Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | |||||
| 00207 | 04/26/2007 | 10022143 | Techstream ecu flash reprogramming procedure. *kb | 07/06/2007 | |
| 04013 | 07/21/2004 | 10010473 | Owner renotification of non-completed special service campaigns and limited service campaigns. *tt | 11/24/2004 | |
| EG00402 | 02/22/2002 | 629357 | Subject regarding malfunction indicator light on diagnostic trouble code p0500.*jb | 04/02/2002 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | |||
| 03/14/2010 | 70000 | ||
| Driver side visor will not stay in place, drops down due to vibration. appears to be a design flaw. visor too heavy for armiture, dealership cost to replace approximately 800.00. | |||
| 12/01/2012 | 136000 | ||
| I was in the front passenger seat. i put the car cigarette lighter into its holder and inadvertantly pressed it in all the way. after a few minutes it flew out of its space, it was all lite up and fell to the floor of the car where it began to burn the mat. i pcked it up and got a 2nd degree burn on my finger. we could not beleive that it happened so we put the lighter back in the holder and pressed it in. it flew out again. | |||
| 06/01/2009 | 40000 | ||
| The sun visor will not stay in the up position. toyota replaced the visors under warranty after the first occurence. however, they are not staying up anymore. the drivers side visor falls down when driving creating a safety hazard. both of them fall down at an angle which could cause head injuries during a crash. in doing an internet search, it appears this is an issue with many other highlanders. i went back to toyota and they would not replace it under warranty. | |||
| 04/04/2012 | 80000 | ||
| Driver/s side sun visor will not stay up. while driving, it suddenly drops obscuring my vision and putting the driver at extreme risk for an accident (impaired vision of the road). there is no apparent way to fix this problem short of replacing the sun visor (estimated cost of approx. $700 per blogs). this problem has been experienced by many owners of 2002 highlanders as exemplified via complaint postings. | |||
| 07/02/2010 | |||
| This is clearly a design flaw & potentially dangerous. the sun visors fail & drop down in front on you, no longer staying at a proper angle or staying up. i cut one open & found that the pivoting pin is coated in plastic & held in place by a metal clip. over time the plastic cracks & falls off the metal pin causing the loss of the required friction to hold the visor securely in place. my 1st repair was to reform the pin with epoxy, but the force from the metal clip was too much and it failed in a few months. the next fix was to cut the visor open again & force the part of the pin still covered in the original plastic coating deeper into the metal clip. that repair lasted until now. the replacement parts are ridiculously expensive, but now i can not repair it and not doing so would be a driving hazard. from what i have read online this is a common problem and toyota should have done something by now. | |||
| 08/26/2011 | 105000 | ||
| This strut attaches to the rear axle and prevents it from moving forward. it rusted out and was bouncing on the road and hitting the car and rear tire. i had to stop and get it repaired immediately for fear of damaging the tire or car. upon mechinac making repair the other strut on the opposite side of the car fell off in his hand. if both strut had failed there would have been nothing to stop the rear axle from moving forward and causing a castrophe accident. or if the bouncing strut lodge in the rear tire the same could have been true. the new replacement parts look inadequate for such a critical component. should not have happened in under 10 years. car get washed once ever two weeks. from my perspective part looks the metal bracket at the end of the rod is way to thin for this critical component. part #48780-4802012398 | |||
| 01/01/2006 | |||
| The driver's sunvisor does not work. it won't stay in position or even up. the visor just falls down all the time, blocking the driver's view. there are complaints about the same issue with no solutions all over the internet. i tried talking to toyota - they just told me to buy a new $700 visor. but i have known others with this same year/model/make (2002 toyota highlander) of car and even after replaceing the visor, they have the same issue. | |||
| 05/18/2011 | |||
| Passenger and driver sun visors fall down while driving posing a safety hazard. had the visors replaced april 2006, three years later, having the same problem | |||
| 05/01/2011 | 70000 | ||
| Sun visor on my 2002 toyota highlander will frequently fall down without warning. this results in my view of the road being unexpectedly hindered. this could easily result in an accident. this happens frequently - i.e. almost every time i drive more than 3 miles. | |||
| 02/15/2010 | |||
| The driver's side sun visor does not stay in place. at first occurrence, the visor would slowly droop down with normal vibrations in the car and required repeated taping of the visor back into place with the driver's hand (a distraction and hazard as is). as time went on the visor loosened completely and does not stay up at all. this is very dangerous and distracting as it blocks full vision out of the windshield by the driver. this seems to be a defect of the visor itself by the manufacturer as it seems as if the visor is too heavy to stay in the upright position. this seems to be a common issue among this make and model and seems as if there should have been a recall regarding this issue long ago. | |||
| 08/20/2010 | 76000 | ||
| The driver's side visor on my 2002 toyota highlander will not stay in the up position and falls into the driver's view when driving over bumps. | |||
| 06/14/2010 | |||
| I have a 2002 toyota highlander. the sun visors will not stay in the up position. they randomly fall down partially blocking my view and creating a safety hazzard. i originally took it back to the dealer who had it replaced but the same thing kept happening. i went online and discovered that it's not just my 2002 highlander. i've tried velcro but that won't hold it in place. i've had several near accidents on the highway as a result of this issue. it happened again today and i just can't take it anymore. | |||
| 04/01/2007 | 29500 | ||
| We have a 2002 toyota highlander which we purchased new in april 2002. the vehicle has about 39,000 miles. for the past 3 years the driver's side sun visor suddenly falls down and partially obstructs the driver's vision. it falls down at slow speed when the vehicle goes over bumps. it falls down on the interstate at highway speeds from vibrations - such as expansion joints in the road. it is usually just annoying but once in awhile it is very dangerous such as when your are passing on a two lane road it will suddenly drop down obstructing the driver's vision. i have looked on line and found this is a very common problem with the 2002 highlander. and it is very expensive to fix if you have the garage door remote built into the visor - as we do. about an $800 repair - with the majority of the cost being the part. i think this is a safety issue and these defective visors should be replaced by toyota. i don't know the exact date or mileage when this part started to fail so i estimated both. | |||
| 08/06/2003 | 10000 | ||
| After only having my new 2002 toyota highlinder for approx. 8 months, the accelerator in the car stuck and i ended up running into a car. i complained to toyota and had the dealer look at the car numerous times, but they kept telling me there was nothing wrong. well 8 years later and they still haven't recalled my car, even though they have other years. | |||
| 06/01/2006 | 50000 | ||
| Sometime in 2006, my 2002 toyota highlander experienced unintended acceleration. i was standing on the brake to make the car stop and it wouldn't. i pulled into a parking lot through the car into neutral, hit the brake, then through it into park while it was still moving. i called jiffy lube who just had performed an oil change. they sent a technician over to look at it. when i started the car for the tech the engine continued to race. we both looked to see if there was something stuck under the accelerator. there was not. we both pulled up on the accelerator and it did not appear to be stuck. the tech couldn't explain it. i can't recall if i had the car towed to toyota or if the problem stopped suddenly and i drove myself. toyota is one mile from where the incident occured. toyota told me they couldn't replicate the problem and assured me that it wouldn't happen again. i drove him without incident until i pulled in my driveway, the car accelerated and i again had to throw the car into park while moving. the car was then towed to toyota and we were told the problem was fixed and given some excuse that didn't make sense. it never happened again and we traded the car for a new one in 2008. the dealership was bob rohrman toyota in westmont, il. i think the recall needs to go back further to include 2002 vehicles. | |||
| 10/13/2009 | |||
| Toyota highlander 2005. peterboro , nh. 11 am. driver was reported to pass vehicle on right in break down lane, then tried to pass another car by going into left lane and hit oncoming vehicle. four people killed. driver was very experienced --excellent safety record. i had been in his car with him hundreds of times. very safe driver --no cowboy. believe car had uncontrolled acceleration. *cn updated 05/10/10 *bf | |||