Oil cooler hose burst in car. Yo have about 20 seconds to turn the engine off before it seizes up because all the oil is pouring out of the car. We had it towed to midas dealership and they fixed it. I called toyota because I noticed they had a customer support program covering this problem. I was told if I would have taken it straight to the dealership, it would be covered but instead I had to submit paperwork which I did. Well it is not covered. They are claiming that the part on the invoice is not covered. However, the oil cooler hose that burst which is original to the car was rubber and the toyota replacement part is metal. They are merely not covering this because it is not a recall and they are not getting in trouble for it. It is a huge safety issue, as when this bursts (with no heads up), you have only a few seconds to get to the side of the road and turn off the engine. Toyota is fully aware of the issue but the gov't has not required them to put in a recall.
2009 Toyota Highlander engine complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 28 of 28, newest first, as owners wrote them.
The coolant pump pulley broke and engine got overheated and stopped on a major highway and had to be towed. The vehicle has less than 60k miles on it. Dealer tells me that both the engine and water pump have to be replaced and would cost over $9,000.
2009 highlander, purchased new, had 105000 miles on 3.5l v6 engine. Oil changed every 7000 miles, fully synthetic. No warning lights or engine noises prior to incident. Car started after work, drove .6 mile. Started running very rough, pulled over to shoulder thinking I had a flat tire. Car died before finishing maneuver, coasted to shoulder. Engine would not start. Towed to repair shop, they diagnosed "engine fully seized up". Contacted toyota, they offered no satisfaction as " car not being repaired by dealer, not under warranty". I find this answer to be wrong, due to low mileage, history of maintenance, no reason for catastrophic failure of engine. Mechanic stated theory of "oil ports clogging up", since heard theory of "oil pump failure".
March 10, 2016 vehicle was taken to dealer for oil change. Parked vehicle after return home (10 miles drive between dealership and home) same day and after a few hours, noticed all oil had leaked from vehicle. Vehicle was towed back to dealer that day. Upon investigation dealer said the problem was the oil cooler pipe. Dealer said toyota issued a technical service bulletin t-sb-0201-11 over 5 years prior that issued a repair procedure to replace this oil cooler pipe. Dealer replaced oil cooler pipe under warranty per technical service bulletin and assured me that no damage to the engine was "apparent" after the repair. July 18, 2016 returned to same dealer for a problem with the engine making a loud knocking sound upon fast acceleration. Dealer diagnosed problem as a rod knock and confirmed it was due to the oil cooler pipe leak from march. The repair involves replacing the engine an extensive and very expensive repair. Toyota needs to make this technical service bulletin problem a recall to avoid unnecessary engine damage and potential safety hazard to the 533500 estimated vehicles included in the bulletin.
The water pump went on my toyota highland. I looked it up online and found out the water pumps are faulty and will make a sound like there is gravel in the motor. I had toyota fix the problem under warranty, but I looked online and found that other people have the same problem. Should be looked into due to being bad pumps.
Noticed large oil puddle in driveway. Had car towed as oil loss could have caused fatal damage to the engine. The oil line was diagnosed as dry rotted and needed to be replaced. The replacement oil line was vastly different than that of the original line indicating a problem with the previous design. The leak began while driving and we were able to trace the oil for miles leading home. The oil indicator light did not come on to warn of low oil. Toyota did recall other vehicles for the same problem however not this particular make and model. After talking to toyota's recall department I was told if I had had the repairs taken care of at a toyota dealership I may have been able to be reimbursed slightly (a percentage of the bill) however since I used the shop of my choice there is no option for any reimbursement.
August 6, 2015 I was driving northbound on hwy 45. After about 20 minutes on the road my 2009 toyota highlander began to smoke, the oil pressure warning light came on and I pulled over to the side of the road. Within a few minutes, black smoke was pouring out from underneath the hood. Within another minute or two the SUV was on fire and soon the front half was completely engulfed in flames. I thought it would explode. Two milwaukee fire department teams arrived and extinguished the fire. Thank god no one was hurt and my children were not in the car. Accident report bmz14xn was filed with milwaukee county. Prior to the fire that totaled the highlander, an emergency repair was made to the highlander on november 3, 2014. That night the engine began to make a strange noise and the oil warning light went on. I pulled into the nearest auto repair shop; the tech said if I drove any further the engine would have been severely damaged because there was no oil left. The engine coolant pipe sprung a leak and all of the oil poured out of my car. That was the first time my highlander lost all of its oil because of a faulty oil coolant pipe- the second time it resulted in an engine fire. In december 2014 I received a letter from toyota stating they reimburse for repairs related to leaking oil or engine damage. Toyota dealers received technical service bulletin (tsb) #tsb-020-11 indicating the replacement part should be metal; not rubber which is what I had. I mentioned the emergency repair twice when I went in for service to jack safro toyota. Neither time did a service tech suggest that the oil coolant pipe be checked to make sure it was correctly repaired. I believe this was a major oversight on the part of the service department and that toyota should recall the oil coolant pipe. The faulty part is on 2007-2010 highlanders and other toyota vehicles.
We were traveling down a state route highway at 50 MPH when suddenly we lost power to the car, we were between two mac trucks, and the oil light started flashing. We had to quickly get off the roadway (no breakdown lanes) and find a safe spot to stop on some grass. The rubber oil line had cracked/ruptured and drained the oil from the car rapidly causing the engine to lose power and make noise. I found out online that this is a known issue but no recall has been done as toyota claims this is not safety issue. However, in my case it was very much a safety issue as this happened on a highway in rapid succession with no safe place to leave the roadway.
Massive oil leak from oil cooler line of 2009 toyota highlander with tow package at ~78,000 miles. Rubber hoses burst and oil leaked out from engine.
The rubber hose between the oil pump and the vvt keeps breaking. I was doing some research and found that the rubber hose has been replace with a metal one. Can you please help me? Is this something that is possibly still under warrant and can be fixed? Thank you for help in advance.
While driving down the expressway with the family (50mph), check engine light and traction control suddenly turn on and flicker on and off randomly. Engine power hesitates. At the stoplight, check engine light continues to turn on, and off randomly, as well as traction control light. Engine appears to be stalling at times, and RPM bounces between 500-900. Acceleration when pressing against gas pedal results in uneven acceleration. Pulled vehicle off to the side, turned engine off, and examined vehicle. Examined vehicle and do not see anything suspicious. Turned vehicle back on, and check engine light with traction control off. Moments later, lights turn back on. Limped vehicle back to residence via local roads. Continued to experience intermittent on/off check engine light and traction control. After arriving at residence, parked vehicle and performed additional examination. Noticed burning smell at rear brake shoes, possibly from traction control holding on to brakes. Will bring car to dealership on 08/05/13 first thing in the morning.
I'm contacting you about an issue recently encountered on my 2009 highlander. The oil hose attachment located at the bottom of the car had pin size hole that pushed all the oil out of my car. The oil hose is in a location that would not be exposed to any element. I truly feel that this is a manufacture defect but can't find recall information on the site. I had the car towed to the dealership that said this part will take up to 3 weeks to receive. They also had a few other toyota cars in repair for the same issue. This is alarming since it looks like a known issue and the hose location is not exposed. The dealership also told me once repaired they don''t know the extent of the damage since the oil was drained out at fast pace. Please look into this issue and help protect others that might not be aware of this defect.
T-sb-0201-11 from toyota states "some vehicles equipped with 2gr-fe/fxe towing package engines may exhibit an oil seep from the engine oil cooler pipes." this tsb affects toyota and lexus vehicles going back to at least 2008-present. This is a major issue, and I feel this should be handled as a recall instead of a tsb due to the severity of the issue if/when the pipe breaks. I recently elected to have my vehicle repaired on my own just so I wouldn't have to worry about this issue happening to me or my wife, and thus blowing up my highlander's engine causing thousands of dollars in damages. Seems pretty bad that a recall can be issued for floor mats and accelerator issues, but no recall is issued for this issue which can drain the oil from your engine in a minute, blow up your engine, and then possibly wreck your vehicle. Consumer's engines are now being destroyed, and this is showing up in different online forums. I feel that the federal safety agency needs to force toyota to replace all of the defective engine oil cooler pipes with the newer metal ones that the tsb addresses. They should also be forced to reimburse all costs to those individuals that either needed to have the repair done, or decided to preventatively have the repair done on their own before those pipes burst on their own.
Toyota has issued a t-sb-0201-11 which states "some vehicles equipped with 2gr-fe/fxe towing package engines may exhibit an oil seep from the engine oil cooler pipes." this affects toyota and lexus vehicles going back to at least 2008-present. This should have been handled as a recall vs. A t-sb with a defined expiration date because consumers engines are being destroyed when this 'seep' occurs. This happens with a minute and all of the engine oil is left on the road and the engine is destroyed. Imagine a family who's driving along the highway, their engine stops working and an 18-wheeler rear ends them. That is why the federal safety agency needs to force toyota to replace all of the defective engine oil cooler pipes with the metal ones that the t-sb addressee.
I was traveling 50 -60 miles per hour on the new jersey garden state parkway. While driving all of a sudden a huge vibration occurred through out the vehicle. While it vibrated a loud noise occurred. It was so loud my dog began to bark and my ears could not take the noise of the vehicle. I tried to brake and the noise continued as well as the vibration. I continued to try and get in the right lane however the noise and vibration continued. The vibration felt like when you go across speed bumps that gives a rumble sound. The road was smooth and there were no speed bumps however it felt as if I was going over speed bumps. On 10/25/12 I took the vehicle to toyota of hackensack nj where the vehicle was purchased on. I informed the service guy about the situation. They did a multi-point inspection and nothing came up. They test drove the vehicle in city limits and nothing came up. I then informed them that the vibration does not occur until you are on the highway. The technician then test drove with me in the vehicle. The vibration did not occur. This specific vibration and noise has only occurred twice since I purchased the vehicle. I purchased the vehicle over a month ago due to a faulty 2005 kia sorento crankshaft bolt design. If it happens again I will file another complaint.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 toyota highlander. The contact stated that the suspension was loose and the braking system would not operate properly. The brakes would go to the floorboard when depressed. The brakes would not engage intermittently when depressed. The contact stated that the driver's seat would no longer move backward, and was positioned entirely too close to he steering wheel. The contact stated there was little room for movement when driving. The vehicle was taken to four separate dealers and the contact was told that the vehicle was operating as designed. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 400 and the current mileage was 6,500. The consumer stated when she realized a police officer was behind she attempted to stop, the vehicle continued to accelerate and the brakes collapsed very low to the floor. The consumer had to pump the brakes to slow the vehicle down. The consumer also stated the lug nuts broke on the front driver side wheel. The cruise control was inoperative, and the engine had a slight ticking sound and the rotors were rusting. Updated evoq 12/23/10 the consumer stated the seat belt wrapped tightly around her throat. The front wheel was loose, there was a whining noise coming from the vehicle. When the consumer attempted to accelerate the vehicle would stall, the cruise control no longer worked. The accelerator pedal no longer stays in place and the steering wheel turned in different directions. Updated 07/07/11.
Brand new 2009 toyota highlander defective front o2 sensor made out of ceramic built into all cars in japan then shipped to u.s. First sign of sensor damage the cars traction control light goes on. Soon after the front o2 ceramic sensor heats up. Then the car will not start. When you try to start it up at this point engine has caught on fire. The general manager of dealership stated that toyota knows of this defective part but will not recall. We believe owners should be notified. The part was replaced. However, we did not feel car was safe after seeing engine on fire. The dealership would not refund money. Our only option allowed was to trade in car for another at our cost. This all happened within 3 days of taking delivery of the vehicle and having only driven it 40 miles.
2009 toyota highland had been drived for about 10 minutes, parked, locked at 7:25 am on jan 22, 2010. Approximately 20 minutes later a 6th ft high flames were discovered by the owner coming from the engine. Someone had already reported the fire and the fire department responded by 7:50 am.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2009 Toyota Highlander?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history