2003 Toyota Highlander: engine failure

Filed Jan 28, 2019 · Steering, Wheels · 200,000 miles · ME · crash

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 toyota highlander. While driving 40 MPH on ice, the power steering seized and the rear driver's side wheel locked up. As a result, the vehicle spun out and crashed into a snow mound. The air bags did not deploy. There were no injuries. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to the contact's home. The dealer and manufacturer were not made aware of the failure. The cause of the failure was not determined. The failure mileage was 200,000.

Filed Aug 2, 2015 · Engine · 128,000 miles · WA

The engine overheated suddenly, blowing hot air from the AC and the temperature gauge went up. We managed to get home and get to the toyota dealership the next day. The dealership mechanic told us the engine bolts stripped due to the block being soft, and that he had seen this problem before. The issue of the soft block was confirmed in a subsequent search of the internet. Apparently toyota is aware of this flaw, but there is no warranty remedy. The 2003 inline 4-cylinder engine is the model with the bolt stripping problem. Neither the dealership nor another japanese auto repair place would consider trying to replace the bolts. They said that because of the soft metal in the block, a new set of larger bored bolts would be unlikely to hold. The cost to put in another engine is approximately the value of the car, if there were used engines available. A new engine would be in the $15k range, much more than the car is worth. We will likely sell the car for scrap. When we bought the car, we felt we could reasonably expect a 250k mileage life. The engine failed at 128k. Just half of its useful life.

Filed Mar 3, 2015 · Engine · 121,321 miles · CA

Check engine light went on the morning of february 23, 2015. White smoke emerged from vehicle as I was driving. Then, the vehicle started overheating. Mechanic indicates head gaskets were blown and short block screws stripped and bent, leaking coolant on my 4 cylinder 2003 highlander. He repaired the same make, model and year the prior year with the same issue. $69,000 for a new engine. $44,00 for a rebuilt one. I have never had any mechanical issues with this car since I purchased it two years old in 2005. Although, I have kept up with the servicing, this type of sudden malfunction is a shocker.

Filed Aug 20, 2014 · Engine, Transmission · 78,000 miles · FL

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.

Filed Apr 9, 2014 · Engine · 136,829 miles · CA

Cylinder head bolts separated from lower engine block causing a major coolant leak (eng:2az-fe) had to replace engine with a remanufactured engine only to have same problem again forcing me to once again replace engine with a remanufactured engine and theirs 22 complaints on car complaints website for same issue, toyota is refusing responsibility.

Filed Sep 19, 2012 · Engine · 105,000 miles · MS

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 toyota highlander. The contact stated that she noticed red fluid leaking from the bottom of the vehicle. The vehicle was able to be driven to a private mechanic where it was confirmed that the head bolt on the engine failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had not been contacted. The failure and current mileages were 105,000. The VIN was not available.

Filed Jul 24, 2012 · Engine · 89,000 miles · CA

I was taking a short drive on the freeway and first my A/C started blowing hot air and then the engine overheated. My toddler was in the car and I had to get over to the side of the road quickly and was stranded. It was dangerous and scary. The mechanic said the head gasket blew and that I have to get a new engine because there is a defect in the materials in 2003 toyotas that means the screws won't stay in the block. My car was carefully maintained, serviced and oil changes every 3,000 miles. This was a toyota!, and I was just getting back on my feet with new job after losing my job, and now I can't drive to my different job sites -- and buses can't cover what I need. I bought this car new when I was doing better financially and thought that as long as I kept it maintained, I'd have 6 years or more left of a running vehicle. I am just shocked that toyota won't take responsibility for this defect, nor will the service manager where I bought the car new even offer me a discount on the replacement engine or labor. He says there must be a recall ordered first. I'm a single mom hoping that toyota is made to take responsibility for their error, and that I'm not left without a car until I can save to buy a cheap used one.

Filed Jul 17, 2012 · Engine · 87,000 miles · IL

The incident occurred on a family road trip from chicago, il to hamilton, on, canada. After driving about 7 hours into the 8.5 hour trip, I noticed the check engine light appear and the temperature gauge rise to the very top. I immediately pulled over and assumed that there was not enough coolant to keep the engine cool, as it was a hot day. After several minutes, I restarted the car and noticed the temperature gauge had returned to its normal position. I re-entered the highway and was only able to drive for about 10 minutes before I noticed the temperature gauge begin to rise once again. I exited the highway and found a canadian tire store in london, on, canada where a mechanic looked at the vehicle and concluded that there was some sort of leak in the engine. I was told that it could be one of two very uncommon problems that would both cost a great amount of money to fix and would most likely extend my family's stay in canada. We were told that we could stay in london and have a mechanic begin working on the vehicle the next day or continue on to hamilton by stopping every few miles to refill the coolant, as we were only about an hour away. We decided to continue on to hamilton and stopped around 5 times to refill the coolant level. Upon reaching hamilton, on, canada we found a local mechanic who took a closer look at the vehicle and its engine. We took the vehicle to him on friday, july 6, 2012 and he told us that it looked like an intake manifold gasket leak. On saturday, july 7, 2012 the mechanic informed us that the leak was in fact coming from one of the 4 cylinder heads as the bolts on the engine were stripped. Our only option was to completely replace the engine. The mechanic was able to find a matching engine nearby and completed the replacement by tuesday, july 10, 2012. We returned home to chicago the very same day without any problems along the way.

Filed Jun 23, 2012 · Engine · 160,150 miles · CA

I saw a small pool of a red-brown liquid on the garage floor, under the engine. I drove it to my mechanic and he thought it was a head gasket problem. The mechanic called the next day to say the head bolts in the engine block were stripped and the car was undriveable. This required an engine replacement. My mechanic stated that this never should have happened. The mechanic had checked online and called his engine friends and it appears to be a defect with this year and model. Www.carcomplaint.com details this problem which is exactly what happened to my car. My 2003 toyota highlander has been very reliable up to this point. When I reported it to toyota, they stated that they will not offer any financial assistance because the car is out of warranty, and they will let me know if there are any recalls. I understand the car is older and is out of warranty and am letting you know because this appears to be a "defect", rather than normal wear and tear on a vehicle. The total bill for the engine replacement, with getting a few other parts replaced was $6,272.86.

Filed Dec 30, 2011 · Engine · 105,000 miles · NC

The engine on this vehicle required a complete rebuild, at a cost of over $5000 due to oil leaking into the engine and fouling the components. In the months leading up to the complete engine failure, the vehicle stalled repeatedly on both city roads and highways, creating a dangerous situation several times. Whenever the oil was changed, the problem became worse and the vehicle would use up to 4 quarts of oil per week for several weeks. I contacted toyota's corporate office by letter and phone and was told that no defect existed. Toyota is currently recalling earlier models of this vehicle for the same problem. The vehicle was emitting white smoke from the tailpipe for several months before the engine failed. Eventually, it would only sustain a speed of 30 MPH. The vehicle was checked by three mechanics who all found the same problem. This vehicle is used to transport a handicapped person, and was also used to transport children frequently. In order to save the money for the repairs, which I had to make because I am still making payments on the loan for this car, I had to purchase a very old and inexpensive car to get to work. The toyota sat parked for 9 months before it could be fixed. Had I not been able to buy this second car, I would have lost my job. I could not put my daughter's wheelchair in the other car. She is able to walk only for short distances. This created a severe hardship and also contributed to her developing a foot wound and infection of the bone in her foot. This medical issue required 3 surgeries and 5 hospitalizations, plus over 6 months of iv antibiotic therapy. I narrowly avoided several accidents when the car stalled in traffic. If I was not such an experienced driver, it is highly likely that a serious accident would have occurred.

Filed Feb 14, 2011 · Engine · 204,000 miles · MS

I have a 2003 toyota highlander 2.4l that had engine failure due to 3 headbolts on the intake side of the head become loose as other numerous folks have experienced. The engine blew the headgasket and lost compression/power and died. The seems to be a very well known issue by toyota, repair shops, and salvage yards. Seems someone should hold toyota responsible for repair cost - I.e new engine since this is an obvious manufacturing/engineering design flaw. Beware of highlanders, camrys and ravs since they all have this 2.4l engine.

Filed Nov 17, 2010 · Engine · 95,500 miles · IL

My 2003 toyota highlander's temp gauge started going toward the h while driving about 30 MPH. I turned the heat on in the car and that made the gauge go back down to normal. I took the car to a toyota dealership where I was told my head gasket was blown and I needed a new engine for about $8000! I took the car to an independent mechanic that told me the engine itself was fine but 3 bolts on the head gasket were stripped. The repair is costing an approximate $2500 to retap the holes and use different bolts. I had done some research and I found out that this is a known problem with the 2003 highlanders and toyota is not doing anything about it (I have the website info and complaints if needed). Many people who have purchased this year/make/model have spent thousands of dollars repairing this defect that toyota knows about but will not take care of. I called toyota national customer service and they gave me this website information to file a complaint (I have a claim number if you need it). I am very upset, actually outraged, that here we are again finding out that toyota has more issues with their vehicles and won't do anything about it. I bought this car because I thought toyotas were reliable. Please do something about this and help all of us who bought the 2003 highlanders recover the money we have spent on repairs to an obvious manufacturer's defective part usage. Thank you!