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Comments
There was a sludge hotline of sorts set up by Toyota corporate. I am not sure if it is still in operation. You can find more information at http://www.autosafety.org (they had a link to the letter Toyota sent to the owners of 1997 - 2002's, but I can't get that link to work right now). I recommend that you call the hotline or a corporate number to report your problem and see if you have any recourse under the sludge policy. You should also post your problem on that site as well as www.nhtsa.gov. This could be related to an inherent problem with the engine or it could be due to negligence on your or some other parties part -- we don't have enough information right now to figure that out. Absent any further data, and given that these engines have a known problem, I suggest that you proceed with pursuing this through Toyota. It certainly can't hurt to try.
Unfortunately for you, it says that the Highlanders covered were built from November 2000 to July 2001; I think a later article came out that extended this into 2002, but it only covered the earlier months and probably doesn't cover those that were assigned the 2003 model year.
I just had a front hub/wheel bearing replaced by Toyota, under the driveline warranty. The symptom was I could hear it. I don't know how to describe what it sounds like, its just something I've learned over the years. Its like increased road noise over time. It wasn't to the point of feeling it through the steering wheel yet.
I was surprised the dealer agreed with me that there was a problem, and didn't argue about replacement under warranty.
Koons Arlington Toyota, Arlington, VA. I kinda recommend them.
Thanks!
+++++++++++++
yes some of the Toy sludge problems were from that people on long intervals (7500 miles) missed one. or they had a "car detailing place' change it and they really did not.
change your oil every 5k miles/6 months =no problems mon
Baically it would be best, safest, not to take a FWD vehicle into a area where adverse roadbed conditions might exist, and certainly not a vehicle wherein rear snowchains cannot be fitted along with fronts.
This is actually mentioned in the manuel page 180 under Octane Rating.
I am wondering if anyone else has esperienced this, and did you do anything about it? I would rather not have to pay for the better gas since my work does involve alot of driving...
Good luck.
The transmission is supposed to adapt to your driving style, so how does it handle households with 2 or 3 drivers. I've even seen that some car rental places will rent out Highlanders. Can the transmission adapt to a new driver almost every day.
In cars, insofar as driving style is concerned, "AI" is restricted, typically, to the past ~180 seconds of history. Within ~60 seconds of having started the car and put it in motion the "intelligence" has mapped your driving style into one of 4 types. After 180 seconds the mapping is more refined and you will now be mapped into one of ten driving styles.
Thereafter it keeps a running history of the past ~180 seconds and if you change your driving style it will adapt and remap you into another "bin".
There a second level of "learning" involved with newer vehicles but that has to do with basic operation of the engine and transmission.
For instance if you disconnect and reconnect the battery on my 93 Ford Ranger PU it will now have to "relearn" the proper power duty-cycle to use on the fuel injectors and the solenoid controlling the idle air bypass valve to achieve idle of 760rpm and the correct output from the exhaust oxygen sensor.
Starting from a factory ROM approximation it automatically adjusts the air/fuel mixture at idle using the oxygen sensor output as feedback and then remembers the "settings" required to keep the engine at ~760 RPM and low emissions.
Mine, when the window is all the way up at 70MPH you get road noise. If you bump the window down 1/8 inch the road/wind noise quits. When you bump the window back up, the window pulls away from the lower rubber seal, the one where your elbow would be if you lowered the glass and rested your elbow on the window.
Is there a fix for this? anything from the factory????
I was on the interstate yesterday. both front windows do it.
If you lower the window 1/8 inch or so the noise really drops. If you raise the window fully, as the motor drives the window up, the window bottom just above the door bows out and the glass pulls away from the inside rubber piece, allowing a gap that lets in the noise. A lot of noise.
is this a defect they all have???
what stops the upward progress of the window glass/ is that point adjustable? If you leave it down an 1/8 inch it rattles when you slam the door.
If this fixable by a dealer or is it a defect??????
They also fixed a problem that had developed with the heater where it would only blow air at full temp unless set at 65 where it would shut the heat off completely. They replaced the entire unit under warranty and gave me a loaner for the extra day it took to get the part in.
Great Service experience.
I also have a vibration(jiggle) thru the whole truck that starts at 70 mph and gets worse as you go faster. The tires have been balanced (road force) 3 times, they have replaced a drive shaft and, and taken all 4 wheels and tires off of an 05' still no resolution for the vibration. They are calling Toyota Tech Support today to see if they can help. Has anyone experienced this and more importantly had it fixed.
BTW, we just bought a 2005 HL Limited to add to the family, and none of the Highlanders we condsidered buying exibited this.
Has anybody heard of this?
off road stuff?
teen age drivers?
You know, the 80+ year old that drove a Daytona Prototype in last month's 24 hours of Daytona.
Brakes,tranny now differential. At least this is a problem, that can be fixed.
Why does Toyota make it too complex to reset the Maintenance Ligh? In my Honda CR-V, all I have to do to reset the maintenance light is to insert the key to a reset hole, why can't Toyota make it simple for driver?
Is there a way to disconnect the fuse to the Maintenance light for good? Most cars in the market have no maintenance light and they worked fine.
I mean, that little oil change sticker the dealer put on is good enough.
The good news is the light did not go on at 10,000 miles.
Key on...doesn't matter if the engine is running or not, push trip button until ODM is displayed.
Key off......push and while HOLDING Trip button...Key turned to on (do not start engine). After 5 sec. of holding the Trip reset, the Maint Req inducator should turn off.
This will reset it to the Next 5K interval. Approx 4500 miles from now the Maint Req indicator will stay illuminated for 15-20 sec after the vehicle is started as a subtle reminder that the next Service Interval is nearing.
i would rather have auto locking doors when u drive off
Everyone is different. I hate the auto locking doors, and always disable them when I get a car that has them. Just personal preference. I think that a vehicle in the class of the Highlander should offer the auto locking doors, but also allow for personal settings. BTW, I had my dealer set the remote so all the doors unlock with one push of the unlock button on the remote. (this should also be able to be done by the owner) My wife prefers the ability to only unlock the drivers door with the remote, so her car takes 2 pushes to unlock all doors.
This morning I heard it again when I dropped off my daughter, and when I got home I left the engine running and got out. Once I stepped out of the car I could hear it. It's hard to pinpoint, but it seems to me that the noise is coming from the passenger side of the engine compartment where there are two belts, one higher and one lower.
I'm due for 15,000 mile service in the next week or two. Does this noise sound familiar to any 4-cylinder owners? Does anyone know the purpose of these belts? (Alternator? A/C?) I'd like to be able to say more than just ask the service technician if he hears the noise, too. Thanks. Any input is appreciated.
When its on "full cold" (counterclockwise i think) I still get a little heating, that is, outside air is like 10 degrees warmer when it comes out the vents..
Is this dial mis adjusted?
is the dial a water control valve or is it a air control (damper door0 valve??
Anyone know?
You can purchase a Ford motor driven fuel tank selector valve and install it inline with the hose and turn off the flow in A/C mode.
I had a firebird with no hot water valve - put a brass water valve in it.
1) The defrost wires on the two rear side windows are different: one side has vertical wires covering only half the window, the other side has horizontal wires. Is that normal? Why the asymmetry?
2) Moonroof controls don't seem to operate per the manual. I have to hold down in either direction to open/close/tilt, and it moves so fast it's hard to know exactly when the roof is closed and sealed. The manual indicates that if you push the switch it should open or return to full closed position automatically and that you actually need to give it a little push to stop in a part open position. How is it supposed to work?
Thanks!
read the manual again for the "normalization" procedure for the moonroof..takes only about 30 seconds to get it so it works as you want.
I can understand when I have AUTO on and ask for A/C, the recirc comes on, at a higher fan speed at first, then, as the interior of the car cools off, the fan speed lowers, and the recirc turns off. But when the A/C is off, and the recirc comes on, (and never does turn off by itself as it does in the A/C AUTO mode) the car can never cool down with interior warmer air recirculated. The manual seems lacking in it's discussion of this feature.
Thanks for any thoughts and comments.