Toyota Highlander

landdriver · February 2003

According to www.toyota.com the tilting headrests only come with the leather seats.

vinod_s3 · February 2003

Scanner: Will check that out too.
Did you get your car fixed at a Toyota dealership ? Thanks again.

edodd3 · February 2003

To those who have a problem with the headrest. Please contact Toyota and your dealer and make a formal complaint. I have tried all of the suggestions, as well as many other avenues, so am now down to selling the vehicle. Anyone want a brand new Highlander, in excellent shape, driven very little?

junepug · February 2003

Try angling the seat back a little more. I have not had this problem and I have the seat back at about 10%.

dougweaver · February 2003

cmcardle ... great post ... LOL!! My eyes were sort of glazing over reading the post you were talking about. dpw

03bluestone · February 2003

I have the 2003 HL with cloth seats. I am 6ft tall and the head rest is at least 2 to 2 1/2 inches behind the back of my head. I am puzzled that others are having a problem with the headrest being too close. Is the seat back set too vertical - or is their a design difference with the leather seats?

stever · February 2003

Edodd3 posted the headrest problem in a couple of discussions, so some of you may have missed the comments about the "chin in the chest" syndrome. I'm not sure what the next level is to escalate the issue.

Steve, Host

scanner · February 2003

I missed that one.

I agree the headrest are noticeably closer to the back of my head than cars I've owned in the past, but not too annoyingly so. Closer headrest are popping up in all late model vehicles as we have the IIHS
and 9 out of 10 crash test dummies to thank.

http://www.highwaysafety.com/vehicle_ratings/head_restraints/head- - - - - - - - - _toyota.htm

http://www.highwaysafety.com/vehicle_ratings/head_restraints/head- .htm

BTW, Steve, what was it you were saying about the size of my hat rack? :-D

scanner · February 2003

Vinod_s3,

The repair work was done by a Chevy dealer that was recommended by a Toyota dealer. Go figure? Am almost sure they are both owned by the same people, though.

ch1133 · February 2003

I was unable to order tow package on 4 cylinder in my area
Purchased hitch and had it installed, installed fuse in fuse box and found connector with white cap in black plastic box under spare wheel compartment. Measured voltage there with DVM, no power at all.

Went to Toyota dealers, they did not know what I need to purchase to make it work

Need advice if anyone solved this problem.

tombuchta · February 2003

just my 2 cents, I'm about 6'1", cloth seats, headrest is well back of my head probably 4-5 inches, seat would have to be past vertical (to the front) I think to touch my head

edodd3 · February 2003

I thank everyone for their suggestions. For further information to those who replied or may reply - I am female, 5'7" who has a very bad back and cannot recline the seat back - I sit very errect so as to keep my back aligned. I have not given up, and hopefully will be able to visit some dealers tomorrow to try other headrests in the Highlander. Failing that I will try junk yards to see if I can find something that will work - obviously the dealer and Toyota are not going to help. Lesson learned - if the dealer will not allow an over the weekend test drive more on to one that will!

bigdad · February 2003

may be solved by using a backrest that you purchase and put in the lower back of the seat. I have seen many people who sit all day use these. It may move your body away enough or allow you to recline the backrest enough and still be erect....try one of those stores that sells medical devices etc. to see if that might help...they are usually conformal and look very supportive. I had a friend with a bad lower back and he swore by it.

nsfdbc · February 2003

I have 6 cylinder also w/o towing package. after talking to 2 dealers, 3rd one solved problem. Had to purchase converter kit part # 08930-48010. $175.00. simple plug in module attaches to wiring harness inside spare tire compartment. Harness located in rear of compartment about 10 o'clock as you are standing facing spare tire. Hope this solves your problem. Kit includes converter module and wiring harness for trailer hookup that plugs into wiring box you mentioned under spare tire well underneath vehicle.

nimrod99 · February 2003

I have auto climate control.
Normally when the system is OFF, I can leave the recirc button on. When I start the car - the light is normally on.
Over the last couple of days, the outside temperature has been 35-39 F.
I have noticed the recirc light suddenly turning off, or even after I turn recirc on, when I restart the car - the light is off again.

At first I thought the temperature setting may have something to do with it (i.e. if set to 65 F, it may think it needs outside air (38 F) to reach set point), even though the system is OFF.

I have not had this problem during the day when temperatures are higher or > 38 F.

Does anyone know what is happening?

thanks

toyotaken · February 2003

The factory recomended setting for the HVAC system on toyota's is with the fresh air setting. You can override it, but as in most conditions fresh air is more optimal, it resets to that preset. This is the same on all Toyota's that have auto climate control as far as I know.

Ken

mnieft · February 2003

Does anyone know of a way to turn off those annoying seat belt warning lights, besides putting on your seatbelt? Is there a fuse I can pull or some other trick? Also, can anyone recommend a seat cushion or way of making the front seat comfortable to drive in. My right leg gets totally cramped while driving. I've tried every combination of adjustments on the seat with no luck. I know a lot of other people have this same complaint.

wwest · February 2003

apparently you haven't noticed that the A/C indicator is also off, it goes off if the OAT declines to about 35F. If/when the A/C is automatically disabled due to low outside temperatures then it might be extremely hazardous to use the recirc mode, thus allowing humidity to build up inside the car.

If the A/C is disabled the cabin airflow is not being dehumidified even in the least and therefore it makes sense that the recirc mode might be "locked out" automatically.

In any case, for a multiplicity of reasons, it is NEVER advisable to use recirc mode for extended periods, winter or summer.

The Lexus series is so tightly sealed to air outflow, "flow through", even in the normal "fresh" mode that they are too subject to windshield and window fogging already.

scanner · February 2003

Mnieft,

Sure... you could pull a fuse, but that would disable other indicators. Mmmm... you could also fish around under the seat and jumper out the wires going to the seatbelt switch. But why not just find a seatbelt buckle from somewhere and stick it in the seatbelt recepticle?

P.S. you also might want to disable the airbag if you are planning on driving around with no seatbelts. ;-)

03bluestone · February 2003

You really should wear your seat belt. The seatbelt and air bag literally saved my life when I was hit head on by a 3/4 ton pickup last summer. I gained a new realization on what I mean to my wife and kids and how horrible it would have been for them if I were not so fortunate. And -- I believe in most states it is required by law to be worn.

edodd3 · February 2003

Bigdad I did try the lumbar support pillow, but it did not solve the problem. Thanks anyway.

I also tried a Limited leather seat today and the headrest on it was good. In fact there was more room between my head and the headrest than I had on my previous vehicle. I wonder what the difference is between leather and cloth seats, other than the headrest moves on the Limited?

mnieft · February 2003

Actually I do wear my seatbelt most of the time, so it's not that big of a deal. I guess it's probably a good thing that it bugs me to put it on. The big problem I have is with the seat. I just can't figure out why it causes some people pain in there leg. Is it just too short, to narrow, or what? I have to believe someone makes a cushion that would help, but so far I haven't come across one.

edodd3 · February 2003

mnieft I also have a problem with the pain the the leg, but headrests are my main issue. All in all the seat is poorly designed for 5'5 and above people. If you find a seat cushion that solves both of our problems, please let me know.

jcfishing2000 · February 2003

Just purchased highlander (V6, 4x4) from Hudson Toyota for $27,460, $100 above invoice. It seems all NY and NJ are running 1.9% 3 years APR. Good Luck everyone.

wyeast · February 2003

eddod3 - When we bought our HL (two months ago) we elected to have after market leather put in as we did not particularly like the factory quality. After reading your posts, I put the back in the full upright position today and the headrest was no where near my head much less pushing it forward. Not sure where the difference comes from you might think about looking into after market leather if it might make a difference. It cost around $900 but that would seem like less of a hit than selling your unit. Plus the leather is very nice.

As to the seat comfort, I've been pleasantly surprised. Our other car is a Volvo and I have fewer leg issues in the HL. On a road trip during Chritmas we were in the HL for 13 hours straight except for gas stops and was very surprised at how good I felt afterwards. I know we are all built differently but with all the posts disliking the seats, I thought I should render a positive opinion.

590116 · February 2003

I put 13,000 miles on my 2002 HL in nine months. I have never had occasion to complain about headrest or seat comfort. I sit very erect and use cruise-control to allow my feet/legs to shift about.

icdchess · February 2003

1) Any ideas on what the APR is on 48 and 60 month financing?
2) What options did you get on your car?
3) What was MSRP?
Steve

scanner · February 2003

Noticed JC Whitney also has a device that sounds like it might do the trick.

http://www.jcwhitney.com/item.jhtml?ITEMID=152004&BQ=jcw2

toyotaken · February 2003

In the NY region, there are no rebates or dealer cash on Highlanders, but there is 1.9% x 36, 2.9% x 48, and 3.9% x 60 months for special financing available.

Ken

jcfishing2000 · February 2003

Ken is right about 2.9% for 48 and 3.9 for 60 months.
Here are the options for my Highlander
Exterior Color: Blue Stone
Interior Color: Charcoal
Options:
-Roof Rack
-Daytime Running Lights
-Heated foldable outside mirrors
-Side-impact airbags
-Towing Prep Package & 3500lb Converter
-Appearance Package
-Convenience Package
-Preferred Package
-Carpet floor/Cargo Mats
-Cargo Net
-Rear Spoiler
-Alloy Wheel Locks
MSRP- $30,571.00
Invoice- $27,360.00
CDc Sale Price- $27,460.00
Get it from Carsdirect and you'll save some money and lots of frustration.
Good Luck

junepug · February 2003

Been reading all the complaints about comfort and it is high time someone comes out in support of the Highlander. I am 6'2" tall, 190 lbs and drive with the seat back at about 10% recline. The seat is a little over half way back and I have not experienced any comfort problems. The only car, in my memory, that was more comfortable was our old 1973 Volvo 142. Even my wife, who is 5'4", under 100 lbs does not have any problems with comfort in the Highlander.
It is my feeling that these people got the car home and for some reason, maybe the spouse did not like it, are now looking for any reason to tear it down.

bigdad · February 2003

purchased the 93 service manuals from jcmanuals...was on ebay auction....winning bidder paid $105, but they sold to me for $102.50, which was my last bid....they are genuine article, but still pretty expensive....dealer wants way too much...pretty sure anyone could get these from them again, they had many copies of all of the toyota line and others..
by the way I find the HIghlander seats very comfortable despite my neck injury and lower back problems....and I am pretty big too...6'4" and 265#....wife fits fine too..I have driven 8-12 hour stretches with no problem. great on comfort, I lean the seat back a bit, but not too much..maybe 10%

edodd3 · February 2003

bigdad, do you have the leather seats? Apparently those with the leather seats do not have the same problems that those with the cloth seats have. I also find that taller people are not experiencing the same problems. I, for instance am 5'7", my neighbors are 5'10", 5'5" and they are also having the same problem. I have driven all kinds of vehicles in my 46 years of driving - from tractors to trucks, luxury vehicles and little Morris Minors, etc. and this is the most uncomfortable vehicle I have every driven, by far!

590116 · February 2003

edodd3 (#7844)...I am 6'1"/200# and have cloth seats. I was thinking about this issue on the drive in today...I am very comfortable in these seats, BUT: I sit almost straight-up and the headrest IS very close to the back of my head. I can see how someone reclining 20*-40* would find the angle of the headrest such that it "cocks" your head forward. My only question is: don't you have to bend your neck forward anyway(if you are reclining) in order to see out the windshield? I would think the support of the headrest would be a help, but apparently not. Just my 2 cents.

henry38 · February 2003

I have a Highlander 2003 limited with factory mud guards. They do not do the job. Are there any guards available in auto parts stores that I could install over the existing ones and can they be painted to match the car color?

bigdad · February 2003

I have the cloth seating (leather seating is too hot in summer here), but find it is ok...since I am tall maybe my head is far above the bulge in the headrest...I never seem to feel the headrest at all when I drive, and I sit up pretty straight. Is there any position of the headrest that doesn't touch your neck or head? Can you sit on a higher pad (like we did as a kid!) like a booster seat and avoid the headrest?...these new headrests are a safety "improvement", but if you remove it...how safe is that! Maybe you could go to an upholstery shop and have it unstuffed and recontoured with foam so it doesn't interfer with you...it would even look original with the same fabric just reshaped and customized a bit..there has to be an easy solution like this, rather than sell this fine car at a big loss...try that route....good luck

scanner · February 2003

LOL.

Check out the picture on the first page of the following report.

http://www.iihs.org/srpdfs/sr3204.pdf

megawattblues · February 2003

I have the NON-limited, cloth seats in my '02 HL, which I have owned for just over 1 year.

My last 2 cars were Volvos - a '92 240, and a '93 940 turbo wagon (leather in this one). Both had excellent seats. I could endure short trips in my wife's '97 Camry, but no contest when compared to the support of the Volvo seats ( I'm 6'-2", 190-ish).

When looking at cars to replace the old wagon, it surprised me that a Toyota actually felt this good to me. This is one of the bigger reasons I chose the Highlander.

To me, the HL has the best seating comfort of any Toyota I've had the pleasure of driving, and comes pretty close to my old Volvos' non-lower-back-pain-after-driving-awhile support. I do have a lower back condition that rears it's ugly head whenever I drive on non-supportive car seats.

The only "shortcoming" that I can come up with here is the seat cushion itself - I wish it were a bit longer and offered more thigh support.

I know everone's different, and this is just my 2 cents.

djw479 · February 2003

I have been off-line for a week and am glad to see you were able to check out the headrests on a HL with factory leather headrests. Since you found the space needed for your needs, I think you need to find some factory leather headrests.

I see ways to accomplish 'getting' these headrests:
1) Order through Toyota - perhaps your dealer will help cost-wise by selling to you at a steep discount.
2) Go to any reputable auto recycling year(i.e. auto junk yard in olden days) and have them search their national parts 'wire' service. By this time in the HL's 3-year life cycle, there are totaled HLs out there. This search service is used all the time by body shops/insurance companies trying to find used parts for auto refurbishing(i.e. accidents).

Hope this helps you! Then we can put this headrest issue to rest and you can enjoy your HL like many of us are! Dan

mnieft · February 2003

I think the problem I have with my non-limited seat is that it's just too short. It only extends to the middle of my thigh. When moving my foot between the pedels the muscle being used is resting right on the edge of the seat. The weight of my leg on the firm edge of the seat makes for like a pressure point or something on that muscle. I imagine shorter and taller people don't have a problem because they are not hitting that pressure point on the back of there leg.

hlron · February 2003

I just had my 2001 Highlander serviced (30,000 mile); I should have asked this of the service department, but I was in a hurry when I picked it up: my brake linings were measured as 7 mm front, and 7 mm rear. So, is this 50% wear, 40%, or what? How thick are new brake linings on the Highlander? And, is 7 mm about right for 30,000 miles? Thanks in advance for any help! Ron

03bluestone · February 2003

The Highlander is noted for having one of the best cruise controls available and I find it very easy when traveling to not use the pedals at all on the interstates and rural roads. Its very easy to flip the lever to speed up or slow down. This - as another poster noted - allows the driver to move his/her legs around to keep them comfortable. I have experienced some right leg pain when I have to sit on the Eisenhower expressway for a hour in constant stop and go traffic - especially keeping my foot on the brake almost the entire time.

cmcardle · February 2003

I'm a little taller (6'5") and I often end up resting my right knee on the center console, and left on the door... right foot close enough to get on the brakes if needed. Helps considerably. One of my very few suggestions for improvement would be the length of the seat cushion.

And the cruise control is nearly perfect, much MUCH better than that on the 1996 Honda my HL replaced. The only thing I don't like is that it "forgets" the set speed if you have to slow down too much, or stop for some reason. I've been in other cars where you can cruise at 70, pay a toll, then once accelerating back up to 30 or so, hit [resume] and I'd be back at 70.

OK, I guess that's two suggestions.

scanner · February 2003

In my opinion, it's not the seat, it's the pedals. The brake pedal isn't wide enough and the gas pedal isn't far enough to the right in my opinion. Highway cruising is pretty comfortable, but stop-and-go driving can get tiring after awhile.

I think this is being confirmed after reading several of the previous messages.

landdriver · February 2003

New Highlander brake pads are ~9mm, so 7mm is about 20% wear; sounds average for 30K miles to me. I'm no auto mechanic but predict you won't need new brake pads until 75K to 100K or so.

You can do this measurement yourself relatively easily with a ruler -- its easier with the wheel off, but depending on the position of the spokes relative to the brake caliper it may be able to be done with the wheels on too. Both the front and rear wheels on the Highlander have disk brakes. Locate the brake pad, which rides on the disk and is housed within the caliper, and measure its thickness with the ruler. I do this whenever I rotate my tires and keep a log of this measurement so I can track my brake pad wear. However, I believe that brake pads are still made of asbestos, so wash your hands afterward.

mom27 · February 2003

We are seriously looking at the Highlander to replace our van. We have 3 children-2 in car seats and are concerned that it may be crowded on a real life day to day basis as opposed to the 20 minute test drive. We would really appreciate advice if anyone has experience with this. We really love the Highlander but don't want to make the wrong choice. Thanks in advance for your help!

biffy2 · February 2003

For what it's worth, my wife and I just returned from a trip in northern Ontario. We had over night temps of -42C. The Highlander was the only car in the lot that started which didn't have a block heater. Sometimes owner satisfaction comes in the form of that little smile when you look at the other owners who are cursing under their breath at their frozen beasts. I think I'll get a block heater any way to save the beating that these cold starts do to the engine.

hlron · February 2003

Landdriver, thank you for the brake measurement info...much appreciated! /Ron

kybill · February 2003

I believe you'll find the HL to be well suited for accommodating children in car seats, in "real life". Our's does just fine. Aside from that, the comfort and safety of the vehicle should give you confidence when the kids are aboard. If you'd care to check my post #7567, you might find other info of value. Hope this helps.

brad_22 · February 2003

Had some fun in my HL today (DC area - 2ft of snow). The snow was no match for the oversized tires until I drove right into a ditch that I didn't see. With the Highlander tilting at a 45 degree angle, I had a 4Runner who also happened to be enjoying the weather pull me out. No damage to the vehicle, so I decided to call it a day.

Toyota Highlander

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