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Toyota Highlander Maintenance and Repair

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Comments

  • jefferjeffer Member Posts: 31
    Thanks for the recommendation but I've consigned myself to a mid-size vehicle with room for 4, not a pickup. Although I did send for the brochure on the new Subaru B9 Tribeka. Looks cool but the luggage space looks a little small, although no actual specs were given. I'm looking for a minimum of 36 cu ft behind the back seats.
    I must admit I am skeptical as to how many Highlander owners actually use their vehicle for some type of outdoors activities such as camping, kayaking or canoeing.
    So far I'm affraid my suspicisions may be correct. I'm going to post the same question on the 4Runner discussion and hopefully may get a better response.
  • wbs25wbs25 Member Posts: 5
    Before buying our new FWD 6 cyl. Highlander, one of the service techs described removing a panel at the bottom front to access the oil filter. This panel appears to be p/n 02084-14415. It has about 8-10 10 mm head bolts/screws, which are easy. It also seem to have two round plastic push-in items of some kind.

    Does anyone know how these are removed, so as to be re-installable? or does the dealer just replace them every time?

    Can anyone tell me what, if any instructions are provided in the Service Manual for removing and reinstalling this panel, or performing an oil change?

    And yes, I carefully collect and recycle all used oil at my local Kragen's.
    Thanks much for any help.
  • wwestwwest Member Posts: 10,706
    I do all the work of removing and installing a new filter from the top front....
  • desertguydesertguy Member Posts: 730
    Yes, although I can't see the filter on my '04 V6 I can feel it from the top and hence get a filter wrench on it.
  • johnny5johnny5 Member Posts: 13
    I have a 2004 Highlander Limited and use the Yakima Lowrider rack with 58" crossbars, one pair of Mako saddles and one pair of LandShark saddles for the 2 kayaks that my son and I use to go fishing in CT. I also have the Boatloader accessory which is a bar that mounts inside the crossbar and extends out to the side for providing a support to place one end of the boat while I lift the other end into one set of saddles. You then just walk it into the other set of saddles and then slide and lock the bar back into the corssbar. It allows one person to manage getting the kayak up and down with little fuss. Just take care not to let the end on the ground slide. If it does, then the front of the boat can slide off the Boatloader bar and scratch the daylights out of the side of you car (which is what happened on my old car, not on my highlander).
  • wbs25wbs25 Member Posts: 5
    Agreed - that is the desirable approach. But how are you avoiding getting burned on that shiny metal plate on the front of the engine? The same tech that suggested going in from the bottom warned me against going in from the top because of burns. Thanks again.
  • wwestwwest Member Posts: 10,706
    porcupines make love...

    Carefully.....VERY carefully.
  • phrosutphrosut Member Posts: 122
    I've changed the filter and oil both ways. I usually remove that panel from the bottom front. It's not difficult to take on and off, and makes accessing the filter very easy.

    This last time I decided to try it from above and had no problems. I DID NOT start the engine before changing oil, therefore had no problem with hot parts burning me.
  • wwestwwest Member Posts: 10,706
    is a good idea before an oil change so some of the "debris", small particles, will be held in suspension within the oil you drain.
  • eddieeeddiee Member Posts: 25
    This sounds like it could be the problem described by many as a "distant siren" noise by several on this board. In my case it would come-and-go, possibly relating to weather conditions where the seal would dry out.

    I had this fixed on my 2002 so it may also be a problem with the 2003.
    They replaced the right inner axle seal, I think.

    Here's a TSB I found that may be it:

    Make : TOYOTA Model : HIGHLANDER Year : 2002
    Manufacturer : TOYOTA MOTOR NORTH AMERICA, INC.
    Service Bulletin Num : 00103 Date of Bulletin: MAY 23, 2003
    NHTSA Item Number: 10002004
    Component: POWER TRAIN:AXLE ASSEMBLY
    Summary:
    RIGHT REAR AXLE SQUEAK NOISE. *TT *JB
  • lmn908lmn908 Member Posts: 34
    John:

    We also have Yakima lowrider with 58" crossbars for our 2 kayaks that we used on our Subaru Forester, but would like to now use on our 2005 Highlander. What do you tie the boats down to in front? The Subaru has front tow hooks but the Highlander does not. Thanks.
  • bobbynybobbyny Member Posts: 1
    The guy where I park my 2004 Highlander Limited pointed out to me the other day that BOTH of my foglight lenses are cracked. They are fully intact, no pitting, and no discernable damage around them but just all split up and cracked. This seems really odd to me, both at the same time.

    I stopped by a Toyota dealer and the manager sort of made it seem that he would replace the lenses for me for free. I'm wondering if there might be some sort of design flaw? Suspension issue? REALLY powerful bugs? Car wash? I'm at a loss. Any ideas? Thanks.
  • johnny5johnny5 Member Posts: 13
    Imn908, I had to look, since I haven't put my boats in the water yet this year :cry: .(next week, vacation and fishing). I open the hood and tie them to the head light bracket which is bolted to the body frame. I then close the hood and take up the slack with a trucker's hitch. http://www.paddling.net/sameboat/archives/sameboat200.html#knottruck . I use a lightweight 'parachute cord' they gave me at the kayak shop. Good Luck.
  • jbolltjbollt Member Posts: 736
    My 05 Limited climate control always starts in recirc mode when starting the car, it doesn't matter if it is in the AUTO mode or AC or just "unconditioned air." Even if I switch the recirc off, and just have fresh air coming in from the outside, it will go to recirc next time I start the car. I really don't like this. I have mentioned this here before, and some of you have concurred. I have researched this, and it seems that the RX330 also does this, but there is a "c-best" option to have this changed. Does anybody know if the same can be done on the Highlander?

    On a related issue, I had the setting that requires 2 pushes of the remote unlock button to unlock all doors changed by my dealer to one push to unlock all doors, but they didn't know it could be done, until I told them I had read on Edmunds that others had done this. I can probably get them to do this for me on the recirc if I can be certain that it is an option.

    Anybody know for sure, or have access to the info?

    thanks!
  • wwestwwest Member Posts: 10,706
    My RX300 will also do that, in all modes, if, when I first start it, the interior of the car is significantly warmer than the temperature setpoint. Sorry I can't really say how significant the difference must be.

    If that is not the circumstance in your case it may be that the IAT (internal air temperature) sensor has failed and is somehow indicating a high cabin temperature. In the alternative the solar radiation sensor may have failed indicating a VERY bright sunlight.
  • dmoyerdmoyer Member Posts: 27
    At 55,000 miles, pulsating front rotors finally got to me, resulting in new front rotors w/labor for $266. Most of those miles are interstate miles, but the last 5 down hill miles of my one day weekly 110 mile commute lately was one long wobble. Toyota dealer also wants to replace the front pads and said the rear rotors have excessive rust rings on the inside of the rotors, thus diminishing breaking area. Another $450 to finish the job. :cry:
    Any comments!
    www.autosupplyco.com/brakenotes.html described it this way. "Lateral runout or Warpage may be caused by several factors; over tightening the lug nuts (over-torquing), inaccurate lathe setups, and rapid temperature changes during normal driving [very hot brake rotors are subjected to a splash of very cold water multiple times]. The driver feels lateral runout when she/he applies the brakes and feels the brake pedal "pulsate" or "shudder"."
  • loucapriloucapri Member Posts: 214
    $266 for new front rotors with labor, is it from toyota dealer? 2 rotors?
    They want $249 for front brake jobs (pads and re-surface the rotors)
  • eddieeeddiee Member Posts: 25
    My 2002 is just starting to get pulsing at 34,000. I baby the brakes so my guess is that the factory rotors are probably crap. I actually consider myself lucky where I had replaced the rotors on a 99 Jeep Grand Cherokee 3 times before 34,000 miles. The calipers on them were really crap.

    When I have mine done I plan to use a name brand after-market brand like Raybestos, Bendix, Wagner, etc rather than the Toyota factory ones.
    Problems with the sticking calipers or sticking pads can also cause warping.
    Whenever I get my tires rotated I make a special point to tell them not to use an impact wrench and use a torque wrench to check them. I just had my tires rotated and will check them with a torque wrench.

    Concerning the front pads, I would it considerate it a good idea to replace the pads when you replace the rotors. If there are grooves or imperfections in the rotors, they will be reflected in the pads and you would probably not have good contact.

    As far as the rears are concerned, a mechanic friend of mine told me that most of the braking is handled by the fronts. When I sold my wife's Camry it still had the original rears at 90,000 and they were going strong. I wouldn't do the rears unless you were having observed problems.
  • sdoellsdoell Member Posts: 1
    I'm having a similar experience in Indiana with my 2002 Highlander V6. The leak appears to be most prevalent on the passenger side and seems to come from under the dash. Water gets in the floor only. Like you, I can hear water sloshing around; it sounds as if I have a 10-gallon bucket of water in the back floorboard. This has happened twice and no cause can be found. The dealer has checked for sun roof leaks, door leaks, every other possibility, but nothing can be found.

    Both times this happened the car had been left outside in a driving thunderstorm. Usually it is parked in a garage. The dealer tried to replicate the leak last night during a storm here, but this morning the car is dry.

    The dealer is stymied, and so am I. The service adviser suggested I take the car to a body shop or to a place here called The Rain Doctor.

    Sandy
  • thernandezthernandez Member Posts: 1
    Does anybody knows how to program a remote control for my Highlander 2001 ?
    Tom
  • herzogtum71herzogtum71 Member Posts: 470
    Have them check the AC drain system for blockage, especially if you're not getting much water dripping after driving with AC on. We had an '87 Nova (aka California-built Corolla), and the passenger-side carpet would get soaked every now and then. We thought it was leaking in heavy rain, but then it happened once on a long highway trip in dry 90-degree weather. I was looking under the hood for possible causes in a motel parking lot when a guy came up and spotted the problem immediately. The drain tube for the AC had been installed upside down so that the 90-degree turn at the end of the tube was pointing up rather than down. Instead of dripping onto the pavement, water was backed up somewhere in the system and leaking into the floor on the passenger side. Over 6 or 7 hours this was enough to soak the carpet even into the back-seat area. I turned the drain hose to the right position, and didn't have the problem again.
  • SylviaSylvia Member Posts: 1,636
    A reporter is looking to speak with owners of Chrysler, Saab, Toyota or Volkswagen vehicles who did all the scheduled maintenance on their vehicle and still experienced engine sludge within the warranty period within the past year. If this describes your situation, please respond by 6pm Eastern on Monday, May 23, 2005 to jfallon@edmunds.com.
    Thanks for your consideration,
    Jeannine Fallon
    Corporate Communications
    Edmunds.com
  • wbs25wbs25 Member Posts: 5
    Can anyone tell me safe spots to use a floor jack on a 2005 V6 FWD Highlander?
    Preferably a center spot to lift one whole side for tire rotation. Thanks much.
  • spencer327spencer327 Member Posts: 106
    2004 HL Nav screen locks up upon boot, All controls associated with the display do not operate. It was intermittent for a while but now locks up every time. No AC control, no radio controls etc. Bought wiring diagrams, I have concerns that these systems are beyond the ken of the dealers. Dealer has no parts on hand,every attempt to fix it takes a week to order next part. This is a frustrating experience with a vehicle and a dealer which I like. This is on the heels of a 2 week loaner car while the dealer replaced the front differential( which turned out to be a bad right front wheel bearing) Tranny still shifts lousy and brakes are still mushy, but 26MPG on a trip. Toyota needs a dose of reality about their quality and service
  • spencer327spencer327 Member Posts: 106
    The lip on the bottom of the floor pan has 2 notches front and rear . these are the indicated jack service points .They will bend with a floor jack. But inboard of these points are boxed flat points that one can get a floor jack on without bending the lips. I dont think there is a central point to lift the whole side.
  • jjudgejjudge Member Posts: 3
    I'm running out of CDs :-)

    So for the "radio receives as if it has no antenna" problem ... is the solution just to replace the radio itself?

    If so, thats too bad ... I really like the stock radio look, button layout, etc :-(

    -- jjudge
    And ... I still need to get off my butt and try the "remove antenna, brush/clean, resocket it" thing.
  • herzogtum71herzogtum71 Member Posts: 470
    If the problem is not the antenna or the connections, there could be something wrong with the radio itself. I think I would try ordering another stock radio from Toyota. If the new radio doesn't get better reception, you probably could return it within a specified time period. Then you would know that the radio itself isn't the problem. Years ago there was a rule of thumb that most FM signals should provide good reception at least to 60 miles away.
  • desertguydesertguy Member Posts: 730
    When you look under your HL you can see the main frame members running lengthwise(approx. 2 inches wide). I use these with the jack biased toward the front of the vehicle since it is heavier. Then I can jack up the whole side at once to rotate tires etc.
  • wbs25wbs25 Member Posts: 5
    spencer327,

    I see the notched jack points OK, but I'm not sure what you mean by "boxed" flat points. Inboard of the front notches are flanges (loops) coming down from what seem like main support beams. Are you referring to just in front of those flanges?

    Just inboard of the notches in the rear are removable rubber inserts. Just behind those inserts are flat areas on each side, but they're not obvious support beams like in front. Are those the flat points you're referring to?

    Thanks again.
  • wbs25wbs25 Member Posts: 5
    desertguy,

    That sounds good. Knowing very little about this, I would probably have put the jack as far back on the frame member as possible to get close to the vehicle's midpoint. If I understand correctly, you're saying its better to put the jack somewhat forward of the midpoint ("biased toward the front" )? Thanks again.
  • desertguydesertguy Member Posts: 730
    wbs25 - That is correct. If you move toward the front of the HL, you won't have to jack as high to get the whole side off the ground.
  • spencer327spencer327 Member Posts: 106
    Thats the spot. I dont recommend lifting the whole side. too much weight on the jack point. Your dealing with a light "structured vehicle " I would only lift one wheel at a time.I also think that Toyota is remiss in not putting decent lifting pads on the unibody. As much as I like Toyota products its things like this that give me pause.
  • scott6840scott6840 Member Posts: 5
  • scott6840scott6840 Member Posts: 5
    On my '02 Highlander Limited I have to have either the headlights or the parking lights on in order to have the instrument panel lights on.
    The lack of panel lights on an overcast or rainy day makes it difficult or impossible to read the speedometer and gauges. I feel that there should be "always on" panel lights on a car that costs this much but I haven't found any thus far.
    Did the Toyota engineers screw up or am I missing something? How do I get the panel lights on without having to turn on the headlights?
  • jbolltjbollt Member Posts: 736
    I have been driving since 1967, owned over 40 cars, and none have had that capability, as far as I know. There are some vehicles now that iluminate the gauges when the ignition is turned on, but on those, the numbers on the guages aren't even visibile when the ignition is off. I think they are called "optitron"

    I have no problem seeing the guages in either my 03 or 05 Highlander. My only issue is reading the radio display with my polarized sun glasses on.
  • rblelandrbleland Member Posts: 312
    And to add to the above post, I've been driving since 1960 and have owned over 50 vehicles and never have had one where the instrument lights are on when neither the parks nor the headlights are on. And no rental car I ever used did it either. There is obviously not a large call for such a feature. So, the answers to your queries are: no, Toyota didn't screw up and; you don't unless you turn on at least the parks.
  • loucapriloucapri Member Posts: 214
    I agree with the others. I don't know any cars have such a feature that it will have their instrument panel lights on WITHOUT turn on the parking light.

    Do you have experience with other cars that can do that?

    If you have problem seeing the gauges, just leave the parking light on and you don't have to turn it off because once you turn off the engine and open the door, all lights will turn off (even if the headlight is on).

    That's a feature that should be a MUST for all cars so no one will get a drained battery
  • jbolltjbollt Member Posts: 736
    Leaving on a trip in the next couple of hours, and I decided it would be a good time to experiment ...removing the roof rack cross bars....maybe it will make a difference in wind noise (not objectionable to begin with, but worth a try) or mpg?
    I have loosened all the "thumb wheels" (that are too tight to open with your hands), and can't figure out how to actualy remove the bars.

    Anyone know how? The manual doesn't seem to cover this.

    thanks for any quick replies
  • jbradbjbradb Member Posts: 39
    Has anyone had the letter "C" appear and stay on the compass??
  • jbradbjbradb Member Posts: 39
    I would love to know if it can be changed. My lexus's windows can be lowered with its remote...a nice feature in warm weather. Has anyone had their remote reprogrammed?
  • kman49kman49 Member Posts: 2
    It's been awhile since you posted this message but I'm wondering if you ever found a fix. I have an 03 HL 2WD that has steering wheel vibration at 69-71mph and the puzzling part is it's only sporadic. Replaced the tires with high end Michelin's, found the dealer had the car off the lot with a mis matched wheel so they gave me 5 new wheels, it's been balanced and aligned but I still have vibration in the steering wheel. Never know when it's going to start nor how long it will last. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I love the vehicle and don't want to have to trade it to get rid of the vibration.
  • imjollymonimjollymon Member Posts: 1
    I know exactly what this is and is very easy to fix! It is mud built up inside your wheels. All you have to do is have your tire taken off the rim and the mud cleaned up. I need to do this about 3-4 times a year. It costs about $20 and takes care of it completely!
  • jenna1jenna1 Member Posts: 4
    I'm considering buying a 2001 Highlander Limited with 87,000 miles from a dealer. It's in excellent condition and a good price but the high miles scare me. Any suggestions?
  • goldstongoldston Member Posts: 110
    Jenna1,

    If it were me I'd ask for all the service records. Carefully look at dates and mileage to see how this vehicle was maintained. Look to see if they did the prescribed "color coded" maintenance

    Yellow is at 5k, 10k, 20k, 25k miles
    Green is at 15k, 45k, 75k miles
    Blue is at 30k, 60k miles

    Good luck, let us know what you found out and decided to do.

    Best regards,

    Philip
  • jenna1jenna1 Member Posts: 4
    Good advice! Thanks, Phil
  • cmunizcmuniz Member Posts: 604
    This is an educated guess since this has not happened to me, but it probably means that the compass needs to be calibrated. There should be instructions in the manual. IIRC you need to drive in a tight circle in a parking lot or other open space until it displays the direction again.
  • tomjtomj Member Posts: 1
    My Camry and Corolla moon roofs have always work flawlessly so I knew something was amiss when my new Highlander moon roof would not automatically stop when it reached the closed position. Further, I had to hold my finger on the button to keep it moving. In doing so, It cycled through the tilt open, tilt close, slide open and slide close movements in a consecutive manner without stopping in the closed (or open) position. This became irritating because I had to precisely time the moment to let go of the button as it neared the closed position. The solution, thanks to this forum, was to "normalize" the moon roof. This simple procedure requires pressing and holding the "tilt open" switch until it cycles through a complete tilt open/close and slide open/close cycle. HOWEVER, despite repeated attempts, the roof would not normalize. The ultimate solution was to remove the MOON ROOF FUSE and reinstall it. Following another normalize cycle, my moon roof now works correctly. It opens or closes with a brief touch of the button. The moon roof fuse is located behind the tilt out compartment below and to the left of the steering wheel. Open the compartment and pull the compartment up and out (it will snap out) to gain access to the fuses behind. A label on the back of the (now removed) compartment has the location of the fuse. Hope this helps. :shades:

    TomJ
  • scott6840scott6840 Member Posts: 5
    The Highlander is my wife's car so I don't drive it all that much so perhaps I'm way off base. My current Infiniti G35 coupe as well as my two previous Lexus SC400's all had instrument lights that came on with the ignition. Maybe I'm just spoiled.
  • kman49kman49 Member Posts: 2
    Thanks for the suggestion, I hadn't thought of that one, but I don't think that is problem with this one. The wheels and tires are new (3 weeks) and have never been in the mud. I've been dealing with this problem about 8 months now, 2 alignments, 15 rebalances, 3 times the tires have been off the rims. Any other suggestions would be most welcome. I do a lot of highway driving so even though this vibration is minor it is very frustrating when you drive hours at a time.
  • junepugjunepug Member Posts: 161
    Guess that is only on the high priced autos. I have owned Chevys, VWs, Fords, Jeeps and Toyotas and none of them worked in that manner. The panel lights only came on when the parking lights or brights were turned on.
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