2002 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER Complaints

MY 2002 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HAD APPROXIMATELY 110,000 MILES ON IT AT THE TIME WHEN I STARTED HEARING A NOISE AROUND THE DISTRIBUTOR. I TOOK IT TO MY MECHANIC (NOT TOYOTA FOR OTHER REASONS) AND HE SAID THE BEARINGS IN THE DISTRIBUTOR WERE GOING OUT. I CALLED TOYOTA (TOYOTA OF TEXAS - GRAPEVINE) TO ORDER THE PART. THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANY IN STOCK, SO HAD TO ORDER FROM THE DC. THEY SAID IT WOULD BE IN 4 DAYS AND TO CALL BACK. CALLED BACK IN 5 DAYS AND THEY SAID THEY HAD TO ORDER FROM HQ IN CALIFORNIA AND IT WOULD BE IN NEXT WEEK (HA!). CALLED NEXT WEEK. STILL NO DISTRIBUTOR!! HAD TO ORDER IT FROM JAPAN!! AT THAT POINT, THE REGIONAL PARTS MANAGER CALLED ME AND SAID THAT A HIGHLANDER DISTRIBUTOR HAS NEVER GONE OUT. I DISCUSSED MY DISGUST WITH THE FACT THAT THERE WAS NO DISTRIBUTORS FOR A 6 YEAR OLD HIGHLANDER IN THE UNITED STATES!! MY MECHANIC WAS ABLE TO GET WITH A LOCAL DISTRIBUTOR REBUILDER TO TRY TO FIX IT EVEN WITHOUT HAVING THE MANUAL ON THE TOYOTA DISTRIBUTOR. HE WAS ABLE TO REBUILD IT BEFORE THE DISTRIBUTOR I ORDERED CAME IN 3 WEEKS AFTER THE INITIAL ORDER. IN THE END, MY HIGHLANDER SAT AT MY MECHANIC'S SHOP FOR 3 WEEKS AND I WAS STUCK RENTING A THE WHOLE TIME. *TR

IN JUNE 2008, I WAS DRIVING WHEN MY ENGINE APPARENTLY MELTED DOWN. IT WENT COMPLETELY HOT. I PULLED OVER AND THERE WAS WHAT APPEARED TO BE COOLANT POOLED UNDER THE CAR. PRIOR TO THIS ALL SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE HAD BEEN DONE AND THERE WAS NO INDICATION OF ANY TROUBLE WITH THE CAR EARLIER THAT DAY. I LATER TOOK IT TO MY MECHANIC WHO SAID HE HAD NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THAT IN HIS LIFE. THE ENGINE HAD LITERALLY MELTED. HE THEN TRIED TO CALL TOYOTA AND GOT IN CONTACT WITH SOMEONE BUT THEY COULDN'T FIGURE OUT WHAT HAPPENED EITHER AND WAS UNWILLING TO DEAL WITH IT. HE SAID IT OBVIOUSLY HAD TO BE A FACTORY DEFECT. IT COST ME A WHOLE NEW ENGINE. *TR

DRIVER'S SIDE SUNVISOR KEEPS FALLING IN TO MY LINE OF VISION UNEXPECTEDLY. IT'S ON MY 2002 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. IT IS TERRIFYING WHEN YOU'RE ON THE HIGHWAY IN TRAFFIC AND IT FALLS! *TR

AT 108K MILES, MY 2002 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER TRANSMISSION WENT OUT AND HAD TO BE REPLACED. WHATEVER HAPPENED TO TOYOTAS LASTING TO 200K MILES, LIKE IN THE COMMERCIALS? I'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO JUMP UP AND BE THE ONE PROCLAIMING HOW MANY MILES MY TOYOTA HAS NOW! I'M VERY DISAPPOINTED, AS I BOUGHT THIS VEHICLE EXPECTING TO DRIVE IT WELL BEYOND 100K MILES AND WITH FURTHER RESEARCH, APPARENTLY I'M NOT THE ONLY DISAPPOINTED HIGHLANDER OWNER WITH THE SAME ISSUE. *TR

FROM A STOPPED POSITION ON A SIDE STREET, I PRESSED THE ACCELERATOR TO PULL ONTO A MAIN STREET. BECAUSE TRAFFIC ON THE MAIN STREET MOVES RATHER FAST, I ACCELERATED SOMEWHAT ABOVE NORMAL, BUT IN NO WAY EXCESSIVE. AFTER GETTING INTO MY LANE, I BACKED OFF THE ACCELERATOR, BUT THE ENGINE ACTED AS IF I WAS FLOORING IT AND THE CAR CONTINUED ACCELERATING. IT WAS SCARY. I PUSHED HARD ON THE BREAK. THE CAR STILL ACCELERATED. I STEPPED ON THE HAND BRAKE. IT CONTINUED TO ACCELERATE. FINALLY, I TOOK THE CAR OUT OF DRIVE AND INTO NEUTRAL. THE ENGINE CONTINUED TO SCREAM, BUT I WAS ABLE TO STOP AT THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. AT SOME POINT THE ENGINE DID COME DOWN TO NORMAL IDLE, BUT I WAS SO SHAKEN, I REALLY DON'T KNOW WHEN THAT HAPPENED. FORTUNATELY NO ONE WAS AHEAD OF ME, THE ROAD IS STRAIGHT AND LEVEL, ETC. ASIDE FROM SHATTERED NERVES, THERE WAS NO HARM DONE. BUT I CAN IMAGINE ALL KINDS OF HORRIBLE OUTCOMES HAD CONDITIONS BEEN DIFFERENT. THE CAR ACTED AS IF THE ACCELERATOR STUCK ALL THE WAY DOWN, HOWEVER I KNOW I DIDN'T PRESS IT DOWN THAT FAR. LATER MY HUSBAND DROVE THE CAR HOME FROM WHERE I STOPPED IT. WITH THE CAR OFF, MY HUSBAND INSPECTED THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL PRESSING IT WITH HIS HAND AND LETTING IT BACK UP. THERE IS A POINT ABOUT HALF WAY BACK UP WHERE THE MECHANISM IS NOT SMOOTH. THE PEDAL COMES ALL THE WAY BACK UP, BUT SOMETHING INSIDE CATCHES AND CAUSES LOTS OF GAS TO FLOW INTO THE ENGINE. AT LEAST ONE TIME HE WAS ABLE TO REPRODUCE THE PROBLEM WITH THE CAR IN PARK. I AM AFRAID TO EVER DRIVE IT AGAIN. THIS TIME I WAS LUCKY, BUT I SHUTTER TO THINK. IF SOMEONE HAD BEEN IN ONE OF THE CROSSWALKS. IF I HAD BEEN APPROACHING A RED LIGHT. WHEN MIGHT THIS HAPPEN AGAIN? *TR

I HAVE A 2002 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. THE SUN VISORS WILL NOT STAY IN THE UP POSITION. THEY RANDOMLY FALL DOWN PARTIALLY BLOCKING MY VIEW AND CREATING A SAFETY HAZZARD. I ORIGINALLY TOOK IT BACK TO THE DEALER WHO HAD IT REPLACED BUT THE SAME THING KEPT HAPPENING. I WENT ONLINE AND DISCOVERED THAT IT'S NOT JUST MY 2002 HIGHLANDER. I'VE TRIED VELCRO BUT THAT WON'T HOLD IT IN PLACE. I'VE HAD SEVERAL NEAR ACCIDENTS ON THE HIGHWAY AS A RESULT OF THIS ISSUE. IT HAPPENED AGAIN TODAY AND I JUST CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE. *TR

2002 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. CONSUMER STATES BRAKE FAILURE CAUSING AN ACCIDENT *TGW THE CONSUMER STATED THE BRAKE FAILURE CAUSED HER TO ROLL DOWN A HILL AND FLIPPING OVER THREE TIMES. SHE WAS TRAPPED UPSIDE DOWN IN THE VEHICLE. *JB

THE DRIVER'S SIDE SUN VISOR WILL NOT STAY UP AND IT IS IMPAIRING MY VISION. IF I CAN GET IT TO STAY UP FOR A FEW MINUTES, IT FALLS UNEXPECTEDLY INTO MY VIEW, CUTTING OFF MY LINE OF SIGHT AND NEARLY CAUSING AN ACCIDENT. THE ONLY REMEDY I CAN SEE IS TO REMOVE IT, BUT THEN I AM BLINDED BY THE SUN. I DRIVE WITH MY CHILD IN THE VEHICLE WITH ME AND FIND THIS TO BE QUITE DISTURBING WHEN IT HAPPENS. I BOUGHT THE HIGHLANDER BECAUSE OF ITS SAFETY RATING, BUT THIS IS VERY DISAPPOINTING. THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOR SOME TIME, AND NOW THE VISOR JUST SWINGS IN FRONT OF ME WITHOUT STAYING UP OR FORWARD, OUT OF THE WAY. THE DATE REPORTED BELOW IS NOT THE FIRST TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED. *TR

WE HAVE A 2002 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER WHICH WE PURCHASED NEW IN APRIL 2002. THE VEHICLE HAS ABOUT 39,000 MILES. FOR THE PAST 3 YEARS THE DRIVER'S SIDE SUN VISOR SUDDENLY FALLS DOWN AND PARTIALLY OBSTRUCTS THE DRIVER'S VISION. IT FALLS DOWN AT SLOW SPEED WHEN THE VEHICLE GOES OVER BUMPS. IT FALLS DOWN ON THE INTERSTATE AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS FROM VIBRATIONS - SUCH AS EXPANSION JOINTS IN THE ROAD. IT IS USUALLY JUST ANNOYING BUT ONCE IN AWHILE IT IS VERY DANGEROUS SUCH AS WHEN YOUR ARE PASSING ON A TWO LANE ROAD IT WILL SUDDENLY DROP DOWN OBSTRUCTING THE DRIVER'S VISION. I HAVE LOOKED ON LINE AND FOUND THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM WITH THE 2002 HIGHLANDER. AND IT IS VERY EXPENSIVE TO FIX IF YOU HAVE THE GARAGE DOOR REMOTE BUILT INTO THE VISOR - AS WE DO. ABOUT AN $800 REPAIR - WITH THE MAJORITY OF THE COST BEING THE PART. I THINK THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND THESE DEFECTIVE VISORS SHOULD BE REPLACED BY TOYOTA. I DON'T KNOW THE EXACT DATE OR MILEAGE WHEN THIS PART STARTED TO FAIL SO I ESTIMATED BOTH. *TR

2002 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER DRIVERS SIDE VISOR WILL NOT STAY UP. THIS IS THE SECOND $850 UNIT IN 2 YEARS. IT'S ANNOYING, NOT TO MENTION DANGEROUS WHEN IT DROPPED DOWN UNEXPECTEDLY AND BLOCKED MY VIEW THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD. BETWEEN THE VISOR AND THE HOOD OF THE VEHICLE, I COULD SEE ABOUT A 2" STRIP OF ASPHALT ABOUT 10 FEET IN FRONT OF THE HOOD. VERY VERY DANGEROUS!!!!!! *TR