Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN | |||||
| 00805 | 08/01/2005 | 10016636 | U140f transmission solenoid identification. *tt | 09/26/2005 | |
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | |||||
| 00504 | 08/26/2004 | 10009397 | Proper identification of the 5 solenoids used in the u240e/u241e automatic transaxles. *tt | 09/29/2004 | |
| POWER TRAIN - AXLE ASSEMBLY | |||||
| 00103 | 05/23/2003 | 10002004 | Right rear axle squeak noise. *tt *jb | 07/31/2003 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN | |||
| 10/16/2009 | 23270 | 1 | |
| I pulled into a parking space at a shopping center near my home, then backed up a few feet in order to straighten my car. when i put the transmission into drive, the car suddenly surged forward entirely on its own, striking the concrete barrier a few feet in front of my car. i did not accelerate, there were no floor mats on the driver's side, and the force threw me against the steering wheel. a witness ran over to see i was injured, but i was just badly frightened. the front fender was dented, but actually popped back out as i was standing beside my car with the witness. i had previously complained about the engine alternately slowing and surging as i drove, usually only at speeds up to 40mph, to my local service department. when i called my service department, they gave me a toll free number where i spoke to a toyota case manager who assigned me a case number and treated me very coldly and with suspicion, asking personal questions about my health, insurance company and driving record. i said i was just concerned that my car had behaved like one i had just heard about on the local news, and i wanted to know what to do and prevent others from experiencing what had happened to me or worse the case mgr. said they would call me back. they never called back. the following month i took my car in for service and asked them to check the electrical system. they said they found no problems. *tr | |||
| 01/01/2010 | 65000 | 1 | |
| 2003 v6 awd toyota highlander front to rear drive shaft failure (propeller shaft). *tr | |||
| 07/06/2007 | 0 | 1 | |
| Gentlemen: i am writing you this e-mail because there is a problem with my car that is not only irritating, but is potentially dangerous to all who own a full time four-wheel drive toyota highlander. my highlander is a 2003, and although we were promised full time four-wheel drive when we bought it, we found out later to our horror that it is not. when driving down a paved highway, all four wheels are driving. this is a time when four-wheel drive is not needed. however, a few months ago, we drove off the pavement into sand on a picnic trip, but did not worry because the | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | |||
| 01/26/2011 | 90000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2003 toyota highlander. while driving approximately 25 mph he engaged the brakes and the vehicle would not stop and began to accelerate. the contact stated he tried several ways to stopped the vehicle he engaged the vehicle in neutral,the emergency brake and the vehicle continued to rev and the the tires were spinning. he stated he put the vehicle in neutral and turned the vehicle off and that stopped the vehicle. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for the failure. the dealer advised him that the transmission drop and that since he had an extra floor mat on the floor at time that caused the failure. the dealer advised him since that was the case he would have to pay for the repairs. the vehicle had not been repaired yet. the contact stated this was the first time he experienced a acceleration failure. the vin was unavailable. the failure and current mileage was 90,000. vwb | |||
| 05/15/2009 | 115000 | 1 | |
| I have a 2003 awd v6 limited highlander (hl) with 115,000 miles. about 200 miles ago, the transmission started slipping during the third to fourth gear shift. hl goes into neutral, the revs go way up, then it shifts with a clunk. i can minimize the clunk from a stop by accelerating to 25 mph, taking my foot off the gas, letting the revs drop down to 1200 rpm (at which point the trans will shift to fourth gear), and then stepping on the gas. there are no problems in first, second, third or fourth gear. the car runs fine in fourth gear. it is only a problem with the third gear to fourth gear shift. tried not using overdrive, but problem persists. this is my first problem with the hl. i always get my hl serviced at toyota dealer at 5000 miles intervals. dealer says the trans needs to be replaced. in california, the price is over $4500 for the new trans. dealer will give me a 10% discount on parts and labor. i asked the service manager if there was a way to reprogram the transmission computer module on my 2003 highlander. he checked and said that there was no way to re-program the module and there were no technical service bulletins on this problem. i replaced the transmission. the transmission was replaced with a rebuilt trans from toyota. the transmission case is a used case, but all of the internal parts are new. i sent an e-mail to the local toyota dealer to thank the service manager for customer service. i also asked them to forward the note about the transmission problem to the regional toyota service representative. other highlander owners have similar automatic transmission problems. see http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f0aabc6 needless to say, i am very disappointed in the quality of the toyota transmission, which is a major part of the drivetrain, and should last more than 100,000+ miles. *tr | |||
| 09/13/2008 | 66450 | 1 | |
| 2003 toyota highlander v-6 with 66450 miles. driving home going 40 to 45 mph, car transmission started to skip, engine would surge then buck and engine would hesitate. drove on to dealer for diagnosis. *tr | |||
| 11/03/2007 | 64000 | 1 | 05/26/2003 |
| After only 64,000 miles, the transmission on my 2003 toyota highlander started skipping. when i accelerated, the car would jump/skip. this could have easily caused a wreck. *tr | |||
| 03/18/2005 | 31000 | 99 | 10/10/2003 |
| 2003 toyota highlander, 4 cyl , auto trans. between 25 and 45 mph, when you apply the brake on the auto and then press the gas to resume your forward travel, there is a kick (like a looseness in the transmission and drive shaft) followed by the motor revving as it should and the transmission down shifting. i went to the dealer who told me yes, there is a looseness caused by the fact that there is a lot of rubber connectors holding the differential and drive shaft assembly to the vehicle frame. over time they had fatigued (31000 miles). the dealer took no action. i have a registered a complaint with toyota (200508090110). a final end result would be the differential and attached drive shaft falling off the auto while it is in motion causing a serious injury or fatal crash. *nm | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION - LEVER AND LINKAGE - FLOOR SHIFT | |||
| 04/26/2005 | 18000 | 1 | 09/27/2003 |
| Dt: the contact noticed while stopping at a red light she reached over to get something and hit the gear shift with her hand and with her foot on the brake the vehicle shifted from drive to neutral without pushing the button on the gear shift. her concern is that if the car is in low drive, second gear or neutral it can be shifted, this defect can cause an accident. contact called toyota, and they said this was a safety feature which was meant to do that. consumer was never told by dealer that this was a feature of vehicle. she believed that this was very dangerous and was a safety issue.*ak consumer states vehicle does not shift into reverse without pressing the button. *sb | |||
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE | |||
| 01/01/2010 | 65000 | 1 | |
| 2003 v6 awd toyota highlander front to rear drive shaft failure (propeller shaft). *tr | |||