Toyota Highlander Maintenance and Repair

bigboy10

I'm thinking about getting a HL V6,4x4, etc. What are people getting on the highway for gas mileage. Be honest! Can you get 22 mpg?
Anyone out there that would not buy a Highlander again?
Thanks,

wwest

Can only answer for the HL counterpart, the Lexus AWD RX, but they share the same engine and drivetrain.

On a drive to Portland from Seattle Friday I got 22.7MPG averaging 67 MPH, trying to maintain 72MPH.

Some folks have complained that the RX' (HL?)engine revs too high at speed, 3000 RPM at 72MPH, but I don't personally see what difference that really makes. The Chrysler T&C 3.8L V6 revs 2250 at 72 and only gets about 20MPG.

cmuniz

I always get more than 22 MPG on my interstate driving - AWD V6 Highlander Limited.

bigdad

I get a consistent 22.7 mpg in my everyday driving using premium...with regular (.20 cheaper) I get an even 22 mpg. On the freeway, I drive between 75-80 mph, I have averaged 25.5 to 25.7 mpg. This is with the 2wd V6.

blizzard5691

I recently brought my 02 Highlander AWD LTD to the dealer for a
number of problems. 2 of them I have seen here. The first is the
vibration behind the pass air bag. They replaced a clip which didn't
seem to help at all. Did anyone ever find a working fix for this?
Also, I have a wind noise that occurs when I am driving between 40
and 60 MPH and when there is a cross wind. At first they couldn't
reproduce it till I showed them the speed range. It can get loud.
They have removed the moonroof wind deflector, the roof rack, and the
hood wind deflector. It happens with windows up/down, moonroof
open/closed and they are trying to find a fix from their database. I
gave them the TSB posted here about the door seals but, they say it
doesn't apply to mine. It is a 2002 that I bought in mid June 02 and
it was shipped fresh from Japan. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Thank you, Bill

blizzard5691

1) I just picked up my Highlander from the dealership. The whistling
is now gone. It turned out it was the hood wind deflector after all.
They are refunding me for it. The Toyota deflector that was
installed with the vehicle seems to alter the air flow and caused the
noise. I'm glad it's over as it was getting to be too loud. I do
still get overall wind noise ( not whistling )but, that seems to be
inherent to this model.

2) The vibration behind the airbag that everyone seems to get is due
to a cable that bounces against the back of the air bag housing ( I
think that is what they said ). They now have a TSB for it and a kit
to fix it. I didn't get the paperwork yet so I don't have the number.

3) I still have something strange with the auto climate control. It
was 46 degrees out and the engine was warmed up. When I set to Auto
for heating, at a setting of 65 degrees, the fan speed goes to max.
As soon as I go one degree to 66, it drops to the lowest fan speed.
It doesn't go to 2 bars on the speed till I set to 71 degrees and
then 3 bars at 80+. They are going to test some others at the
dealership and figure out what is going on. Anyone else have this
problem?
4) I too have the low speed whistle from the right rear and gave them
the fix posted here. They are going to check on it.

Overall, I have benn very happy with the level of service and the
people at the dealership. It is Competition Toyota in Middle Island,
NY. I had no problem getting a lowner car and they stayed courteous
and friendly despite my constant calling for updates.
I would appreciate any comments on the climate control.
Thanks, Bill

wwest

You can think of the highest and lowest temperature settings as "test" modes. At 65 or 85, some will actually say "max heat" or "max cool", the system ignores the various sensors and just drives the servomotors to maximum "tilt" and the blower to high.

They're also there to provide you with the most rapid cool-down, or warm-up modes. At any normal setting the system moderates the heating or cooling levels, not so hot as to "discomfort", etc.

quattrohead

Just had our's fixed at 1800 miles. Here is the full text from our dealer.

"Could hear squealing noise from R.R. that sounds like dry rubber seal noise (sounded like fire truck siren in distance) - Removed rear calipers and rotors. ran vehicle on lift, noise appeared to come from inboard side of both wheel bearing/knuckle assemblies. R&R necessary parts to remove axles from hubs. Checked inboard seals, felt dry and sticky. Lubricated both seals with wheel bearing grease. Reinstall all and test - noise gone."

We are happy to report that all is well again and our HL does not sound like a 10 year old Ford any more !!!
Good luck all.

robinsonm

I bought a previously owned 2wd V6 2001 Highlander in August. The driver's side window goes down by itself about once or twice a week. But sometimes it will go for a couple weeks without happening. Of course it never happens for the dealership. They've replaced the 'master switch' but it didn't help.

It occurs when the vehicle is parked, locked or unlocked. Never while it's running. Sometimes, I'll lock it, start to walk away, and hear it going down. Sometimes I'll come out from work and the window is down. Or in my garage. Sometimes it will be parked for hours before it occurs. It has nothing to do with the keyless remote. It has nothing to do with the cell phone.

Any suggestions?

cca651

I've had my 2002 Highlander for several months now and from the get-go have missed the convenience of having the interior light come on automatically when I turn off the ignition (as it does in my other vehicles). It's nice not to be sitting in the dark when I'm gathering up my stuff (alright, sure, I can turn on the overhead light or open a door, but this is Minnesota and cracking the door in winter can mean certain death).

But then a strange thing happened. A month or so ago I turned off the motor and pulled the key and, low-and-behold, the cabin light came on. This has happened again a couple of times since. I can't find a reference in the manual as to whether this should or shouldn't be happening, so my question is this: Is the light supposed to come on and mine only works once in every 400 attempts? Or is this not a feature and my wishing for it hard enough finally made it happen anyway? (in which case I'm going to start focussing on that Powerball jackpot).

Thanks!
Craig

megawattblues

Driver's side eh? Hmm - wonder if it's related to the driver-side auto-down feature.

Normally (in a 2002 model, anyway), when you unlock the driver's door with the key, the window will start to go down after a few seconds if you continue to hold the key in the unlock position.

Maybe whatever piece of magic silicon that causes that to happen is getting/giving false information.

Hope you find the problem.

deo4

This chat room is the best!!! We love our Highlander "the SUV with a car like ride", but we have recently noticed the same squeeky whistle sound, to us it sounded like a TEA KETTLE very soft, but it is sure getting louder.

The dealer SM looked at it twice and could not find the problem but we are printing this and hopefully he will look at all the rubber parts that could touch the axile.

At least we are not alone in this thing.

DEO

03bluestone

Has anyone else noticed that their odometer is tilted about 3 degrees from horizontal with about 77 mph being vertical not the 80 mph mark ?

cmuniz

deo4 - My delear found it right away by putting it on a lift, engaging transmission and listening for the noise. It was obvious to him. Yours may not have the problem at all or the dealer is not going about detecting the proper way. While driving it is somewhat more difficult to detect.

chop889

I have a noise I think is coming for the top of my windshield area not 100% sure. The noise seems to be when it is cold out. I happens on small bumps or turning the car. It seems it may be from the stress of the car movement. It is hard to pin down exactly but here is what it is NOT: glovebox, seatbelt, rear view mirror. I have tries all of the items and the car still seems to make the noise. Speed does not seem to be a problem it does it 20MPH to 80MPH. Hope someone can help. Thanks

poohbear17

The computer indicator that tells me the avg. mpg (in the dash) is stuck on 19.4 and never changes now matter the circumstances. It has been this way as long as I can remember. The "current" MPG works correctly. Any one else?

poohbear17

I thought that my Idle Speed Control Valve was "sticking" because some days the car will not idle until it has been warmed. The dealer says that the ISCV is not broken because they don't "stick". Either they work or they don't work and if it didn't work the problem would not be intermittent. Any other ideas???

cmuniz

poohbear17 - Try resetting the average mpg by holding down the display button until it shows zero. You should see it changing as you drive then. If not, it is truly broken. You may have so many miles logged in the average mpg computation with the same kind of driving that daily fluctuations don't affect the average.

john_fonti

2002, 4WD, 6Cyl, 2000 miles. I also had the whining noise on right rear wheel area. The dealer found it and had to order the parts. The parts order was for a shaft bearing with related clips and things. They will install it next week. And I thought a car made in Japan was supposed to have gone through better quality control. So much for that thought.

thensley

Where is the diagnostic port on the 01 HL? Are the error codes for the HL the same as other Toyota models?

Thanks

ront02769

2002 hl 4wd basic model w/power locks etc., 2 months old. when I first picked up the car the doors locked about 3 sec after I turned on ignition but unfortunatley the alarm was wired to the horn instead of siren. so, back it goes to dealer and now alarm works correctly but doors don't auto lock when car is started, a feature that I LOVE.

back to dealer who says nope, not us. that's an alarm company thing (they had third party install). off to alarm company they say nope, not us, that's a dealer thing.

and I of course am in the middle.

suggestions??

thanks.a

ront

reddevilfish

I also had a outside alarm store install an alarm in my 2002 HL. This place does about 50% of the work for this dealership, especially when they get busy. Needless to say, I noticed after I picked up the vehicle from the alarm place my Fog lights would not come on. I do remember then working when I first picked up the vehicle from the dealership. I went back to the alarm place, who droped the dash and could not find any problems. I went back to the dealership who took a look at it and says half of the main circut box is blown out from crossed or mixed wire(s) They are working on correcting this problem now. This has taught me a valuable lesson when it comes to people handling the electrical work in this vehicle.

ww888

Have anyone had any noise problems with their Highlander when they open the rear windows as they are driving on the highways at speeds of 40 and above? Their seems to be a lot wind "thumping" noises. I know I am not the only one with this problem, see http://www.thecarplace.com/02high.htm. I just wanted to know has anyone found a way to rectify this noise?

landdriver

This has been bandied about several times in the Highlander discussion boards (also known as the "Highlander helicopter effect") (click on "Advanced Search" to search specific Highlander discussions). The answer is that rolling down the front windows a little alleviates this problem. It isn't an issue for most as most do not drive in this configuration. As for myself while driving my pickup truck I frequently open the windows for ventilation, but while driving the Highlander I've never found the need to do this as the climate controls on the dash do an excellent job of circulating air throughout the vehicle IMO.

brianpoteat

Actually, this is not specific to Higlanders. It is a common effect on many makes of 4 door cars. My wife's Volkswagen Jetta and my mom's Jaguar XJ6 both do this. I haven't tried it in the Highlander yet as I just bought it a few days ago but in some cars if you switch the air cond. intake vent to outside air it will get rid of the noise.

It is a pretty freaky experience the first time it happens to you though, isn't it. Feels like the car is about to shake apart.

oldconch

Does anyone have the keyless remote programing instructions for (02 or 03) Highlander or can point me to where I can find them? Thanks

03bluestone

for remote programming see post #6818

oldconch

Thanks 03bluestone!! You know I still haven't figured out this search feature yet. I ran a search prior to posting and found some but not the 6818 post. BTW saw your 6814 post and if you still have the mudflaps I would like to contact you by email. Thanks again!!!

roadrunner70

MANY MONTHS AGO, SOMEONE SAID THEY HAD AN ENGINE VIBRATION PROBLEM AND THAT THEY WERE TAKING IT IN FOR EVALUATION/REPAIR. IF THAT PERSON IS ON THIS BOARD, PLEASE TELL US WHAT HAPPENED.

I HAVE DRIVEN SEVERAL 2002 HL W/6CYL. ENGINE AND I CAN DEFINITLY FEEL THE ENGINE RUNNING WHILE SITTING AT A LIGHT IN DRIVE WITH THE FOOT ON THE BRAKE, BUT THE ONE I OWN IS WITHOUT A DOUBT THE VERY WORST. sINCE BRAND NEW, IT HAS BEEN BACK TO THE DEALER FOR THIS SEVERAL TIMES, BUT THE DEALER SAYS ITS OK.

I CAN'T ACCEPT A $30k PLUS VEHICLE WHICH IS SO CRUDE, BUT UNLESS I WANT TO TRY AND LEMON LAW THE VEHICLE, THERE IS NO SOLUTION EVEN THOUGH TOYOTA MUST KNOW THEY ALL VIBRATE TO SOME DEGREE. ANYONE HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ON THIS PROBLEM. I SUSPECT A BAD MOTOR MOUNT(S). ANY TSB ON THIS??

hutchins2

I started having difficulty starting my 2002 Highlander in the morning. It would happen every few days but it would eventually start. Finally, it wouldn't start at all and had to be towed. Toyota replaced the fuel pump but the problem persists. Any ideas?

pdalpsher

and it turned out to be a hairline crack in the housing for the distributor. Don't know if the HL has the same thing as the Camry was a '90. If this occurred on an '02 I would suspect it to be defective to have failed so soon.

wwest

I'm going to be really surprised if the HL has one.

megawattblues

It's a distributorless ignition. You mention that it's hard to start in the morning. This makes me think it's a cold-start problem.

If this is the case, and it's not hard to start all the time (like after it's warmed up), then possibly something in the cold-start portion of your fuel system, like a cold-start valve/injector.

Or, maybe something further downstream that feeds info to the control module, like a coolant temp sensor.

Cars were so much simpler in the old days...

chop889

In my 02 Highlander Limited I have a noise I think is coming for the top of my windshield area not 100% sure. The noise seems to be when it is cold out. I happens on small bumps or turning the car. It seems it may be from the stress of the car movement. It is hard to pin down exactly but here is what it is NOT: glovebox, seatbelt, rear view mirror. I have tries all of the items and the car still seems to make the noise. Speed does not seem to be a problem it does it 20MPH to 80MPH. Does anyone else have this problem. Hope someone can help. Thanks

vinod_s3

I seem to face a similar problem. There's this rattle/click sound that seems to be coming from either the windshield area or behind the dashboard, especially on bumps and cracks on the road. You're right, chop889, the noise seems to intensify when it's cold outside.

Also, thumping sounds on bigger cracks/potholes; feels like the suspension's weak. Any suggestions would be highly appreciated.

Thanks!

03bluestone

Finally had some ice to try for first time, and I slid on the ice for a short distance, but now my Check "Engine" and "VSC" light are illuminated on the dash. Any one know why ? (Owners manual says - see dealer.)

udaman

Can't find post #6818. Whould really appreciate repost. Thanks!

wwest

I had that happen on my AWD 01 RX300 and was told that the ABS pump ran out of juice. Apparently the pump has a "timeout" circuit to keep it from over-heating if the need is of a too long duration, more than a few seconds apparently.

I don't know how it was reset the first time but since then I've just been disconnecting the battery for a short period to turn off the light.

ront02769

4 wd v4 highlander 2002, 3500 miles. stopping on pavement ok, no problem regardless of speed or how hard I stomp. however, when stoping on gravel road or today on snow, I get a GRINDING feel in the brake pedal. is this the normal "feel" of the abs system doing it's thing? or do I have a problem?

thanks.

ront

toyotaken

when stopping on gravel, snow, or other surfaces that have limited traction, the ABS may engage. Each vehicle and definately each manufacturer has a different feel when the ABS is working. On Toyota's, for the most part, you hear a noise that is very well described as a grinding sound. This may sound sort of spring like as well. You should feel some very fast, small vibrations in the pedal as you're stepping on it. Not much more than if you were running your foot over a washboard. Once traction is once again regained or when the vehicle stops, the ABS will stop engaging and the brake pedal will feel "normal" again.

From what you're describing, I would say that almost definately you're describing the ABS engaging. Hope this helps.

03bluestone

Thanks wwest for the information. The light went out after starting my HL after about 6 times. There was no noticable change in operation of any component during the 1 day it was on. Maybe it was what you thought.

megawattblues

You both mention cold weather.

Could it be possible that this is water (rain, carwash) that became trapped in the windshield trim, or cowl area, and is now ice pieces rattling around?

I realize I'm reaching here - but in the two posts, "cold" seems like the common denominator.

03bluestone

I don't mind the daytime running lights during daytime, but is there a way to turn them off while I am sitting in the car at night (with motor running) while waiting for my wife to run into the store??

toyotaken

The way to do this while waiting in the parking lot is:

Turn the engine off.
Engage the parking brake.
Turn the engine on.

The DRL will not turn on again until you release the parking brake. Just remember to do so before getting under way.

Hope this helps.

pdalpsher

FYI...it was *real* cold yesterday a.m. (mid-teens) and when I turned on the HL rather than getting usual series of chimes it sounded rather raspy. This morning it was back to normal. I've also noticed some popping noises as described here and they appear to be from the dash area, near the passenger-side air bag. Once the interior warms up the popping appears to ease up. The dash is hard plastic rather than the padded vinyl my Camry had so I'm assuming it has less 'flex', hence some popping with temp changes. At least is isn't sounding *expensive* yet LOL

rchi

I have a 4cly and 4*4 highlander.

I noticed there is a click sound from the

front and outside of the car when I just start the

car or make sharp turn or reverse.

The sound goes away when I drive faster than

40mph.

I know there are some posts regarding to the click

sound when the first time accelation.

But I also have the sound when making turns. The

dealer checked it about 2 hours and couldn't find out the reason. Anyone who have the same experience can help me out here? Many Thanks!

tommyg12

I had two dash rattles last year during the cold months and they have returned this year. I have discovered the locations but have not yet developed a fix. Both involved two plastic dash trim pieces: the one around the hvac/radio controls and the matching horizontal strip across the dash.

I can apply just a slight amount of pressure while driving and the rattles will stop. I'm thinking that maybe removing the trim and lining the back with a material much like is used to solve the glove box rattle. I just need to find a way to pop the trim off without damaging it. Anyone tried this??

Also, my co-worker has a HL and she has a rattle that we traced to the trim around the shifter housing. So, it seems like the trim pieces are a good place to start when attempting to find squeaks and rattles.

leonmacha1

At 25,000 miles began to notice a droning vibration at highway speeds. Does not change with changing road surfaces. Still have original Goodyear Integrity, running smoothly, rolling smoothly, wearing evenly. Dealer says 'tire noise' and rotated tires. No improvement.
Anyone with a similar problem and a solution????

Door gaskets replaced under warranty. Corrected wind howl in head/cross winds.

sfan

We bought a '02 Highlander V6 AWD last April. The car works great so far except a couple things bother us:
1. The air bag warning lights goes on in the cold morning. It's happened twice so far and we don't know why. Both happened in the very cold morning and the Air bag warning light went on and flashed every 20 seconds but it went away when my wife started car again after work. Does anyone have this problem?
2. Fuel Injector "clicking" noise?
After a few months we owned the car, I noticed the "clicking" noise from the engine when the car is parked with the engine running. Brought the car back to the dealer and they told me that it's normal. They stated that all the Toyota engines with the same Fuel Injector System make this "clicking" noise. Does any of you hear this noise? Is it something minor and I shouldn't be worry about?

Thanks a million for your input!!!

landdriver

I don't recall having ever heard any sounds that resemble clicking noises from the engine (other than the single click that occurs the first time the car is driven after being started which is the self-test of the ABS system), nor have I ever come across mention of this in any Highlander discussion group, so my take is your phenomenon is rare and not normal.