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Toyota Highlander

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  • highlander2002highlander2002 Member Posts: 5
    I've been reading this board a while and I'm just about ready to buy. Thanks everyone for the info.
    I went looking for a good deal knowing the invoice price just to be surprised when the dealer had a much higher invoice. After checking their invoice it turns out the extra cost is for the TDA- $490.00!
    Should I pay the entire cost or can the dealer negotiate on this?
  • edmundted1edmundted1 Member Posts: 22
    Trying to decide if a Toyota hood protector is a good investment. Love the idea of not having the hood pitted by small rocks hitting the hood. The only concern I have is running the HL through a car wash and possibly having it ripped off thru the wash process or dryer.

    Would appreciate any thoughts on the pros and cons of the Toyota hood protector - have never had one. Thanks.......
  • carbuyercarbuyer Member Posts: 1
    I am considering purchasing the above in NY state. Invoice price with the options I want is approx $27000. What would be a fair offer over invoice to make to the dealer? I am considering $1,000.
    Fast replies appreciated.
    Thanks all for the great info we found in the Town Hall.
  • dniehusdniehus Member Posts: 83
    I purchased a hood protector with the hope/expectation that it would reduce the prospects of a chipped windshield. Well -- perhaps reduced, but not eliminated. While driving home from NC last week, a stone was kicked up by a car in front of me and hit my windshield. Just replaced the windshield for $319. Can't believe my bad luck. Third chipped windshield in three years. Never before that in 35 years of driving. Frankly, it's probably mostly cosmetic.

    Don
  • genemachine1genemachine1 Member Posts: 24
    TDA is included in price on my 2002 Limited. I checked with toyota and this is a bona-fide expense by the dealer. My TDA cost524.
  • xcarnutxcarnut Member Posts: 81
    I've been on the edge and wondering to take the dip or not and buy the hood protector. Based on the comments dniehus I see not value on getting the protector.
    Can anyone else give their input if it makes any difference in getting one ? Does it reduce the bug splatter on windsheild or any other benfit if not for the windshield chipping protection.
    Thanks.
  • alsopalsop Member Posts: 38
    Just to add some more interest, I second xcarnut's question in posting #3910 regarding the benefits of a hood protector - I have the same questions. Thanks in advance for any input on this subject! /Ron
  • gasman1gasman1 Member Posts: 321
    The hood protector does protect the hood from rock chips. Look at the many vehicles without a protector in any parking lot. Look at the damaged paint on the leading edge and on the top of the hood.

    Toyota's protector is one of the highest quality protectors that I've owned. I recommend it over any after-market protector out there. An added bonus is that your HL could be worth more at trade-in.

    I've only had one hood protector break. It was on a mini-van that had about 6-inches of snow/ice on top. I braked at the bottom of a hill on day that was getting warmer. The stuff on top broke loose, hit the hood and the protector and shattered it. Needless to say, clear that stuff off of the top before you take out.
  • seankat1seankat1 Member Posts: 6
    I noticed in the HL's Sceduled Maintenance book/log is suggests to re-torque the drive shaft bolt at 5,000 miles. Does anyone have this torque setting, and are they talking about the front, rear, or both drive shaft bolt(s)? Maybe there is only one, I haven't got under the car to look yet.
  • boulderhlboulderhl Member Posts: 18
    I know I seen several folks mention on this forum that they've had the sunroof popping noise fixed at a dealer. Could those who have, please post the phone number of the dealer (and contact name) that did the work, so that when I take my HL in, they can call and find out exactly what was involved in the repair. I know (hope) that they could probably figure it out on their own, but I'd prefer as little trial and error as possible. Thanks!
  • kingkapkingkap Member Posts: 9
    Just curious what the residual is on a 36 month lease...in percentage form. I'm looking for a 4x4 V6...anyone want to offer their experiences and payment info? thanks in advance.
  • highlander2002highlander2002 Member Posts: 5
    I wish I knew ahead of time about that charge. I guess I'll just have to up my offer by that amount.
    Thanks.
  • chadhburkechadhburke Member Posts: 27
    As I mentioned in a previous post, I purchased a hood protector from Toyota after the first 2-3 inches of my hood experienced multiple rock chips. I tried to keep up with a bottle of touch up paint but was not successful. The hood protector offered by Toyota is a charcoal color and sells for around $80 +/-.

    It was easy to install and well worth it. The protector thoroughly covers the front lip of the hood, and I believe it also reduces the amount of bugs that reach the windshield.

    As for rock chips, you can't avoid rocks that fall on top of the hood but the protector deflects all the others away. Someone had mentioned previously that they had to replace their windshield due to a rock chip. If the rock chip has not cracked the glass significantly, many insurance companies will pay to have an auto glass dealer seal the chip with an epoxy resin. When done correctly this greatly reduces the visibility of the chip and they usually guarantee against the chip spreading, all at NO insurance deductable. Think about it, your insurance company doesn't want you driving around with a cracked windshield.
  • chadhburkechadhburke Member Posts: 27
    I've got my fingers crossed now. With 15,000 miles, I have experienced the reed-type wind noise at highway speeds and in cross winds that so many others on this board have talked about. I've had the problem since I bought the HL in March.

    I tried taking it into the local dealer, but as the story goes they could not duplicate the problem. Anyway, last Friday I called Toyota customer service and asked them to open a problem ticket for this issue. They did so with no problem and promised a call-back.

    Today I received a phone call. I was told Toyota has just resolved the issue and issued a TSB (Technical Service Bulletin). Forgive me if someone else has beat me to the punch on this one! They have the parts ordered and I am scheduled to have the repair made in about 2 weeks. I believe it involves both sets of door seals on the front doors, but I'm not sure of the details.

    Once I have the repair made I will post the TSB number and the results.
  • capnkirkcapnkirk Member Posts: 10
    I think I've found about the dumbest Toyota Service Department in the country. I've got about 13000 mi on my HL, and overall am very satisfied with the car. I recently took it in for the brake recall and asked them to look into the popping sunroof and rattling glove box. Both are annoying, but a little extra volume from the stereo fixes the problem.

    They had never heard about either problem! Anyone that has had the problems successfully addressed please let me know the fix and the dealer's name.

    I suppose eventually my hearing will go, and the problem will be fixed. In the meantime, Jiffy Lube for all my service needs!
    Thanks
  • troyy2ktroyy2k Member Posts: 91
    Has anyone installed a CD or DVD based navigation system into the highlander? Can the optional DVD entertainment system available on the new highlanders be adapted into a navigation system?
  • gwkisergwkiser Member Posts: 326
    Got ours before the HL came in. Mounted it as soon as we got home with the new vehicle. Dealer / Distributor had a sale going on it for $69 + tax. After chasing stone chips all over the front of the hood of our '97 Avalon, I was determined to not do that with the HL. So far, so good. After returning from a 2000 mile road trip earlier this month, not a chip in sight. HL now has 8500 and still fine. Get it....it's not that expensive compared to the hassle of repairing chips.
  • dominor5dominor5 Member Posts: 58
    Did you purchase your charcoal-colored protector from the dealer? I ordered one from toyotaguys.com and it came in a dark brown/smoke color, the only color it comes in from them. It disappointingly does not match well with my M.Silver Highlander; personally, I think it will match well with all the other colors except for Black and Silver. I eventually decided to order another one from WeatherTech: dark smoke gray, no-drill/no-adhesive installation.

    A note to those who will order by mail: verify the color! It will cost you at least $25 to ship it back because the the box is oversized/irregular. I am now hoping one of my neighbors who also have a Highlander will purchase the Toyota Hood Protector from me.
  • ikhangikhang Member Posts: 7
    Since I live in Southern California, and judging from the posts and several dealerships I've visited all the HL 4x2 LTD V6's are fully loaded. I wanted to try to special order one with the LL, and LA only. Any suggestions on where to start? How much over invoice should I pay? Thanks!
  • btr1btr1 Member Posts: 20
    Good question.....invoice with options at $27k, what is fair price? Any help appreciated thanks.
  • ehl3ehl3 Member Posts: 30
    We bought our 2002 V6 4x2, non-limited w/PIO leather and a few other options (ordered as a 2001) at $177 over the 2001 invoice in South Florida -- $25,300 pre-tax. I had several offers in the plus $400 range before we settled. I suspect you could duplicate the plus $400 in SoCal if you are willing to shop a bit, particularly with the overall economy off a bit.

    Best of luck.
  • chadhburkechadhburke Member Posts: 27
    Yes, I ordered it from the dealer's parts department. I'm not sure what the official color was, but it works well with my black HL.
  • ronthom1ronthom1 Member Posts: 10
    To carbuyer & btr1:

    I live in southern New England and have been shopping extensively for same HL model (6924)at best price. 1,000 over invoice would be an excellent price here; 1500 over is do-able and even reasonable. Make sure you add in TDA of 1.8% of cost in your computation. You can tend to do better if you select a less popular color like white or even black - Silver and gold appear to be the most popular and difficult to get at the lower end of the price spectrum.
  • mrtwomrtwo Member Posts: 4
    I just got my 02 limited 2x4 V6 for 700 over invoice and 300 TDA. Geez even with internet shopping you still have to go thru the sleezy dealers tactics with some of them. Easy to ignore though.

    btw: anyone got a better price on toyota part than toyotaguys.com? They are pretty expensive!
  • btr1btr1 Member Posts: 20
    thanks Ronthom1. Would you say $1000-$1500 over invoice of everything including options? Sorry - what is TDA and how is the 1.8% part of the comuputation? Thanks!
  • cliffy1cliffy1 Member Posts: 3,581
    Ummmm.... what's so sleazy about the TDA fee. Its listed right on the Edmunds invoice page. It varies by region and $300 is actually on the low end of the scale. Here in the Central Atlantic Region, we pay 2.1% of base invoice. It is added to invoice and we can't avoid it, nor are we compensated for it. This is exactly what Edmunds tells you if you read the whole page.
  • ronthom1ronthom1 Member Posts: 10
    TO: btr1

    TDA, as I understand it, is a charge by the Toyota Dealers Association for advertising and product promotion. As Cliffy1 correctly states, it is unavoidable and will be added to the invoice cost. The appropriate percentage is applied to the total cost of the vehicle and all options.

    Yes the profit is added at the end after all costs are computed.
  • ronthom1ronthom1 Member Posts: 10
    Can anyone tell me if the optional Rear Spoiler adds any value to the vehicle? Does it have any function or use or is it solely cosmetic or aesthetic?
  • tfuzztfuzz Member Posts: 93
    chadhburke: Good luck! My dealer has been telling me there will be more delays in fixing the reedy wind noise for almost six months now. The first promised fix date was back in April or May. I finally called Toyota last week to complain at the national level (my dealer seems to be making a good faith effort to fix it, but can't get parts from Toyota). Today my dealer called all excited, after being contacted by Toyota, to say he had "good news". My HL has been declared to be undriveable, which means it will move to the head of the line for the parts. Now he says he hopes to get parts to fix it in about 3 weeks. I've heard that before, so it is hard for me to be optimistic.

    I drove my HL to Topeka last week. It was a very windy day and the wind noise was loud and constant for 3 1/2 hours--sometimes coming from both sides at once. It was awful! Fortunately, the wind died down for my drive back and it was very enjoyable.
  • sandhurstsandhurst Member Posts: 37
    I've been having trouble in Pennsylvania finding the Highlander I want. I'm interested in a 4 cylinder 2x4 with vehicle skid control/traction control and side airbags. I don't need any other options, although I'm willing to pay for some if necessary to get the VSC and airbags. The problem here is that the only Highlanders with VSC and side bags are $32,000+ models that have all options.

    Am I being unrealistic in expecting to find a basic model with the advanced safety features? Thanks for your help.
  • sartosarto Member Posts: 13
    The rear spoiler is functional. It channels the flowing air from the top of the roof down to the rear hatch, thus you don't have to clean your rear window very often. Wagons and SUVs always manage to have dirty rear windows all the time due to the lower air pressure passing above them and the dust and dirt settle on them. If you look on the leading edge of the oem rear spoiler of the HL, it is above the roofline and shaped like a wind trap.
  • dardson1dardson1 Member Posts: 696
    yes, you are probably being unrealistic....I wanted a Sienna with leather and a good stereo. Otherwise, a base model would have suited me. What did I have to buy????? you may ask....a 33k XLE. It's not just Toyota who bundles all the good stuff with much of the stuff you can live without; but Toyota has made and art of it...lol. I had to fight like crazy just to get a Sienna that didn't have the 1000 buck Extra-mile option ($150 worth of extras and $850 in pie-in-the-sky nothin'). Good luck.
  • gwkisergwkiser Member Posts: 326
    I agree with sarto. We have one on our Limited model and my brother-in-law's RX300 doesn't. Although the shape is a little different at the back (and elsewhere for that matter), I have noticed that his back window gets dirty much more frequently than ours.
  • svtcobraconvsvtcobraconv Member Posts: 85
    It would be nice if the rear spoiler does actually function in keeping the rear window a bit cleaner. This would be a bonus for us. My wife liked the spoiler, but primarily for looks. She wanted the spoiler without the roof rack. (We've never used the roof racks on the wagons we've owned in the last 15 years.) That is one of the reasons we ended up ordering our 2002 HL. We saw one set up like this last spring in Bluestone, and she really liked the way it looked. Can't wait till it comes in!
  • peterb9peterb9 Member Posts: 5
    I just bought a 2002 HL and arriving in a few days and it has the VSC and traction control that I wanted. But I'm concerned that you can not turn off the traction control in deep snow. I have another car with traction control and got stuck in about 6" of snow last winter. The system would adjust the throttle and brakes when I stepped on the gas, and nothing would happen. The car has a switch, so I turned off the Traction and the car spun its tires and powered itself right out of the snow. If you can't turn off the system in the Highlander, won't you get stuck in the snow easily?? I know the VSC works well while moving, but what about starting in deep snow or sand? If thats the case , I'll have to add my own cut-off switch for times I get stuck. Can anyone correct me if I'm wrong and don't understand the operation of the HL system.
  • macmacmacmac Member Posts: 35
    If you press the ECT button.
    That will give you the traction at start up.
  • cattmancattman Member Posts: 31
    tfuzz, et al:
    Anybody know if this problem has been addressed on the 2002 vehicles? Could be a tiebreaker... man, that noise would drive me crazy...

    Thanks!!
  • gwleonggwleong Member Posts: 36
    I have a HL 'non-limited' that has the standard stereo (non-JBL). I am very disappointed with the sound quality and quite surprised Toyota would install a stereo of this poor quality in a vehicle of such high caliber.

    Does anyone share these feelings? Has anyone changed the speakers? If so, to what speaker make/model? And how do you remove the door panels?

    Please advise.

    Gary
  • b717b717 Member Posts: 38
    Someone asked earlier how to confirm his HL has VSC. Just check the warning lights during the self check when you turn the ignition to run but before turning key to start and again after you start. Look at the lights and you'll see what you need, including VSC and a pictogram of a car with the squiggly tire tracks behind the rear. Some are on only briefly but the Owners manual has pictures and descriptions of all that you see.
    There is also a Trac Off switch located to the left of the steering column, so much for the dealer "expert" that says VSC is "invisible, trust me".
    ECT or "snow mode" switch, the one to the right of the gear selector lever just locks OUT first gear, vehicle will start out in second, then shift to 3rd, 4th etc.
  • highlander7highlander7 Member Posts: 177
    I am ready to purchase a 02 Ltd, just one hitch,
    the tow hitch and converter is not available until Jan. 02. Anyone know why? They were available on 01 models but in limited supply.
    They are listed as an accessory (UQ) cost $290./$232. Is Toyota building an inventory of these, did they get caught short on an option they did not believe would be requested on this SUV?
    Interesting that they have plenty of stock hitches for Sienna's, none for Highlanders.
    Do not want to buy an aftermarket but may have to. Knowing what manufacturers often publicize, Jan 02 may be adjusted to Jun 02.
    comments appreciated ......
  • xcarnutxcarnut Member Posts: 81
    gwleong - You aren't alone on this one. Many of us on this board share the same feelings about the std. stereo. I plan to eventually upgrade but in the interim I've used a little trick or the hidden feature on the stereo to adjust the mid-range settings. This will help the sound a little better. There are posts on how to access the hidden feature, I don't remember the post number but if you'll scroll back a month or so its listed on this forum.
  • highlander7highlander7 Member Posts: 177
    I am ready to purchase a 02 Ltd, just one hitch,
    the tow hitch and converter is not available until Jan. 02. Anyone know why? They were available on 01 models but in limited supply.
    They are listed as an accessory (UQ) cost $290./$232. Is Toyota building an inventory of these, did they get caught short on an option they did not believe would be requested on this SUV?
    Interesting that they have plenty of stock hitches for Sienna's, none for Highlanders.
    Do not want to buy an aftermarket but may have to. Knowing what manufacturers often publicize, Jan 02 may be adjusted to Jun 02.
    comments appreciated ......
  • tfuzztfuzz Member Posts: 93
    cattman: As far as I know the reedy wind noise--actually it sounds to me more like like a hoarse flute--only affected some early production vehicles. There don't seem to be any complaints lately except for a few of us who have had the problem since spring and can't get it fixed. Someone mentioned that Toyota was about to issue a technical service bulletin very soon. That might list the specific vehicles involved.

    Personally, I would avoid buying either a new or used early 2001 HL unless I was sure it didn't have the problem. I don't think I would be too concerned about a 2002. Except for the wind noise I think the HL is a super vehicle. I have a few minor quibbles, of course, but not many.
  • bikerjohnbikerjohn Member Posts: 52
    b717,

    I believe only the FWD with VSC has the Trac Off switch. The AWD with VSC can not be manually turned off.
  • peterb9peterb9 Member Posts: 5
    The ETC switch just enables you to start in 2nd gear,which is good on a slick surface, but in deep snow the Traction Control would apply brakes to spinning tires and adjust the throttle. Not what you need to power out, or rock out of a deep snow. If they put a Traction Off switch on the 2-WD , why not on the 4-WD ?
  • cliffy1cliffy1 Member Posts: 3,581
    One the 4WD, you do have traction control, but NOT with an engine rev limiter. Because of this, you will not have a problems with it in snow. On the 2WD, there is a rev limiter and this is why you have the off switch.
  • purcatpurcat Member Posts: 13
    I live in Ohio, with fairly rough winter driving.
    I've read some postings about getting winter tires for the HL. Is this necessary? I had a front wheel Buick before my AWD HL. I would think the HL is better in snow than a front wheel drive car. Please give advise. Thanks
  • kc571vkc571v Member Posts: 4
    Hi,

    Is the center console the same one they passed off last year? Or is it higher and bigger?

    Thanks...
  • irishcaseyirishcasey Member Posts: 36
    I'm looking at a non limited HL and thus in order to get leather, it has to be installed by the dealer or at the port of entry. For anyone who has done this, would you share both the invoice (dealer cost) and the MSRP for the leather, as well as what you paid. Thanks.
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