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Comments
I was already sold on the safety, and this just adds reinforcement to my belief.
I also wanted to say thanks to this board for the responses to the various messages I have posted as we went through this process. I will keep you posted as we have more experiences with our new friend.
Steve
Sorry you take strong exception to my comment about not buying a Highlander but after 3,000 miles I have had a new dash board, a new micro processor, a new transmission and a new air bag sensor. The car has been in the shop 2 weeks so far on two different occasions and I don't know if and when I will ever get it back. Basically my $32,000 investment is forcing me to drive my 1992 Dodge Caravan and borrow my mother-in-laws car on an emergency basis. So I am not impressed and I cannot recommend this car. I may have exceeded 55 MPH while going down a hill since I was on cruise control set at 55 MPH so I may have actually reached 60 MPH. I never had to start the car every 200 miles because I only towed it 45 miles. Most car manufacturers recommend changing the oil every 3,000 miles. Have you ever stretched that to 3,100? Did the engine blow up? Should it have? Would it have been your fault?
Unhappy, tell 25+ people.
Happy, tell 2.
Our expectations being met is a perfect, great car. Unfortunately, he has a troubled car. In my store, we take people out of those immediately and put them in new cars, and make certain the manuacturer takes the car back to dissect it and see WHY it all failed. He's not dealing with a dealership that has offered to do that. Hence, his being upset. While it is a little juvenile to borrow the Edmunds bullhorn and shout "don't buy one!" to the "world" here, it's a common thing to hear when someone's disappointed and needs more sympathy than their dealer is providing. I'm sure in the end, his dealer will make him happy. I sure hope so.
-Ret
There's recently been a document sent around to all stores that explains the hilights of the HL's and there are 4, 5 sections that pertain to this issue. Someone at a dealership HAS to have the inside scoop... it's a specific and central part of the Pride Tests all salespeople have to take and pass.
-Ret
I have some experience with this at another dealership. The local police put on a clinic for proper and safe child seat installation. They offered the dealership personelle the opportunity to get trained and certified as well. It was an 8 hour class for the basic level certification! Sixteen hours would be for the full class.
Call the police department. Their public safety office will probably be able to guide you better than the dealership.
-Ret
I have enjoyed my HL so very much, and read so many favorable post, that I did over react to the statement about not buying a HL. Again, I am sorry.
Fortunately, I think most problems reveal themselves during the warranty period. That has been my experience with previous vehicles, my computer, television and etc. Hopefully, your dealer can make things right.
Good luck.
I am looking for answers to two questions:
1) Can a third tether anchor be installed by a dealer (they would probably have to drill)?
2) Can the LATCH/ISOFIX system be used in the center seat?
I was worried about the light color of the ivory interior because our black lab insists on going everywhere with us, and she sheds bushels! She also loves to jump in the front seats when we leave her alone in the car. I solved this problem
by tethering her by her leash to a cargo tiedown at the back of the car so she can't come up front, and for the shedding problem, I put her in a big 39 gallon leaf bag loosely cinched around her neck. She doesn't care for the bag much but its tough apples! She wants to ride, she gets in the bag.
I found out about the problem with the back windows down - WOW! But, what is a problem to most is a great opportunity for me. I am going to invite that jackass EX-son-in-law of mine for a ride in the back seat; then I'm going run up I-85 at about 70 mph from Atlanta to Greenville with the rear windows down. Death by wind buffeting in the back seat of a Toyota! The forensics guys will never figure it out. More on this later I also have a cat problem, more on that later too.
Impe
Base V6 2wd $22,332
SE Toyota grey leather $989
Mats, Roof rack, center console, tow prep, day time running lamps $585
Destination $505
SE Toyota "Admin" $550
Dealer Markup $377
Total pre-tax/tags $25,338
This particular dealer was as few hundred below everyone else. One even asked straight MSRP on an order! We ordered mainly because every other "Indigo Ink" vehicle in the area had Toyo Guard and several other options that we didn't need or can buy for efficiently aftermarket. I am told it will be 90-105 days until it comes in - anyone else factory order that can confirm that timeframe?
Next, as the father of two, car seats were a concern for me in my small Honda Accord (we traded it in on the HL). In fact, I was re-ended in a 5-car pileup in my Accord with my daughter, then 9 months old, and we came out alright. We had a regular rear-facing infact seat, and we wre all ok and even drove away from the accident. Now that we have 2 kiddos, they go on either side and we don't have the newer latching seats. My 9 month old son uses the same seat my daughter did, and my daughter is in a larger toddler seat. Neither of these are the archoring types, so the archors go unused in my Highlander. I'll also say that cars are getting engineered more towards safety as opposed to 10-15 years ago and the tether law was to accomodate older seats in newer seat belt designs (imo).
As one of the few that have wrecked a HL, I'll say from exprerience and on the word from others (including someone that got broadsided - post #2236 in this channel), that the Highlander is an extremely safe car when hit from the side - particularly for passengers. I didn't have my kids in the car when I wrecked mine, but I know how bad I damaged the HL, and I feel my kids would have been safe.
Where I agree with your dedication to the safety of your children, the HL is within the law for latching child restraints:
"Each vehicle must have at least two vehicle anchorage systems rearward of the front seat. " (Click link to see the entire law).
I hope you get a resolution to your satisfaction - the Highlander is an great vehicle, and a safe one IMO. Good luck!
Here is what I'm thinking. While the center position offers more space than the right side of the car in a collision on the right side, and more space on the left in a left side collision, it offers less space in a right side collision if the seat were in the left side position. Do you follow me here? Now, which side of the vehicle are you most likely to be hit on? In the US, I'm guessing that it is the right side of the car. This is just conjecture, but from what I have seen, most t.-bone accidents are when a driver is making a left hand turn and somebody runs a light. The impact is from the right.
If (and I know that this is a big "if") most side impacts are from the right, wouldn't it be safer to place the child on the left side of the car? Has anybody actually looked at the statistics of where a side impact is most likely and what position in the car is the safest. As I noodle this though, I can't think of a situation that would expose the left side of the car to oncoming traffic unless you make a left turn from the right lane across traffic. That would make the left side of the car the safer position.
All I'm getting at here is that perhaps there is something to consider beyond the "conventional wisdom" in this. Perhaps Toyota was aware of this when positioning the LATCH and tether hooks. Maybe they were just being cheap, but maybe there is something to this.
Does the new trim piece look diferent, or was it just a gasket replacement.
Thanks.
Just curious,
Steve
I totally understand the reasoning about behind the driver's seat possibly being safer. That would be my second choice. However, I have read many articles that make comments like "the center seat is well documented as the safest spot, etc.". The people who do installations in my area (police, etc.) say the same. I too would like to see the evidence.
Not a lot of miles on it but we are completely satisfied with the choice. Ride is not "rocking-horse" like the Explorer, and the cabin is incredibly quiet. Indicated MPG is 18.5-19, and a check at the pump confirms this range.
Storage in the wayback is excellent, like the Volvo 240 was. The inside full spare is nice, as is the "dishpan" that sits on top of the spare. The two side compartments are great!
Only issue in 500+ miles: The steering is extremely sensitive. Tweak the wheel a few millimeters (no exaggeration) and the vehicle darts left or right. I had a Volvo 240 that did this and the toe setting was a bit tight. I'll make an appointment in a couple weeks for the dealer to adjust the alignment and any other issues that may require attention.
Constructive criticism for Toyota:
1) This kind of money should include more storage and a place for coins. The little compartment above the driver's left knee could easily have been molded with coin slots. It can only hold a couple cassette tapes or a pack of smokes as it is. That said, we chose a vehicle that did not have the option that looks like a console only smaller because it was so narrow and the cupholders were small. So we kinda asked for not having a lot of storage, but that tiny "console" is (IMO) not sufficiently utilitarian to warrant purchase.
2) Again, for this kind of money an entry keypad would be nice (like the Explorer had) for unlocking the doors. The fobs are a good compromise.
3) I'm a bit surprised that the lower body and rocker panels are not more protected. There is a bit of the "orange-peel" rocker panel protectant, but the front wheels are going to sandblast the bottoms of the rear doors and the front of the rear wheel wells, despite the small triangles of 3-M stone guard applique. Mud flaps will go over the existing short molded guards.
4) A full set of system gauges would be nice, incl. voltage and oil pressure in addition to fuel and temp.
We're debating having the local detail place apply a thin pinstripe above the door handles to sorta accent the sides, and it will wear a clear bug shield as soon as a mfr. comes out with one.
The HL is an order of magnitude ahead of the 98 Explorer in all respects, and its ride is a class above anything we test drove. It is unnaturally quiet for vehicle, and the seats are extremely comfortable. Toyota quality and resale are other factors that made the decision for the HL. For the four of us, it's six thumbs and two paws up!
I now have 3500 miles on my unlimited HL, V6-4WD, and it just gets better. The mileage is between 22 and 25 mpg (we live in a small New England village and there really isn't any "city" driving. The HL has proven thus far to be everything we wanted in a vehicle.
Happy HL'ing
I find the molded mudguards on the HL to be too short, and I purchased flat, black aftermarket mudflaps (available at Walmart, Autozone, PepBoys, local parts stores, etc.) to attach in front of the factory mudguards, extending down several inches. When I install mudflaps, I take a couple lengths of string or un-chalked chalk line and lay them down behind the front tire. I back the tire onto the lines and then stretch them taut so that the free ends of the lines are taped to the lowest edge of the front of the rear wheel well. The lines approximate the trajectory of stones thrown back by the tires. The aftermarket flaps are positioned such that the lower edge is touching the lines. Use a short "torpedo" level to ensure that the bottom of flaps are parallel with the the floor or pavement. On some vehicles this may result in the aftermarket flaps being too low to the ground, so you may have to adjust them to suit. I usually purchase large and wide flaps to ensure that most of the tire width is covered.
Best,
brgsmith
Also, has anyone noticed a rattle type of noise on the front passenger side of the cabin? I notice this rattle (not very loud) when driving over bumps or rough roads.
Here is how you do it. Push the audio control button and hold it down for 10 seconds. While you are holding it down, the radio display will reappear after 5 seconds, but keep the button down. You will hear a "beep". Now, let off on the button and press it down again. First, you will see the setting for the bass adjustment. Hit it again and you will see a new setting for mid range. You can fine tune this setting to improve the sound quality based on what you are listening to.
For my musical tastes, I like the bass at +2, mid at +1 and treble at +4. For talk radio, I back the bass off to -1. Play with it to see what sounds best to you.
Now for the strange part. This trick is not listed anywhere in your manual. I'm not even sure Toyota knows this feature exists. If you shut the car off before turning off the stereo, this mid range setting disappears. If you turn off the stereo before shutting the car off, this setting is saved. Don't ask me why.
I learned this trick about a year ago. Many of our stereos have this feature. It applies to the ECHO (when equipped with the 3 in 1 stereo), the RAV4, the Tacoma, Celica GT and the Highlander. Weird stuff but I thought you would all like it.
That woulda been embarrassing!!!!
Drew
Host
Vans, SUVs, and Aftermarket & Accessories message boards
I thought you'd like that.
-Steve
I figured I could vent in here. Now I feel better.
Thanks.
Now my fun begins driving my new bluestone HL!!!!!
Happy HL'ing....
Happy HL'ing and welcome to the "Bluestone Club"....