Toyota Highlander

msmdr

To rafferty1, please see my post #2532 for an alternative to the Toyota console.

To engage, I have not taken pictures of the pin striping as I just had it done last week. I probably will do so soon. I do not have a digital camera or a scanner to bring them into the computer. If you can suggest other ways to get them to you, I'll be glad to see what I can do. It cost me $70 for the stripes. Took about an hour or so. I had a guy who does auto detailing
do it.

impe

In my above post 2860, I should have mentioned that I used only 87 octane gas to get that mileage.

Does anyone have more info on the 87 vs 91 octane issue. I want to test it for myself but I have not been able to fill up with the higher octane yet - I mean I try really hard to reach for the 91 pump nozzle but my hand just refuses to go there.

Thanks,

Impe

muwarrior77

I've been following the Highlander discussions for the last four months, and have just started to solicit quotes from dealers. I want a 2WD, V6 but it seems that in the Milwaukee area the vast majority of Highlanders are 4WD. Additionally, I want the Vehicle Stability Control but was told by one dealer today that Toyota is only making that option available with the Limited Package. Is this true? If so, why isn't this fact noted with the options list in Edmunds?

This particular salesman also told me that if I order the vehicle with the options that I want, I'll wait over four months and never get it.

Finally, I've sent my requirements to a number of dealers in southeastern Wisconsin, but only heard from one so far. Based on what I've read recently, it seems that a fair deal would be in the range of 500 to 700 over invoice. I hope this holds true for this area.

I'd appreciate any comments regarding my questions. Thanks

lizpoll

We are negotiating on a Highlander and dealer is claiming $ 900 advertising fee is typical for Toyota. Seems way high to me, since I was thinking 100-200 at most. Any comments out there?

bjbird2

To murphyirishwol
I suggest you stop using the ashtray. It will be easier and healthier.

lizpoll

Gulf States of course - Houston area.
We're betting on the lie.

goldston

We picked up our Highlander last Friday (waited almost four months on our special order) and our TDA was $540 here in Phoenix Az.

The $900 TDA seem extremely high to me also.

Best Regards,
Philip

gunny93

Has anyone noticed what look like water spots on their windshield, but they're not accessible from the outside nor the inside of the windshield? At first I thought it was residue left over from washing, but after numerous times of cleaning with a good glass cleaner, they can't be touched. After careful examination last night, I realized they appear to be in the lamination. The problem is, when driving into work in the morning, the sun can sometimes catch it just right and I almost lose all visibility (good thing its country roads, little to no traffic!). Just wondering if anyone else has had this problem.

cmcardle

I am also in the Milwaukee area (Brookfield), and am 95% sure I'll be looking to buy a HL later this year. If you don't mind, please let me know how things shake out for you around here. Email is in my profile. Thanks.
Ring out Ahoya! (Bus Ad '94)

svtcobraconv

To muwarrior77 (shouldn't it be mugoldeneagle ?)
I too have been looking for a V6 2WD in the Milwaukee area. I concur, probably 98%+ of the Highlanders here are are 4WD. It seems Toyota (and perhaps the regions) really configure cars with what they perceive the majority wants, with not a heck of a lot of individualism. I believe this may be why you are told VSC is only being built with Limited versions. It could well be true. Even though you may see an available combination of options on Edmunds, Toyota may not be running any with that particlar configuration. From what I've seen here, $500 to $700 over invoice would not be a bad price for this area right now.

edwardh5

Please give us your real world gas mileage results, and say if 4 or V6 and if 2WD or 4WD,

Thanks/

rutger3

I have been waiting to buy an HL for several months now.(Have also considered the Mazda MPV for the third seat and good price). Thought I would wait for the 2002 HL models in the hope that Toyota would add side bags as standard and also get rid of the wind noise. Plus I am hoping that they will be easier to get if production is ramped up. Has anyone in north/central NJ area received decent pricing on the 2001? Also any comments on changes to 2002?

gwkiser

Pure nonsense. I bought our HL in San Antonio and paid a TOTAL of $231 in misc. fees, none of which were a so-called "advertising fee". Odds are that the dealer is trying to "pad" the final sale price by using this as a vehicle (no pun intended!). BTW, when I was negotiating on ours, I made it very clear that we were not buying any of the Gulf States "Extra Mile" packages either. Buy what you want (or as close as you can get without a special order) and just switch dealers if you have to. Surely in the Houston area you have a lot to choose from. My guess is that the HLs are now becoming more available as production and the HLs competition increase. Good luck.

gwkiser

With our V6 2WD Ltd (about 2200 miles on it), this past weekend we got 22.8 - 23.1 on a 400 mile round trip from central TX down to the coast. Auto a/c was set at 72, and the cruise was set at 74 (they usually allow up to 5 over the limit here before they stop you). Keep in mind that this trip goes down into an area of TX know as the Coastal Plains, very flat. Here in town, mileage is around 18.0 - 18.3, with moderate stop and go (because of traffic lights). I found that the EPA estimates posted on the HL have been very accurate (18 / 23).

tatu1

Hi gw, I'm in Austin and I'm trying to find a good Toyota dealer in S.A or Houston, any recommendations ? Thanks.

sxsaha

Hey rutger3,

As the HL is a hot selling vehicle all the dealerships are selling it at premium. Infact I am also on the lookout for a good deal. the best deal i have recvd so far is 32K with these packages : LL, EJ, SR,VD,TO,CQ,WL,BE,PE,FE etc which is all the wrks.

But the invoice price comes to around 30,741 with all the options. so $500 above invoice is ok but this is going 2 32K so i am still thinking.

mkstring

In Houston, check out Sterling McCall Toyota - they've been running adds locally here for deals. We bought ours at Don McGill, but I don't have a contact there anymore - so I'm not hip on them.

Happy hunting!

toyotagirl1

if you can get any dealer to sell you a Highlander for $500.00 over invoice then consider yourself lucky. The Highlander is in very high demand and you should expect to pay close to sticker for it.

maulana

dear folks...

just picked up our Highlander last night. My deep thanks to everyone on this list for their experiences and information, particularly Cliffy who is just a goldmine...

We got a V6, AWD gold Highlander, non-limited. I did have to pay the advertising fee, which is high in our area. However, the negotiated price was 600 over other (invoice + TDA), and I got the 400 Toyota College Rebate program on top of that. So we are very pleased over all with paying invoice, advertising fee plus 200...

After months of researching cars and buying strategy, I ended up going with the method of locating the car that we wanted in 3-4 dealerships, and calling them all at 9 a.m. one day. I gave them the price that I was willing to pay and saying that whoever got back to me by the end of the day with the best price would get my credit card number. As luck would have it, it was the one closest to us that responded the quickest and the most professionally. They even managed to get one in the color that we really wanted after we agreed on the price.

:-)

I have mentioned earlier (posts 2763-4) our decision making process, but it basically came down to this vs. the Passat Wagon with 4Motion. This one just fit the needs of our family a bit better: a bit more room, cheaper, and better reliability record.

We are due to take the Highlander for a long car ride coming up, so I can share more "real life" feed back on it after that trip.

This morning I got up and like a dork just stared at this gorgeous vehicle which is sitting in our drive way....

shl72953

I took my HL in for service this morning. When I went to pick it up the service manager said he had spent a couple of hours on the phone trying to resolve my complaint about not having a center console which I paid for back in Feb. but never received. I had sent a rather nasty e-mail to Toyota about it but instead of getting in touch with me they (Toyota) contacted my dealer and apparently gave them hell. Anyway, the gist of what the service manager found out was that there was very little chance I would get the console during this model year. Next year's HL will come standard with them and maybe I can get one then. I might have bought this argument except they had a Limited sitting on the lot with a console included. The MS claimed southern Florida had a deal where they can install their own manufactured model but it wasn't available elsewhere. Bottom line:my dealership will keep looking but I shouldn't expect miracles.

sxsaha

Greetings,

Actually I know I am being optimistic but I have a dealer who is charging me 900 above invoice. so the total price goes to 31,987 ( pre tax and tags)he seems to have calculated the TDA in the invoice
and the destination charge. 500 for TDA in VA is pretty stiff I feel.

hawkeye70

It wasn't raining this morning, was it?.........Congratulations!

chadhburke

The whistling or reed noise around the windshield and/or door seal area is a common complaint on this board. I have submitted other posts about this problem, which primarily occurs at highway speeds AND in the presence of measurable cross winds.

I completely agree the noise, when it occurs, is tremendously annoying. At times it is difficult to hear in the vehicle. I've had my dealer check it out and of course they found nothing. It's hard to schedule an appointment when the test conditions are so unpredictable.

rfhou, tfuzz, have you guys had any luck? Someone had previously suggested Toyota is working on a potential solution involving the door seals, but I have heard nothing.

I've got 9500 miles and think the HL is overall a great vehicle, but this noise problem is unacceptable for a $30k+ expenditure. Let us know what you work out.

gwkiser

Well, I can tell you that I bought ours at Red McCombs. Would I recommend them? Hmmmm. Let me put it this way: If you are not very well informed about the product and not extremely persistent and insistant, you're better off trying another dealer. (In all fairness, this may apply to all dealers these days). Anyway, I went head-to-head with their top salesman using the pricing data I had downloaded from Edmund's as well as the figures quoted to me from Cavender Toyota, who I had contacted thru Sam's Club auto buyer services. They committed to the price I wanted to pay after about two or three trips (cumulatively 8-10 hrs) and about a two month wait which I attribute to the color we wanted (Bluestone). Before I went to pick up the HL, we verified the options the HL had on it and found that it had the wrong stereo in it. It had the single play CD instead of the changer. They swapped the unit out with another on the lot.
I would recommend using info from a buyer service such as those offered by Sam's Club or AAA (both free to members) as your starting point. Speaking with their contacts at the dealerships automatically gives you a discounted price, a fixed predetermined discount and at least with the Sam's Club service the dealer is not allowed to add anything additional to the price beyond the TTL.
It probably won't matter a whole lot where you end up buying your HL from as long as you don't pay for any add-ons like the Gulf States (TX Distributor) Extra Mile packages, which usually include some sort of "paint protectant". While they offer a discount on the same items were they to be purchased separately, the question remains whether or not you want those items to begin with. Other dealers in the San Antonio area include Alamo and Universal. At the time we were looking, Cavender and Red McCombs had the deepest inventories, which were mostly the Bright White color. Good Luck.

drew_

Topic: Government needs to tax some sense into gas-guzzling buyers

lizpoll

Well after numerous dealers, lots of negotiating and yes - sifting thru the lies, we have almost decided to buy and wanted any comments.

CQ, DL, DR, FE, HE, MG, PG, TO, BO, P1, L1, DD, CR, DH, G1 - We are quoted 28,300 + TTL. Seems a 530 over invoice, so not good, not bad. White with lite charcoal int.

rfhou

Mine has made the noise once since the seal between the top of the windshield and the roof was replaced. My wife was driving it when it made the noise again -- she said the noise was not as bad (shorter duration). So, still not fixed but maybe a little better????

tfuzz

chadhburke, I'm still waiting for my dealer to call my HL back in to fix the wind noise. Back in late May or early June he said it would be 6 to 8 weeks before they had the parts (new door seals?). In the meantime, on those days when the wind noise is intolerable (which, as you know, is often in Kansas this time of year), I find I can silence the noise by closing the door on a wash cloth to compress the door seal on the side that is howling. So, I carry wash cloths in my console!

As for those who say they don't have the wind noise problem, I'd guess many of them would find out otherwise if they drove in the right wind conditions. For my HL to howl it takes a really strong cross wind, probably 30 mph or higher, and a vehicle speed approaching 65mph. I'm not sure if the noise is a design defect, or perhaps a certain batch of door seals was defective.

retropia

I finally got mine, after months of looking and dealer inquiries. My advice? If you don't mind traveling to pickup your new Highlander, check dealers near and far. You can do much of your shopping over the internet. (Go to www.toyota.com and choose the "dealer locator" feature.)

The dealers where I live in central Ohio all mysteriously seemed to want exactly the same amount, $1,500 over invoice, plus the TDA. None were especially interested in checking dealer allocations or doing a trade for what I wanted, especially as I wanted a 2WD in a region that orders almost all 4WD.

The Southeast region dealers have nifty websites that tell you exactly what they've got in stock, plus they frequently show a huge list of vehicles they can get diverted to their dealership (coming but haven't yet arrived in port).

If your dealer is willing, they can change the port installed options before it arrives in port. For example, they could leave off the dreaded "Toyoguard" ($600 worth of nothing) and add floor mats and port-installed leather upholstery. Once the vehicle leaves the port with options you don't want, you're stuck with them.

I went with Tuscaloosa Toyota in Alabama. They charged $600 over invoice plus a $550 "Administrative Fee" (TDA). Their selling price for each vehicle is listed on their website, so it is very non-hassle (most dealers only list MSRP). My salesman was Ryan Gillespie. I flew into Birmingham, a driver met me and took me to the dealership. All went well.

Also flying in at the same time was a Sequoia buyer from Dallas. He didn't have good luck with his local dealers, either.

Much thanks to all the dealers who share info on this board.

In my shopping I came across many good dealers, several that could use improvement, and a few that were unpleasant.

Shopping at Nourse Toyota in Delaware, Ohio was one such unpleasant experience. The salesman agreed to a price over the phone but said I had to come into the dealership in order for the sales manager to "take it seriously." I get there, and the sales manager "can't let it go for that price." I leave and both the salesman and sales manager run after me into the parking lot, with encouraging expressions of "If you change your mind . . . ."

I thought such sales tactics became extinct in the 1970s!

jimxo

After 90 days of waiting my 4x2 HL Limited is almost here.

I was reading recently that the Camry was a hot car among car thieves. In addition I do work in some depressed neighborhoods in the city.

I was considering Lojack or at least some type of steering wheel aperatus.

Any thoughts on what I should do?

I would be crushed if I lost the HL after waiting so long.

svtcobraconv

Hey, shl72953
Did you get some information on 2002 Highlanders? How do you know that 2002's will have the console standard? We really don't want a console, but have not found a 2001 that meets our criteria yet.

rutger3

A question to any dealer or 'insider' out there. What are the changes for 2002? Particulary will there be a third seat,and will side air bags be standard?
Separately,anyone have any idea when the HL will be crash tested by NHTSA?

rubytuesday

Hi everybody
I hadn't posted in awhile, been busy driving my HL. Over 3000 miles now, no wind noise, no weird noises other than the a/c fan occasionally whirrs, which I will have looked at during the first service cehck. More are popping up in the neighborhood (it was kind of strange being the only one for so many weeks!) The glass sensor fell off from where it was stuck on with the double stick tape, it's just hanging. That was dealer installed so I will have them fix it, hopefully with something better than double stick tape.

Real world milage around 21 MPG, V6 2WD. I still love it (dislike the cup holders, but don't need a console yet)

Aloha!

rfhou

Just received my Hidden Hitch #70777. But no hardware (big hole in the box). For those of you who have done the install, is the hardware the same as the bolts that hold on the tow hooks? Or, should the bolts be a little longer?

Thanks....

gatorflo

I had been interested in the Highlander when I decided to buy a new car. At the time it was out of my price range. OH HOW THINGS CHANGE!!!! I do have some questions which I'm hoping can be answered by those in this room. For starters, I live in Southern New England, so inclement weather is nothing out of the ordinary. Is it worth getting either the LSD or the VSC? Also I do a lot of highway driving so I think the V6 would be better. Is this the case? Finally i've noticed that others have been able to get the sunroof without a limited model. I'd like to have a sunroof and a spoiler, with a side airbag and a roof rack. Thats what I hope to find. I was unable to price this on KBB. However I priced it at 27,642 at Edmunds TMV. This is without the spoiler. Is this possible?
I can't wait to test drive one of these!!!!

gatorflo

I do know of the other room devoted to pricing. I just wanted to throw it out in this room because there are more buyers.
thank you

maulana

Dear Gatorflo:

I would go with the v6 over the v4. My experience was that the v4 is plenty fine for around town driving, but if you are going to be loading it up and driving on a highway with luggage, etc., you might feel more peppy in a v6.

We also live in upstate New york. I completely understand about the need for AWD. We decided to not go for one with the VSC, becasue that would have meant going limited and spending about another 2k.

You can certainly find something with sunroof, side air bag, roof rack, and spoiler. The Edmund's pricing is a bit deceptive, because Toyota doesn't package cars exactly the way that we would like. however, I think you should easily be able to find something in the mid to high 28,000 range.

We had seen a white v6 AWD that we had really liked, which was going for about 28,700. It had all the stuff you mentioned, and more, but was not a limited. You can get them even a bit cheaper than that. (we bargained for ours a bit more, and were very fortunate.)

I hope this helps.

rfhou

Got it installed! The people I bought the hitch from responded to my email quickly with a link to the instruction sheet. Which, included a parts list(quick trip to Sears hardware). Took my 13 year old and myself less than 30 minutes to install. Yakima bike rack should be here Friday. Can't wait to go camping now!!!

dean2sm1

I assume you got the correct longer bolts, and a ring washer and lock washer for each of the six bolts.

steeph123

Dear Gatorflo,

Before you plunk down 30k on your highlander, I would recommend renting one for a week.
You mentioned you do a lot of highway driving and you may reconsider your purchase once you hear the wind howl. I wish I had thought of this before I purchased my highlander. I get annoyed every day I drive to work. I saw a toyota ad that promoted try before you buy. Look into it.

outrun

FYI.

Toyota doesn't make a v4 (at least for a production automobile). Its an inline 4. Minor detail.

I do agree that a v6 is preferred. As an owner of an '01 RX300, the v6 is a beautiful engine. Been getting around 20mpg mixed city/highway.

-Craig

rutger3

Okay,my next question is on leasing an HL. Perhaps this is the best way to try out the 2001 and see how it holds up. Has anyone received leasing prices. I would think that Toyota will have a decent residual value on them if they think so highly of the vehicle. It seems most people are buying them instead. Besides,figuring out a decent lease price is a real pain compared to a purchase price. Any thoughts HL fans? 2001?2002?,buy?purchase? This is too complicated.

tbuchta

I dont get the impression that the wind noise is a common problem, (I assume that this is not the rear window noise which is common for most vehicles) I've never experienced it. At any rate it should be a simple fix by the dealer...Maybe it would be useful for this e-group administrator to do a poll of all user to find our how many of them have experienced the noise, and what the fix was...

tdat

rfhou, would you mind posting the link to the installation instruction? I ordered mine from Bage Co but the pacakge was missing instruction sheet and mounting hardware. They are supposedly on the way.

boulderhl

I totally agree with tbuchta, while I've heard several reports of the wind (reed, whistle, etc) noise, I don't know how prevalent it really is. I happen to live in Boulder CO, where it is notoriously windy, and I've never had any wind noise at all. So I would also tend to agree with one of the other folks who thought that there may have been a bad batch of seals that got put in, but it doesn't sound like a design problem, or we'd all have it.

mikenhgolf

I thought that it referred to the number of cylinders?

mikenhgolf

that I have is the "woo-woo" sensation (I beleive it has to do with pressure variations) when only the back windows are open.

norskman

I too have not experienced any wind noise after 6800 miles, many on the freeway at 74-80 in strong cross winds.

rfhou

I also ordered from Bage(no instructions or hardware). They did respond quickly by email and gave me the link. Local Sears hardware store had the parts specified on the instruction sheet ($10). Here's the link:

http://hiddenhitch.com/images/products/instructions/70777.pdf

little_pogi

It is quite obvious that a lot a people still have no idea why a 6 cyl engine is called V6. They also refer to a 4 cyl engine a V4. Most 6 cyl engine today uses a V type design that places 3 cyl on one side of the V and the other 3 cyl on the other side. Another engine design is the inline or I type. Most 4 cyl car engines today are of the inline type and hence they should be called I4's. There may be a european car that may have a V4 engine but most common applications are in motorcycles. You may not be aware, the Lexus IS300 and the BMW 3 series uses an I6 engine. The big 8 cyl engines are of the V type so hence V8.