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By the way, after my last post, someone mentioned "Classic Soft Trim". Today I noticed that the backs of my front seats have the Classic Soft Trim label and the advisor told me that this was not the first problem that they have seen with the PIO leather. I'm not so sure that I would recommend someone using CST. Now my concern is the longevity of the seats AFTER the warranty period.
And...while I was there a lady in a HL with factory leather pulled in behind me for a wiper blade problem. She graciously let me check out her seats and, though I am no leather expert, the material felt much nicer and the fit was way better. Sorry for the long post but just thought that I would share a "good" dealer experience.
Hope this helps.
Ken
This board has been very helpful.
I am reporting a steering vibration when braking at 65-70mph. This happens intermittently. Front brake pads recently checked were reported "OK". Any other ideas? Anyone else has had the same problem?
Thanks in advance!
Turn the radio on and hold the right knob down until you hear a beep, probably around 20 seconds. At that point you should be able to view Bass, Treb and what looks kind of like Mid. Adjust the mid level to your taste. Do not turn off the car before you turn off the radio. If you do, the mid range option is lost and you must go through the above procedure again.
Did you hear a beep after holding down the right button??
Besides which lots of the new technological stuff, CD or direct ignition, fuel injection, etc, has helped start engines quicker and
using less power. A LOT less power.
And I think that since most modern day cars start so much quicker and reliably the power to the starter motor has been significantly reduced by using gear-reduction starters. Rapid engine turn-over no longer required.
Think about it, when was the last time your engine didn't start on the very first try? Engine flooding? Bad accelerator pump? Points closed up? An intake choke, of any kind? A vapor lock?
Press the accelerator to the floor to set the "automatic" choke and inject "start-up" fuel via the accelerator pump?
Daze gone by.
They should have a tool to test for this.
If you are still under warrantee fight them if they want to just 'turn' the rotors where they use a lathe to cut down the metal until it's even again.
With the metal thinner after turning this will just make the problem come back quicker and you will get stuck with replacing the rotors yourself.
You might also have them check the calipers as well, if the rotors are warped.
I don't think that this is a common problem with Toyotas but I have seen at least one posting with someone with this problem.
If you have warped rotors in can be caused by a sticky caliper causing overheating and warping of the rotor. If a caliper is sticking, the problem will return unless they fix the cause.
With the Jeep I got rid of before buying a Highlander, I had the rotors replaced three times in less that 30,000 miles, and they were warped again.
Eddie
What I seem to notice is that in heavy (stop and go??) traffic people seem to apply the brakes first for good reason, then out of nerviousness or whatever just don't remove their foot from the brake pedal right away.
Now I know that brake rotors have likely gotten thinner lately due to the need for weight savings but I can't help but wonder when someone needs rotors turned or replaced three times in 30k miles if someone's foot doesn't have a bad habit of resting ever so lightly on the brake pedal.
Or maybe even in anticipation of needing to quickly hit them again when that car ahead that you're a tad too close to hits his.
Before the advent of power brakes this would likely have never been a problem, but now...
Love the ride, gas mileage and everything about it EXCEPT excessive wind noise (at speed) and a persistent wind whistle in head and cross winds that comes right through the windshield.
I've read through the posts. The A pillar seal issue seems to have been resolved in a TSB some time back. The front scoop looks sporty, but I'd yank it off in a Yankee minute if I knew it would reduce the noise. Some noise I can tolerate, but the whistle has got to go!
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thank you.
Would you please be kind enough to describe exactly what you did to change the angle of the stone deflector?
Thanks!
About 3 grand! Seriously, both are great vehicles, I drove them both. I think the HL has better styling, the third row seat is not an issue for me - it's my car, not my wife's and the HL just seemed to be a better fit for me. I'm 6-3 and 240 lbs - the HL has plenty of room, even with the sunroof.
My wife and went through the same comparison and decision a week ago and came out the other side with a Mil. Silver Limited HL. As many have posted both are great vehicles, but what it came down to for us was the overall value of it i.e. how did we get the most for the least.
The Pilot was a bit big for the two of us and our two year old son. The comparably priced Pilot also did not offer and/or did not have three major things we wanted - A sunroof, a 6 disc CD changer, and a tow package w/ hitch. The Pilot's interior was also a little bland for the price tag too. After driving both, we went with the HL.
We did a lot of research into both vehicles and found that generally, dealers were more willing to work with us on pricing on HLs than on Pilots too.
Good luck with the search.
Ken
The inside door panel, however, is "genuine" vinyl; like any black vinyl, it is somewhat more prone to scratching.
I'd be interested to know if you find a suitable fix for the dashboard scratch.
Ken, I feel the same way about the Pilot as you do. It is big, but it does not have a sunroof, which I would like and a six disc in dash CD player. I would be the primary driver of the car. Thanks again for your input!
I do believe that Toyota is interested in making the best possible product, so I am hopeful that when I go to by another car ten years from now, this will not be an issue. If the repair person has any ideas as to how to protect it, I will pass it along. At least it will be fixed and no longer staring at me from across the car.:)
The dealer did not charge me anything. They didn't even ask how it was scratched.
See if you can get your dealer to fix at no charge.
I have a 2003 Corolla and the doom light does go out if I accidently leave the door open.
I would think the HL would have this feature. Is there a problem with mine or is this the way they are designed? Help!!
I get myself it trouble with my wife where I accuse her of treating the gas pedal as an on/off switch where she will zoom until she overtakes the car ahead and then brakes, falls back and keeps doing this. The brakes in her cars typically don't last too long. That's one other reason that I think that Toyota does a good job with brakes since she has a 96 Camry that we bought new and we are still on the first set of brakes/rotors after 65,000 miles. If anyone could kill them, she could.
I fell the need to defend myself on my Jeep brake rotors warping 3 times in 30,000 miles.
My driving is the complete opposite of my wife's. Unless there is stop-and-go traffic on the highway I typically "literally" use my brakes once on the highway, when I hit the exit ramp.
The warping was caused by a defect in the calipers. It took Jeep 3 years to figure out the problem and come up with a solution which involves replacing the calipers and rotors, of course after the guaranty is up . It took them this long even though a large proportion of the owner had the problem and they were getting slammed on the message boards. Take a peek at the thousands of messages in Edmunds under Jeep problems. I work in quality assurance and the Jeep problems make my skin crawl.
I don't think Toyota would let this happen, except as a possible exception the engine sludge issue. They seem to usually isolate and deal with the problems in a timely manner. This is easier since the initial quality is good.
I had good luck with a 72 Corolla, 86 Camry and an 87 Truck but foolishly tried to buy American with a 93 Taurus and a 99 Jeep, each was a disaster. I have read that the quality of American cars has improved but I haven't seen it.
We now have a 96 Camry and an 02 Highlander and we'll never buy another vehicle except a Toyota, or possible a Honda.
Eddie
The quality has improved through about 7 Buicks since 1985. The LeSabre in 1998 has been quiet, durable, great to drive, and well built. The 2003 LeSabre is even better. It's quiet as a Cadillac and well put together. It has even more features as do most cars to go wrong, though. Memory seats, mirrors, radio, temperature; HUD; 10 way power seats and lumbar... Just as all cars have added more features that can go wrong.
But it all comes back to the dealers handling of problems. Foreign branded car dealers had been better at handling problems, but American brands have caught up; but not all dealers are the same. My dealer is the reason I keep buying one brand. They care and are honest.
Look at the handling of the dash scratches by various dealers here. Is that a reason to not buy a Highlander or brand X? No.
While following several foreign branded threads here, it seems that there are more problems with some of the cars. Does that mean they're bad? NO.
Just that they are having more problems like most cars now.Maybe they always did, but the dealers handled it better.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I also had to have the drivers side lumbar area re-dyed. The passengers side had the same problem, but the dye did not work, so new leather has been ordered for that seat. I would recommend that potential buyers stay away from "port" leather.