2003 Toyota Highlander

NOTICED WHITE SMOKE COMING OUT OF THE TAILPIPE IN JUNE. THEN I NOTICED REDDISH/PINK FLUID ACCUMULATING ON GARAGE FLOOR IN JULY. TOOK IT IN ASSUMING EITHER A COOLANT OR TRANSMISSION FLUID LEAK. TOYOTA TOLD ME I NEEDED A NEW ENGINE BECAUSE THE BACK HEADBOLTS WERE STRIPPED AND THE HEAD GASKET WAS BLOWN. ALL THIS WAS DETERMINED WITHOUT REMOVING VALVE COVER AND CAMS, BUT INSTEAD BECAUSE IT'S A KNOWN ISSUE. MANY OWNERS REPORT THE SAME THING ON MESSAGE BOARDS. *TR

ON APRIL 15, 2013 WHILE PARKING MY 2003 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER ALL OF A SUDDEN MY CAR ACCELERATED WHILE SHIFTING FROM REVERSE TO DRIVE WHILE I WAS PARKING. SUDDENLY MY CAR TOOK OFF WITH THE ENGINE FULL SPEED TO RED LINE ON THE TACHOMETER IN A SPACE OF FOUR FEET IT JUMPED THE PARKING BLOCK AND SMASHED INTO THE CENTER BLOCK WALL WITH MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE. THE DAMAGE TO MY CAR WAS $2000.00. THIS WAS THE SECOND TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED. I CONSIDER MYSELF LUCKY, BECAUSE I COULD HAVE BEEN HURT AND OTHER PEOPLE. I AM SCARED NOW WHEN I DRIVE MY CAR. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 25 MPH, THE CONTACT APPLIED TO BRAKES BUT THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO ACCELERATE. THE CONTACT TRIED SEVERAL WAYS TO STOP THE VEHICLE (SHIFTING INTO NEUTRAL, USING THE EMERGENCY BRAKE) BUT THE VEHICLE CONTINUED TO REV. THE TIRES ALSO WERE SPINNING. THE CONTACT SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL AGAIN AND TURNED THE VEHICLE OFF WHICH STOPPED IT. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WHO STATED THAT THE TRANSMISSION DROPPED AND THE EXTRA FLOOR MAT CAUSED THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 90,000. UPDATED 03/24/11*LJ THE CONSUMER STATED THE FLOOR MAT WAS NOWHERE NEAR THE GAS PEDAL. IT WAS SECURELY IN PLACE. UPDATED 11/16/11

I PULLED INTO A PARKING SPACE AT A SHOPPING CENTER NEAR MY HOME, THEN BACKED UP A FEW FEET IN ORDER TO STRAIGHTEN MY CAR. WHEN I PUT THE TRANSMISSION INTO DRIVE, THE CAR SUDDENLY SURGED FORWARD ENTIRELY ON ITS OWN, STRIKING THE CONCRETE BARRIER A FEW FEET IN FRONT OF MY CAR. I DID NOT ACCELERATE, THERE WERE NO FLOOR MATS ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE, AND THE FORCE THREW ME AGAINST THE STEERING WHEEL. A WITNESS RAN OVER TO SEE I WAS INJURED, BUT I WAS JUST BADLY FRIGHTENED. THE FRONT FENDER WAS DENTED, BUT ACTUALLY POPPED BACK OUT AS I WAS STANDING BESIDE MY CAR WITH THE WITNESS. I HAD PREVIOUSLY COMPLAINED ABOUT THE ENGINE ALTERNATELY SLOWING AND SURGING AS I DROVE, USUALLY ONLY AT SPEEDS UP TO 40MPH, TO MY LOCAL SERVICE DEPARTMENT. WHEN I CALLED MY SERVICE DEPARTMENT, THEY GAVE ME A TOLL FREE NUMBER WHERE I SPOKE TO A TOYOTA CASE MANAGER WHO ASSIGNED ME A CASE NUMBER AND TREATED ME VERY COLDLY AND WITH SUSPICION, ASKING PERSONAL QUESTIONS ABOUT MY HEALTH, INSURANCE COMPANY AND DRIVING RECORD. I SAID I WAS JUST CONCERNED THAT MY CAR HAD BEHAVED LIKE ONE I HAD JUST HEARD ABOUT ON THE LOCAL NEWS, AND I WANTED TO KNOW WHAT TO DO AND PREVENT OTHERS FROM EXPERIENCING WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO ME OR WORSE THE CASE MGR. SAID THEY WOULD CALL ME BACK. THEY NEVER CALLED BACK. THE FOLLOWING MONTH I TOOK MY CAR IN FOR SERVICE AND ASKED THEM TO CHECK THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. THEY SAID THEY FOUND NO PROBLEMS. *TR

I HAVE A 2003 AWD V6 LIMITED HIGHLANDER (HL) WITH 115,000 MILES. ABOUT 200 MILES AGO, THE TRANSMISSION STARTED SLIPPING DURING THE THIRD TO FOURTH GEAR SHIFT. HL GOES INTO NEUTRAL, THE REVS GO WAY UP, THEN IT SHIFTS WITH A CLUNK. I CAN MINIMIZE THE CLUNK FROM A STOP BY ACCELERATING TO 25 MPH, TAKING MY FOOT OFF THE GAS, LETTING THE REVS DROP DOWN TO 1200 RPM (AT WHICH POINT THE TRANS WILL SHIFT TO FOURTH GEAR), AND THEN STEPPING ON THE GAS. THERE ARE NO PROBLEMS IN FIRST, SECOND, THIRD OR FOURTH GEAR. THE CAR RUNS FINE IN FOURTH GEAR. IT IS ONLY A PROBLEM WITH THE THIRD GEAR TO FOURTH GEAR SHIFT. TRIED NOT USING OVERDRIVE, BUT PROBLEM PERSISTS. THIS IS MY FIRST PROBLEM WITH THE HL. I ALWAYS GET MY HL SERVICED AT TOYOTA DEALER AT 5000 MILES INTERVALS. DEALER SAYS THE TRANS NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. IN CALIFORNIA, THE PRICE IS OVER $4500 FOR THE "NEW" TRANS. DEALER WILL GIVE ME A 10% DISCOUNT ON PARTS AND LABOR. I ASKED THE SERVICE MANAGER IF THERE WAS A WAY TO REPROGRAM THE TRANSMISSION COMPUTER MODULE ON MY 2003 HIGHLANDER. HE CHECKED AND SAID THAT THERE WAS NO WAY TO RE-PROGRAM THE MODULE AND THERE WERE NO TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETINS ON THIS PROBLEM. I REPLACED THE TRANSMISSION. THE TRANSMISSION WAS REPLACED WITH A "REBUILT TRANS" FROM TOYOTA. THE TRANSMISSION CASE IS A USED CASE, BUT ALL OF THE INTERNAL PARTS ARE NEW. I SENT AN E-MAIL TO THE LOCAL TOYOTA DEALER TO THANK THE SERVICE MANAGER FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE. I ALSO ASKED THEM TO FORWARD THE NOTE ABOUT THE TRANSMISSION PROBLEM TO THE REGIONAL TOYOTA SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE. OTHER HIGHLANDER OWNERS HAVE SIMILAR AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS. SEE HTTP://TOWNHALL-TALK.EDMUNDS.COM/DIRECT/VIEW/.F0AABC6 NEEDLESS TO SAY, I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED IN THE QUALITY OF THE TOYOTA TRANSMISSION, WHICH IS A MAJOR PART OF THE DRIVETRAIN, AND SHOULD LAST MORE THAN 100,000+ MILES. *TR

GENTLEMEN: I AM WRITING YOU THIS E-MAIL BECAUSE THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH MY CAR THAT IS NOT ONLY IRRITATING, BUT IS POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS TO ALL WHO OWN A FULL TIME FOUR-WHEEL DRIVE TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. MY HIGHLANDER IS A 2003, AND ALTHOUGH WE WERE PROMISED FULL TIME FOUR-WHEEL DRIVE WHEN WE BOUGHT IT, WE FOUND OUT LATER TO OUR HORROR THAT IT IS NOT. WHEN DRIVING DOWN A PAVED HIGHWAY, ALL FOUR WHEELS ARE DRIVING. THIS IS A TIME WHEN FOUR-WHEEL DRIVE IS NOT NEEDED. HOWEVER, A FEW MONTHS AGO, WE DROVE OFF THE PAVEMENT INTO SAND ON A PICNIC TRIP, BUT DID NOT WORRY BECAUSE THE 'FULL TIME' FOUR-WHEEL DRIVE WOULD PULL US OUT. IT DID NOT! ONE OF THE FRONT WHEELS BEGAN TO SPIN IN THE SAND AND THE OTHER THREE IMMEDIATELY STOPPED DRIVING. WE WERE STUCK! THE PROBLEM IS THAT THE DIFFERENTIAL BETWEEN THE FRONT AND REAR WHEELS IS NOT ANTI-SLIP, BUT THE STANDARD DIFFERENTIAL THAT WILL STOP ALL WHEELS FROM DRIVING WHEN ONE LOOSES TRACTION. THIS IS HARDLY FULL-TIME FOUR-WHEEL DRIVE NO MATTER HOW YOU DEFINE IT. WE WERE SOLD A CAR WE PAID FOR BUT DID NOT GET, AND SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE TO RECTIFY THIS SITUATION. WHO KNOWS HOW MANY CUSTOMERS HAVE BEEN BILKED BY TOYOTA WITH THIS CAR, AND WILL GET THEM INTO TROUBLE THINKING THEY HAD A CAR THAT WOULD PULL THEM OUT. I WOULD LIKE TO START A CLASS ACTION LAW SUIT TO GET OUR MONEY BACK OR GET A FREE CAR THAT IS INDEED THE FULL TIME FOUR WHEEL DRIVE WE PAID FOR AND DESERVE. *TR