2001 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER Complaints

I OWN A 2001 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER AND HAVE HAD THE SAME EXACT PROBLEM HAPPEN TO ME SEVERAL TIMES IN THE PAST SEVEN YEARS. THE FIRST TIME I EXPERIENCED A SERIOUS PROBLEM WAS ABOUT FOUR YEARS AGO AND MY SON AND I COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR SOME FAST THINKING ON MY PART. I WAS TRYING TO STOP AT A RED LIGHT AND MY CAR ACCELERATED FOR NO REASON. AT FIRST, I THOUGHT MY BRAKES HAD FAILED SINCE WHEN I STOMPED ON THE BRAKE, MY CAR WOULD NOT STOP, EVEN THOUGH I HAD BOTH FEET PRESSING DOWN ON IT. AT THIS POINT,WITH CARS IN FRONT OF ME THAT I WAS GOING TO HIT, I SWERVED INTO THE TURN LANE AND THEN ALL I COULD SEE WAS AN 18 WHEELER COMING AT ME. I WAS SO LUCKY THERE WERE NO CARS ON THE SIDE ROAD THAT I TURNED ONTO AND ALL THE WHILE I WAS STEADILY TRYING TO GET MY VEHICLE UNDER CONTROL. I ENDED UP THROWING IT INTO PARK AS I MADE THE TURN. IT TOOK TURNING MY CAR OFF TO BRING IT TO A COMPLETE STOP. AT THAT TIME, I THOUGHT MY FLOOR MAT HAD SOMEHOW GOTTEN STUCK ON THE ACCELERATOR, SO I TOOK ALL MY FRONT FLOOR MATS OUT. UNFORTUNATELY, I HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM OF THE CAR "REVVING" FOR NO REASON WHILE DRIVING IT SEVERAL TIMES AND/OR UPON STARTING IT. IT WOULD JUST IDLE HIGH IN THE 6/8 RPM RANGE. WE JUST THOUGHT IT WAS COLD. HOWEVER, ONE DAY I WAS DRIVING THE CAR AND IT KEPT SHOOTING FORWARD AT EVERY STOP. I'D HAVE TO STOMP ON THE BRAKES WITH BOTH FEET. I'D PULL OFF, STOP MY CAR, TURN IT OFF, RESTART IT, AND THE RPM'S WHO SHOOT BACK UP TO 8. I KEPT PRAYING THAT I WOULDN'T HAVE TO STOP. IT WAS THE MOST FRIGHTENING 15 MILE RIDE BACK HOME THAT I EVER TOOK AND SERIOUSLY, I WANTED TO JUST LEAVE THE VEHICLE ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. I REFUSED TO DRIVE IT AND I TOOK IT TO MY MECHANIC WHO CHANGED AN RPM SENSOR. THIS HAS NOT STOPPED THE PROBLEM EITHER. PERIODICALLY, MY CAR'S RPM'S WILL SHOOT UP TO 4 OR 6 WHILE I AM DRIVING IT OR UPON STARTING THE CAR. *TR

I WAS STARTING TO SLOWLY DRIVE OFF THE FERRY BOAT AS THE FERRYMAN WAS OPENING THE GATE. MY TOYOTA HIGHLANDER 2001 SPED UP OUT OF CONTROL. IF THE MAN HAD NOT JUMPED ASIDE, HE WOULD HAVE BEEN RUN OVER. I HAD NO CONTROL. MY FOOT WAS NOT ON THE GAS. REPORTED TO LOCAL TOYOTA DEALER. "MAT PROBLEM". I REPLACED THE MAT WITH A HEAVY RUBBER MAT. *TR

THE AIR CONDITIONER ONLY WORKS WHEN YOU MOVE THE DIAL AROUND. SOMETIMES IT DOESN'T WORK AT ALL AND ONLY THE HEAT COMES ON EVEN WHEN YOU JUST HAVE THE FAN ON. *TR

I BOUGHT A 2001 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER IN AUG 2001. THE 1ST TIME I HAD A PROBLEM WITH THE GAS PEDAL WAS ABOUT A MONTH LATER WHEN I WENT TO PULL IN AT WORK. I PARKED UP BY THE BUILDING AND PUT ON MY BRAKES AND THE CAR REVVED UP AND I PUT ON THE BRAKES AND IT DID WANT TO STOP. I FINALLY GOT IT STOPPED AND SAT THERE AND WONDERED WHAT HAD JUST HAPPEN. I LET IT GO AS I DID NOT HAVE AN EXPLANATION. EVERYTHING WAS FIND UP TO THE YEAR 2009. I WAS TAKING MY MOM AND BROTHER TO THE GROCERY AND MOM IS 86 YRS AND I PARKED IN A HANDICAP SPOT THAT HAD A POLE IN FRONT WHERE THE HANDICAP SIGN WAS. MY BROTHER WAS IN THE FRONT SEAT WITH ME AND TO MY AMAZEMENT WHEN I PUT ON THE BRAKES THE CAR REVVED UP AND I HAD TO PUSH ON THE BRAKE REAL HARD. I DID HIT THE POLE AND JARRED ALL OF US. I FEEL LIKE THIS CAR MODEL SHOULD BE LOOKED INTO. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 40-50 MPH ON NORMAL ROAD CONDITIONS WHEN PRESSURE WAS APPLIED TO THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. THE PEDAL STUCK TO THE DRIVERS SIDE FLOOR MAT AND SUDDENLY, THERE WAS AN UNINTENDED INCREASE OF ACCELERATION. THE DRIVER WAS ABLE TO REPOSITION THE FLOOR MAT AND CONTINUE DRIVING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER FOR INSPECTION. THE TECHNICIAN RECOMMENDED THAT THE DRIVER SIDE FLOOR BE REMOVED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN.

THE FRONT DRIVER-SIDE AND PASSENGER SEATBELTS NO LONGER RETRACT WHEN UNBUCKLED AND FREQUENTLY THE CAR DOOR IS CLOSED ONTO THEM WHILE THEY HANG INTO THE DOOR JAM AREA. CAUSING DENTS TO INSIDE OF THE DOOR FRAME AS WELL. *TR

ABOUT 6 MONTHS AGO THE REAR PASSENGER WINDOW FELL DOWN INTO THE DOOR AND WAS NO LONGER USABLE. AN $800 REPAIR WAS REQUIRED. FLASH FORWARD 6 MONTHS, NOW THE REAR DRIVER-SIDE WINDOW FELL DOWN INTO THE DOOR AND WE'RE GOING TO BE OUT ANOTHER $800. WE RARELY EVEN USE THE REAR WINDOWS. SO THIS IS FROM LESS-THAN-NORMAL WEAR. AND IT HAPPENED TO BOTH REAR WINDOWS WITHIN A FEW MONTHS OF EACH OTHER. *TR

A DESIGN DEFECT CAN CAUSE THE SUN VISORS TO RANDOMLY AND UNEXPECTEDLY DROP DOWN OBSCURING THE DRIVER'S VISION POTENTIALLY RESULTING IN A CRASH. THIS INCIDENT OCCURS IN A 2001 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. HOWEVER, I HAVE SEEN MANY, MANY INTERNET POSTINGS OF OTHER TOYOTA YEARS AND MODELS WITH THE SAME DESIGN DEFECT AND SAME PROBLEM. TOYOTA'S AND THEIR DEALERS RESPONSE HAS BEEN TO TELL THE CUSTOMER TO SPEND APPROXIMATELY $750 TO REPLACE THE VISOR WHICH IS LIKELY TO FAIL LIKE THE FIRST ONE AFTER A GIVEN AMOUNT OF TIME. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. WHILE DRIVING 10 MPH THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO RAPIDLY ACCELERATE. AFTER REPEATED BRAKE APPLICATION THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT STOP. CONSEQUENTLY SHE CRASHED INTO A SIGN. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER, AND THEY INSTALLED A SECONDARY HOOK TO THE FLOOR-MAT. ALSO SHE WAS ADVISED THAT IN APRIL 2010 THEY WOULD INSTALL A NEWLY DESIGNED ACCELERATOR PEDAL. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 169,794.

WHILE MY 2001 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER WAS IN OPERATION THE ENGINE BOLTS PULLED LOOSE CAUSING THE ENGINE TO SEIZE AND BE DESTROYED. THE CAR WAS STOPPED AT A LIGHT AT THE TIME AND HAD IT BEEN IN OPERATION ON THE FREEWAY COULD HAVE CAUSED A SERIOUS ACCIDENT. THE ENGINE IS DESTROYED AND A NEW ENGINE WOULD COST $7000. I BELIEVE THAT THERE HAVE BEEN NUMEROUS INCIDENTS INVOLVING ENGINE BOLTS ON TOYOTA CARS AND TRUCKS AND THAT TOYOTA HAS ALWAYS BLAMED OTHER THINGS AND NOT ADDRESSED WHETHER THE BOLTS ARE DEFECTIVE OR HAVE NOT BEEN INSTALLED PROPERLY. THERE ARE VARIOUS REFERENCES ON THE INTERNET OF CUSTOMERS HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THE ENGINE BOLTS ON TOYOTA VEHICLES..TOYOTA HAS NO EXPLANATION FOR WHAT HAPPENED TO MY CAR. I BELIEVE IT MAY BE THE INSTALLATION OF THE BOLTS OR THE QUALITY OF THEM. *TR