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2003 Toyota HIGHLANDER Engine And Engine Cooling Problems, Complaints and Defects

Issue ID	917856
Internal NHTSA #	10456590
Manufacurer	TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION
Brand	TOYOTA
Model	HIGHLANDER
Model Year	2003
File date	14/04/12
Component	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Product type code	VEHICLE
Description of the problem	There are two speeds associated with this. It was on the freeway driving back home when the check engine light came on at about 65 mph. Later, after exiting the freeway and driving for about 10 minutes, the radiator hose blew off from the pressure, shooting coolant and contents of the radiator back onto the engine (4 cylinder). I was going 40 mph at the time. The thermostat must not have been working because i wasn't reading any overheating going on, though there obviously was. After getting it diagnosed, apparently the bolts were stripped, the head gasket blew, and the engine got too hot. I am now asked to pay almost $3,000 to rebuild the engine (rethread, etc.). This thing with the head gasket and the bolts failing at relatively low mileage (114,000 in my case) seems to be a recurrent problem with this particular make and model. I had been driving it and keeping it well maintained for about five years with relatively few problems until this happened.
Vehicle Mileage at Failure	114000
Number of Occurences	1
Source of the issue	NHTSA WEB SITE
City and State	ANAHEIM, CA
VIN pattern	JTEGD21A130XXXXXX
Was vehicle invloved in a crash?	N
Was vehicle involved in a fire?	N
Was incedent reported to police?	N
Was medical attention required?
Was part original equipment?
No. of injured persons
No. of fatalities
Date of purchase	08/08/26
Was original owner?	N
Anti-lock brakes	N
Cruise control	N
Number of cylinders	4
Drive train type
Transmission type
Vehicle speed	40
DoT tire identifier
Tire size
Location of tire code
Type of tire failure code
Was defective tire repaired?
Date of manufacture
Type of child seat code
Type of restraint
Dealer's name
Dealer's telephone number
Dealer's city
Dealer's state code
Dealer's ZIP code

What is Recall?
A recall is when a product is removed from the market or a correction is made to the product because it is either defective or potentially harmful.
What is Failure?
Failure is the state or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective, and may be viewed as the opposite of success. Product failure ranges from failure to sell the product to fracture of the product, in the worst cases leading to personal injury, the province of forensic engineering.
What is Defect?
Non-conformance of a car component with the specified requirements, or non-fulfillment of user expectations, including the safety aspects.

Last decoded VIN:

XW8ZZZ61ZEG062657 KMHDH4AE7BU102785 1N4AL3A98DC219390 2FMPK3J93KBC06742 1GKUKJE36AR238442 WAUZZZ8E68A003201 1GKFC16J77J174082 MA3FC31SXBA208712 WAUH3DGY1PA045429 NLHB351BAFZ010487 KL1DC53FX8B196641 KNDMB5C15F6031960

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2003 Toyota HIGHLANDER Engine And Engine Cooling Problems, Complaints and Defects, Recalls and Failures

2003 Toyota HIGHLANDER Engine And Engine Cooling Problems, Complaints and Defects

What is Recall?

What is Failure?

What is Defect?