| Issue ID | 1061865 |
| Internal NHTSA # | 10585539 |
| Manufacurer | Toyota Motor Corporation |
| Brand | TOYOTA |
| Model | HIGHLANDER |
| Model Year | 2003 |
| File date | 15/04/14 |
| Component | ENGINE |
| Product type code | VEHICLE |
| Description of the problem | I've had my toyota highlander for about 11 years now. I got it as brand new car and i am the single owner and well maintained car. At about 138,000 miles the temperature gauge started going up , almost to red. It would go up and then down to normal and repeat. Turned out i blew a head gasket. While it was at the shop being repaired they found that the head bolts were stripped which is a known problem with this year ,make and type of engine my highlander has. Now they can it will cost me $4500 to rebuild the engine. Real toyota design problem, need action and support from toyota *js |
| Vehicle Mileage at Failure | 138000 |
| Number of Occurences | 1 |
| Source of the issue | NHTSA WEB SITE |
| City and State | COVINA, CA |
| VIN pattern | JTEGD21A830XXXXXX |
| Was vehicle invloved in a crash? | N |
| Was vehicle involved in a fire? | N |
| Was incedent reported to police? | N |
| Was medical attention required? | N |
| Was part original equipment? | |
| No. of injured persons | 0 |
| No. of fatalities | 0 |
| Date of purchase | 08/08/26 |
| Was original owner? | Y |
| Anti-lock brakes | N |
| Cruise control | N |
| Number of cylinders | 4 |
| Drive train type | FWD |
| Transmission type | |
| Vehicle speed | 30 |
| 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 |