Toyota Highlander (2010 and older) SUV | Crossover

Toyota Highlander (2010 and older) SUV | Crossover 

DESCRIPTION

The Highlander is Toyota’s car-based midsize SUV, built on a unibody platform with 4-wheel independent suspension. The Highlander offers a tight, quiet ride like a midsize sedan with the higher ride height, available 4-wheel drive, and cargo capacity of a midsize SUV.

The Highlander scores high for its refinement, quiet interior, ride comfort, and flexible and roomy second-row seat. Its 3.5-liter V6 delivers solid performance and 18 mpg overall. The third-row seat is tight and does not fold in a 50/50 split. A new 2.7-liter four-cylinder with a six-speed automatic is available on FWD models.

USER REVIEWS

Showing 21-30 of 197  
[Apr 03, 2004]
Kris
Model Reviewed: Toyota

Strength:

Smooth acceleration, excellent turning radius, drives like a car, roomy interior easy to climb in and out, well laid out components under the hood, good view from the divers seat.

Weakness:

Joke of a third seat, probably made for midgets, groans at initial start to cruising speed but is very smooth thereafter. Clicking sound of engine at idling. terrible wind noise at high speeds and on windy days. Roof racks makes the noise worse

Bought the Highlander for the following reasons 1) Owned two camry wagons for 10 years and was very satisfied. 2) Toyota discontinued wagons in 1995. However resal value of the wagons was high. The highlander is nothing more than acamry wagon disguised as an SUV as it rides on a camry chassis. A high rding camry wagon as it appears. 3) Highlander is poor mans lexus 300. As it has the same engine, drivetrain and physical dimensions without the bells and whistles.WHy should I pay 10K-15K for essentially the same vehicle.

Similar Products Used:

Camry Wagons(1990)and 1995. Honda Pilot used by my wife.

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[Mar 24, 2004]
emsieash
Model Reviewed: 4 dr/v6

Strength:

Handles nice, Spacious.

Weakness:

Ticking, sounds like a ticking bomb, waiting for it to go "OFF"

Purchased the vehicle at 4 miles, great until 10,000mi, engine started "ticking", black soot from exhaust, dealer said fuel injectors after 3 returns and 3 months, changed fuel injectors....same problem! Now dealer says can't fix it!?! I can't live with it, sounds like it's 10 years old, ready to blow up! Scary when driving around with young child, ready to trade in! This is the 4th Toyota I've owned and probably last because of this problem. Loved all the others, felt secure, drove them well past 150,000mi. with no problems, no ticking!! If only they could have figured it out.

Similar Products Used:

Two Corollas, Tundra

OVERALL
RATING
2
VALUE
RATING
2
[Mar 05, 2004]
ericmiller
Model Reviewed: Toyota Highlander

Strength:

Reliability, acceleration, handling, interior refinement, interior space, looks.

Weakness:

None.

Transmission and Drive Type: V6 4WD Options Installed: Appearance Package, Preferred Package, Sport Package, Tow Prep Package, Cargo net and mat, security system Review: My wife and I bought this Highlander with 17k miles on it. So far we have had everything from near 70 degree temperatures to almost a foot of snow, and the Highlander has handled it all. We have only noticed a few rattles when the terrain is really rough, but it may just be a few loose items around the car. The 6 cylinder engine is more than adequate. We can cruise around town comfortably without ever exceeding 3,000 rpms. If you need it to, it can accelerate quickly. The traction is great with AWD, I never feel like I am going to get stuck or slide off of the road. The low gear helps as well. The Highlander feels solid and truly does drive like a car, with the comfort of more interior space. I am 6'2" and have more than enough head and leg space in both the front and rear seats. The 8-way seat adjustment helps in making the driver seat much more comfortable. The passenger seat does not have this feature and is a little hard to get comfortable in with the short seat base. My legs hang off a little too much. The car is very quiet, although the road conditions may increase the noise some. Typically we keep the radio volume the same at 70mph+ as we do around town. Compared to something like a Dodge Caravan the difference is quite noticeable. The cargo space is adequate for our needs. I don't really have anything to compare it to, but it seems a trip for a family of four would be possible. The controls are nicely arranged and very convenient. There is a little room underneath the center console to put things, but if you really want open space, don't get the center console. Overall we are very happy with the Highlander. It meets our needs in engine size, safety, traction, cargo space, and refinement.

Similar Products Used:

Dodge Grand Caravan, GMC Yukon

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Mar 01, 2004]
carfor4
Model Reviewed: Toyota Highlander

Strength:

Right sized! Reasonably comfortable front and back. Decent mileage with our 4 cylinder - 23/26mpg. Good handling in snow and rain with AWD.

Weakness:

We have children who sit in the back row and a large dog who sits in the cargo area, so it is lousy for them that they cannot have fresh air any time they like because of the well-documented air pressure/wind noise problem that occurs at any travel speed (city or highway). They have to warn us that they are going to open the windows so that we open ours as well to alleviate the physical pain in our ears that it causes if only one set is open. For dog owners, this is a huge weakness, otherwise it is just a nuisance. The seat belt harnesses have worn quite a bit - the front passenger which is the least used in our vehicle -had to be replaced already as a notched groove wore into the fabric and was likely to wear through. The ongoing transmission troubles leave me to think we picked a lemon. Now to see if the repair holds or just trade in now while it is young and has value to someone else...

Uh Oh! Transmission troubles and only 28K miles?! Sorry to say but it is so. Our beloved Highlander is in the shop again for a slipping transmission and a blown seal. Rather than just replace the blown seal again, they are replacing the axle. We loved this vehicle until the transmission issues arose at only 26,000 miles. We invested in this vehicle for the long term, but so far the reliablity is NOT there! I am not sure I can trust that this repair will end the issue...

Similar Products Used:

ford explorer dodge caravan subaru outback

OVERALL
RATING
3
VALUE
RATING
2
[Feb 04, 2004]
toeneelee
Model Reviewed: highlander limited

Strength:

I've had great gas mileage, about 20mpg in town and 25/26 highway at about 80 mph. Easy to drive, my 17 year old has an Explorer and she fell in love with the highlander she said it was so easy to drive, but she drove the camry alot before she totalled it. Very happy with decision to get highlander.

Weakness:

Window problem is gay... who cares?? every four door (bonnevilles, camry) ive owned has wind noise when the rear is open... geez push the button and close it!!!! At least they actually go down all the way! Cant wait to upgrade sound system jbl's are soso... havent found custom sub enclosure yet to fit in rear sides, they make for 4 runner and sequioa's.

Love the car/suv, very comfortable with all the "stuff". I feel like I'm still in my camry, it fits in the garage and all the buttons are familiar. Original Goodyears deff. gotta go tho... Traction control kicked in other nite in the rain that was impressive. Was actually looking for luxury/sport car instead. Went to purchase 2003 I35 and drove a 2002 Highlander home... go figure...

Similar Products Used:

91 Camry, 98 Camry, 02 Tundra, and Ford Explorer

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[Dec 04, 2003]
Bugged
Model Reviewed: Highlander Ba package

Weakness:

Noise from rear window - agree why bother having this window open. Simple features missing. eg. outside temp gauge, auto lights on/off

I have 16,000km on this vehicle and it now has a loud ticking noise in the engine, very prominent when you turn off the radio and fan. The dealewr ship tells me this is - you guessed it"normal". It was'nt there before but it's there now - still they sya it's a normal noise from the inhjectors. They replace the injectors - noise is still there. Anybody else experiencing this. I wonder what sort of new "normal rattles and ticking I can expect later on.?

OVERALL
RATING
2
VALUE
RATING
2
[Nov 29, 2003]
rayanik
Model Reviewed: Toyota Highlander

Strength:

Smooth Ride, Interior spacious.

Weakness:

Lower than expected gas mileage

2004 Highlander - 6 cyl 230 HP. Just bought after comparing with Honda Pilot. Smooth, powerful. Big bonus for us was the 3rd seat. Wife loves the car, well suited for the Calgary winter

Similar Products Used:

Nissan Pathfinder 1996

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
4
[Nov 24, 2003]
jhechter
Model Reviewed: Highlander V6 Limited 2wd

Strength:

smooth ride

Weakness:

Wind noise, lots of annoying creaks(noise)

The ride is good but the wind noise is a little annoying. I would suggest changing the tires to a quiter tire.

OVERALL
RATING
3
VALUE
RATING
3
[Nov 21, 2003]
Regret
Model Reviewed: Toyota/Highlander

Weakness:

WIND Tunnel problem

Highlander is a great car until you open the back window. The noise is so bad that you cannot open it for more than 30 seconds. See the following article for detail http://www.thecarplace.com/02high.htm I am pretty disappointed. Unfortunately I found out too late. Hope you won't make the same mistake.

OVERALL
RATING
2
VALUE
RATING
3
[Nov 16, 2003]
kookie1
Model Reviewed: 4 cylinder 2WD

I about to purchase a Toyota Highlander 2004 4 cylinder with 160hp. I not sure, if the 4 cylinder will be the right car. Someone said, that the Toyota Highlanders has the same engine as the Lexus? Does any know if, it's only for the V6 or does the 4 cylinder has the Lexus engine. I would appreciate comments

OVERALL
RATING
1
VALUE
RATING
3
Showing 21-30 of 197  

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