled , incident happened at 10 mph entering a parking lot .

I was driving down the interstate in wisconsin during rush hour when I took off my cruise control to slow down to take the next exit. I noticed an abnormal down shift when I took off the cruise control. Almost immediately the oil and traction control lights came on. As I slowed to the stop sign at the end of the exit the display screen began dinging and read low oil pressure and immediately stop the car and turn off the engine. I immediately pulled over once out of the way of traffic and shut down the car. Upon checking the oil there was none on the dipstick. There was oil dripping down from the grill all underneath the car including in the front tire wheel wells. I also heard knocking from the engine, so I am concerned that the lifters and the top end of the engine may be compromised. This a known issue with Toyota, who has refused to issue a recall for faulty oil lines and seals. Luckily, I was at an exit where I could safely pull over before more major damage was done to the vehicle. My personal safety, the safety of my family as well as other drivers could have compromised by the neglect that Toyota has shown by continuing to ignore this issue.

Oil cooler hose burst in car. Yo have about 20 seconds to turn the engine off before it seizes up because all the oil is pouring out of the car. We had it towed to midas dealership and they fixed it. I called Toyota because I noticed they had a customer support program covering this problem. I was told if I would have taken it straight to the dealership, it would be covered but instead I had to submit paperwork which I did. Well it is not covered. They are claiming that the part on the invoice is not covered. However, the oil cooler hose that burst which is original to the car was rubber and the Toyota replacement part is metal. They are merely not covering this because it is not a recall and they are not getting in trouble for it. It is a huge safety issue, as when this bursts (with no heads up), you have only a few seconds to get to the side of the road and turn off the engine. Toyota is fully aware of the issue but the gov't has not required them to put in a recall.

I'¿¿m contacting you about an issue recently encountered on my 2009 Highlander. The oil hose attachment located at the bottom of the car had pin size hole that pushed all the oil out of my car. The oil hose is in a location that would not be exposed to any element. I truly feel that this is a manufacture defect but can'¿¿t find recall information on the site. I had the car towed to the dealership that said this part will take up to 3 weeks to receive. They also had a few other Toyota cars in repair for the same issue. This is alarming since it looks like a known issue and the hose location is not exposed. The dealership also told me once repaired they don'¿¿t know the extent of the damage since the oil was drained out at fast pace. Please look into this issue and help protect others that might not be aware of this defect.

T-sb-0201-11 from Toyota states "some vehicles equipped with 2gr-fe/fxe towing package engines may exhibit an oil seep from the engine oil cooler pipes. " this TSB affects Toyota and Lexus vehicles going back to at least 2008-present. This is a major issue, and I feel this should be handled as a recall instead of a TSB due to the severity of the issue if/when the pipe breaks. I recently elected to have my vehicle repaired on my own just so I wouldn't have to worry about this issue happening to me or my wife, and thus blowing up my Highlander's engine causing thousands of dollars in damages. Seems pretty bad that a recall can be issued for floor mats and accelerator issues, but no recall is issued for this issue which can drain the oil from your engine in a minute, blow up your engine, and then possibly wreck your vehicle. Consumer's engines are now being destroyed, and this is showing up in different online forums. I feel that the NHTSA needs to force Toyota to replace all of the defective engine oil cooler pipes with the newer metal ones that the TSB addresses. They should also be forced to reimburse all costs to those individuals that either needed to have the repair done, or decided to preventatively have the repair done on their own before those pipes burst on their own.

Toyota has issued a t-sb-0201-11 which states "some vehicles equipped with 2gr-fe/fxe towing package engines may exhibit an oil seep from the engine oil cooler pipes. " this affects Toyota and Lexus vehicles going back to at least 2008-present. This should have been handled as a recall vs. A t-sb with a defined expiration date because consumers engines are being destroyed when this 'seep' occurs. This happens with a minute and all of the engine oil is left on the road and the engine is destroyed. Imagine a family who's driving along the highway, their engine stops working and an 18-wheeler rear ends them. That is why the NHTSA needs to force Toyota to replace all of the defective engine oil cooler pipes with the metal ones that the t-sb addressee.

When starting it would make grinding noise,sounds like metallic noise until the engine oil starts circulating. Dealer said that its normal due to cold starts but this can happen even when the engine is up to temperature. Toyota refuse to remedy the issue.

2009 Toyota highland had been drived for about 10 minutes, parked, locked at 7:25 am on Jan 22, 2010. Approximately 20 minutes later a 6th ft high flames were discovered by the owner coming from the engine. Someone had already reported the fire and the fire department responded by 7:50 am.