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In my Limited model the two map lights can be turned on by pressing them.
Unfortunately if you leave a door ajar, the lights will stay on until the battery is dead.
This is one of the features I said should be added to the Highlander in my Toyota survey. A battery saver. For gosh sakes the Focus has this as standard equipment.
Also I agree with you on the lack of illumination on some switches. Also I think you will find that the gauges are hard to read under some daylight conditions.
However, the pros far outweigh the cons. Overall a great vehicle.
I just think it's funny that some small handy features that have been included in other makes of cars for years, if not decades, have still not made it the Toyotas.
One last thing - I haven't yet had trouble reading the guages in sunlight but I do have trouble reading the radio when I'm wearing sunglasses. My sunglasses are polarized and I suspect that the radio's digital display is also polarized.
Thanks for the response about the dome lights and battery saver (or lack thereof).
My new HL however has side curtain airbags mounted into the windshield pillars and I don't want to mess around with them. Anybody suggest a good (and simple) route to get a wire up to the roof liner near the rearview mirror?
No memory seat in the Sienna....??
Just was wondering if my new HL had a feature similar to the one in many domestic cars for over 10 years.
Regards and safe driving,
-Ken
you just need to press the light itself. that's how it works in my wife's HL.
Exactly....I agree with you 110%.
Both, in fact, I'm sure ALL manufacturers have had similar vehicles with difficult problems to fix, like the HL hesitation, Toyota sludge issue, Accord tranny, CRV PTTR & engine fires. I won't get in to the domestics.
Does that tell you something?
Did Toyota get rid of the switch in the 2004-2005 models?
Both the ABS and VSC lights have recently started to appear on my 9-month old 2004 CVX Kluger/Highlander. The appear and disappear randomly for no apparent reason. I took it into the Toyota mechanic who 'cleaned' the ABS sensors and sent me on my way. This 'fix' lasted for a day and the lights appeared again. I visited the mechanic again and it's been in the shop for over 2 days (and counting). The mechanic is checking the wiring between the sensors and the 'actuator' and, if that doesn't work, they have indicated that they will need to trace all the wiring through the transmission to the CPU.
The Toyota mechanic mentioned that he has never seen this problem before. Has anyone else seen this problem so I can help my mechanic help me! I really need my car back for the weekend!
Has anyone else had this problem? I have seriously considered trading the HL in after that because it's a potentially very dangerous malfunction. I'd love to hear any thoughts on this or hear from anyone else that's had this happen--has it happened again after being reprogrammed?
Reason I asked the original question is:
1) I couldn't figure out how to turn the dome lights on from the driver's seat. Turns out you can't.
2) the dashboard illumination control has a noticeable detent when you turn it all the way up (as expected) but it doesn't fo anything. Acutally, I noticed later that this action does make the shift indicator light and clock go extra bright when the headlights are on.
Anyway, when I pull over at night to fish a map out of the seat back pockets, it'd be nice if I could turn on the center dome light from my seat so I could see what I was doing. That's all. It's a feature that has been in american cars for about 40 years.
When I first started driving Japanese cars many years ago (about 1971), I noticed this difference as well, and missed being able to turn the dome lights on without reaching up and over my head...On the Highlander, I would have to have 6 foot long arms. At least we can reach the front map lights easily! I quickly adjusted, and would much rather have the reliabilty, refineness and resale values of the imports versus the ability to turn on the dome light from the drivers seat on the domestics.
The point I tried to make was:
Honda has a transmission problem, admits it, fixes it and extends the warranty.
Toyota has a transmission problem, won't admit it and won't fix it.
In the future, I'm dealing with a company that demonstrates integrity, not just talks about it.
Go talk to the people over there and they will tell you that Honda is as you feel Toyota is.
I feel for people who have made a significant investment only to have a problem with the vehicle and then feel like they're not getting any respect from the manufacturer.
I'm not saying any of these problems don't exist. It's just that in my experience reading these boards, no manufacturer is perfect.
If it is the same thing happened to me and I was instructed to drive to the nearest service station and have them check the tire pressure, because that could have been the cause of the problem. If it was the tire pressure, then why didn't the "Low Tire Pressure" light come on?
I know how you felt. It scared me to death because I had no control over the vehicle. I had AAA tow the vehicle, because I was not going to drive it.
The mechanic told us later that they have been having a problem with that part. We only have seven thousand miles on the vehicle and as far as we're comncerned, it's not even broken in. Also, the dealership told us that it would be three to four days to get the part. If they've had a problem with that part, then why isn't it stocked locally?
If your mechanic said they've had this problem on more than a few vehicles, this should absolutely be a recall item. It's a dangerous malfunction and I've seriously considered trading the car in for fear it would happen again, but it sounds like this is a feature on most new cars so there's no guarantee it wouldn't still be a problem on a different vehicle.
Vehicle speed is also key to having the firmware operate correctly.
I would first be suspicious of the yaw sensor, maybe having come loose from its "moorings", possibly even internally.
I have long suspected that the engine hesitation symptom many are reporting as occuring in an accelerated turn has to do with the VSC detecting impending roll-over and thereby quickly dethrottling the engine.
But that doesn't explain the straight ahead hesitation.
Best done with cold engine. Buy or borrow about 2-3 feet of small vacuum/fuel line - needs to be less than about 1/4" OD to fit. Also buy a can of Throttle Body Cleaner (do not use Choke Cleaner or WD 40 or anything but TB Cleaner) - you won't need much for this. Then remove the air intake hose. (Once you've removed this hose, DO NOT START THE ENGINE again until you replace it - you'll get a Check Engine Light if you get impatient, and the engine won't start anyway).
Then thread one end of the hose ALL THE WAY INTO the rectangular port that's just above the throttle plate - it goes about 1/2" up, at right angles to the throttle body itself. When it's all the way in, back it out a hair (to allow for the TB cleaner to flow out the end of the hose). Now, with the little spray extender on the TB cleaner in place, shoot some cleaner in to the free end of the hose for about 1/4 second. If you have safety glasses, wear them. Look away from the top end of the hose when you do it, too, so you don't get any into your eyes. (May not be a bad idea to seal off the hose/extender junction with tape). Long blasts fill up the hose, and the stuff shoots back at you and all over the engine compartment, so several short blasts are better than one long one. Give it 3-5 blasts. Then pull out the hose, and follow the TB Cleaner instructions for cleaning the rest of the TB. Then quickly replace all the hoses - this is important because the intake manifolds aren't metal - they're plastic. Once you're all buttoned up, you'll have to push the accelerator about halfway down to start the engine with all the liquid in the intake manifold. Once it starts, rev it a few times to burn off the TB Cleaner, and then you're done.
Let us know how this works for you. I saved myself $300 doing this. I hope it works for you and everyone with low or erratic idle.
I own a 2003 Highlander. On Wed. of this week my car began making strange clicking, clanging noises. Happened first thing in the morning on my way to work. Within 2-3 minutes of hearing the noise, my low oil light came on. I stopped immediately and put oil in my car. The oil light went off. I took the car to the dealership that same day. They say my engine is gone. Blame me for dirty oil. Since I don't have service receipts (I know...dumb me), they are voiding my warranty and charging me $6000 for a new engine. I know this has been a problem with other years of Highlander...I've spoken with 3 other mechanics who say NO WAY this should happen to a car with 29,000 miles. I had absolutely no indicator of any kind of problem before Wednesday. Any advice or information would be greatly appreciated. Kim
Toyota did have an engine sludge problem in some 3.0 Litre V6 years, but you are going to have to prove you changed the oil on a regular schedule.
Best of luck.
The way your post reads your engine failed because it was STARVED for lubricant. Just how much did you have to put in?
Kim
Kim
You could also take a sample of your oil to a national oil testing lab to see what they say about it. Tell the dealer to give you some of the oil from your car so you can have it tested before you spend $6,000.
In my opinion there is no way you should have to pay for this. Toyota has had a big problem with oil sludge on pre 2002 models and I'm sure they don't want to open that discussion again. They have extended the warranty on my 2002 engine to 80,000 miles - not sure about 2003s. Having said all that, yours is the first 2003 model that I know has had that problem. Although Toyota has an excellent reputation for building good cars they are very quick to blame problems on owners instead of accepting responsibility. Fight hard!!
PS: If you can contact others that have had to fight Toyota on this, ask then how they went about doing it. I'm sure they will be very glad to help.
My 2001 911 only requires an oil change every 15,000 miles and my 2001 Lexus only every 7500 miles. I DIY oil changes and with this level of mileage the oil is NEVER what I would call dirty and in case of the Lexus I am always amazed that it simply doesn't burn any oil between changes.
So, even with NO changes at 29,000 miles I don't see how the oil could be that dirty or that much burned absent something wrong with the engine.
Or some gofer at a quick oil change only put three quarts in a five quart refill.
Given my own experiences at Lexus dealers regarding oil changes I'll vote for the latter problem until proven otherwise.
Right or wrong, I've gotta be honest about what I think is going on.
See you in a month.
Vacation time.
More like an advertising campaign than a typical discussion.
Wish this was wrong, but I don't think it is.
Next post will be from Australia.
En route tonite.
feature in the Highlander. I for one do not like automatic door lock controls. I like to lock my doors and unlock them when I want to.
But admittedly the low oil issue bothers me more than anything else.
I would also try contacting the Toyota corporate office if you haven't done so already.
When I had problems with my last car, I worked directly with the corporate office after getting the runaround from my local dealer. It was a much smoother process.
Good luck with whichever route you take.
That said, I agree, it could be a problem of dirty oil, just as the dealership said, due to lack of oil changes. Or it could be as someone here suggested that the last oil change place did not fill it up to level or even really change the oil. But don't fault anyone with bringing up the sludge problem as another possibility when that has been a known problem with some of these engines.
Unfortunately for khorn, without proof of maintenance, regardless of the rest of the details, he has what is likely a losing battle with Toyota. There is a chance that Toyota would consider honoring the sludge policy on a 2003 model if he could give the same level of proof that is required of owners of 1997 - 2002 models.
FYI: For those of you interested, I learned today that my 2003 came off the production line in 2002 and is potentially one of he effected engines, per the Toyota service manager. My dealership is actively working with me to reach an amenable solution. I commend them.
I thank those of you who offered advice and support.