2001 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER Complaints

THE DRIVER'S SEAT BELT IS FRAYING BECAUSE IT RUBS AGAINST THE SLOT IN THE LATCH. MANY, MANY PEOPLE HAVE COMPLAINED ABOUT THIS ON THE INTERNET. I'VE NEVER HAD THIS HAPPEN IN ANY OTHER VEHICLE I'VE OWNED OVER THE 50 YEARS I'VE DRIVEN. I HAVE A 1992 CAMRY WITH ALMOST 200,000 MILES ON IT, AND THERE IS NO WEAR AT ALL ON THE SEAT BELT. WE NEED A RECALL! *TR

THE DRIVER'S SIDE SUN VISOR SUDDENLY DROPPED DOWN INTO MY FIELD OF VIEW WHEN I HIT A BUMP ON A THREE LANE 40 MPH PAVED ROAD AT RUSH HOUR. I NEARLY REAR-ENDED THE VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME DURING THE SHORT TIME (MAYBE TWO SECONDS) REQUIRED TO REACT AND RAISE THE VISOR. AN ONLINE SEARCH REVEALED THAT A REPLACEMENT VISOR COSTS A SHOCKING $791.00, AND THAT MANY DOZENS OF OTHERS WERE REPORTING THIS PROBLEM IN 2001 - 2009 TOYOTA HIGHLANDERS. SOLUTIONS RANGED FROM JURY-RIGGING THE VISOR IN THE UP POSITION TO SIMPLY REMOVING THE VISOR AND USING ONE'S HAND TO BLOCK THE SUN WHEN NEEDED. SOME OF THESE "SOLUTIONS" ARE OBVIOUSLY UNSAFE, AND COULD EASILY BE AVOIDED IF TOYOTA CHARGED A MORE REASONABLE PRICE FOR THE REPLACEMENT VISOR. REPLACEMENT CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED BY ALMOST ANYONE WITH A SCREWDRIVER IN ABOUT 12 MINUTES. THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO FILE A COMPLAINT. *TR

I WAS BACKING OUT OF THE GARAGE WHEN THE CAR ACCELERATED. I KEPT HITTING THE BRAKE AND IT FINALLY STOPPED. I PUT THE CAR BACK INTO DRIVE AND IT ACCELERATED AGAIN. I TRIED HITTING THE BRAKE AND IT WOULDN'T STOP UNTIL IT HIT THE GARAGE DOOR. I DON'T KNOW HOW FAST IT WAS GOING, BUT IT SEEMED LIKE IT WAS GOING AT AN EXCESSIVE SPEED. *KB

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE STOPPED AT A STOP LIGHT, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED ON ITS OWN AND CRASHED INTO THE VEHICLE STOPPED IN FRONT OF THE CONTACT. THERE WERE NO DAMAGES TO EITHER VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TEST, BUT THE MANUFACTURER WOULD NOT ALLOW A TECHNICIAN TO INSPECT IT. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT THEY WOULD SEND AN ENGINEER TO EXAMINE THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT YET EXAMINED OR REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 125,000.

THIS VISIBILITY ISSUE IS CAUSED BY THE SUNVISOR ON THE DRIVER SIDE, DROPPING DOWN FROM THE STOWED POSITION UNEXPECTEDLY AND REPEATEDLY BLOCKING THE DRIVER'S VISION. DEALER INDICATED NOT A TOYOTA PROBLEM AND PRICING IT AT $700 + DOLLARS TO REPLACE. WHEN DRIVING, THE SUNVISOR HAD TO BE MOVED TO THE SIDE AT ALL TIMES AND BACK TO FORWARD POSITION JUST TO GET IT OUT OF WAY TO EXIT VEHICLE. ENDED UP BUYING FROM THE DEALER A REGULAR VISOR (NOT THE LIMITED MODEL VISOR). THE NEW VISOR COST $80 + DOLLARS. VEHICLE SOLD AS A LIMITED MODEL, SHOULD NOT HAVE ANY HAZARDOUS/DANGEROUS PROBLEMS SUCH AS THIS, NOT ADDRESSED WITHOUT A NATIONAL RECALL. VERY DISAPPOINTED WITH THE TOYOTA CORP. FOR NOT ACCEPTING THESE COMPLAINTS AND DENYING THAT PROBLEM EVEN EXISTS. NHTSA PLEASE TAKE NOTE, AND ADD UP ALL THESE SAME VISIBILITY ISSUES AS SHOWING ON YOUR SITE. NOT JUST THIS MODEL I BET MANY SAME VISOR ISSUES SHOW UP FOR OTHER TOYOTA MODELS. THANK YOU! *TR

I HAVE A 2001 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER AND THE PASSENGER BRAKE LIGHT WILL NOT BRIGHTEN WHEN YOU PRESS ON THE BRAKE, HOWEVER IT WILL COME ON WHEN I TURN ON THE LIGHTS. APPARENTLY THIS IS A COMMON ISSUE I AM INCLUDING A LINK TO A DISCUSSION ABOUT THIS ISSUE FROM SEVERAL OTHER PEOPLE:HTTP://WWW.TOPIX.COM/FORUM/AUTOS/TOYOTA-HIGHLANDER/T7H7LD934GSQLC6BE. *TR

I AM EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS WITH MY 2001 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. WHENEVER I PRESS ON THE BRAKE IT PULSATES,VIBRATES AND IT MAKES A DISTRACTING LOUD RATCHETING SOUND. WHEN THE SPEEDOMETER DROPS TO LESS THAN 10MPH- IT HAPPENS. THIS HAPPENS SO FREQUENTLY, THAT I REALLY HATE DRIVING ANYWHERE. I TOOK IT TO SEVERAL DIFFERENT MECHANICS. AFTER BEING TOLD THE PROBLEM THAT I AM HAVING IS DUE TO WARPED ROTORS AND WARN BRAKE PADS- I PAID TO HAVE NEW BRAKE PADS AND ROTORS INSTALLED. THAT DIDN'T WORK. (NOW THEY SAY IT IS AN ABS PROBLEM) I TOOK THE HIGHLANDER TO A TOYOTA DEALER WHO WITHOUT PROPERLY PERFORMING A COMPUTER SCAN, BLAMED THE MECHANICS WHO REPLACED MY ROTORS AND BRAKE PADS FOR THE PROBLEM THAT I HAVE BEEN HAVING-AND THEY TOLD ME THAT IT WAS NOT THE ABS SYSTEM. ANYWAY, I AM STILL HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM THAT BOTH PROFESSIONAL MECHANICS DISAGREE ON. PULSATION, VIBRATION AND LOUD NOISES. NOTE: NEITHER OF THE TWO INDICATOR LIGHTS BRAKE/ABS HAS ACTIVATED SINCE THE PROBLEM STARTED. FINALLY, I TOOK THE HIGHLANDER TO A THIRD MECHANIC, PAID FOR AN INSPECTION OF MY ABS SYSTEM AND RECEIVED SEVERAL COMPUTER SCAN ABS FAULTS CODES:C1271-C1278- ABS ACTIVATES AT A LOWER SPEED. ALSO, MASTER CYLINDER PRESSURE SENSOR MALFUNCTION C1281. I WANT TOYOTA TO REPAIR THE DEFECTS IN MY TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. *TR

DRIVER'S SIDE SUN VISOR FLOPS DOWNWARD WHEN IN USE, INSTEAD OF REMAINING TILTED FORWARD (TOWARD WINDSHIELD), THUS PARTIALLY BLOCKING VISION. THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM ON A NUMBER OF TOYOTA VEHICLES. *TR

WHEN 2001 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER IS STARTED WHEN COLD, BELOW 30 DEGREES F, AIR BAG LIGHT BLINKS UNTIL 1) CAR WARMS UP 2) CAR IS RESTARTED. I HAVE BEEN TOLD BY DEALER THAT WHEN LIGHT IS BLINKING, AIR BAGS ARE INOPERABLE. ORDINARILY THIS CAR IS KEPT IN A GARAGE SO IT IS NOT VERY OFTEN STARTED WHEN BELOW 30 F. I BELIEVE THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN WITH THE CAR SINCE NEW. I BELIEVE THIS PROBLEM IS ON MANY OTHER TOYOTA HIGHLANDERS OF THIS ERA BECAUSE A GOOGLE SEARCH FOR "TOYOTA HIGHLANDER AIR BAG LIGHT BLINKS COLD WEATHER" BRINGS UP DISCUSSIONS OF PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT THIS PROBLEM FOR THE FIRST GENERATION HIGHLANDERS 2001 - 2007. *TR

I WAS IN A CAR ACCIDENT IN AUGUST 2010 IN MY TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. THE AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY ON IMPACT EVEN THOUGH I WAS GOING 45-50 MPH. MY SEAT BELT DID NOT RESTRAIN ME FROM HITTING MY STEERING WHEEL WAS A HARD IMPACT TO MY CHEST. I SENT PICS TO TOYOTA AND SPOKE TO THEM SEVERAL TIMES ABOUT MY COMPLAINT OF THE FAILING AIRBAGS AND SEATBELT. THEY SAID THAT THE CAR DID WHAT IT WAS DESIGNED TO DO ON IMPACT AND THEREFORE I HAD NO COMPLAINT. MY CAR WAS TOTALED IN THE COLLISION. *TR