Engine Cooling System Problems of Toyota Highlander

Submitted to consumer rpts - we bought our brand new 2011 Toyota Highlander on March 3, parked it in the garage for a week (due to the bad winter weather in minnesota), drove it for 3 weeks, and on April 9 had the engine overheat (and blow) on our trip back from seattle, washington over spring break. Our Highlander has been sitting now at a Toyota dealership in butte, montana while they rebuild the engine. The vehicle only has about 4000 miles. Toyota is not covering the repairs, as they claim a road hazard - a rock - caused the radiator to leak and run dry vs a mechanical issue. However, there were no warning signs or any indication that something was going wrong until it was too late. The Highlander can tell me when my oil is low, when my tire pressure is low, calculate my mpg, annoy me with the alarm that goes off when I do not have my seat belt on (which I can physically see whether it's on or not), but it has no indicator that my radiator is leaking, my engine is overheating, or that it is about to blow. The last time I looked at my temp gauge, it actually showed below 'c', as we had just filled up with gas, and the incident happened within 15 miles of the gas station. As I was filling up, there was no indication that anything was wrong - no smoke, no smell, nothing. Of course, I thought the below 'c' was a bit odd, but I was driving a brand new vehicle and am very used to the temp gauge being below 'c' living in minnesota. I was told afterwards that the engine was so hot, the needle actually went all the way around - yes, no small one cent stopper at the top of the gauge, otherwise I would have noticed my engine was super hot before it was too late. Why don't they have an alarm (similar to my seat belt alarm) go off if any of the gauges enter the 'red zone'? why have they removed some of the guards that used to protect the radiator more. . . . Cost? we're hoping Toyota will pay some of the extra costs we incurred $500 insurance deductible and others.

See all problems of the 2011 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

Coolant loss due to stripped head bolts in the engine block. Engine over heated. No heat.

See all problems of the 2004 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

2008 Toyota Highlander. Consumer states squeaky noise when vehicle tires go over any bumps as well as when the vehicle is started in the morning when the weather is cold the consumer stated the noise was coming from the dashboard on the passenger side. The dealer was unable to find a problem. Also, the water pump was leaking.

See all problems of the 2008 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

The coolant kept leaking on my Highlander 2003 4 cylinder for last few months. The temperature gauge one day showed heating of engine. Took it to Toyota , they said it is blown head gasket. Demanded $3500.

See all problems of the 2003 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

The contact owns a 2006 Toyota Highlander hybrid. The contact stated that since the vehicle was purchased it has stalled while driving various speeds. The vehicle was taken to the dealer several times for the failure. The diagnostic test did not determine what caused the failure to occur; however, the cooling pump was replaced. The repair did not correct the failure. On October 14, 2010, while driving 65 mph the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who stated that the inverter cooling system failed. The dealer stated that the warranty had expired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer filed report 1010191147 and advised the contact that they would call her. The failure mileage was 59,000 and the current mileage was 108,000.

See all problems of the 2006 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

2003 4 cylinder Toyota Highlander. Coolant leak and subsequent need for a new replacement engine due to the defect of 3 rear engine short block screws/threads. Had less than 85k miles on vehicle, when found a coolant leak underneath engine block of vehicle in garage after having no issues prior with engine, radiator or any associated accessories to the coolant system/engine system of vehicle. Took to a Toyota dealer prior to any overheating or vehicle operation failures or radiator failure. Toyota dealer pulled engine manifold and cover off to investigate and found that when they pulled the three screws that connect the engine cover that cover the heads/cylinders, the threads associated with the screws came with them. The only fix per dealership determined to be a brand new short engine block and accessory replacement for $6,470. Date on this is August/2010. Have all past service history oil changes/transmission changes, radiator changes, water pump service, etc from 0 miles to current. Told that the screws were never sprayed and sealed correctly, thus corroded into the threads and caused failure with both items. Very unhappy that an engine is going to be paid for and replaced by consumer on an obvious manufacturer error. More and more of these specific issues will arise with time on these 4 cylinder early 2000 Toyota Highlanders. They will need to relieve the consumer of a full payment of a new engine or burden themselves on losing even more loyal Toyota consumers. ----Toyota only consumer since 1994. . . . . Till now!!!!.

The contact owns a 2006 Toyota Highlander hybrid . While driving 65 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning . She was able to coast the vehicle onto the emergency lane. The vehicle was towed to a dealer who diagnosed the failure and stated that the hybrid inverter malfunctioned. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 128,648.

The temperature control on my 2004 Toyota Highlander keeps switching by itself from hot to cold and hot again. I have to actually turn the ac on even when the outside air coming in is moderate because the temperature control will switch by itself to hot and I can't switch it off. This occurs every time I drive and more so when I go over a bump or make a turn. I turn the vent on for outside air, but the temperature control gets locked on to hot and I can't turn it off. I have called the dealer and they have said that it would cost around $1000. 00 to fix it. They want to replace the whole control unit. I have read various forums of numerous owners having this same issue. It seems to be a problem with Toyota not leaving enough slack in a ribbon cable with 3 connections that connect from the circuit board to the control knob. The wires break off from the soldering on the knob. This sounds like a known defect to me that Toyota is aware of, but chooses to ignore. Apparently a cheaper fix is to re-solder the cable, but they refused to do that. I think they should be fixing this for free. This is just another example of Toyota ignoring known issues with their vehicles.

My 2003 Highlander heat gage indicated the engine was starting to get hot. I pull into service station to check coolant level and noticed coolant leaking on the ground. I waited for about 15 minutes to assure myself it was safe to take off the radiator cap. I could not see any coolant so, I purchased a gallon of pre-mixed coolant and poured in about 1/2 to 3/4 gallon to bring it up to full. I made the trip home without the car getting hot, but noticed the leak was still there. I had the vehicle looked at by a local Toyota dealer and was told the car needed major repairs. There is a technical support bullitin on the engine in question. A 2. 4 litre (4 cylinder) engine common on camarys and Highlanders. I feel Toyota should have to repair this vehicle in light of the fact Toyota has known of the design defect on other models (camary and Highlanders). When I took the car in for repairs the service scheduler knew exactly what problem I was describing to him about my car. This indicated to me, Toyota has informed their dealers of the problem or, they wouldn't have sent a service bullitin on the very fix to my cars problem. The service bullitin described (3) head bolts around the intake manifold would stretch and fail to seal the head thus, leak coolant. The bullitin even describes installing heli-coils in the (3) affected bolts to solve the problem. This appears to be another failure of Toyota taking responsibility for known defects in their automobiles. I bought and paid for this vehicle in good faith on the reliability record of the Toyota company's past record. I now feel I have been treated unfairly by this company. I would understand if this was an isolated occurance, but it is not and Toyota knows this full well. Service bullitins don't get sent to all dealers for a single occurance. Please help !.

Vehicle suddenly leaks engine coolant to the outside of vehicle without any warning of overheating. Leak is coming from a defective head bolt and cannot be fixed. Entire engine block needs replacement. A very common issue among 4 cylinder 2001-2006 Toyota engines in the camry,highlander and rav 4 leaking harmful coolant to the outside of vehicles that is deadly to humans and animals if consumed. Not to mention overheating of engine that can result in loss of engine power and vacuum that supplies power to steering and brakes.

The SUV was out of coolant & water and my husband take the car to the dealer to check this problem and for regular maintenance (the car only has received service at the dealer, except for tires). The diagnostic was that the shock block has it threads separated from the screws (or bolts). The engine has to be removed in order to change the shock block. The repair has cost $4701. 31, because it was also recommended to change the oil pump. Previous to this repair, the SUV was taken to the dealer because there was a recall to reprogram its computer because the check engine light turned on (this happened twice). We have a full record in the dealer of all maintenance checks and repairs the SUV had.

While driving on the highway, my engine temp in my 4 cyl, 4wd 2003 Highlander suddenly spiked high. I had to pull of the road. Towed to dealer. Dealer said bolts on short block of engine were stripped and allowed coolant to leak out and engine overheated. I was at 68,000 miles, so over the warranty period. I took it to my local dealer and they said I had a bad water pump. . . I paid to have that fixed, but the car still overheated. I took it back to the dealer and they then said it was the engine itself. . The short block, something about the screws were stripped, that I had gotten a bad engine with stripped screws. Dealers service manager told me this was a known issue on some 4cyl 2003 Highlander but couldn't help me as it was out of warranty!!! the service manager called me back later and said that Toyota would help out. . . I ended up paying a total of almost $1000 for the replacement short block, with Toyota paying the rest of the cost for the short block replacement. This was on top of the cost I paid just a few days prior for a water pump that turned out to not be the issue. Very frustrating. . . I have all my receipts for maintenance and for these repairs. I am filling out this complaint over a year after the incident, because I have seen the same thing in the complaints and wanted to add mine. I do have all the documentation for my repairs for this and am more than willing to answer any questions, thank you.