Toyota Highlander Maintenance and Repair

tommyg12

Yes, go back through some of the old posts and you will find many that refer to the clicking noise. I bought my '01 HL last September but did not notice the noise until the weather turned cold. My dealer as well as many others did "blame" the noise on fuel injectors.

I did not notice the noise at all in the summer but as the weather here in the south as gotten colder, the noise has gotten more audible.

So as far as the clicking I wouldn't worry but I would definitely mention the air bag light to your dealer. Just remember how hard it is to troubleshoot the itermittent gremlins.

calibus

I just got my 2003 Highlander V6 4X4 and only have 100 miles on it. Great car so far love it much better riding and quieter then any other SUV i owned in this class. I have only One QUESTION
i have noticed that the car shifts a little Tight into and out of Park. It shifts fine in all other gears. Is this a normal Highlander thing or should i go see the dealer.

toyotaken

First, are you parked on a slope? If the vehicle rolls either back or forward after you park it, it will make it a bit more difficult to take it out of park. Nothing serious and won't hurt the transmission, more just a bit of a pain. You could try engaging the parking brake after you stop but before you engage park to eliminate this.

Hope this helps.

Ken

dub2

love my 2002 highlander but yellow warning light has come on perhaps 8 times in the first 8000 kms. Dealer has done everything to solve the problem and it persists to this day. Oh, they can make it go out by resetting whatever but a few weeks later... it's back on again. They've even had the gas tank out, replaced the gas tank lid, spent 7 shop hours on it. It's come back on again and the dealer has ordered yet another couple of sensors that might be the problem. I' assured that it's o k to drive it while the light is on. Has anybody else out there had this problem ?

calibus

I am not in Park i am usually in Drive but sometimes the shifter is very tight goin into Park from Drive or Reverse.

cmuniz

Make sure that the gas cap is on tight after a fill up by hearing it click a couple of times. That is the most common cause for the light to come on - loose gas cap. The light generally indicates an emmision control problem and the car can be driven, but should be check out ASAP.

hammersjsl

On my 2001 Highlander, I get a strong windshield washer fluid smell from the heater vents after I use the front windshield washer controls.

Has anyone had this problem before, and if so, was there a "quick fix" or did they have to take the car to a dealer to fix the problem? Thanks.

wwest

only use the windshield washers while under way.

or buy a non-odorous fluid.

hammersjsl

I appreciate the response, although it appears to imply that the problem is due to a design fault (i. e. location of heater intake vs. windshield) since I have not had similar problems on other vehicles I have owned. Any other comments/suggestions? Thanks.

megawattblues

I think just about every car has the fresh-air intake near the windshield. I have experienced the ww fluid aroma on other cars.

As wwest suggests, squirting while underway lets the wind blow the stink away, thus enduring a shorter "exposure time".

Another idea - just push the button on your dash to recirc the cabin air before you sqirt the fluid. This will keep outide air (and odors) from the inside of your car. Works well for the occasional dead-skunk-in-the-middle-of-the-road, or smelly vehicles in traffic, ahead of you.

HTH

hammersjsl

The problem is that I have had the car for 20 months and I only recently (last 1 - 2 months) noticed the smell. I also noticed it when driving down the road as well.

I did have a look at the heater vent intake and I saw a small drain for fluid to run down from the windshield -- I'm guessing that this is used to keep washer fluid from entering the heater intake area. I've cleared it up and I'll see if that helps.

blizzard5691

Did you just recently switch fluid type? The cold weather fluid that I switch to this time of year prevents icing on the glass by having a higher concentration of either alcohol or glycerin ( too cold to go out to the garage to look). When I use this, often I get a strong smell brought inside through the vents.

hammersjsl

I usually do not pay close attention to the fluid type I purchase, but given the time of year it's possible that it could be a "cold weather/deicing" type of fluid.

In any case, if I get the smell again I'll just remember to push the recirc button for a few seconds. No problem.

mjs504

When I slow down (less than 5 mph) in my 2002 AWD Highlander, I hear a rubbing sound from the rear wheels. The sound disappears when I speed up. I looked under the car and couldn't see anything obvious. My first thought was that it was the emergency break, but the break was not engaged.

Does anybody know what could be causing this sound.

blizzard5691

There is a Service Bulletin out on this as it is common to Highlanders. It is caused by faulty inner axle seals. They can't just lubricate them. They have to replace them ( part # 90311-52005).

mjs504

Thanks a lot for your reply. I made an appt. with Toyota on Saturday to look at my HL.

Is there a site that I can reference the Service Bulletin so that I can print it out and show it to the dealer?

mjs504

blizzard5691 - I forgot to ask on my last reply if you had the TSB Number.

Thanks

landdriver

TSB listings can be obtained from:

www.edmunds.com/products/maintguide/index.html?ID=lin1038

www.nhtsa.dot.gov

Note that at the NHTSA site, for SUVs you'll need to select "TOYOTA TRUCK" as the make.

mjs504

I checked both 'www.edmunds.com/products/maintguide/index.html?ID=lin1038' and 'www.nhtsa.dot.gov' and did not find a TSB related to my problem. Does anyone know of a TSB that blizzard5691 is referring to?

blizzard5691

I don't have the TSB #. I looked on my work receipt and it is not listed. I had found a posting that this was a common problem that Toyota knew about either here or at Yahoo a few months back. I had the problem, went to the dealership, and they confirmed this was known to them and they knew the fix. I suppose it could be a problem they know of but, haven't listed it. However, I was under the impression from them they had a #. Either way, they are aware and will take care of it. Make sure they don't just try to lube it. It won't help and you will just waste a visit. Mine got so loud while the parts were on order I could hear it at 50 MPH.

cmuniz

My problem was fixed by lubricating and resealing the axle - no replacement indicated. Also the noise is more of a whistle or siren at low speeds than a rubbing, so hopefull we are talking the same thing.

mjs504

Just a follow-up, blizzard5691 was correct. The dealer replaced the part that he described (90311-52005). Thanks and I hope that this helps anyone else with the same problem.

blizzard5691

Mine was a whistling as well. It started out at slow speeds and was faint. In time, as it got louder, I saw on one of these sites that others had the problem and what the fix was. They lubed it but, a few days later it came back. As I waited for parts, it got to the point that I heard it at highway speeds. The service manager even test drove a few Highlanders on the lot and they had the noise.
Besides this, so far they have: replaced the interior sensors for the auto climate control, replaced the AC compressor, tried 3 times to get rid of the vibration behind the passenger dash (a common problem) and it took them 2 weeks to figure that a windy whistling coming from the front between 40 and 60 MPH was the factory hood deflector which had to be removed and replaced with a Ventshade. I am going back again for the dashboard vibration as well as a deep rattling in the driver door.

blizzard5691

By the way, I bought it back in June.

mjs504

I had the same issues with my 2000 Forester. It was one problem after another. The oxygen sensor had to be replaced 4 times. I finally got fed up and traded it in for a 2002 Highlander. So far (knock on wood), I have been very happy with the HL. Hope your luck improves in the future.

sparky1015

Hi, I'm in the process of pricing a new Highlander AWD V6. The dealer quoted me a price that included a TDA charge. Is that advertising? I understood that advertising fees were not allowed anymore, no?
thnaks for the help.
Tom

blizzard5691

By the way, I bought it back in June.

blizzard5691

Mine was a whistling as well. It started out at slow speeds and was faint. In time, as it got louder, I saw on one of these sites that others had the problem and what the fix was. They lubed it but, a few days later it came back. As I waited for parts, it got to the point that I heard it at highway speeds. The service manager even test drove a few Highlanders on the lot and they had the noise.
Besides this, so far they have: replaced the interior sensors for the auto climate control, replaced the AC compressor, tried 3 times to get rid of the vibration behind the passenger dash (a common problem) and it took them 2 weeks to figure that a windy whistling coming from the front between 40 and 60 MPH was the factory hood deflector which had to be removed and replaced with a Ventshade. I am going back again for the dashboard vibration as well as a deep rattling in the driver door.

dohc97

My wife and I are expecting to get a call from our dealer any day now for the delivery of our V6 H/L AWD. I've been reading a lot of postings in this forum about issues with their H/L; squeaks, noise, rattles....I am just wondering if these are still present in the 2003 models? Thanks..

landdriver

Its Toyota's acronym for advertising (something like "Toyota Dealer Association" fee).

According to "Edmunds New Trucks Prices & Reviews," 2001 edition, and to Consumer's Reports, circa 2001, advertising is a fee that dealers typically add to invoice (shouldn't be more than 1.5% of MSRP according to Edmunds). Edmunds and Consumer's Reports imply that its a reasonable fee, but like any "dealer prep" fee dealers dream up to fatten the bottom line, its negotiable in my opinion.

toyotaken

The fee is charged to the dealers as part of the price we pay for the new vehicle. It isn't something that we just arbitrarily decide to include in the invoice. It's like the $6 that they have for gas from the manufacturer. We don't charge for the full tank of gas a customer gets on delivery, but the manufacturer charges us for the first couple of gallons that they put into the vehicle to get them to the lot and therefore they include it on the invoice. This isn't a "dealer prep" fee. Those fees if they have them are a seperate line on the buyer's order, not on the invoice.

sparky1015

This "TDA charge seems like a sneaky way of tacking on another charge. The Toyota dealer quoted me a price on the H/L AWD V6 with the options I wanted..then, he said "plus the $350 TDA". WHAT? *I* should pay for YOUR advertising??? Isn't that cost of business?

blizzard5691

Some makers are worse than others. I was at a Mitsubishi dealership where the invoice listed $2800 divided by 2 items that were named a string of letters and numbers. When I asked what it was, the salesman siad he didn't know. After checking, it turned out it was local and regional advertising fees!! Needless to say, after some fruitless discussion I walked out the door.

03bluestone

I have a 2003 V6 AWD with 7,000 miles. No squeaks, rattles or squeals, -- no problems what so ever. Acceleration and handling are awesome. Its so quiet at 85 mph that its easy to creep over the speed limit before you know it. Cruise control works down to 25 mph too.

yoonchoi

I'm an owner of 2003 AWD LTD with 3,000 miles. My HL has a sound problem. Strange sound (popping noise) has been coming from rear speakers, so I went to the dealership. Service guy said that it should be rear speakers or radio system problem. First, they changed the rear speakers as a warranty, but still had problem. Second, they ordered new radio system and changed, but still has the same problem. It's a really strange noise. They can't find the solution any more. If anybody know about that, please let me know... Thanx in advance.

cmuniz

If it isn't the speakers and it isn't the sound unit it can only be the wiring harness to the rear speakers. A speaker wire may be crimped or loose. The other possibility is that it's not coming from the sound system at all.

eenglish

I couldn't take the stock speakers any longer and Santa brought me some new ones.

I didn't want to invest tons of money to replace the deck, subs, component speakers, etc, plus Santa said I wan't THAT good this year.

I used Crutchfield (www.crutchfield.com) for research. I was looking for not too expensive, efficient speakes that would give a good upgrade.

I ended up with replacing all 4 with Pioneer TS-G1647's which are rated at
2-30 RMS
150 peak
35-22K
92 DB sensitivity
2-way coaxial
These are efficient and have a good low end spec.

These turned out to be close to the cheapest they had that fit, but still had decent specs.
They were $50/pr at Crutchfield but I got them on sale at $46/pr at BestBuy (reg $50/pr).
I also didn't want to deal with the install so I had BestBuy install them as well for $69 for all 4.
I also got an extended 4 year warrantee at $19.95, which I usually don't do but the salesman gave me a hint to only get the guarantee for 2 speakers and if there's a failure, then just say it's for whatever one fails.
So for about $180 I got 4 speakers installed with a 4 year guarantee, including reinstall.

The improvement was very noticeable. The treble is crisp and the boomy base is gone.
At pretty loud volumes there didn't seem to be any speaker distortion or amp clipping.
I used to have the treble cranked at +5 and now I use 0 or +1. I use +1 or +2 for bass.
I also set the fader a bit to the rear so I can then turn the volume up a bit and get more bass from the back. The bass is pretty good but not super but they are only 6 1/2"

The speakers they took out were a joke. They were lightweight single hard plastic cones. They looked like the kind you see in a cheap boom box. They didn't even have a 'whizzer cone' to improve the treble. The speakers in my wife's 96 Camry were even better.
The bean counter who picked these speakers should be fired. For an extra $20-30 total, they could have put in decent speakers

The installer said that he thought that the amp put out about 20 watts/channel.

If you are an audiophile or are into earthquake rap, these speakers may not fit the bill but it does seem that the speakers are the weak link and you can get a major improvement with just changing the speakers.

landdriver

Better send those service mechanics back to Toyota mechanics school. In addition to the deck and the speakers, Limited models have a power amp that's under the carpet behind the rear seats; try swapping that out to see if it fixes the problem.

leonmacha1

2001 HL has droning vibration (seems to come from rear)at 55 mph and higher. Dealer says it is tire noise and rotated tires to NO improvement.
Using original Integrity tires at 32,000 mi, wearing smoothly--lots of rubber left. No wear patterns.
Any ideas before I return to dealer and have to help him figure it out?????????

yoonchoi

Cmuniz and Landdriver,
Thanks for your advice. I will go to dealer to change the power amp. If I fix the problem, I will post...

mollysalsa

My HL lives here in Minnesota,,When I turn on the heater and the cabin starts to warm up I often hear cracking noises from the windows,,any thoughts or comments!!

kevin114

Anyone know what new changes for the highlander 04? When will the 04 be aviable?

debdeb

Just purchased a 2003 AWD LTD. Have an annoying rattle/vibration in the dash area on passenger side. There is nothing rolling around in the glove compartment (as the dealer tried to suggest). Sounds like a penny vibrating on hollow plastic. Not sure if it is air bag or trim or in air vent. Only seems to happen above 50mph or strong wind. Any suggestions or solutions will be gratefully appreciated.

toyotaken

The '04 Model of the highlander should be released the same time that most of Toyota's new model year vehicles are released. That is to say sometime between September and October of 2003.

wwest

I would guess that like the new RX330 the 04 HL will be dropping the extra weight and manufacturing expense of the VC AWD version and go with the VSC/Trac (braking, brake modulation for torque allocation/distribution) version like the HL and X5 have always used.

tt7534888

Does anyone know what is the bolt pattern for the highlander? I know it is 4 lug, but what is the diameter?

tt7534888

I meant 5 lug. I just want to find out the diameter for the 02 highlander.

brad_22

5 lug - 114.3mm

Why do you need that info?

tt7534888

Thanks for the info, Brad. I am kind of looking into
replacing the wheels with the chrome wheels. Because I saw one picture in the photo gallery with a 20" diameter chrome rim. The HL looks real nice. So far I have installed the step tubes and replaced the grille in front. I am going to add the fender flares. I brought fender flares over the EBAY about half of the market price. They just ship it out to me yesterday. Then the last thing I want is the chrome wheels. But I hear you have to give up the comfort since the thinner tires does not give you much cushion. That is where I am at, my HL is silver 2002 limited.

brad_22

Sounds good. I did the something similar with my silver HL - fender flares, front and back bumper guards, sidesteps, tinted windows, new rims, bigger tires, DVD nav...the works.

Where did you get your front grill replacement - Erebuni? How's it look?