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So - V4 buyers, I am sure you are happy overall, but do you wish you went with the V6 in some situations? If so, what situations are they?
Need to make a decision fast, so all replies are welcomed, with my thanks.
(replacing a 1991 Celica with 210,000 on it with much regret!)
You might be referring to an I-4 or inline 4.
Wish the RX came with one. Very attracted to the new BMW X3 with small V6 and manual.
Here is the link to the web site
http://lemonlaw.com/lemonlist.html
complaints are duplicates in the first place and not a problem to begin with, most suvs have wind noise, and as far as stopping power my HL woeks as well as any car Ive owned and Im almost 53
"#8899 of 8905 The Highlander does come in 4 Cyl and 6 cyl by jaxonsdad Dec 30, 2003 (12:44 pm)
When I said V4 and V6 - I meant cyl. They do indeed come in both."
As Nimrod said, the 4 is not a V, it's inline. The title to your message is correct, the body is not.
I live in Southwestern PA and never considered anything but the V6. I'm sure the 4 works in some applications, but not around here. With the weight of an HL, add three or four people, turn on the A/C and you need every once of power the V6 can deliver.
Gas mileage is around 20-22 MPG - I can live with that.
Happy New Year fellow HL owners!
Hate to drop big $$ and not get exactly what I want. For the extra few $$ AWD has always seemed to be a no-brainer. Dealer (biggest Toyota dealer in CA) says 4 months to special order. Allocation shows no LTD AWD on the way.
Any thoughts on how to proceed? 2WD LTD vs AWD non-LTD?
Highlanderless in the High Desert...
srp
So far haven't had any major problems with the vehicle. Had the sunroof creaking fixed, rotors ground at 35k, and jimmy-rigged the glovebox to stop the rattle. Been changing the oil and other maintence according to the guidelines in the manual, no sludge, no problems. That's it. No complaints here!
p.s. - I don't know if Firestone still has it, but at the time they had a 30 day test drive and price guarantee on the wheels. I originally purchsed them directly from firestone for 600 bucks or so I think, and they wouldn't price match costco's price. So, I enacted the 30 day test drive/satisfaction guarantee (took the store manager a couple days to figure out his company had these guarantees) and returned the tires for a full refund and purchesd the costco tires. I think in the end, I payed just over $350 for the 4 tires.
If flying to Giants Stadium doesn't work out for you, feel free to drive up to the S.F. Bay Area -- test drove an '04 Limited 4WD a few weeks ago (white, not black, however).
When I was shopping for my HL back in '01, gold Limited was a must for me. Went to one dealership that said they scoured all of California for one with no luck. Went to another dealership 5 miles away and they had a couple right there on the lot.
Maybe try widening your search perimeter via phone to other dealers or via the internet. I might even check the dealer around the corner today and get back to you (assuming you like the 49ers).
After that the passenger side brake rattled. Took it to the dealer and then a tire shop three times. The tire shop finally replaced $75 worth of "clips" (and finally had some silicone glue added). Fixed the rattle for about 5,000 miles. I've tolerated an intermittent chirp for the last 10,000 mi. My latest brake shop thinks the rotor has a glazed spot.
I guess the bright side is that now, at 53,000 miles, the rotors appear to again be warped and will need to be replaced!
I'll probably dump the car. It has been a lot more trouble than any car I've owned in the past 20 years. It doesn't help that the local Toyota dealer is dumber than a socket wrench.
Checked a couple of local dealers today but did not come across any black Limiteds. Out of maybe 15 HLs, only one black but not a Limited; with only one other exception (blue), seems like all the HLs were either white, gold or light green, which struck me as being quite a limited color range. Maybe they're shipped from the factory in batches based on color.
I agree if you'll be shelling out 30K+ for a new car and color/trim line/drive train are important to you, doing a special order may be worth the wait, rather than settling on something you may later regret. In my opinion, for me, things like color and trim line (Limited vs. non-limited) are important, but unless if I was planning to drive in snow (forgot whether you get snow down there) or if 4WD was otherwise important to me for some reason, I'd be happy with either the 2WD or the 4WD -- both are fine vehicles. When I bought mine, wanted a 2WD but settled on a four. At first it seemed a tad sluggish due to the extra weight, but grew to love the solid feel of the 4WD within a couple of weeks. I couldn't be more pleased with my choice today (except would be nice to have that more powerful 3.3 V6 they're putting in the '04s (or the hybrid, due out in another year...)).
But check out a few more dealerships first!
capnkirk:
Sorry your HL coupled with poor dealership service turned out to be such a headache -- its good that both positive and negative experiences are posted here so that we are better informed all-around.
kazoo3:
If you've taken your HL back three times and they still haven't got it right I wouldn't let them get away with it -- I'd take it back a fourth time and tell them flat-out what's happened in the past and that you want it fixed right this time. Also inform them point blank that if they don't get it right this time that you will contact Toyota Motor Sales USA and/or the Better Business Bureau.
Thinking maybe that I am destined for an 04 Silver/Gray AWD (non-LTD) with roof-racks, moon, tow, jbl that is available. Like you I can feel the difference between the AWD and the FWD and prefer the former. And fwiw we do get snow in the local Hills. Mt. Whitney is known to get a dusting ;-)
Anyway, Silver is practical for the desert.
Shoot, my Steeler's heart would break if I bought in Niner Country anyway.
Hey, isn't there another team that wears...Silver?
Thanks for the legwork!
But now my question is that if Trac prevents the wheels/tires from slipping how is it that the VC will ever see enough disparate driveline rotation front to rear to "stiffen" up?
Or is that maybe why the VC was dropped from the RX design? As of 01 the availability of Trac just made it extra useless "baggage".
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And the RX owners manual says VSC, Vehicle Stability Control, only operates above 9MPH. Probably because the yaw sensor, lateral accelerometer, is not sensitive enough below that speed.
I’m 6’ (32" inseam) tall but I feel way too tall in the HL driver’s seat. HL steering wheel feels too low. Inside rearview mirror is almost eye-level and blocks a good chunk of the forward view.
Did Toyota design this cabin with sub-6 footer’s in mind?
Would love to hear from you 6'+ HL owners out there.
Is this something I just get used to? Learn to slouch?
Ergonomics are soooo tricky. Insane to think I can't be as comfortable driving in a HL as I can be in a Camry!
-srp
did any one remove the bottom plastic cover to reach it. thank.s
Note that the HL steering wheel height is adjustable.
If memory serves correctly the power seat may also have a tilt feature (?). If so maybe try tilting it all the way back.
Also, any thoughts on running 87 octane vs. premium? Book says for max performance us 91 or higher octane but is it worth it or will 87 octane work fine? Thanks in advance.
My 2002 Camry doors automatically lock when I put the car in Drive or Reverse. Not the Highlander. They only lock automatically when it's parked.
The owners manual says you can drive with 87 octane gas, but that 91 octane provides better performance. It does not specifically mention how much more power. My 2002 Camry owners manual says that using 91 octane premium fuel will provide an additional 5 HP over regular. In both, I use 89 octane. I suspect that the mid-grade fuel provides most of the power benefit for less money. Can anyone answer that?
At 6'-2", I have a height problem with many cars. The sunroof was a must have for my wife. I don't fit in many cars with sunroofs, and the rear view mirror is usually an issue. The Highlander had just enough headroom with the sunroof, unlike the 4Runner and the Pathfinder. The Pilot has no factory sunroof.
Yeah, the steering wheel doesn't go that high. But it's high enough for me. The mirror is in the way, just like my 1997 Quest, my 1993 Civic, etc, etc. But overall, the driving position is comfy enough. Just got done driving to Vegas and back (to L.A.) It's much more comfortable than my Quest, not quite as good as the Camry. As expected.
Note, it works the other way too. If the vehicle only needs Regular Unleaded, putting in Premium will not accomplish anything (except waste money).
91 octane is approx 15-20% more expensive than 87 locally.
I doubt one would see a 15-20% decrease in MPG (eg 20 mpg drops to 16) using 87. Savings may be offset (and zero-60 times may be a trifle slower) but surely not a wash. No?
FWIW, my V6 Camry has never had anything but 87 - runs great.
The major difference in fuel octane is the rate at which the "flame front" expands, moves outward from the ignition spark.
Premium fuels provide a slower, initially, more evenly expanding flame front and therefore are somewhat easier on the rod and crank bearings in the long term. They are just as subject to some causes of preignition as are lower grade fuels.
Lower grade fuels release more of their overall energy in the early combustion cycle concentrated in the period immediately following the ignition spark.
87 octane is sorta like having an engine with a peaky torque curve, vs a nice smooth torque curve for higher octane. The energy beneath the curve might very well be the same.
The ignition spark for the lower octane must often be delayed to avoid long term (relatively speaking) damage to the engine with so much of the fuel's explosive energy concentrated at or near TDC.
"Using more octane than you need will not help power, the slower burn rate will actually cause you to lose some power."
Not true. The HL engine management system adjusts the ignition timing (and perhaps other parameters) to the level of incipient knock, utilizing the fuel as effectively as possible. If you're near a racetrack, stick some 104 octane (unleaded) it in and you'll immediately notice the difference.
Any help before I purchase this vehicle would be appreciated.
Greetings from snowy Toronto ! I just bought a 2004 V6 Highlander (the 7 seater) last month in 'Sonara Gold', and so far I am loving it. My only complaints are that despite its 3.3 litre engine, it seems a little slow to move from a standing still position. At first I thought my tires were under-inflated and contributing to slow take-off, but speaking to other owners this is apparently normal. Once I'm on the highway it is fine.
The question I have is one that is not addressed in the owner's manual nor is there any mention of it on the Toyota website. Is my Highlander equipped with 'Descent Assist Control' (DAC) ? If I approach the steep descending curvature of a hill at say 60 kph, then I notice that the vehicle maintains that speed and resists the natural tendency (when you take foot off gas) to increase speed when going downhill. If I want to increase speed when going downhill, I have to step on the gas. I ain't complaining as I find this a really useful safety feature to have, but I am perplexed that Toyota have not sought to highlight this feature. The only conclusion I can draw is that they do not want to possibly cannibalize sales of the more expensive 4Runner which is equipped with this feature as standard. The latest Toyota 4Runner TV ad shows a 4Runner going across some jungle rope swing bridge using DAC to control its speed.
Anyone got any idea about this 'hidden' feature ? Is this something they have put as standard into Canadian Highlanders (along with ECT etc) ?
mckeown Nov 8, 2003 8:36pm
But I couldn't help getting in on the discussion about octane and flamefront: Higher octane denotes a fuel's propensity to avoid igniting until higher temperatures and pressures are reached. As the piston compresses the fuel/air mixture, temp increases with pressure (Boyles Law, complemented with Charle's Law). When it reaches a certain point, the mixture will ignite. Higher octanes require higher temps to do that. The problem is that, when it ignites, it doesn't burn (conflagrate). It detonates. There's a difference. And this happens while the piston is still on its way up on the compression stroke - pure hell on the engine. Anyway, the octane rating does not denote the speed at which the flamefront travels through the combustion chamber once started.
In forty years of fooling around with engines, I have some real horror stories about the damage high speed detonation can cause. Avoid it like the plague.