2004 highlander, having same problems as all other reported problems for this vehicle. Hesitation, steering shaft replacement, 2 wheel bearing replacements, lousy original tires, bad sodering of heat/air board leading to not working properly, can not have back windows down due to noise and vehicle shaking, had rear wiper motor replaced within 1st month of ownership. While I did purchase the extended warranty, which did cover the cost of the wheel bearing replacement, it did not cover the cost of having to replace the tires damaged by the bad bearing - and toyota does not care. In their race to become the number one car maker, they have given up on being the safest, most reliable car maker - and they have certainly given up on being customer friendly. According to several toyota dealers, they don't have to, since they continue to be popular selling vehicles. I am getting nervous as the time for my warranty comes due to expire - and for the first time am seriously considering trading it in before that happens. That was not the intent when I bought the vehicle, but after reading all the people having all the same problems, I am very concerned.
2004 Toyota Highlander electrical complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 18 of 18, newest first, as owners wrote them.
The heat would not always work. It would blow cold air. Sometimes I could move the knob around and it would come back on but it didn't always work like that. I googled the problem and came up with more than a dozen people with the same problem. They dealer said the part was over $600 to replace, then on top of that, the decal was going to cost another $30. One of the google searches had a fix for it. It involved removing the glovebox and pulling the circuit board out. They said there would probably be a wire that was broken off and sure enough there was. My husband soldered it back on, put the boar back in, and it works like a charm now.
Since I bought the car in 2004, I would have trouble with the clock - sometimes it would show other times not. I have a navigation system in the car and the time is tied into it. This year, the GPS stopped working, and would knock out the radio, heat and defroster. When I brought it to toyota, they said is was a GPS failure and since I was not under warranty anymore, it would cost me about $1600.00 to replace it. I would think that something I complained about from the beginning would be looked not and that a recall should have occurred if the defrosting system didn't work. That is a driving danger. I had to pay for it for the winter but am now looking for a new car and will surely not be looking at a toyota ever again. Since I got the refurbished GPS, my time is always there.
Navigation systems says external system is disconnected causing the heat/ air conditioner & defroster to be disabled new system will cost 5795.00 used part will cost 1500-1700.00 car only has 41,864 2004 toyota highlander.
The air/heat keep going in an out. Most of the time when you try to switch it over the AC it stays hot and same w/ hot. Stopped by toyota dealer and they said that on this year model highlanders the circuit board for the heat and air are going bad. But they won't do a recall. It even messed 1 of the accuators up and we had to replace it last time and now it has done it again.
Dt*: the contact stated while depressing the accelerator pedal, the transmission momentarily hesitates before properly selecting the correct gear to engage. The vehicle was taken to the dealership several times for inspection. The dealership mechanic reset the software three times, but this did not correct the problem. Diagnostic testing were performed on the vehicle. The manufacturer was contacted and sent a representative to inspect the vehicle. The representative drove the vehicle and experienced the hesitation and explained, this is a flaw in the design and the vehicle is free-wheeling. The representative would contact the engineers and try to solve the problem. Updated 03/17/06.
Identical to complaint #10114548 my event happened january 6, 2005 with less than 10,000 miles on vehicle. Now, at 35,750 miles, I have o2 sensor problems on a routine basis(3rd sensor on order from dealer right now). I am very concerned that these problems will continue past warranty, I have little faith in this vehicles safety and performance -every day I cross my fingers that nothing else goes "brakes" while driving with my 2 small children. This needs to be investigated.
I bought a 2004 toyota highlander in november of 2003 because my husband and I found out we were pregnant and needed a bigger car. Three months and 5000 miles later I had to be towed to the dealership because of a defect in a chip in the "motherboard." (some sensor defect that caused the asc mechanism to foul up.) anyway, on monday, the same thing happened again at 50500 miles, but this time the cause was a steering sensor actuator. Of course, the car is no longer under warranty. I raised cane because two major things have caused me to be towed to the dealership with barely 50000 miles on the car. They are paying for the cost of the parts but that's it. I truly believe toyota should have paid for the entire ordeal, including towing, labor and rental car because of my inconvenience and obvious defect in the car. Toyota is one of the highest quality brand names of cars and you don't expect to deal with these types of issues when buying one. I feel that they realize I have a defective car and have decided not to care. Now I don't trust the vehicle and want to trade it in for a non toyota car. Thanks for your time and consideration.
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